We are thrilled to announce the dynamic works of our University of Utah Department of Theatre’s 26-27 season, which features iconic musical theatre titles and plays, ranging from Stephen King to Fosse, twelve angry jurors to twelve dancing princesses, Shakespeare’s Danish prince and Tom Stoppard’s secret genius. A quest to know and to belong threads through all of the titles. In reflecting on the core questions of the season, Selection Committee Chair and Associate Professor Alexandra Harbold referenced an email sign-off of actress Joyce Cohen, who among many other productions was in the film SLC Punk, “Esse quam videri” meaning "to be, rather than to seem."
Harbold said, “Our season is full of characters trying to make sense of the world around them and to stay true to their own inner compasses.”
We hope you’ll join us in the quest.
Carrie
Music by Michael Gore
Lyrics by Dean Pitchford
Book by Lawrence D. Cohen
Based on the novel by Stephen King
Director & Choreographer Erin Farrell Speer
Music Director Trevor Jex Coon
Meldrum Theatre
October 2–11
Carrie White is a teenage outcast who longs to fit in. At school, she’s bullied by the popular crowd, and virtually invisible to everyone else. At home, she’s dominated by her loving but cruelly controlling mother. What none of them know is that Carrie’s just discovered she’s got a special power, and if pushed too far, she’s not afraid to use it.
12 Angry Jurors
By Reginald Rose
Director Samantha Briggs
Studio 115
October 30–November 3
*On tour on November 3–4 and November 9–13
A 19-year-old man has just stood trial for the fatal stabbing of his father. "He doesn't stand a chance," mutters the guard as the 12 jurors are taken into the bleak jury room. It looks like an open-and-shut case—until one of the jurors begins opening the others' eyes to the facts.
Hamlet
By William Shakespeare
Guest Director Jamie Rocha Allan
Voice & Text Coach Sarah Shippobotham
Babcock Theatre
November 13–22
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Events before the start of Hamlet set the stage for tragedy. When the king of Denmark, Prince Hamlet’s father, suddenly dies, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, marries his uncle Claudius, who becomes the new king. “The play’s the thing…”
Sweet Charity
Book by Neil Simon
Music by Cy Coleman
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Director & Choreographer David Eggers
Music Director Trevor Jex Coon
Meldrum Theatre
February 12–21
Based on an original screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano
Produced for the Broadway stage by Fryer, Carr and Harris
Conceived, Staged and Choreographed by Bob Fosse
Hapless but unflappable Charity Hope Valentine desperately seeks love in New York City in the 1960s. In this exuberant, groovy, hilarious musical comedy, Charity tries again and again to find her dream and make something of herself. (Concord Theatricals)
The Twelve (World Premiere)
Written and Directed by Penelope Caywood
Kingsbury Hall
March 18-20
Some fairy tales ask you to wait for rescue. The Twelve is not that fairy tale.
A new original musical inspired by The Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Twelve is built in the tradition of contemporary ensemble musicals—emotionally driven and unapologetically of this moment.
In a kingdom where everyone is watched, ranked, and expected to perform perfection on demand, twelve sisters are spending their nights doing something the palace definitely didn't authorize. When their mysteriously worn-out shoes raise suspicion, the kingdom wants answers. The sisters have a few questions of their own.
The Twelve is currently in active development and will have a large cast and original score—a show being written specifically for the University of Utah and for the performers cast in it. The script is being written for this production, this stage, and this company. That's not a caveat. That's the point.
Arcadia
By Tom Stoppard
Director Alexandra Harbold
Voice & Text Sarah Shippobotham
Babcock Theatre
April 9–18
Arcadia moves back and forth between 1809 and the present at the elegant estate owned by the Coverly family. The 1809 scenes reveal a household in transition. As the Arcadian landscape is being transformed into picturesque Gothic gardens, complete with a hermitage, thirteen-year-old Lady Thomasina and her tutor delve into intellectual and romantic issues. Present day scenes depict the Coverly descendants and two competing scholars who are researching a possible scandal at the estate in 1809 involving Lord Byron. This brilliant play moves smoothly between the centuries and explores the nature of truth and time, the difference between classical and romantic temperaments, and the disruptive influence of sex on our life orbits—the attraction Newton left out.
Studio Series
After roughly 25 successful shows during our inaugural season of The Studio Series, it’s back for year two! This is our series of raw, unfiltered, underground, experimental, radically resourceful, stripped down/high impact productions.
Studio 115
Titles and dates TBD
Thank you to the DoT Season Selection Committee
Alexandra Harbold, Theatre, Season Selection Chair
Samantha Briggs, Theatre Teaching
Penelope Caywood, Youth Theatre & Theatre Teaching
Trevor Jex Coon, Musical Theatre Program
Jen Jackson, Sound Design, Performing Arts Design Program
David Schmidt, Musical Theatre Program
Robert Scott Smith, Actor Training Program
Erin Farrell Speer, Musical Theatre Program
Brenda Van der Wiel, Performing Arts Design Program
Chris DuVal, Department of Theatre Chair & Producer