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Other stories: Enriching academics, raising visibility

Catch "Aida" and support campus arts Would you like to spend a night on the town, take in a touring Broadway play and help Ohio University? Read on. A block of 150 seats for the March 23 presentation of Disney's Tony Award-winning play "Aida" has been reserved for Ohio University alumni and friends at The Playhouse Square Center. The evening will afford guests parking, preferred seating and time to visit with other alumni and campus representatives at a University-sponsored reception before the how and at a coffee afterward. Future events of a similar nature are being considered in Columbus and Cincinnati. Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Richard Harrison says proceeds will go toward a $2 million endowment to benefit the University's Performing Arts Series, provide educational outreach through visiting artists and assist with student groups' cultural programming efforts. Endowment earnings also will ensure that finishing touches and continued maintenance are provided for the recently renovated Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. "Aida" plans are coming together with the help of Lee Marshall, BSC '78, president of Cleveland's Magic Arts and Entertainment. Marshall, who has produced the work of some of the entertainment industry's biggest names, sees a worthy cause in his alma mater. "I got my start in the entertainment business at OU," says Marshall, who booked bands in the old Frontier Room and chaired the Pop Concert Committee that brought Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Steve Martin and others to campus in the '70s. Marshall has seen "Aida" twice, once in a regional theater production before it reached Broadway and later in New York City. "It's a very compelling story," he says. Mary Alice Casey is the editor of Ohio Today. To line up tickets For more information about the March 23 "Aida" event at The Playhouse Square Center, call the Ohio University Dean of Students Office at (740) 593-1800 or send an e-mail inquiry to sillery@ohio.edu.