Hooray for Alexander the Great"

That's what the huge sign on the front of Hopkins Center read the day drama professor Rod Alexander was honored by current and former students and colleagues. In his 18 years at Dartmouth, Alexander has directed 42 productions on the stages of the Hopkins Center.

Alexander is probably best known for his stagings of lavish musicals, and some popular song and dance numbers from shows going back to 1972 were revived by their original performers for his retirement festivities. Jennifer "Tweety" Warren '77 took a night off from the Broadway production of Big River to sing a song from Purlie with English professor Bill Cook; Mark Frawley '81, who also had a night's reprieve from Broadway - he's in Cats accompanied them. David Fuller and Mark Gamell, both '76s, sang "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" from Kiss Me Kate. And David Carroll '72, Adrienne Alexander Ruger '76 (Alexander's daughter), and Peter Smith, director emeritus of the Hopkins Center, joined in singing songs from Guys andDolls. A number of other alumni returned as well for the late August revue.

Alexander came to Dartmouth in 1967 from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.