2007 - 2008 THEATRE SCHEDULE

Buy Tickets Now

THE COUNTRY WIFE
By William Wycherley

Directed by guest artist Jared Stein

October 24-28
Wednesday & Thursday @ 7pm
Friday & Saturday @ 8pm
Sunday @ 3pm
Jones Theater

Meet Horner, Quack, Mr. and Mrs. Pinchwife, Sparkish and Mrs. Squeamish in this bawdy 17th-century Restoration comedy. This tale is full of seduction, devotion, cuckolds and lust and contains a plot filled with outrageously racy comedy. Banned for 170 years because of its licentious plot and language, this play would have made Shakespeare blush. Sex is the force behind all of the cleverly intertwined plot strands, which together explore the romantic entanglements of a group of wealthy characters in sordid post-Puritan London. Jealous husbands, unfaithful wives, playboys and hypocrites are the stuff of tabloid journalism, reality TV, and this hilariously racy satirical comedy of manners. It shocked England in 1675 as much as it delights audiences today.

Recommended for mature audiences

THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
Seussical: The Musical

Music by Stephen Flaherty * Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Book by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty
Conceived by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty & Eric Idle
Based on the Works of Dr. Seuss
Directed by Edward Coles & Rick Roemer

December 1 & 2, Saturday & Sunday @ 3pm
Jones Theater

Free school-day performances: Tuesday-Friday, November 27-30 @ 11am (Contact Dr. Rick Roemer to book your school – 863-1548)

After all those years being stuck on a page
Did you ever imagine you’d see me on stage?
Now I’m here, there is no telling what may ensue!
No, there’s no telling what!
But I’ll give you a clue…

So says the mischievous Cat in the Hat at the onset of this fantastical, magical, musical extravaganza that captures the imagination and revolutionary whimsy of Dr. Seuss as colorful tales are seamlessly woven together in this enchanting musical celebration. Brimming with sassy sophistication, The Cat in the Hat is host to an eye-popping parade of zany characters including Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, Mayzie La Bird, and all the Whos of Whoville. Concocting a Seussian gumbo of musical styles, ranging from Latin to pop, swing to gospel, and R&B to funk, these beloved creatures will inspire all ages to become “Thinkers of strange and wonderful Thinks!” So let your toes tap, your fingers snap, and your imagination run wild for Seussical the Musical!

FUN FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Book by Joseph Stein
Directed by Rick Roemer

March 6-9
Thursday-Saturday @ 8pm and Sunday @ 3pm
Alma Thomas Theater

Winner of 9 Tony Awards and 3 Academy Awards!

L’Chaim! Life itself, joyous and tragic, is the subject of this lively, comic, and heartbreaking musical. In this tale of rural life in a Ukrainian village on the eve of the Russian Revolution are faith and struggle, happiness and suffering, passionate youth and tired old age, idealism and practicality, money and poverty, compromise and conviction, and above all, constancy and change.
Based on the short story “Tevye and His Daughters” by Sholom Aleichem, this classic musical is widely considered the greatest work of American musical theatre. In the little Russian village of Anatevka, Tevye, a poor dairyman, tries to instill in his five daughters the traditions of his tight-knit Jewish community in the face of changing social mores and the growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russian.
Rich in historical and ethnic detail, Fiddler on the Roof has touched audiences around the world with its humor, warmth and honesty. The universal theme of tradition cuts across barriers of race, class, and religion, with beloved songs including Matchmaker, Matchmaker, If I Were a Rich Man, Sunrise, Sunset, and Tradition.

“ Filled with laughter and tenderness, it catches the essence of a moment in history with sentiment and radiance. An exceptional accomplishment.” -New York Times

“ One of the unforgettable stage musical creations of modern Broadway history”. -Variety

SubUrbia
By Eric Bogosian
Directed by guest artist Jared Stein

April 23-27, Wednesday & Thursday @ 7pm
Friday & Saturday @ 8pm and Sunday @ 3pm
Jones Theater

Some plays are set in castles, drawing rooms or on ancient battlefields. SubUrbia presents a day in the life of seven rootless young Americans who hang out every night in the parking lot of a convenience store. This parking lot becomes the private domain of three men in their very early twenties: Jeff is a sometime student, Buff an easy-going party animal, and Tim is an alcoholic Air Force vet. They talk trash, drink beer, get high, eat Oreos and harass the owners of the convenience store, and revel in their high school glory days. The return of their high school friend, Pony – now a successful rock singer with a video on MTV – sparks an extraordinarily explosive night of drinking, sex and violence as the friends air their resentments and examine the choices they’ve made. This is an edgy, sarcastic, captivating and thoroughly compelling drama about our disenfranchised youth, written by one of America’s leading contemporary playwrights.

Recommended for mature audiences

Other Theatre Department projects
FREE ADMISSION

Theatre for Social Justice
Created by Professor Kathleen Juhl and
Theatre For Social Change students

Activism, awareness, and understanding are the themes of the Department of Theatre’s Disability Project. During October, we will be leading classes, organizations, and the public in a tour around campus to enlighten audience members about disability access in specific sites and to the uncertainties of life whether you have a disability or not. Expect an entertaining and funny ride through the trials and tribulations but also the joys of life with a disability. Be prepared for an unexpectedly delightful walkin’ and rollin’ trip around the Southwestern University campus.


Dance Repertory Theatre
November 15–16, 2007
Directed by Judy Thompson-Price

Featuring the work of the Southwestern Dance Department and its gifted choreographers and dancers, this event celebrates the enduring power of movement in a visual and kinetic revelry. Experience a mosaic of vivid and imaginative dance works in varied styles. Allow your senses to delight in the unique expressive potential of music and bodies in motion.