UArts Tickets
University of the Arts ~ 2011-2012 Season
Current Show
Big River
February 23, 2012 - February 25, 2012
Music and lyrics by Roger Williams
Book by William Hauptman
Adapted from the novel by Mark Twain
Directed by Frank Anzalone
With special guest star Forrest McClendon
Mark Twain’s timeless classic sweeps us down the mighty Mississippi as the irrepressible Huck Finn helps his friend Jim, a slave, escape to freedom at the mouth of the Ohio River. Their adventures are set to an award-winning score by the “king of country music,” Roger Miller. This concert presentation will feature students and faculty from the Brind School, including Tony Award nominee Forrest McClendon, recently seen on Broadway in The Scottsboro Boys.
Upcoming Shows
Chicago
March 21, 2012 - March 24, 2012
Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins
Directed by Rick Stoppleworth
In roaring twenties Chicago, chorine Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband Amos to take the rap – until he finds out he’s been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to Death Row, Roxie and another murderess, Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the American Dream: fame, fortune and acquittal.
Senior Directing Project - Colorado
April 13, 2012 - April 15, 2012
By Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
Directed by Lauren Gates
I want to use this crown to change the world! If I can just change one life, one little insignificant life, I think it will justify the beauty that God has given me." So ends the victory speech of seventeen-year-old Tracey Ackhart upon her coronation as Miss Late Teen Colorado. Alas, a day before the national pageant in Virginia Beach, Tracey disappears, hurling the rest of her family, whose lives until then had revolved around her, into disarray. Grace and Ron, Tracey's mismatched parents, differ in the way they cope. Travis, Tracey's awkward, sexually awakening younger brother, is unsure how to feel about a sister who ruthlessly tormented him. The ties of family begin to fray, flashbacks uncover mystery, and startling discoveries and revelations hurtle the entire family towards an emotional abyss. Darker memories emerge, nervous breakdowns erupt, the cause of Tracey's disappearance is uncovered.
The House of Bernarda Alba
April 20, 2012 - April 28, 2012
By Federico Garcia Lorca
In a new English version by David Hare
Directed by Rosey Hay
Five unmarried daughters live together in the house of their mother, Bernarda Alba, in an atmosphere of simmering sexual desire, jealousy and fear. When one of them begins a clandestine affair with her sister’s suitor, the consequences are devastating. Lorca’s masterpiece of love, oppression and loathing was completed just months before he was murdered by Franco’s supporters in 1936.
Little Women
May 4, 2012 - May 6, 2012
Adapted by Jacqueline Goldfinger
From the novel by Louisa May Alcott
Directed by Maureen Sweeney
In this affecting, delightful adaptation of Alcott’s classic novel, the four spirited March sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy – endeavor to sustain their family in the absence of their father, who is away fighting the Civil War. Led by their devoted Marmee, each girl struggles to overcome her own limitations to become the best version of herself, even in the midst of disease, jealousy, and poverty. Playwright Jacqueline Goldfinger is a member of the Brind School faculty.
Past Shows
First Lady Suite
September 29, 2011 - October 2, 2011
By Michael John LaChiusa
Directed by Dr. Patricia Raine
Four one-act musicals by one of the most original voices in contemporary musical theater. What is it like being married to the most powerful political figure in the world? These unique and unexpected vignettes of celebrated First Ladies like Jackie Kennedy, Mamie Eisenhower, Bess Truman, and Eleanor Roosevelt will intrigue and astonish you.
Top Girls
October 6, 2011 - October 9, 2011
By Caryl Churchill
Directed by Jackson Gay
Marlene has it made – a successful job as an executive in a top London employment agency. A big promotion seems like an occasion to celebrate, but Marlene can’t help thinking about the price she’s paid to be a “top girl.” Director Jackson Gay is a Brind School alum whose work at Sundance, the Alley Theater and People’s Light has earned her national acclaim.
High Fidelity
October 14, 2011 - October 22, 2011
Lyrics by Amanda Green
Music by Tom Kitt
Book by David Lindsay-Abaire
Based on the novel by Nick Hornby and the Touchstone Pictures film
Directed by Megan Nicole O'Brien
Rob Gordon, the thirty-something proprietor of a Brooklyn record shop, knows everything about music but nothing about relationships. When his most recent girlfriend dumps him, Rob has to learn to take life and love as seriously as he takes music. Tom Kitt’s high-voltage score channels the sounds of classic rock and soul. Brind School alum Megan Nicole O’Brien is the Barrymore-winning Resident Director for 11th Hour Theatre Company. A Philly premiere!
