The fifth annual free "Faculty Showcase of Talent" at Weber State University on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the Austad Auditorium of the Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts, will be dedicated to the memory of John M. Elzey, WSU theater professor, who died Friday of cancer.
Elzey had directed 54 plays, both at Weber and as a guest director, including two seasons at the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City.In 1985-86 Elzey spent a year's sabbatical delving into Asian drama. He studied Noh drama, dance and puppetry in Japan (where he also taught English) and studied the tehniques of Kabuki theater at the University of Hawaii, where he also taught courses in stage combat.
As part of the 1991-92 WSU theater/dance season, Elzey had been scheduled to direct "The Zen Substitute," a light-hearted Kabuki play by James R. Brandon and Tamako Niwa, during February.
The faculty showcase on Thursday evening will include L.L. West and alumna Karen Nielson performing a scene from Theatre-Works West's recent production of "The Foggiest Notion," James Christian and Andre Ward recreating a show-stopping tap dance routine from this past season's Utah Musical Theatre production of "My One and Only," bass-baritone Ron Wooden singing a rendition of Robert Frost's "School Days," a cello/vocal duet by Paul Joines and Evelyn Harris, selections by the Faculty String Quartet, and several dance segments, including a selection from "Le Spectre de la Rose" by Toshiko Sato, a visiting lecturer from Sapporo, Japan, and Jang Qui, principal dancer with Ballet West.