West Chester University’s Department of Theatre and Dance Returns to the Stage for a Live, Public 2021/22 Season
West Chester University’s Department of Theatre and Dance plans a return to live,
public performances for the 2021/22 Season. For information visit https://www.wcupa.edu/arts-humanities/theatreDance/.
Harvey Rovine, chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance says, “We are proud of the high-quality performances that our West Chester students and faculty in the Department of Theatre and Dance bring to our campus. This season, as in years past, there is a little of something for everyone. We invite the entire community to experience for themselves the professional nature of our productions.”
Tickets for all events with the exception of the Student Written One Acts, are an affordable $12, and can be purchased at www.wcupatix.com. The Student Written One Acts tickets are $5 at the door. All performances take place in one of three state-of-the-art, intimate theatres on West Chester’s campus.
THEATRE - The season opens with the classic PRIDE AND PREJUDICE from the novel by Jane Austin, adapted by Joseph Hanreddy and J. R. Sullivan. Running October 22 – 24, 2021, in the Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE brings all the wit and romance of the classic 1813 novel to life in a refreshingly fast-paced and engaging stage adaptation. Jane, Elizabeth, and Lydia Bennet are likely-looking girls in a period when a woman's one possible career is matrimony. Finding a husband may not be Elizabeth Bennet's most pressing concern, but with four sisters and an overzealous match-making mother, it's difficult to escape the subject. When the strong-willed Elizabeth meets the attractive but enigmatic Mr. Darcy, is it possible for them to look beyond his pride and her prejudice to make the best match of all?
THE TRIANGLE FACTORY FIRE PROJECT lights up the stage from November 19 – 21, 2021, in the MainStage Theatre. By Christopher Piehler in collaboration with Scott Alan Evans, the play is a detailed look at the events of Saturday, March 25, 1911, when flames sweep through the Triangle Factory. Panic-stricken workers run in all directions. Some make it to the fire escape, only to have it collapse beneath their weight. Others run to the exit door but find it locked. Dozens leap from the windows to their deaths, shocking the crowd of onlookers gathered below. And some, through bravery or sheer luck, make it out alive. By using real words spoken by real people - from Ukrainian seamstresses to millionaire Fifth Avenue socialites – THE TRIANGLE FACTORY FIRE PROJECT paints a heartbreakingly clear picture of a disastrous day in American history and explores the human toll such a tragedy takes on us all.
William Shakespeare’s THE WINTER’S TALE runs March 3 – 6, 2022, in the J. Peter Adler Studio Theatre. In this contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s classic, King Leontes tears his family apart with his jealousy, but grief unlocks his heart.
The annual STUDENT WRITTEN ONE ACTS are performed from April 2 - 3, 2022, in the J. Peter Adler Studio Theatre. Student-led in every production aspect, this evening of short, original student works reflects the issues and themes of today’s West Chester students.
INTO THE WOODS runs April 20 – 24, 2022, in the MainStage Theatre and is Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking musical inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ most popular folktales. With book by James Lapine, INTO THE WOODS imagines what would happen if famous fairytale characters were thrown together in increasingly dramatic and humorous ways. Cinderella, Jack (of bean-stalk fame), Little Red Riding Hood, and a Baker and his Wife set out into the forest on their quests to find "happily ever after." Along the way they meet Rapunzel, a Wicked Witch, a lascivious Wolf, vengeful Giants, a couple of charming Princes, and their own destinies. This beloved musical parable about the loss of innocence, the joys and sorrows of adulthood, and the price paid for getting the things you really want, is sure to challenge and delight!
DANCE - The 2021/22 Dance Season includes two works, both in the Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre. The FALL DANCE CONCERT on November 12 and 13 celebrates selected student choreography. From April 28 - 30, the SPRING DANCE CONCERT showcases various dance styles from WCU faculty, students and guest artists.
All faculty, staff, students, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth when indoors. Face masks may be worn when outdoors, but it is not an obligation of this policy notice. Mask and COVID-19 safety measures at West Chester University will continue to be updated here. Please check ahead for updated information before attending your performance.
West Chester University's Department of Theatre and Dance, an accredited institution of the National Association of Schools of Theatre, prepares students for the professional and the academic worlds of theatre and dance, while raising student awareness of civility, diversity, creativity, problem solving and social responsibility. The department offers a BA Theatre degree program with elective concentrations in Musical Theatre, Performance, and Design and Production, in addition to a dance minor and theatre minor.