Fall 2013
Spring Awakening by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater
directed by Matthew Scott Campbell
This rock musical is based on Frank Wedekind’s controversial 1891 play dealing with teenage sexuality, homosexuality, rape, child abuse, abortion, and suicide. The original Broadway production won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Book, Score and Direction. A terrific season opener!
September 27 – 28 & October 1 – 5, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: September 29, 2:00 p.m.
Center for the Performing Arts
The Forever Waltz by Glyn Maxwell
directed by Leah Cassella
In this contemporary reworking of the Orpheus-Eurydice myth, a man known only as “Mobile” finds himself in a mysterious place unable to remember his name or why he is there. He meets Watts, his guitar-playing guide who has a habit of answering Mobile’s questions with a lyrical twist. Mobile slowly remembers he has come for Evie, his betrothed, who was murdered on their wedding day.
October 3 – 5 & October 8 – 12, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: October 12, 2:00 p.m.
Centennnial West 207
Send the Light by Don Shandrow and Phil Shaw
directed by Connie de Veer and Michael Vetere
A world premiere script with a rural setting in the American heartland of 1936. The action of the play concerns the controversy surrounding the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) and its impact on farm communities. Many groups, especially utility companies, opposed the federal government's involvement in developing and distributing electric power. Onstage, conflicts arise within families and communities as they argue the pros and cons of "sending the light" to rural farms. This play is a community outreach project with Cornbelt Energy.
October 17 – 19 & October 22 – 26, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: October 19, 2:00 p.m.
Student Performances: October 18 & October 23, 10:00 a.m.
Westhoff Theatre
Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel
directed by Lori Adams
This memory play, set in Ireland’s County Donegal in August 1936, is told from the viewpoint of Michael Evans, who recalls a childhood summer when he was surrounded by unmarried aunts, a missionary uncle afflicted by malaria and religious doubt, and a charming Welsh father who may finally propose to Michael's mother. Winner of the 1992 Tony Award for Best Play, Dancing at Lughnasa has been called "the most elegant and rueful memory play since The Glass Menagerie."
November 1 – 2 & November 5 – 9, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: November 3, 2:00 p.m.
Center for the Performing Arts
Angels in America: Part Two — Perestroika by Tony Kushner
directed by David Ian Lee
Tony Kushner wrote the two parts of Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes so they could be presented as stand-alone plays: Milennium Approaches (Part One) and Perestroika (Part Two). In Part Two the scourge of AIDS continues to destroy lives and relationships in New York City in the 1980s. Prior Harper is visited by the angel, Joe struggles to reconcile his religion and his sexuality, and the dying Roy Cohn is haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg. And in the end there is hope: "An angel is just a belief, with wings and arms that can carry you. It's naught to be afraid of. If it lets you down, reject it. Seek for something new."
November 7 – 9 & November 12 – 16, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: November 16, 2:00 p.m.
Centennial West 207
Fall Dance Concert
artistic director Darby Wilde
A celebration of movement, light and music, featuring new choreographic works by faculty in the School of Theatre and Dance and invited guest artists. Enjoy an eccletic combination of modern, contemporary, jazz and classical ballet styles in this exciting performance. Join us for this great kickoff to the holiday season.
December 5 – 7, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: December 7, 2:00 p.m.
Center for the Performing Arts
Spring 2014
Stop Kiss by Diana Son
directed by Leah Cassella
Sara, a young teacher from the Midwest, leaves her boyfriend and family to take an inner city teaching assignment in the Bronx. When she unexpectedly falls in love with traffic reporter Callie, their first kiss provokes a violent attack that transforms their lives.
February 20 – 22 & February 26 – March 1, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: March 1, 2:00 p.m.
Westhoff Theatre
A Midsummer Night's Dream: an opera by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears,
adapted from the play by William Shakespeare
directed by Paul Dennhardt
Benjamin Britten's centennial is being hailed as the most widely celebrated anniversary ever for a British composer. ISU's School of Music will celebrate Britten with a centenary conference, a performance of his "War Requiem" in the fall and this collaboration with the School of Theatre and Dance on Britten's operatic rendering of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The three-act opera roughly follows Shakespeare’s plot, placing emphasis on the forest scenes with a large, varied cast, including 14 singing roles and four named fairies.
February 21 – 22 & February 26 – March 1, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: February 23, 2:00 p.m.
Center for the Performing Arts
Exonerated by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen
directed by Cyndee Brown
Sunny Jacobs was convicted of a crime she did not commit and lost 16 years of her life to death row. Frighteningly, Sunny's story is not unique. It could and does happen dozens of times right here, right now, in the United States. Culled from interviews, letters, transcripts, case files, and the public record, The Exonerated tells the true stories of six people sent to Death Row for crimes they did not commit. Moving between first-person monologues and scenes set in courtrooms and prisons, the interwoven stories paint a picture of an American criminal justice system gone horribly wrong and of six brave souls who persevered to survive it.
March 27 – 29 & April 1 – 5, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: April 5, 2:00 p.m.
Centennial West 207
Mrs. Packard by Emily Mann
directed by Vanessa Stalling
How can the voiceless be heard? Early in the morning of June 18, 1860, Reverend Theophilus Packard had his wife, Elizabeth, forcibly removed from their home and committed to the state-run insane asylum in Jacksonville, Illinois. A conservative Calvinist minister of the old school, Reverend Packard strongly disagreed with his wife’s liberal thinking and feared she endangered the spiritual welfare of their six children. The grounds for Elizabeth’s incarceration rested solely on her husband’s declaration of her insanity, and not on a public hearing—such were the laws in Illinois (and many other states) at that time. Elizabeth remained true to her principles in the face of intense hardship, including separation from her beloved children.
April 4 – 5 & April 8 – 12, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: April 12, 2:00 p.m.
Center for the Performing Arts
Pericles by William Shakespeare
directed by David Ian Lee
Written around 1607, Pericles is generally regarded as having been half-written by the
Bard. The play traverses the ancient cities of the Mediterranean as the Prince of Tyre encounters storms and famine, pirates and courtesans, the waking of the dead and a reunion with his lost love.
April 17 – 19 & April 22 – 26, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: April 26, 2:00 p.m.
Westhoff Theatre
Spring Dance Concert
artistic director Sara Semonis
Come celebrate National Dance Week with an evening of beautiful dance and choreography. This popular program will showcase new work by School of Theatre and Dance faculty members and guest artists, as well as selections performed at the Regional American College Dance Festival. An exciting production for dance enthusiasts of all ages!
May 1 – 3, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: May 3, 2:00 p.m.
Center for the Performing Arts
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