The 2018-2019 IU Theatre + Dance season promises to engage, challenge, and delight our audiences with family feuds and fearless females! The season kicks off in September with the classic period drama The Heiress by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, followed by Robert O’Hara’s fearless social satire Barbecue, the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical Pippin, and Edward Albee’s family-drama The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?.
The second half of the season gets off to a shocking start with Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy. At First Sight returns with an expanded festival of new works. Caryl Churchill’s Vinegar Tom is a powerful portrayal of feminine sexuality, and Tony-award winning Broadway musical Wonderful Town promises a dance-stravaganza! Also included in the season are two contemporary dance offerings, the annual Winter Dance Concert and New Moves, a senior dance student choreography project. With a season full of drama, comedy, music, dance, the 2018-2019 season is destined to be the GOAT (Greatest of All Time)!
At a Glance:
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The Heiress by Ruth and Augustus Goetz Directed by Dale McFadden September 21-29 |
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Barbecue by Robert O’Hara Directed by Ansley Valentine October 12-20, 2018 |
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Pippin by Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson Directed and Choreographed by Kenneth L. Roberson Musical Direction by Terry LaBolt November 2-10, 2018 |
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The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? by Edward Albee Directed by Murray McGibbon November 30-December 8, 2018 |
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Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare Directed by 3rd-year MFA James Nelson January 18-26, 2019 |
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The 2019 Winter Dance Concert: Making Spaces Choreographed by Dance faculty and guest artists February 8-10, 2019 |
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At First Sight Festival of New Plays A new play by 1st-year MFA Aaron Ricciardi February 22 – March 2, 2019 A new play by 2nd-year MFA Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin February 27 – March 2, 2019 A reading of a new work by our 1st-year MFA playwright, and works by undergraduate playwrights March 2, 2019 |
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Vinegar Tom by Caryl Churchill Directed by Rachel Nicole Pierce March 29-April 6, 2019 |
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Wonderful Town – by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov, based on the play My Sister Eileen by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov and the stories by Ruth McKenney. Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green Directed by Richard Roland Musical Direction by Terry LaBolt April 12-20, 2019 |
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New Moves: Senior Capstone Showcase April 26-27, 2019 |
Based in New York during the 1850s, The Heiress by Ruth and Augustus Goetz tells the story of a shy and plain young girl, Catherine Sloper, who falls desperately in love with a charming young man. Catherine's father, a wealthy doctor, sees the young man as a fortune hunter and forbids the marriage. Based on the Henry James novel Washington Square, The Heiress is a story of money, love, power and betrayal.
Join the O’Mallery family as they gather to share some barbecue and straight talk with their sister Barbara, whose addictions and recklessness have forced her siblings to stage an intervention. The event soon becomes raucous and unpredictable as stereotypes collide with hard realities. Written by Robert O’Hara, Barbecue is a comedic satire that skewers familial relationships and racial biases, with a twist just before intermission that makes the audience rethink everything that happened in Act 1.
With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson, Pippin is a magical, poignant, and unforgettable Grammy and Tony-award winning musical. The son of Charlemagne the Great, prince Pippin searches for the secret to true happiness and fulfillment. In the end, though, Pippin finds that happiness lies not in extraordinary adventures, but rather in the un-extraordinary moments that happen every day. Songs include "Magic to Do", "Corner of the Sky", and "No Time at All".
Winner of the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? by Edward Albee tells the story of Martin Gray, a hugely successful architect who has just turned fifty. Martin leads a seemingly ideal life with his loving wife and teenage son. But when he confides to his best friend that he is also in love with Sylvia, Martin sets in motion a chain of events that will destroy his family and leave his life in tatters.
The 2019 Winter Dance Concert: Making Spaces includes works by Contemporary Dance Faculty and world-renowned choreographer Twyla Tharp, presented in partnership with Jacobs Ballet Theatre.
Titus has returned from a brutal ten year war against the Goths, having lost 21 of this 25 sons in battle. Betrayed by his nation, and with his family literally in pieces, a series of bloody events follows as he and Tamora, Queen of the Goths, begin a violent cycle of revenge. Cannibalism, rape, mutilation, and murder are the gruesome tools of mass destruction in Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy. And some folks get baked in a pie. Quentin Tarantino has nothing on the Bard.
At First Sight: A Festival of New Plays, now in its seventh year, will culminate in a production of two new plays by MFA playwrights Aaron Ricciardi and Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin and directed by Jonathan R. Michaelsen and Jenny McKnight. The festival will also include staged readings of other works, including a reading of a new play by the incoming 1st year MFA playwright and new works by undergraduate playwrights.
Vinegar Tom tells the story of two farm women who are named as witches by a man they have spurned sexually. Written by acclaimed Obie Award-winning playwright Caryl Churchill, this provocative play examines gender, non-conformity and power struggles through the lens of the 17th Century. Against the backdrop of the witchcraft trials in England, Vinegar Tom draws parallels between the fear of female sexuality and witch hysteria, showing it to be the lethal source of many of society's problems, both past and present.
Set in the summer of 1935, Wonderful Town tells the story of sisters Ruth and Eileen, one an aspiring writer and the other a dancer, who move from rural Ohio to seek success in Greenwich Village, New York. Together the sisters take on the Big Apple, pursuing their dreams and finding love. A Tony Award-winning musical, the score of Wonderful Town includes “Ohio,” “Conga,” and “One Hundred Easy Ways.”
WHAT: IU Theatre + Dance, 2018-19 Season
WHEN: September 21, 2018 – April 27, 2019
WHERE: Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center, 275 N. Jordan Ave
TICKETS: Regular admission is $20 for adults, $10 for students. 812.855.1103 or theatre.indiana.edu
For more info and interview requests, please email theatre@indiana.edu.
The College of Arts