HARRISBURG, Pa. — Penn State Harrisburg will present a performance of “Saving Ellis House” at noon on Jan. 21 in the Kulkarni Theatre in the Student Enrichment Center at the Harrisburg campus in Middletown. The performance is free and open to the public.

This year marks the 21st year for the Campus Play Series, which each year presents a production centering on African-American history. Penn State Harrisburg, School of Humanities, American Studies Program, and PenOwl Productions Theatre Company are sponsoring the original dramatic production for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  

“Saving Ellis House,” set in 1990, centers on an historic home in a little town in Central Pennsylvania. In the play, the house appears to have no provenance; no one knows who the mysterious Ellis is. The preservation society wants to restore the house — a local construction company wants to turn it into condos. The city mayor has the ultimate authority.  What mystery does the house hold and will that be the key to saving Ellis House?

“Saving Ellis House” was written by Dorothy E. King, retired assistant professor of sociology at Penn State Harrisburg, and founder of PenOwl Productions.

Seating for the play can be reserved by registering through Eventbrite Middletown. For more information call (717) 948-6201.

“We cannot thank Penn State Harrisburg enough for partnering with us as we create these original productions each year,” said Robert Scott, chair of the board of PenOwl Productions. “Our plays always highlight important and often lesser known contributions of African Americans. We think that we are the only theatre company which has performed an original play in honor of the MLK holiday for the last 21 years. Of this, we are extremely proud!”