WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Officials with Missouri State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance will present the children’s musical “Noah’s Art” at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, at the West Plains Civic Center theater.
This free production is being sponsored by Missouri State-West Plains’ University/Community Programs (U/CP) Department.  Everyone is invited.

The musical, written by Nathan Tysen and Ryan McCall, tells the story of nine-year-old Noah, who receives a box of crayons as an unexpected Christmas gift.  What’s unique about the gift is that everything he draws with the crayons magically comes to life.  As Noah creates a world from his colorful imagination, his wildest dreams and fondest wishes come true!

Tysen and McCall wrote the musical while attending college at New York University.  Tysen is a 1999 graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield, where he was the first to receive the school’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre degree.  He received his Master of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU and currently lives in New York City where, among other things, he writes for the children’s television shows “Sesame Street” and “The Electric Company.”  His other projects have included a musical adaptation of “Tuck Everlasting,” which is currently in workshop and scheduled for a Broadway premiere in 2013.

“This has been an exciting opportunity for our students,” said Missouri State Musical Theatre Coordinator Michael Casey.  “Having to adapt to, literally, minute-by-minute changes in the script and score is a reality of the profession, and our cast is learning to do that with the writers around the table.  They also know that they have a personal stake in the creation of something that will have changed many lives after this production.

“‘Noah’s Art’ is very much a musical for children and the child in all of us,” he continued.  “The power to create is something that, as children, we never doubted about ourselves.  Through Noah, we hope to rekindle that belief and empower our audiences to use their own creativity to bring positive change to their lives.”

For more information about Missouri State’s Department of Theatre and Dance and its upcoming productions, visit the department’s website, http://theatreanddance.missouristate.edu/default.asp.  For more information about the Oct. 8 performance in West Plains, contact the U/CP Department office at 417-255-7966.