Whole Lot of Hullabaloo: A Twenty-First Century Campus Phantasmagoria
It's Fall 2011, and Troy Thomas, a sophomore at Central Ohio University, is living a normal college life. He doesn't know yet what he wants to do with his life, but goes to class, is interested in the young women on campus, and enjoys hanging out and attending parties with his best friend, Ian Mueller, a top lacrosse player. They soon meet up with two potential romantic interests, and all seems fine in their lives.
One night, however, Troy's best friend arrives at an off-campus costume party dressed as a Miami Vice character in blackface. All is still normal, until Ian receives an e-mail from the university administration, revealing that unbeknownst to Ian and Troy, a fellow student became greatly offended, and is threatening to take the incident to the local media. A whole slew of shenanigans ensue as Troy tries to make sense of not only his friend's actions, but that of the reactions and behavior of the college community and other local residents in the Columbus, OH area.
Soon, Troy, along with the university administration and students, is dealing with militants, a popular preacher from the east side of Columbus, and a recently hired professor who's a pioneering researcher in the field of natesology, among other characters with their own agendas. During this chaos, Troy tries to discover who he is in a community gripped by identity politics, and finds out whether friendship will wither amid such division.
Darkly satirical, but touched with a nostalgia for 80s and early 90s pop culture, a tragic situation turns into a resounding comedic affirmation of individuality. Though inspired by twentieth century wits such as Kingsley Amis, Anthony Powell, and Evelyn Waugh, it's a twenty-first century piece of modern Americana: a timeless story conceived in a timely era.
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