Put on your fur coats and grab the opera glasses. Ball State’s School of Music and its Department of Theatre and Dance has an upcoming season to rival any major metropolitan area. Let’s get cultured at the theater with this season’s must-sees.
University Singers Spring Cabaret
Directed by Alan Alder
How about some sparkle with that new year? Twenty-one of Ball State’s premiere performers sing and dance in their first Muncie performance of 2015.
When: January 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Sursa Hall
A Raisin in the Sun
Written by Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Lisa Dixon
Featuring Faculty member Dee Dee Batteast
Opening New Year 2015 and Black History Month with a classic, students will present this tale of an African-American family’s struggles to build a better life for themselves in southern Chicago in the 1950s. Racism, family tensions, and dreams come together in ways that reverberate throughout the ages in this groundbreaking tale.
When: February 6-7, 10-14 at 7:30 p.m.; February 8 at 2:30 p.m.
Where: University Theatre
Equus
Written by Peter Shaffer
Guest Directed by Matt Reeder
As one psychiatrist struggles to understand why a 17-year-old boy’s obsession with horses has led him to commit horrible deeds, he finds himself questioning human nature itself. The 2007 West End revival caused some hubbub when it cast Daniel Radcliffe in a role where he showed off a little more than just his talent. Note: Harry Potter got naked onstage and a Ball State student may get to follow in his footsteps.
When: February 20-26 at 7:30 p.m.; February 22 at 2:30 p.m.
Where: Strother Theatre
Muncie Symphony Orchestra: Video Games Live
Watch Mario flip through the air and World of Warcraft orcs pillage animated villages- all while approximately 70 of Muncie’s musicians perform epic musical compositions. In short, treat that inner geek to its dream night out.
When: March 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Emens Auditorium
Oklahoma!
Composed by Richard Rodgers
Written by Oscar Hammerstein II
Directed by Karen Kessler
Musical Direction by Robert Kvam, Dean of the College of Fine Arts
Choreography by Christie Zimmerman
In this western musical, audiences will watch as two stubborn people come to grips with their own feelings when faced with rivalry and competition for true love. Thomas Hischak called this Rodgers and Hammerstein production the “most influential work in the American musical theatre.”
When: March 27, 31 - April 4 at 7:30 p.m.; *March 28 at 8 p.m.; March 29, April 4 at 2:30 p.m.
*Special late start to accommodate theatre and dance alumni event.
Where: University Theatre
All You Need is Love
Artistic Direction by Audra Sokol
As the final show of the season, dance students will commemorate The Beatles in this concert named after their 1967 hit that preached the power of worldwide unity.
When: April 22-25 at 7:30pm
Where: University Theatre