UM School of Music, Theatre & Dance Announces 06-07 Theatrical Season

August 2006

Ann Arbor — The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance announces its 2006-2007 mainstage season. Featuring ten productions from the Departments of Theatre & Drama, Musical Theatre, Opera, and Dance, the season runs October 5, 2006 through April 15, 2007. This year’s productions explore the various aspects of labor and love, and how they often intertwine.

The season begins with the music drama The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein. Written in 1937, The Cradle Will Rock is best known for the events surrounding the play’s opening which made it a theatrical legend. Our production will recreate the energy and events of that opening night. Presented by the Department of Theatre and Drama, the play runs October 5 – 15, 2006 in the Duderstadt Center Video Studio. Guest Robert Benedetti directs.

Winner of the 1955 Tony Award for Best Musical, The Pajama Game, presented by the Department of Musical Theatre, recently won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Revival. A blend of earnest romance with satirical comedy, the musical’s score features numerous song standards such as “Hey There,” Steam Heat,” and “Hernando’s Hideaway.” Running October 12 – 15, 2006 at the Mendelssohn Theatre, The Pajama Game is directed by Mark Madama, associate professor of Musical Theatre, with musical direction by Cynthia Kortman Westphal and choreography by guest John MacInnis.

The Department of Musical Theatre follows The Pajama Game with The Pursuit of Persephone. Nominated for two 2006 Drama Desk Awards, The Pursuit of Persephone is the seventh collaboration of husband and wife team Peter Mills and Cara Reichel. The musical is the tale of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s brief, failed love affair with the beautiful and elusive debutante Ginerva King during his years at Princeton University. Their romance would spark Fitzgerald’s ferocious creativity and would inspire one of the most acclaimed novels of the 20th century, The Great Gatsby. The Pursuit of Persephone plays at the Duderstadt Center Video Studio from November 9 - 12, 2006. Chair of the Department of Musical Theatre Brent Wagner directs with musical direction by Brian Lewis, associate professor of Musical Theatre.

In honor of the 250th anniversary of his birth, the University Opera Theatre presents Cosìì fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Così fan tutte is the third and last of Mozart’s great operas written with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, following closely on the heels of their success with Don Giovanni. A complete union of words and music the opera was written at the summit of Mozart’s creative genius. The opera’s plot was considered scandalous during its time and only gained international popularity in the 20th century. Sung in Italian with projected English translations, the opera is directed by guest Pat Diamond with the University Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Martin Katz. Cosìì fan tutte runs November 16 - 19, 2006 at the Mendelssohn Theatre.

You Can’t Take It With You, directed by Malcolm Tulip, assistant professor of Theatre & Drama, promises to start the holidays with laughter. Opening to instant critical and popular acclaim in 1937, You Can’t Take it With You was the third hit by the playwriting team of George Kaufman and Moss Hart. The play won the coveted Pulitzer-Prize, a rarity for a comedy, and the film version the following year won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Engaging and wildly funny, You Can’t Take it With You reminds us what is truly important in life – the wholehearted pursuit of happiness. Presented by the Department of Theatre & Drama, You Can’t Take It With You runs December 7-10, 2006 in the Power Center.

The University Dance Company explores rites of passage in Rituals & Reveries. Highlighting the evening is a re-staging of Martha Graham’s seminal work for thirteen women, Primitive Mysteries, created in 1931. Guest faculty member Leyya Tawil, artistic director of the California-based Dance Elixir, presents Raincoat Rebellion. Exploring regeneration — whether cultural, urban, or personal renewal — Raincoat Rebellion is set at the moment of exaltation when the old is shed and the new is embraced. Faculty choreographers include Peter Sparling, Sandra Torijano, Robin Wilson and new faculty member Amy Chavasse. Rituals & Reveries runs February 1 – 4, 2007 at the Power Center.

Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer, presented by the Department of Theatre & Drama, is one of the most performed works of the 18th century. Declared the greatest play of its era by Samuel Johnson, She Stoops radically changed the structure of comedy, moving away from a sentimental style to one that resembles situation comedy. Directed by John Neville-Andrews, professor of Theatre & Drama, She Stoops to Conquer plays at the Mendelssohn Theatre, February 15 – 18, 2007.

Following the warm audience and critical response to its 2002 production of The Cunning Little Vixen, the University Opera Theatre presents another gem of Czech opera, The Bartered Bride by Bedrich Smetana. The opera has become a worldwide favorite since its 1870 premiere and is presented with almost as much frequency as his symphonic favorite “My Fatherland” (“Ma Vlast”). A celebration of rural life and love, The Bartered Bride runs March 15 - 18, 2007 at the Power Center and is directed by Joshua Major with the University Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton of Andrew George. Sung in Czech with projected English translations.

The season concludes with The Who’s Tommy. The original album’s debut in 1969 made pop history by blending a rock-n-roll sound with a slender plot that carried throughout the double album’s twenty-four songs like a classical song cycle. Tommy came to Broadway in 1993 under the collaboration of songwriter Pete Townsend and director Des McAnuff. Earning a record breaking eleven Tony Award nominations, the musical won five including Best Score. Directed and choreographed by Linda Goodrich, The Who’s Tommy plays at the Power Center from April 12 – 15, 2007. Cynthia Kortman Westphal serves as musical director.

The season rounds out with the grand opening of the Arthur Miller Theatre in late spring 2007. The Theatre, located within the Walgreen Drama Center on the UM north campus, is the only venue to bear the name of the quintessential American playwright and University of Michigan alumnus. As part of the opening celebration, a symposium will explore the playwright’s influence throughout the world. Information on the play title and dates as well as the symposium and other ancillary events will be announced this fall.

This season, the Department of Theatre & Drama will host post-performance discussions immediately following the first Friday performances of all Department productions (The Cradle Will Rock, You Can’t Take It With You, and She Stoops to Conquer). Moderated by members of the department faculty and featuring a rotating array of cast and artistic team members, Curtain Call Fridays offer an opportunity for audience members to talk about the production, exploring topics that range from the rehearsal process to character development to the creative decisions behind the production or issues raised by the work. The discussions are free and open to all.

Tickets are on sale now for the 2006-2007 Power Series, a subscription package for all shows presented in the Power Center – You Can’t Take It With You, Rituals & Reveries, The Bartered Bride and The Who’s Tommy. Tickets for the four show series are $76 and $56 depending on seat location. For more information on the Power Series subscription package, call the League Ticket Office at (734) 764-2538.

Single tickets for all nine performances go on sale online August 17, 2006, with in-person and phone sales beginning September 5. Ticket prices are $22 and $16 with students only $9 with ID. Tickets are available at the League Ticket Office, located within the Michigan League on UM Central Campus. The Ticket Office is open from 9 am – 5 pm, Monday through Friday, and from 10 am to 1 pm, Saturday. Reservations may be made by phone at (734) 764-2538 or online at www.music.umich.edu. All major credit cards are accepted.