The Missouri State University Theatre and Dance Department opens the 2016-17 school year with Jenny Laird's Ballad Hunter, directed by Melanie Dreyer-Lude and performed in the Craig Hall Balcony Theatre TONIGHT (Friday Sept.23); Monday through Friday Sept. 26-30; and Monday Oct.3rd all at 7:30pm, with Sunday matinees at 2:30pm Sept.25 and Oct.2. Set in rural Appalachia in 1937, Ballad Hunter is the tale of three generations of women — Hetty, Gussie and Lotta — living their lives in a remote mountain area in the early decades of the 20th century. Director Melanie Dreyer-Lude says putting this production together has been a "pretty terrific" experience. "It's a lovely story; I call it an 'Appalachian love story.' It has some beautiful music, and it tells a tale of faith and loyalty." Also, "it has a great surprise at the end that's very effective." Fifteen years earlier, the appearance of a mysterious stranger—an Alan Lomax*-type musicologist and folk-music historian comes to the area
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