*** Correction – Please note that reservations will not be taken for “Little Mary Sunshine”. Tickets will be available at the door. ***

DEFIANCE, Ohio - Defiance College’s DC Players will present Rick Besoyan’s “Little Mary Sunshine,” Oct. 20-22 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. in Schomburg Auditorium.

One of the most successful off-Broadway stage shows, “Little Mary Sunshine” played to packed houses in Greenwich Village for almost three years and won every award for its score and enchanting performance. It was billed as "a musical about an old operetta," a musical spoof of old time favorites like "Rose Marie" and "Naughty Marietta," but gently kidded and made delightful in its own right. With its deliberately corny songs and naive situations, it pokes fun at all the cliches of the innocent musicals our grandparents enjoyed, but it is done freshly and with flair; it quickly wins audiences with its brilliant fooling. Set at the Colorado Inn high in the Rocky Mountains in the early 20th century, it is a musical tale of a land dispute between the Indians and the government.

“Little Mary Sunshine” stars DC students Greg Adams, West Unity, as Chief Brown Bear; Jared James, North Baltimore, as Corporal Billy Jester; Dustin Manson, Paulding, as Captain “Big Jim” Warington; Karen Bergman, Ney, as “Little Mary Sunshine” (Mary Potts); Jenny Reolfi, North Canton, as Nancy Twinkle; Michael Pigoni, Cleveland, as Fleet Foot; Joemese Scott, Oviedo, Fla., as Yellow Feather; Phillip Balla, Rossford, as General Oscar Fairfax; playing the forest rangers are Zac Lee, Sherwood, and Jaiden Henderson, Englewood; and playing the ladies from Eastchester Finishing School are Lindsay Kasmer, Medina; Alison Rifenburgh, Bronson, Mich.; Katelynn Busto, North Canton; Lynn Beining, Cloverdale; Elizabeth Watson, Cincinnati; and Samantha Davis, Grover Hill.

Also starring are Shellee Murcko as Ernestine Von Liebedich and Kat Lillie as a lady from Eastchester Finishing School. Playing the forest rangers are DC professors Don Knueve, Andrew Schultz, and Kristen Sorensen, and Matt Mt. Castle.

Tickets will be available at the door. Adult admission is $10 and students under 18 are $8.

Defiance College, chartered in 1850, is an independent, liberal arts institution in Northwest Ohio offering more than 40 undergraduate programs of study as well as graduate programs in education and business. Defiance College has received national recognition for its educational experience of service and engagement. The college website is www.defiance.edu.

October 11, 2011