The University of Mount Union Department of Theatre opened its doors to more than 250 Alliance area third graders today as the students got a private showing of the department’s newest musical, “Prospero’s Magic Island”. 

Students from Parkway, Rockhill and Regina Coeli filled the Brush Performance Hall for the special presentation.  The 55-minute show is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” 

Department of Theatre Chair, Kevin Kern began the show by encouraging students that although some of the dialogue might have been hard to understand, they were still going to enjoy the show.

"Think of experiencing Shakespeare like eating a cupcake with lots of sprinkles,” Kern said. “You're not going to get every last sprinkle, but you'll get enough to really enjoy the cupcake. So, it is with Shakespeare; you may not understand every word, but you'll get enough to enjoy the story."

The students seemed to enjoy it as well. 

“It was awesome.  All the kids went on and on about it,” said Parkway 3^rd grade teacher Emily Bates.

“It was really funny and it looked really cool,” said third grader Adalynn Yost.  

“Yes, it was really cool and fun,” added fellow third grader Aralynn Groshman. 

Both students gave a resounding yes when asked if they would come back to see a play like this again.

Prospero’s Magic Island runs through Sunday at 2 p.m.  Tickets and more information can be found by visiting www.mountunion.edu/boxoffice.