15/16 MAINSTAGE SEASON Dream big with Northwestern Theatre and Dance

2015 TOP DRAMA SCHOOLCollege Magazine | Hollywood Reporter | Backstage Magazine

Join us for a diverse range of theatrical adventures including a cutting-edge rock musical, re-imagined Shakespearean and Greek classics, a gender-bending new interpretation of an early Sondheim comedy, thrilling and innovative new dance works, and a Pulitzer prize-winning play.

Welcome to one of the nation’s “Top Ten” schools for theatre!This season embarks on a diverse range of theatrical adventures that showcases the excellent work of award-winning faculty, guest directors, MFA design and directing students, as well as our talented undergraduate actors, dancers, and singers! Our season includes a cutting-edge rock musical, re-imagined Greek and Shakespearean tales, a gender-bending twist to an early Sondheim classic, innovative new dance works, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning play. We hope you will join us for all of these exciting journeys as a Wirtz Center subscriber!

Additionally, this season marks the fifth smash year of National Theatre Live at Northwestern University featuring outstanding performances from the most celebrated actors in the world including Benedict Cumberbatch, Helen Mirren, and more filmed live from London. Also making a triumphant fifth year return this year is the wildly popular Imagine U family theatre series with a new revival of one of its first produc-tions, the charming and delightful musical A Year with Frog and Toad. Another cause for celebration this season is the milestone production of the 85th Annual Waa-Mu Show at Cahn Auditorium! As Northwestern’s oldest theatrical tradition, The Waa-Mu Show provides undergraduates with the unparalleled opportunity to create an original musical each year exploring themes and stories that inspire them as college students and place themselves at the forefront of new musical theatre writing and continuing to push the limits of the “greatest college show in America” (Associated Press). Subscribers have exclusive access to tickets now before they go on sale to the general public in December.

Cover Photo: The Waa-Mu Show: GOLD, Justin Barbin Photography (2015).Inside Cover Photo: James and the Giant Peach, Justin Barbin Photography (2015).

Join us and dream big with Northwestern University

Theatre and Dance!

Ethel M. Barber Theater

Based on the Green Day albums American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, Johnny, Tunny and Will want to escape their suburban hometown and search for meaning and freedom in the city. They know they want something else - they’re just not sure what that is. Fear, war, and drugs soon prove easier choices than freedom, eroding their friendship and dreams, and forcing the three to face a new fast-paced reality. With a crazed rock pulse, Bailiwick Chicago Artistic Director and Northwestern Alumnus Lili-Anne Brown directs an intense look into the hearts of young Americans craving purpose in a cynical world.

*Post show discussion scheduled for Friday, 10/16 and Thursday, 10/22*Added 2:00 PM matinee on 10/24

OCT 16-25

Is it too late to set conditions after you’ve fallen in love? Banished by her uncle to the Forest of Arden, Rosalind disguises herself as a man and puts her would-be husband to the test, discovering both her partner and herself in an instant. Letting go and opening your heart are at the center of this contemporary production staged by MFA Directing candidate Risher Reddick in which violence and isolation give way to love, communion, and oh so much song and dance.

Ethel M. Barber Theater *Post show discussion scheduled for Friday, 11/20 and Thursday, 12/3

NOV 20-22, DEC 3-6

PAGE 5 BIG LOVE

Josephine Louis Theater

Fifty terrified brides fleeing an arranged marriage take refuge in an Italian Villa, with fifty angry grooms hot on their trail, hell-bent on reclaiming their “property.” As tensions rise and their trip down the aisle nears, sisters Thy-rona, Olympia, and Lydia hatch a desperate plan to escape the darker side of love and matrimony. MFA Directing candidate Gina Marie Hayes directs a radicalized version of an Aeschylus play that blows open the gender divide and gives new meaning to “until death do us part.”

*Post show discussion scheduled for Friday, 1/26 and Thursday, 2/4.

