The musical “Carnival” will be performed at The University of Findlay at 8 p.m. Feb. 18-21 and at 2 p.m. Feb. 22 in the John & Hester Powell Grimm Theatre, located in the Frank J. Egner Center for the Performing Arts.
   
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. Call the UF Box Office at 419-434-5335 for tickets.
   
“Carnival,” which earned two Tony Awards after it opened on Broadway in 1961, is based on a book by Michael Stewart. Music and lyrics were written by Bob Merrill. The show also is based on material written by Helen Deutsch.
   
Micheal F. Anders, Ph.D., is producer and music director for the show. Vicki McClurkin is stage director; Kristi Wink is choreographer; Jerry Deall is scenic and lighting designer; Matt Stimmel is technical director; and Kathy Newell is costume designer.

The production staff for “Carnival” has staged a true carnival on the stage of the John & Hester Powell Grimm Theatre with jugglers, acrobats, magicians, aerialists, venders, a unicyclist, a strongman and even a snake handler. In addition to the ‘live’ actors, the audience also will watch four beautiful hand-made puppets come alive before their eyes.

Featured in the role of Paul is Lance Ashmore, UF adjunct professor of voice.

“Carnival” is a family musical set in the early 1930s about a young orphan girl, Lili, who wanders into a carnival and eventually finds love in a most unlikely person.

Lili strolls into a French countryside carnival and is awestruck by the magic tricks of Marco the Magnificent. Thanks to Marco, Lili is given a job with the carnival, and she becomes infatuated with Marco, who is in a relationship with Rosalie, his assistant. After accidentally ruining Marco’s magic act, Lili is fired from the carnival, and, with no place to go, contemplates suicide.

Fortunately, Lili is stopped by the sweet voice of Carrot Top, a hand puppet voiced by Paul, a gruff, disabled WWI veteran, who works for the carnival but is an outcast with most of the carnies. Eventually, Lili meets Paul’s other puppets: Horrible Henry, Renardo (a fox) and Marguerite (a diva).

As Lili becomes more comfortable with the puppets, Paul and his assistant, Jacquot, add her to their act, and it becomes the hit of the carnival. Yet Lili still longs for Marco.

Lili’s warm relationship with the puppets and Jacquot grows, but she remains in great fear of Paul, who can only voice his true feelings for Lili through the puppets. Slowly, Lili finally realizes that Marco has no use for her and that her feelings of fear are actually feelings of love for Paul.