July 28, 2011
STEPHENS COLLEGE ANNOUNCES
2011-2012
PERFORMING ARTS SEASON SCHEDULE
COLUMBIA, Mo.— Stephens College announces the 2011-2012 performing arts season schedule, featuring theatre, dance, music and film productions. Season sponsors are KFRU News Talk 1400 AM and Joe Machens Dealerships. Ticket sales begin on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011, in the Stephens Box Office, (573) 876-7199, boxoffice@stephens.edu. To order tickets online or for more information, visit www.stephens.edu/performingarts.
Playhouse Company
(Unless otherwise noted, all Playhouse performances are held in the Macklanburg Playhouse, 100 Willis Ave.)
Circle Mirror Transformation
7:30 p.m., Sept. 23-24; Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2011
2 p.m. Sunday matinee, Sept. 25
A smash hit off-Broadway, this comedy follows five students in an adult drama class in small-town Vermont. Gathering weekly at the local community center to play theater games, the characters make discoveries about themselves while their lives change in unexpected ways. Charles Isherwood of the NY Times called this play “the kind of unheralded gem that sends people into the streets babbling and bright-eyed with the desire to spread the word.”
Admission: $14, general; $7 student/senior
The House of Blue Leaves
7:30 p.m., Oct. 28-29; Nov. 4-5, 2011
2 p.m. Sunday matinee, Oct. 30
A Tony Award-winning show that recently enjoyed a revival on Broadway. This production really has everything: nuns, zookeepers, schizophrenics, GIs and even the Pope! It is a zany comedy that’ll seriously tickle your funny bone. It’s one of John Guare’s best plays that you won’t want to miss! Michael Musto’s Village Voice review summed it up best: “It clicks. It provokes. It entertains. It disturbs.”
Admission: $14, general; $7 student/senior
She Loves Me
7:30 p.m., Dec. 2-3; 8-10, 2011
2 p.m. Sunday matinee, Dec. 4
You’ll love this charming story that’s taken several forms over the years, most recently as the major motion picture “You’ve Got Mail,” featuring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Others may fondly remember the film variations “In the Good Old Summertime,” starring Judy Garland, or “The Shop Around the Corner,” starring Jimmy Stewart. This Tony-Award nominee is a lovely, heartwarming musical that’s perfect to share the joys of love during the holiday season. The NY Times called it “an intimate work with nothing on its sophisticated mind other than romance.”
Admission: $16, general; $8 student/senior
Lady Windermere’s Fan
7:30 p.m., Feb. 3-4; 10-11, 2012
2 p.m. Sunday matinee, Feb. 5
Oscar Wilde’s melodramatic comedy of manners captures audiences immediately through its vast webs of deception and intrigue. Wilde’s first play, which contains some of his most delicious and witty dialogue, will give your brain a workout and leave your heart tingling with joy. This story explodes with love triangles, secrets and everyone’s favorite … family dysfunction. “A radical diatribe against conventional morality,” says The NY Times, “like greeting old friends.”
Admission: $14, general; $7 student/senior
Wonder of the World
7:30 p.m., March 16-17; 22-23, 2012
2 p.m. Sunday matinee, March 18
(Performed at the Warehouse Theatre)
Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire, this fresh, off-the-wall comedy opened on Broadway in 2000 starring Sarah Jessica Parker. It is sure to make you laugh and hold you and never let you go. Variety said: “Lindsay-Abaire’s flair for the absurd combines nicely with an ability to pull laughs out of any situation. Absolutely hysterical.” And The NY Times described it as filled with “hefty laughter … exceedingly whimsical and playfully wicked … A top-drawer production.”
Admission: $14, general; $7 student/senior
The Goodbye Girl
7:30 p.m., April 27-28; May 2-4, 2012
2 p.m. Sunday matinee, April 29
“The Goodbye Girl” is a touching musical comedy, which is based on Neil Simon’s 1977 Oscar-winning film of the same name and featuring music by Marvin Hamlisch. As we close out another season, let this multiple Tony-Award nominee pull on your heartstrings and make you remember why you believe in love!
Admission: $16, general; $8 student/senior
Warehouse Theatre Company
(All Warehouse performances are held in the Warehouse Theatre, 104 Willis Ave.)
Sealed for Freshness
7:30 p.m., Oct. 5-8, 2011
This raucous comedy is set in 1968 during the heyday of Tupperware parties. Hostess Bonnie invites a group of neighbors over for a party. The guest list: perky, rich Jean; Jean’s cranky and very pregnant sister Sinclair; ditzy-blonde Tracy Ann; and new neighbor Diane, who’s made quite a career selling Tupperware, but at the expense of her marriage. The mix of personalities and the number of martinis consumed lead to a great deal of absurd high jinks plus revelations of an equal number of secrets and insecurities. The play “makes its audiences loopy with giddiness.” It’s one you won’t want to miss!
PG-13 - Mild Language
Admission: $8, general; $6 student/senior
Necessary Targets
7:30 p.m., Nov. 9-12, 2011
In this play, two American women, a Park Avenue psychiatrist and an ambitious young writer, travel to Bosnia to help women refugees confront their memories of war. Though the two have little in common beyond the methods they use to distance themselves from their subjects, they emerge deeply changed as they confront their own fears in the face of violence, resiliency and war. Based on interviews conducted by Eve Ensler with numerous women who survived the civil war in the former Yugoslavia, this show is a timely reminder of how America struggles to define its relationship with the rest of the world. USA Today says due to “Ensler’s straightforward intensity and delicate comic relief,” this show is “absorbing and moving.”
