The Lander University Department of Mass Communication and Theatre will present its second play of the season, "The Golden Samurai," by Geoffrey Case. Performances will be Nov. 16, 17 and 18, at 8 p.m., and Nov.19, at 3 p.m., in the Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public. Doors will open 30 minutes before curtain time.
Lander professor of theatre Monique Sacay-Bagwell is directing the play with sword choreography by Dwayne Scott, a 4th degree black belt in American martial arts.
"The Golden Samurai," on the surface, is a play that explores the theme that all that glitters is not gold. However, a deeper look reveals how a society that becomes dependent on something other than the individual's natural gifts to overcome challenges becomes a society filled with entitlement and apathy.
The good citizens of Utagowa have surrendered all their natural abilities in order to benefit from what has now become a welfare state through the magical powers of the Golden Samurai sword. It is a sober warning about how easily we will give up our humanity for something that will never satisfy us in the end, greed.
Cast members are Lander students Latrell Jackson, of Wellford; Bryan Heddy, of Lancaster; Kerricus Howard and Amber Rae Weston, of Anderson; John McCants, of Winnsboro; Beth Gunter, of Waterloo; Graham Shaffer, of Greenwood and Cole Strickland, of Florence.
For more information, contact Lander's College of Arts and Humanities at 864-388-8323. Information about other upcoming Lander Arts events is available at www.lander.edu.