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Theatre Tulsa Presents "The Scarlet Letter"

By Rich Fisher

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwgs/local-kwgs-945996.mp3

Tulsa, Oklahoma – On this edition of ST, we're discussing Theatre Tulsa's new production of "The Scarlet Letter" --- a modern, somewhat stripped-down adaptation of the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel that dramatist/playwright Phyllis Nagy created back in the 1990s. Our guest is Michael Wright, an Applied Associate Professor of Creative Writing at TU, who's the director of this production. As Wright tells us, Hawthorne's classic tale --- a bold examination of sin and hypocrisy at both the individual and societal levels --- is considered one of the first great American psychological novels. And so this contemporary updating of Hawthorne's saga, although it's set upon a stage that's rather bare in terms of furnishings or decor, focuses on such extreme mindsets and motivations as malice, obsession, revenge, shame, and rage. "The Scarlet Letter" will be produced at the John H. Williams Theatre in the Tulsa Performing Arts Center on January 14th, 15th, and 16th --- and then again, the following weekend, on January 20th, 21st, and 22nd. (For more information, please visit theatretulsa.org.) Also on today's show --- turning our attention to another aspect of the theatre world --- our commentator Mark Darrah remembers when, and why, he first became a diehard fan of opera.