West Chester University’s Department of Theatre & Dance Announces 2023/24 Season
West Chester University’s Department of Theatre and Dance today announced the 2023/24 season of spectacular dance concerts, classic and contemporary theatrical works, a provocative U.S. premiere, and a beloved musical from Broadway’s Golden Age.
Juliet Wunsch, chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance says, “The Department of Theatre and Dance has a strong history of bringing socially relevant, evocative, and celebratory productions to our community. We look forward to laughing, crying and questioning with you as we examine issues that resonate, history that demands reflection, and fun and creative stylistic approaches explored through the medium of theatre and dance."
Tickets for most events are an affordable $15 ($12 for students, seniors, and veterans with I.D.) and can be purchased after September 5, 2023, at http://www.wcupatix.com/theatreanddance. 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 University’s campus:
- The Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre, Swope Music Building and Performing Arts Center, 817 S. High Street, West Chester
- MainStage Theatre, E.O. Bull Center for the Arts, 2 E. Rosedale Avenue, West Chester
- P. Adler Studio Theatre, E.O. Bull Center for the Arts, 2 E. Rosedale Avenue, West Chester
2023/24 THEATRE & DANCE SEASON
Kiss Me, Kate - Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter, Book by Duncan Sheik. Book by Sam and Bella Spewack.
October 19 – 21 at 7:30 p.m.; October 22 at 2 p.m. - Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre, Swope Music Building and Performing Arts Center
Battle lines are drawn as a bickering divorced couple find themselves working on the same musical. Kiss Me, Kate is essentially two plays in one: the plot that we recognize from Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew is deftly woven into a larger story examining love, marriage, gender politics, and the joyful world of theatre people. This beloved multiple Tony-winning musical comedy features an explosive Cole Porter score with some of the composer’s wittiest lyrics and catchiest melodies, including the favorite songs “Another Op’nin’, Another Show,” “Brush up your Shakespeare” and “Too Darn Hot.”
Fall Dance Concert - November 10 & 11 at 7:30 p.m.; November 11 at 2 p.m.
Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre, Swope Music Building and Performing Arts Center
University Dance Company’s annual Fall Dance Concert focuses on work by current WCU dance faculty and professional guest artists with selected student work.
Me, War and Toy Grenade - A U.S. premiere by Ukranian playwright Nina Zakhozhenko
Presented in collaboration with “My Ukraine” design exhibit in the John H. Baker Gallery
November 16 -18 at 7:30 p.m.; November 19 at 2 p.m. - J. P. Adler Studio Theatre, E.O. Bull Center for the Arts
Since the Russian invasion of February 24, 2022, the lives of the Ukranian people have changed fundamentally. Me, War and Toy Grenade is a series of vignettes about people who are looking for ways to adapt to a new reality. Each of them faces a choice: go or stay, fight or hide, save yourself or help your neighbor. These are stories from "the rear": from the depths of the Kharkiv metro, from roadblocks in the capital's sleeping areas, from the occupied suburbs, from telegram chats and conversations with the dead. These are stories about love and jealousy, about care and helplessness, about confusion and hope that "in this new world in which we find ourselves, we can also play football, eat peaches and smile."
Three Sisters - By Anton Chekhov
February 29, March 1, and March 2 at 7:30 p.m.; March 3 at 2 p.m. - J.P. Adler Studio Theatre, E.O. Bull Center for the Arts
Anton Chekhov’s masterful drama Three Sisters redefined the form of theatre, bringing ‘theatrical realism’ to the modern stage. The Prozorov sisters long to leave their country estate and return to Moscow, but they find themselves trapped by financial hardships, tumultuous affairs, and their own inner demons. Chekhov navigates the sisters’ beautiful suffering with gentle humor, warmth, and compassion.
The Student Written One Acts of 2023 - By the Students of THA313
March 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m.; March 24 at 2 p.m. - J. P. Adler Studio Theatre, E.O. Bull Center for the Arts
The Student Written One Acts is an evening of short plays penned by the Theatre 313 Playwrighting Class that reflect the issues and themes that resonate with West Chester University students. Students serve as directors, designers, technicians, stage managers and, of course, actors to present this night of original student work.
Silent Sky - By Lauren Gunderson
April 4 - 6 at 7:30 p.m.; April 7 at 2 p.m. - MainStage Theatre, E.O. Bull Center for the Arts
When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she is not allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women “computers,” charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in “girl hours” and has no time for the women’s probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. Silent Sky, the true story of this 19th-century female astronomer, explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women’s ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them.
Spring Dance Concert - April 25 – 27 at 7:30 p.m.; April 27 at 2 p.m.
Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre, Swope Music Building & Performing Arts Center
University Dance Company’s annual Spring Dance Concert celebrates the creative choreography and design of WCU students in a variety of styles.