WMU Theatre

The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:53:10 +0000

The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later - An Epilogue

October 12, 8pm
FREE TO THE PUBLIC
D. Terry Williams Theatre

The creators of the highly acclaimed play The Laramie Project, which since 2000 has been one of the most performed plays in America, will premiere a compelling and groundbreaking epilogue to the original piece. Entitled THE LARAMIE PROJECT: 10 YEARS LATER, the play will be performed in New York at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, and over 100 other theaters in all fifty states, Canada, Great Britain, Spain, Hong Kong and Australia on October 12, 2009. Western Michigan University’s Department of Theatre has the honor of participating in this worldwide theatre event. The writers of this play are Tectonic Theater Project members Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris, and Stephen Belber.

A live webcast from New York’s Lincoln Center will be broadcast before the performance featuring host Glenn Close and speaker Judy Sheperd, Matthew Sheperd’s mother. Following the reading of the play, a panel discussion will be held featuring local community members Dave Garcia, Sarah Stangl, Reverend Matt Laney, Jon Hoadley and David Topping to discuss where we are as a community 10 years later in regards to LGBT relations.

The epilogue focuses on the long-term effects of the murder of Matthew Shepard on the town of Laramie. It explores how the town has changed and how the murder continues to reverberate in the community. The play also includes new interviews with Matthew’s mother, Judy Shepard, and Mathew’s murderer, Aaron McKinney, who is serving two consecutive life sentences. The writers also conducted many follow-up interviews with Laramie residents from the original piece, including Romaine Patterson, Reggie Fluty, Jedediah Shultz, Father Roger Schmidt, Jonas Slonaker and others.

In tandem with the premiere, an online interactive community will be launched where participants can blog, upload video and photos and share their stories about the play, experiences in preparing and presenting the Epilogue in their communities. The members of Tectonic Theater Project will be active participants in the online community, offering participants feedback and encouragement.

9 Parts of Desire

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 13:27:58 +0000

9 PARTS OF DESIRE
by Heather Raffo

September 24 - October 4
Directed by D. Terry Williams
York Arena Theatre

Actor and playwright Heather Raffo opens a dialogue between the east and the west in this profound and impassioned look at the lives of contemporary Iraqi women.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
September 24, 25, 26 - 8pm
October 1, 2, 3 - 8pm
October 4 - 2pm

THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR: A post show conversation with the director, cast and special guests will be held immediately following each performance. Join us for the October 4th performance and meet 9 Parts of Desire playwright, Heather Raffo for a live, Skype talk back.

Good Death

admin — Sun, 24 May 2009 13:51:06 +0000

GOOD DEATH
October 8 - 17
D. Terry Williams Theatre

WMU theatre students, in collaboration with members of the acclaimed Tectonic Theater Project, create an original play based on thought-provoking research and interviews with the Kalamazoo community on death and dying.

“Check conventional expectations of character, plot and spectacle prior to entering the theater…prepare for an evening that will challenge notions about how a play is created and performed, as well as preconceptions about life’s final rite of passage.”
- Gordan Bolar, Kalamazoo Gazette
Read the whole review

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
October 8, 9, 10 - 8pm
October 11 - 2pm
October 15, 16, 17 - 8pm

Tectonic Theater Project is dedicated to fostering an artistic dialogue with its audiences, creating socially relevant theatre based on real events. The Project’s groundbreaking plays include The Laramie Project, which examines the murder of Matthew Shepard, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife, about a German transvestite who survived the Nazi and Communist regimes in East Berlin.

THE STARS AND MOON CABARET: Enjoy performances by graduating seniors of our Music Theatre Performance program as they prepare for their New York showcase in the spring. Cabarets follow performances of Good Death on October 9, 10, 16, and 17.

Five Women Wearing the Same Dress

admin — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:47:51 +0000

FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS
by Alan Ball

October 29 - November 8
Directed by Mark Liermann
D. Terry Williams Theatre

The wicked and witty collide in this uproarious comedy by Alan Ball as five renegade bridesmaids bicker, banter, and form a connection.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
October 29, 30, 31 - 8pm
November 5, 6, 7, - 8pm
November 8 - 2pm

THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR: A pre-show conversation with director Mark Liermann will be held at 7pm Thursday, November 5th in the atrium lobby.

THE STARS AND MOON CABARET: Enjoy performances by graduating seniors of our Music Theatre Performance program as they prepare for their New York showcase in the spring. Cabarets follow performances of Five Women Wearing the Same Dress on October 30 and 31 and November 6 and 7.

Carousel

admin — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:43:07 +0000

CAROUSEL
By Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein

November 12 - 21
Directed by Jay Berkow
Laura V. Shaw Theatre

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic American musical combines passion and danger to tell a story of redemption and the power of love.

