The Millikin Department of Theater and Dance is putting on a production of Charles Morey’s comedy play, The Ladies Man, on Feb 25-28 at 7:30 pm and Mar 1 at 2:00 pm in Albert Taylor Theater. The play centers on Dr. Hercule Molineaux, who tells a small lie to his wife because of an innocent, but embarrassing indiscretion. The lie continues to snowball, and as he tries to correct the lie, more things go wrong.

“My favorite part about rehearsal is getting to learn and perform with all these different people I haven’t met before,” junior B.A. theatre major Kayla Robinson said.

Robinson plays the role of Marie, Dr. Molineaux’s maid.

“Denise works us hard, but it’s a really good hard. She knows we can do it. It’s a great learning process for me,” Robinson said.

Rehearsals are held in the Old Gym daily Monday through Saturday. It is a quickened process, as rehearsals just started on Jan 26.

“I love working with the actors,” Director Denise Myers said. “They are having to learn a technique and develop a show in a very short amount of time. Their enthusiasm and dedication to the process has been wonderful and very inspiring. Working with the designers and stage managers has also been wonderful. They have brought in excellent ideas that have furthered my own.”

“I love how fun all the rehearsals are,” freshman musical theatre major Patrick O’Keefe said. “The cast is great. I love that everyone really wants to be there and wants to make it good. They give it their all every time. It’s a great environment.”

O’Keefe plays the role of Etienne, the butler of the Molineaux household.

The Ladies Man is a fast-paced farce, and it focuses more on physical comedy than verbal humor.

“Hopefully that’s fun for audiences to come to in late February,” Myers said. “It’s also for our students to work on this kind of genre. And for me, it’s a huge challenge to direct something like this, but the faculty, as artists, want to be challenged in what we do as well.”

Myers is also a professor within the performing arts department at Millikin and works closely with students on their performing abilities.

“I have a lot of classes with Denise this semester, and they really reinforce what we learned in rehearsal,” Robinson said “She reminds me of what I’m doing wrong and tells me to think back to what we learned in class. It’s very beneficial.”

Performing in a play is an excellent example of Millikin’s valued performance-based learning.

“The most beneficial part [for both me and my students] is applying classwork,” Myers said. “I think the students are seeing what we’re learning in class applies to a production, which is ultimately the goal.”

“All the comedy in it is hilarious and completely timeless,” O’Keefe said. “People can still relate to trying to climb out of a situation you got yourself into. The farce is comedy that’s always funny. It’s a very fun show.”

Students are able to obtain one free ticket with their Millikin ID. For more information on how to purchase tickets, head to the Box Office in Kirkland, or the website for the Department of Theater and Dance.