PG-13 - Mature Themes and Mild Language
Admission: $8, general; $6 student/senior
Beautiful Bodies
7:30 p.m., Feb. 15-18, 2012
This feel-good production chronicles six long-term friends in their mid 30s who trade confidences and witty exchanges. Set at a party to celebrate a friend’s pregnancy resulting from a one-night love affair, secrets begin to surface and tensions flare. As the circle of friends reveals all, they fight, and, ultimately, find comfort in this one-night gala. “It’s a smart, satisfying story about one of those nights when all the huge secrets get spilled and the stale air gets cleared,” says The Austin Chronicle.
PG-13 - Mild Language
Admission: $8, general; $6 student/senior
Top Girls
7:30 p.m., April 11-14, 2012
Marlene has been promoted to managing director of a London employment agency and is celebrating. The symbolic luncheon is attended by women in legend or history who offer perspectives on maternity and ambition. Marlene, like her famous guests, has had to pay a price to ascend from proletarian roots to the executive suite: she has become, figuratively speaking, a male oppressor and even coaches female clients on adopting odious male traits. Marlene has also abandoned her illegitimate and dull-witted daughter. Her emotional and sexual life has become as barren as Lady Macbeth’s. The NY Post calls it “very funny and provocative … a mind-lifting experience.”
R - Sexual References and Strong Language
Admission: $8, general; $6 student/senior
Dance
Senior Dance Concert
7:30 p.m., Dec. 9-10, 2011; 2 p.m. Sunday matinee, Dec. 11
Warehouse Theatre
The culmination of personal dance experiences reflected in the choreography of graduating dance majors.
Admission: $8, general; $6 student/senior
Stephens College Annual Dance Company Spring Concert
7:30 p.m., March 9-10, 16-17, 2012
2 p.m. Sunday matinee, March 11
Macklanburg Playhouse
Always an eagerly anticipated Stephens tradition, the Spring Dance Concert features a variety of dance forms such as classic ballet, modern dance, jazz and tap. A variety of world dance selections also highlights this evening of dance.
Admission: $16, general; $8 student/senior
New Works Dance Concert
7:30 p.m., April 20-21, 2012
Warehouse Theatre
Adjudicated student choreography performed by members of the Stephens Dance Company.
Admission: $8, general; $6 student/senior
Music
Bach’s Lunch
12:30 p.m., Sept. 29, Oct. 27, Nov. 17, 2011; Feb. 23, March 22, April 26, 2012
Historic Senior Recital Hall, 100 Waugh St.
Stephens students perform a variety of short musical showcases. A great way to spend your lunch hour! Free and open to the public.
Holidays with the Velvetones
7:30 p.m., Nov. 13, 2011
Historic Senior Recital Hall, 100 Waugh St.
The Velvetones, Stephens’ a cappella jazz ensemble, perform seasonal favorites.
Free and open to the public.
A Dickens Victorian Christmas
7:30 p.m.,Dec. 4-6, 2011
Historic Senior Hall Parlors, 100 Waugh St.
Join us for an authentic recreation of a Victorian Christmas Celebration hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Dickens featuring holiday music, period dance, refreshments, games and frivolity.
Admission: $15, general only
Freshman Music Showcase
3 p.m., March 17, 2012
Historic Senior Recital Hall, 100 Waugh St.
Stephens College freshmen music students share their work.
Free and open to the public.
Senior Music Showcase
3 p.m., April 14, 2012
Historic Senior Recital Hall, 100 Waugh St.
Senior music students show their best work of the semester.
Free and open to the public.
Annual Spring Choral Concert
7:30 p.m., April 22, 2012
Historic Senior Recital Hall, 100 Waugh St.
Enjoy performances by the Stephens College Choir and The Velvetones, the College’s a cappella jazz ensemble. For all ages.
Free and open to the public.
Film
Citizen Jane Film Festival
Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2011
Stephens College campus
This film festival features short and feature film screenings, panel discussions, and a video art performance and installation. Visit www.citizenjanefilm.org for more details.
Best of Year 2011 Student Films
7 p.m., Jan. 12, 2012
Charters Auditorium, 1405 E. Broadway
Stephens College film students show their best work of the semester.
Free and open to the public.
Senior Film Showcase
7:30 p.m., April 13, 2012
Macklanburg Playhouse
Senior film students present their short film projects. Followed by a Q&A with the student directors. Free and open to the public. Donations are encouraged.
Citizen Jane Film Series
Scheduled throughout the year
The Stephens School of Performing Arts capitalizes on the strengths of the College’s integrated media and performing arts, combining study in theatre, dance, music, film, radio, print production and television. Students perform alongside women and men enrolled in Stephens’ Professional Conservatory Training Program, a two-year, two-summer program that emphasizes performance-based studio work. Students who graduate from the school are equipped to work in the entertainment industry as actresses and actors, screenwriters and playwrights, filmmakers, digital film editors, set designers (film and theatre), and other related professional roles.
Stephens College, established in 1833, is historically committed to meeting the changing needs of women. Stephens prepares students to become leaders and innovators in a rapidly changing world, and engages lifelong learners in an educational experience characterized by intellectual rigor, creative expression and professional practice.
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