“In addition to humming a tune, one also leaves this show feeling transformed.” - Marin Heinritz, Kzoo Gazette
READ THE WHOLE REVIEW

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
November 12, 13, 14 - 8pm
November 15 - 2pm
November 19, 20, 21 - 8pm

THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR: A post-show conversation with director Jay Berkow will be held following the performance Thursday, November 19th.

THE STARS AND MOON CABARET: Enjoy performances by graduating seniors of our Music Theatre Performance program as they prepare for their New York showcase in the spring. Cabarets follow performances of Carousel on November 12, 13, 20, and 21.

Late Night Broadway

admin — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:49:00 +0000

LATE NIGHT BROADWAY

December 3 - 5
Directed by Jay Berkow
D. Terry Williams Theatre

Join the graduating seniors of our renowned Music Theatre Performance program as they share the stage with Broadway star Julia Murney for an evening of classic New York show tunes and the best of Broadway!

Cash bar available.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
December 3, 4, 5 - 9pm

Julia Murney last appeared on Broadway as Elphaba in Wicked after playing the role on the national tour, for which she received an Acclaim Award. Other New York credits include Lennon, Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party (Drama Desk nomination), The Vagina Monologues, A Class Act, Saved, Crimes of the Heart, First Lady Suite, and Time and Again (Lucille Lortel nomination). She’s been seen regionally all over the U.S.: Williamstown, Reprise!LA, Sacramento Music Circus, NCT, Rubicon and Goodspeed, to name a few; and in concert she has performed at Joe’s Pub, Feinstein’s, The Kennedy Center, Caramoor, Town Hall and Birdland, as well as with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. Among her TV credits are 30 Rock, Sex and the City, Ed, NYPD Blue, and all three Law and Orders. Her recordings include the original cast albums of The Wild Party and A Class Act, the Grammy nominated Actor’s Fund Benefit of Hair and her first solo album, I’m Not Waiting, which is available on Sh-K-Boom records.

Eurydice

admin — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:45:40 +0000

EURYDICE
By Sarah Ruhl

January 28 - February 7
Directed by Mark Liermann
York Arena Theatre

Sarah Ruhl crafts an arresting and inventive retelling of the Orpheus myth, approaching the love story with comic audacity, magical surrealism, and devastating pathos.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
January 28, 29, 30 - 8pm
February 4, 5, 6 - 8pm
February 7 - 2pm

THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR: A pre-show conversation with director Mark Liermann will be held at 7pm Thursday, February 4th in the atrium lobby.

As You Like It

admin — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:40:05 +0000

AS YOU LIKE IT
By William Shakespeare

February 18 - 26
Directed by Jim Daniels
Laura V. Shaw Theatre

Love in all its guises and the wit and beauty of Shakespeare’s language provide this romantic comedy with a sense of whimsy and delight.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
February 18, 19, 20 - 8pm
February 21 - 2pm
February 25, 26 - 8pm

THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR: A pre-show conversation with director Jim Daniels will be held at 7pm Thursday, February 25th in the atrium lobby.

THE STARS AND MOON CABARET: Enjoy performances by graduating seniors of our Music Theatre Performance program as they prepare for their New York showcase in the spring. Cabarets follow performances of As You Like It on February 19, 20, 25, and 26.

Chicago

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 13:44:26 +0000

CHICAGO
by John Kander & Fred Ebb

March 18 - April 2
Directed by Jay Berkow
D. Terry Williams Theatre

Kander and Ebb’s sexy, sophisticated, and sizzling musical about murder, corruption, greed, and showbiz brings all that jazz to the stage.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
March 18, 19, 20 - 8pm
March 21 - 2pm & 7pm
March 25, 26, 27 - 8pm
March 28 - 2pm & 7pm
April 1, 2 - 8pm

THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR: A pre-show conversation with director Jay Berkow will be held at 7pm Thursday, March 25th in the atrium lobby.

THE STARS AND MOON CABARET: Enjoy performances by graduating seniors of our Music Theatre Performance program as they prepare for their New York showcase in the spring. Cabarets follow performances of Chicago on March 19, 20, 26, and 27.

Tambourines to Glory

admin — Sun, 17 May 2009 13:50:08 +0000

TAMBOURINES TO GLORY
By Langston Hughes

April 8 - 18
Directed by Von Washington
Laura V. Shaw Theatre

Harlem Renaissance luminary Langston Hughes brings us this gospel play with music about a friendship put to the test when two women’s interests collide in a Harlem church.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
April 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 - 8pm
April 18 - 2pm

THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR: A pre-show conversation with director Von Washington will be held at 7pm Thursday, April 15th in the atrium lobby.

THE STARS AND MOON CABARET: Enjoy performances by graduating seniors of our Music Theatre Performance program as they prepare for their New York showcase in the spring. Cabarets follow performances of Tambourines to Glory on April 9, 10, 16, and 17.