POINT LOOKOUT, MO. — The College of the Ozarks Theatre Department will present John Olive’s, “The Voice of the Prairie” as its winter production for 2023.

The performances will take place Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1 – 2, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 3, at 2:30 p.m. in the Jones Auditorium. Cost for performances is as follows: adults, $10; senior citizens, $8; students (non-College of the Ozarks), $8; children (12 and under), $6. Associates of the College are free with their Associates card, and Associate guests are $5.00. Please make reservations by calling the Theatre Box Office at (417) 690-2626.

The play, performed by C of O students, is directed by Mark Young, professor of theatre and division chair of performing and professional arts. The show depicts an old hobo named Poppy from the perspective of his avid companion, young Davey Quinn, who tells the tall tale. The play takes place in the early 1890s, and itinerant story tellers like Poppy are the voices of the prairie. Years later in the narrative, Davey is discovered by a radio entrepreneur while he is telling stories about Poppy and Frankie, a blind girl he rescued from a cruel father. Quinn became famous on the radio as the Voice of the Prairie.  Frankie reenters his life, and the FCC threatens them all for broadcasting without a license.

Cast:

• David Quinn, performed by Judah Sawyer, senior theatre major from Olympia, Washington
• Frances, performed by Phoebe Ulmer, junior music theatre major from Seneca, Kansas
• Davey, performed by Hayden Grimm, freshman Biblical studies major from Elon, Kansas
• Frankie, performed by Victoria Rivera, sophomore theatre major from Siloam Springs, Arkansas
• Leon Schwab, performed by Gage Hauck, sophomore music theatre major from Camdenton, Missouri
• Poppy, performed by Jacob Priestner, junior speech communications major from Springdale, Arkansas
• James, performed by Samuel Pitts, junior business administration: management from Preston, Missouri
• Watermelon Man, performed by Benjamin Kowal, sophomore culinary arts major from Warsaw, Missouri
• Father, performed by Tierce Carmody, sophomore music theatre major from De Soto, Missouri
• Susie, performed by Michelle Lyons, junior music theatre major from Hollister, Missouri
• Actor 1, performed by Makhaila Keown, sophomore speech communication major from Raman, Colorado
• Actor 2, performed by Kaelen Ludden, freshman theatre major from Bolivar, Missouri
• Actor 3, performed by Emma Walters, junior theatre major from St. Clair, Missouri
• Actor 4, performed by Thomas Millar, sophomore music theatre major from Creighton, Missouri
• Actor 5, performed by Josiah Sims, sophomore speech and theatre education major from Cordova, Tennessee
• Actor 6, performed by Grace Rainwater, junior music theatre major from Las Vegas, Nevada