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
November 3, 2011 - November 6, 2011
By Christopher Hampton, from the novel by Choderlos de Laclos
Directed by Amy Dugas Brown
Rich and bored aristocrats in Rococo France play high-stakes games of passion and betrayal. This tale of intrigue, seduction, humiliation, and revenge won 3 Oscars when the play was adapted for the screen as Dangerous Liaisons in 1988.
“Comedy of the highest theatrical kind: edged with danger, replete with pain and forever reminding us that lives are being ruined with the flick of a well-turned phrase.” – The Guardian
The Good Person of Szechwan
November 11, 2011 - November 19, 2011
By Bertolt Brecht
Translated by John Willett
Music by Paul Dessau
Directed by Heinz-Uwe Haus
Good fortune brings the prostitute Shen Te an unexpected windfall, but when she tries to live as a “good person,” she finds that no good deed goes unpunished. Guest director Dr. Heinz-Uwe Haus, a member of the faculty at the University of Delaware’s Professional Theater Training Program, is an internationally renowned director and is considered one of the world’s leading authorities on Bertolt Brecht.
Junior Directing Showcase - An Evening of One-Act Plays
December 2, 2011 - December 3, 2011
The Junior directing class of the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts invites you to an exciting program of one-act plays by contemporary authors in a wide variety of styles and genres. Join us for an evening complete with tales of love, flights of fancy, of fairy tales and paranoia!
In THE PROBLEM, by A. R. Gurney, a upscale couple discover they are expecting a child, even though they haven’t been with each other intimately in over five years. Michael Niederman’s EVERY MAN is a modern-day version on the story of Peter Pan with an unexpected sinister twist. TAPE, by Jose Rivera, presents a dark interpretation of the afterlife in which all persons are finally equally, unidentified and shockingly accountable. BLOOD ORANGES, by Brind School faculty member Jacqueline Goldfinger, portrays a couple in a failing Florida orange grove with a strange and unconventional love for one another. Jane Martin’s BEAUTY is a play about two women, one bright, one beautiful, who desperately crave each other’s problems. And BABY FOOD, by David Lindsay-Abaire, is a contemporary comedy about an off-kilter couple desperately searching for godparents for their newborn infant.
The plays are directed by Brey Ann Barrett, Leigh Bicica, Elaina Di Monaco, Dalton Gough, Brad Ogden and Jessica Schwartz.
Winter Dances I
December 8 and 10, 2011 at 7:00 PM
Featuring choreographic works by faculty and visiting artists to include:
Netta Yerushalmy (visiting artist)
Excerpt from William Forsythe's work "Vile Parody of A Dress" directed by Douglas Becker (visiting artist)
Tommy Waheed (visiting artist)
Christine Cox (faculty member)
Helen Simoneau (visiting artist)
December 9, 2011 at 7:00 PM and December 10, 2011 at 2:00 PM
An evening of Music and Dance
School of Dance works featured include:
Wayne St. David (faculty) in collaboration with School of Music faculty Dr. Annette DiMedio
Excerpts from "La Fille Mal Gardee" set by Anastasia Babayeva (faculty)
Robert Burden (visiting artist)
School of Music works featured include an array of vocals and instrumental arrangements.
Winter Dances II
December 15, 2011 - December 16, 2011
featuring choreographic works by faculty and visiting artists to include:
Nicholas Leichter (visiting artist)
ZaneBooker (faculty)
DJ Smart (visiting artist and alumnae)
Roni Koresh (faculty)
Excerpts from Forsythe Repertory directed by Douglas Becker (visiting artist)
Brian Sanders (faculty)
New Play Festival
January 29, 2012 - February 5, 2012
New plays are the lifeblood of the theater of the future, and the Brind School is committed to providing its students with a range of experiences creating and developing new plays. Amy Feinberg, head of the Brind School’s DPP program, will curate an event featuring developmental readings of a new play and new musical.
Performance schedule
Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 6:00 PM - Student Pieces
Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 7:00 PM - Match
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 7:00 PM - Leading Lady
Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 2:00 PM - Leading Lady
Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 8:00 PM - Match
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2:00 PM - Leading Lady
Senior Directing Project - To Live Better
February 17, 2012 - February 19, 2012
To Live Better takes us into the heart of hope that keeps beating through the gun shots, murders, broken homes and broken dreams of the border drug cartel war in Juarez Chihuahua, Mexico and El Paso, Texas. Drawing from the stories of its citizens and the media we embark on a journey that brings to life the drive, compassion, and resilience that keeps these Border Land people afloat.
