2011-12 Subscription Series                                                                                     

Big action.
Big drama.
Big sounds.

Big fun!

From provocative new plays and intimate chamber music, to electrifying choreography and orchestral master works, you’ll enjoy our performances (and our future stars).

Experience every wink, nod, leap, and bound with the live action excitement of the performing arts.

University Theatres Mainstage Series

The fine print: Productions may contain nudity, sexual content, simulated violence, or other adult content. Please see details for each production on our website.

The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
Directed by Eric Forsythe
October 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15 at 8pm
October 9, 16 at 2pm
E.C. Mabie Theatre
Chekhov's masterpiece is so true to life it could have been written yesterday, particularly so in this new translation by Curt Columbus. An aristocratic Russian family tries to hold on in challenging economic times, to preserve a way of life amidst the inevitable pressures of "progress." When presented with options to fend off impending foreclosure, can the family rise to the challenge? A dramatic comedy about change, loss, renewal, and folly.
Order tickets for The Cherry Orchard

Stick Fly by Lydia Diamond
Directed by Tisch Jones
November 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 at 8pm
November 13 at 2pm
E.C. Mabie Theatre
An affluent African American family gathers at their Martha’s Vineyard vacation home as two sons plan to introduce their girlfriends to their upper class parents. Instead, they stumble into a domestic powder keg exposing secrets of prejudice, hypocrisy, and adultery. Will confrontations over race, the economy, and politics pull a family together…or tear them apart?
Order tickets for Stick Fly

Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Directed by Carol MacVey
December 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 at 8pm
December 4 at 2pm
David Thayer Theatre
A powerful, radically-condensed version of Hamlet like you’ve never experienced. Possibly the most influential tragedy in the English language, minimally staged and designed to draw you inside the heads and hearts of Hamlet, Ophelia, Gertrude, Claudius, Polonius, and Laertes as you accompany them through their epic struggles with treachery, revenge, love, and moral corruption.
Order tickets for Hamlet

In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Meredith Alexander
February 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 at 8pm
February 12, 19 at 2pm
E. C. Mabie Theatre
Yes, THAT kind of vibrator. Medical history reveals that the vibrator was the first small appliance to be electrified. Invented by a proper gentleman and scientist in a seemingly perfect Victorian home, the strange new device for treating “hysteria” in women (and occasionally men) resides “in the next room.” Sexually frustrated patients and the doctor’s energetic young wife help tell this historical (and hysterically comedic) story of love, marriage, and sexual awakening in the Victorian era. (Contains strong sexual content.)
Order tickets for In the Next Room

Big Love by Charles L. Mee 
Directed by Paul Kalina
March 29, 30, 31; April 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14 at 8pm
April 1 at 2pm
David Thayer Theatre
When 50 brides forced to marry their 50 cousins flee their weddings and seek refuge in an Italian villa—only to be discovered by the 50 jilted grooms—unimaginable mayhem and comedic chaos ensues. This highly physical and darkly impactful production takes Greek tragedy to a whole new level. You’ll plunge and soar on this rollercoaster of intense emotion, harsh realities, and the occasional pop song, rhythmic dance, or romantic moment. Can no one find true love?
Order tickets for Big Love

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Department of Dance

Dance Gala 2011
October 27, 28, 29; November 3, 4, 5 at 8pm
October 30; November 6 at 2pm
Space Place Theater, North Hall
Dance Gala 2011 is supported by the Iowa City Press-Citizen.
For more than 30 years UI’s Dance Gala has wowed audiences by showcasing some of the best choreography and dance from one of the most highly acclaimed dance programs in the country. Dance Gala 2011 will present a world premiere work by one of the greatest modern dance choreographers in the country, Trisha Brown, performed by elite UI Dance students. Come experience the best in dance and choreography – powerful energy, graceful flight, and electrifying performances led by our internationally-acclaimed faculty choreographers.
Dance Gala continues to sell out year after year, so order your tickets early!

Dance Gala Tickets (order online here)
$100 Patron Ticket (includes an $80 contribution to the UI Department of Dance through the UI Foundation), $20 nonstudents, $15 seniors (65+), $10 youth (0- 17 years), $5 UI students (with valid ID).

Dancers in Company Home Concert
March 1, 2, 3 at 8pm
Space Place Theater, North Hall
The UI’s premiere touring repertory company, Dancers in Company splashes onto campus with their hugely popular home concert. Now in its 28^th year, the company of UI Dance graduate and undergraduate dancers tours throughout Iowa and the Midwest each year, performing thrilling concerts and conducting outreach through lecture demonstrations for audiences of all ages. Don’t miss the only UI performance from this company of talented and exciting dancers and choreographers.

Dancers in Company Tickets (order online here)
Tickets are $12 nonstudents, $6 seniors/youth (over 65, under 18), $5 UI students (with valid ID).

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Martha Ellen Tye Opera Theatre

Turn of the Screw
January 27, 28 at 8pm
January 29 at 2pm
Englert Theatre 
Music by Benjamin Britten
Libretto by Myfanwy Piper
Directed by Alan Hicks
Do you believe in ghosts?
A governess arrives at a lonely English country house to care for two parentless children and something is very, very wrong. Wire-taught tension mounts as she gradually senses the truth....Evil has corrupted the children and she must fight it. This powerful and disturbing opera is based on the novel of the same name by Henry James: a tale of good versus evil, natural versus the supernatural, possession and exorcism. This haunting ghost story will have you on the edge of your seat.  
Order tickets for Turn of the Screw

Romeo and Juliet
April 26, 27, 28 at 8pm
April 29 at 2pm
Englert Theatre
Music by Charles Gounod
Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré
Directed by Alan Hicks
Experience one of the world's most enduring love stories:
Over the centuries, Romeo and Juliet has inspired all kinds of music from songs and symphonic poems to Broadway musicals and film scores. Shakespeare's timeless tale of impetuous, young lovers thwarted by their feuding Veronese families is propelled to the stage by Charles Gounod's sumptuous music. This famous love story delivers a timeless, tragic tale—from beginning to tragic end.
Order tickets for Romeo and Juliet 

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UI Orchestras