Town & Gown offering night of music and improv at New Year's Eve party
Dec. 30—Town & Gown Theatre will hold a New Year's Eve party on Saturday, Dec. 31 between 10 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.
The NYE party will start after Town & Gown's final production of "The Eight: Reindeer Monologues" at 7:30 p.m. The show will also be performing Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Founded in 1951 on the Oklahoma State University campus, Town & Gown Theatre is now in their 72nd consecutive season of productions.
Linda Phillips, ticket manager at Town & Gown, says this show is a part of their 'On the Edge' series, meaning it includes difficult themes.
"I recommend this for adult audiences only (18 and older)," Phillips said.
Tickets for "The Eight: Reindeer Monologues" can be purchased online at townandgown.org or at the door.
Town & Gown's NYE party, which starts not long after the theatre's last production, is for guests 21 and older. Food and drinks will be provided.
Guests are encouraged to register at townandgown.org for the NYE event, Phillips said.
Functional Polly, a Stillwater-based band, will be the primary entertainment of the evening. They have performed regularly for the past five years at local events like Stillwater Arts Festival and the Winter Solstice Event at Modella Art Gallery, in addition to events like the Festival of Arts and Red Earth Festival in Oklahoma City.
The band consists of Charissa Prchal (ukulele, violin, percussion), Kami Koontz (bass) and Clint Clausing (guitar).
"We're pretty jazzed to be playing the Town & Gown New Year's Eve celebration," Prchal said. "It's the first time we'll play just fun, party songs."
The band plays a fairly broad variety of covers, with the only real through-line being that they are all extremely singable, Prchal said.
Cueless Improv Comedy Troupe, the official improv troupe of Town & Gown, will provide a lot of laughs in a short set from 11 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. to give the band a chance to rest before the last moments leading into the midnight countdown.
Cloyann Fent, Diane Keenom, Russ Hopper and Jacob Boyd from Cueless will be performing.
Fent, Keenom and Boyd are original members of Cueless from its inception several years ago. Keenom and Boyd are longtime Town & Gown Theatre members, actors and volunteers.
As an original member of Cueless, the spunky seventy-year-old Keenom has been in every Cueless performance since its inception.
"I enjoy the freedom of becoming any character I want to be," Keenom said.
Boyd has enjoyed numerous performances at Town & Gown and in Cueless and loves the challenges presented by each discipline.
"You can see me on stage in the current Town & Gown production of 'The Eight: Reindeer Monologues'," Boyd said. "And you might notice me handing you your ticket in the box office or helping guide you into a parking space before the show, too."
Hopper is a newcomer to Cueless but is a veteran on the Town & Gown stage.
Hopper got his start in community theater at Town & Gown when he was in graduate school at OSU. He has acted in community theater productions in St. Louis, MO, and Los Alamos, NM.
He is now back at OSU and acting in Town & Gown productions once again. He is playing Dasher in "The Eight: Reindeer Monologues."
A countdown to midnight and a spirited rendition of "Auld Lang Syne" will ring in the new year.
The NYE event is open to the public for a small charge of $5 at the door, which also covers an annual membership for the remainder of the 2022-2023 Town & Gown season. For those with a Town & Gown membership, tickets are free.
To register for the event, visit townandgown.org.
Stag Lounge NYE party
The Stag Lounge, a whiskey and cigar bar at 717 E. McElroy Road, is also celebrating with a NYE party at 7 p.m. There's a champagne toast at the Ball Drop, and guests will receive a 20.23% discount on all tabs over $100.