JAN 29 - FEB 7

Ethel M. Barber Theater

Rome is flipped upside down when a quick-thinking slave named Pseudolus attempts to win freedom in a matchmaking scheme that sparks a vaudevillian romp of Grecian slaves, soldiers, and whores! Turning the ancient comedies of Plautus into a farce for the ages, House Theatre Company Member and Northwestern Theatre Adjunct Professor Matt Hawkins directs this satirical Tony Award-winning musical comedy with a reimagined take on gender stereotypes, social class, and the intersection of love and comedy.

*Post show discussion scheduled for Friday, 2/12 and Thursday, 2/25*No performance on 2/18

FEB 12-28

Josephine Louis Theater

Northwestern University’s Dance Program Director Joel Valentin-Martinez leads the Artistic Direction of this year’s annual dance showcase of innovative and entertaining choreography by our distinguished faculty and guest artists. Using the foundations of contemporary modern dance, this evening will showcase a broad range of choreographic voices across the diverse and multi-cultural spectrum of many dance styles and techniques, creating an exhilarating and entertaining evening of performances.

*Post show discussion scheduled for Friday, 2/26 and Thursday, 3/3

FEB 26 - MAR 6

PAGE 8TEMPEST

Ethel M. Barber Theater

Through movement, original music, and Shakespeare’s transcendent language, this 90 minute production re-imagined by MFA Directing candidate Hannah Todd puts The Tempest on a living, breathing island where its primal magic is conjured in the bodies and voices of a nine-actor ensemble. The omniscient Prospero stands apart, wielding the island’s power to manipulate monsters and spirits, kings and drunkards, a treacherous sibling and a daughter in love. But is Prospero’s ability to control the forces around him worth the isolation it brings?

*Post show discussion scheduled for Friday, 4/22 and Thursday, 4/28

APR 22 - MAY 1

Josephine Louis Theater

Set in 1929 Florida, with factory mechanization on the rise, a group of Cuban immigrants maintain the cigar rolling industry with pride and tradition. As they toil away in the factory hand rolling each cigar, a well-dressed and well-spoken lector arrives and reads Anna Karenina to them, igniting their passions even as they struggle to uphold tradition in the face of encroaching modernity. Good-man Theatre Resident Artistic Associate and NU Theatre Professor Henry Godin-ez directs this Pulitzer Prize-winning play about the threat of change in a world where time is money, and the efficiency of encroaching machination makes factory workers irrelevant.

*Post show discussion scheduled for Friday, 5/13 and Thursday, 5/19

MAY 13 - 22

National Theatre Live returns for its fifth smash year at the Wirtz Center, broadcasting the best of British theatre live from the London stage to Northwestern University.

THE AUDIENCE | By Peter Morgan, Directed by Stephen Daldry Starring Helen Mirren Ethel M. Barber Theater, October 20 at 7:00 PM

Helen Mirren reprises her Tony Award®-winning role as Queen Elizabeth II in an encore screening of the original West End production of this hit play.

HAMLET | By William Shakespeare, Directed by Lyndsey TurnerStarring Benedict Cumberbatch Ethel M. Barber Theater, November 23-24, December 1 at 7:00 PM

Academy Award® nominee Benedict Cumberbatch takes on the title role of Shakespeare’s great tragedy.

CORIOLANUS | By William Shakespeare, Directed by Josie RourkeStarring Tom Hiddleton Ethel M. Barber Theater, December 8 at 7:00 PM

National Theatre Live’s 2013 broadcast of the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Shakespeare’s searing tragedy of political manipulation and revenge, Coriolanus features an Evening Standard Award-winning performance from Tom Hiddleston. Back by popular demand!

JANE EYRE | By Charlotte Bronte, Directed by Sally CooksonJosephine Louis Theater, February 2 at 7:00 PM This acclaimed re-imagining of Brontë’s masterpiece was first staged by Bristol Old Vic last year, when the story was performed over two evenings. Director Sally Cookson now brings her celebrated production to the National, presented as a single, exhilarating performance.

AS YOU LIKE IT | By William Shakespeare Josephine Louis Theater, March 29 at 7:00 PM *Starring Rosalie Craig Shakespeare’s glorious comedy of love and change comes to the National Theatre for the first time in over 30 years, with Rosalie Craig (London Road, Macbeth at MIF) as Rosalind.

