ISU Theatre: Thriller Kicks Off Season by Linda Charles There will be thrills, chills, mystery, music, comedy and drama on stage this year during the ISU Theatre productions. The season begins Sept. 21-Oct. 1 with the psychological thriller Equus by Peter Shaffer. The Tony Award-winning play follows a psychiatrist's harrowing journey of discovery to find out what caused a gentle young man to blind six horses. In October, the move is to a gruesome musical, Little Shop of Horrors, based on the B-movie cult classic by Roger Corman. Seymour, a poor nebbish florist's assistant, allows his craving for fame and fortune to seduce him into playing nursemaid to a man-eating plant. The events surrounding the growing plant's demands for more food are accompanied by parodies of '60s music. December will bring Charles Dickens' holiday classic, A Christmas Carol, in which Marley, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, work their holiday magic on Ebenezer Scrooge. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's greatest comic opera, The Marriage of Figaro, is center stage in February. The story revolves around bridgegroom Figaro, who learns that Count Almaviva intends to invoke an old feudal privilege and spend the night with Figaro's bride. The ensuing battle of wits leads to fireworks and mistaken identities. Oscar Wilde's classic, The Importance of Being Earnest, will be presented in April. The play is a witty and satiric look at two young men seeking the hands of Cecily and Gwendolen in spite of social obstacles and the formidable Lady Bracknell. ISU Theatre's "Spring Repertory Second Stage" productions this year will be "Two by Lee Blessing." The first, Down the Road, is a morality play in the guise of a psychological drama. The play centers on a convicted serial killer and the husband-and-wife team hired to help him write an account of his crimes. In the second, Eleemosynary, a grandmother, mother and daughter examine their relationship, alienations, fears and loves. Season tickets are $34, with some discounts available. Second Stage season prices are $3.25. Ticket information may be found in the insert in today's paper or tickets may be ordered through the Iowa State Center ticket office. For more information, call 4-2624. Check the Inside Iowa State calendar for dates and times of performances. _____ contact: Linda Charles, Internal Communications, (515) 294- 3129 updated: 8-17-95