*National Theatre Live is supported using public funding by Arts Council England and is proudly sup-ported by AVIVA. The Wirtz Center’s National Theatre Live broadcasts are sponsored by a generous grant from The Alumnae of Northwestern University.

Waking from hibernation in the Spring, Frog and Toad plant gardens, swim, rake leaves, go sledding, and learn life lessons along the way. The two best friends celebrate and rejoice in their differences that make them unique and special. Part vaudeville, part make believe, all charm, A Year With Frog And Toad tells the story of a friendship that endures, weathering all seasons.

Hal and Martha Hyer Wallis TheaterFRI 7:00 PM | 11:00 AM & 3:00 PM SAT | 2:00 PM SUNAll seats just $10. Recommended for ages 5-10yrs old.

NOV 6-22

Ticket Pricing Guide$25 General Public$22 NU Employees, Educators and Seniors (Over 62)$10 Full-Time Students (Under 30 with current ID)$5 NU Students (advance purchase only, $10 at the door)

Following the success of DOUBLE FEATURE AT HOLLYWOOD AND VINE (2014) and GOLD (2015) this beloved Northwestern theatre tradition strives to place itself at the forefront of new musical theatre writing, continuing to live up to its name as the “greatest college show in America” now in its 85th triumphant year.

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Please select your Waa-Mu date(s) below:

FRI, 4/29, 7:30 PM

ADD ON: THE WAA-MU SHOW | APR 29 - MAY 4, Cahn Auditorium

Yes, I would like to order before tickets go on sale to the public and guarantee the best seats in the house! Pricing: Waa-Mu tickets are $30 for Tier 1; $25 for Tier 2 general public; $22 for Tier 2 seniors and $10 for Tier 2 full-time students. Tier 1 = main floor and balcony center sections; Tier 2 = main floor and balcony side sections.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: Complete this form & return:

BY MAILNorthwestern UniversityWirtz Center Box Office1949 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208

IN PERSON (Between Aug 6-22 and Sept 1 -TBD)Due to summer construction in the Barber Lobby the Box Office will close on Aug 5 and reopen on Aug 6 in its temporary location at 1949 Campus Drive, Room 201. Elevator access is available. The Wirtz Center Box Office will reopen in mid-Sept after construction is complete.

Virginia V. Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts at Northwestern University

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Adult $148 Seniors (over 62) $132 (one/valid ID) NU Faculty/Staff $132 (one/valid ID) Area Educators $132 (one/valid ID) Full-Time Student $56 (one/valid ID) NU Student $28 (one/valid ID)

SAT, 4/30, 7:30 PM SUN, 5/1, 2 PM

THU, 5/5, 7:30 PM FRI, 5/6, 7:30 PM SAT, 5/7, 7:30 PM SUN, 5/8, 2 PM

# TICKETS $/TICKET SUBTOTAL

THANK YOU! Tickets will be mailed at the start of October. Subscriptions may not be refunded. If you have questions, please contact the Wirtz Center Box Office at (847) 491-7282. Box Office hours are Tue-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat Noon-4pm.

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Mainstage Performance Schedule

THU730PM

FRI730PM

SAT730PM

SUN2PM

Plays$25 General Public$22 NU Employees, Educators and Seniors (Over 62)$10 Full-Time Students (Under 30 with current ID)$5 NU Students (advance purchase only, $10 at the door)

Musicals$30 General Public$27 NU Employees, Educators and Seniors (Over 62)$10 Full-Time Students (Under 30 with current ID)$5 NU Students (advance purchase only, $10 at the door)

7-Play Subscription Prices - Reflects 20% savings!

Single Ticket Pricing Guide

Fall Quarter ShowsGreen Days American Idiot | As You Like It | A Year with Frog and ToadSingle ticket online Pre Sale: Sept 8Box Office Opens: Sept 22Winter & Spring Quarter Big Love | Forum | Danceworks | Tempest | Anna in the TropicsSingle Tickets on sale in January

SAT, 5/7, 2 PM

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