Our Season
FALL 2023 SEASON
Anatomy of a Suicide
by Alice Birch
Gladys G. Davis Theatre
September 21 – 24 & September 27 – October 1, 2023
Directed by Radhica Ganapathy
The play explores stories of three generations of women. Their lives play out simultaneously – staging periods from the 1970s, 2000s, and 2030s. It explores their complex inner states via their emotional, intellectual, and physical devastation.
Inclusivity Statement: Anatomy of a Suicide by Alice Birch depicts three generations of women in a family, staging periods from the 1970s, 1990s, and 2030s. As their lives play out simultaneously onstage, the play looks closely at generational trauma and suicide. This storytelling is an exploration of their complex emotional, intellectual, and physical devastation. Anatomy of a Suicide allows diverse and inclusive casting.
Ride the Cyclone
music, lyrics, and book by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell
Metropolitan Theatre
October 19 – 22, 2023
Directed by Ryan Scoble
It tells the story of the members of the St. Cassian High School chamber choir of Uranium City, Saskatchewan, who perish on a faulty roller coaster called "The Cyclone". Each tells a story to win the reward of a mechanical fortune teller — the chance to return to life.
Inclusivity Statement: The hilarious and twisted Ride The Cyclone has quickly become a cult favorite amongst musical theatre aficionados, because it so beautifully focuses on the philosophical questions surrounding the human condition and the human experience – What brings us together? What do we crave the most? What are our hopes/dreams? What makes a life well-lived? This piece focuses on six multifaceted human beings who are each grappling with their diverse identities and the legacies they leave behind. Because the writers of this piece prioritized the characters’ journeys of self-discovery over determining their physical characteristics, this show allows for diverse and inclusive casting.
Buy tickets to Ride the Cyclone
Celebration of Dance
Antoinette Falbo Theatre
November 2 – 4, 2023
Buy tickets to the Celebration of Dance
The Misanthrope
by Moliére
Directed by Joe Olivieri
Gladys G. Davis Theatre
November 16, 17, & 29 – December 3, 2023
The play spotlights the absurdities of social and literary pretension, focusing
on a man who is quick to criticize the faults of others, yet remains blind to
his own. This play satirizes the hypocrisies of French aristocratic society,
but it also engages a more serious tone when pointing out the flaws, which all
humans possess.
Inclusivity Statement: The Misanthrope by Molière is a play about dishonesty, decadence, vanity, intolerance and intransigence. As such, in the words of Richard Wilbur (whose translation of this French neoclassical play we are using): "In this play, society itself is indicted. It is true that falseness and intrigue are everywhere on view; the conventions enforce a routine dishonesty, justice is subverted by influence, love is overwhelmed by calculation, and these things are accepted, even by the best, as 'natural'." These issues are also a reflection of our current American society. We just need to turn on the news to see a perfect mirroring of the play. With the goal of showing this parallel to contemporary society, this production lends itself to diverse and inclusive casting.
Buy tickets to The Misanthrope
SPRING 2024 SEASON
Dance Now!
Lyell B. Clay Theatre
February 1 – 3, 2024
Artistic Director: Yoav Kaddar
Dance Now! is the annual concert presented by the Dance Program in the
School of Theatre & Dance here at West Virginia University.
The Book of Will
by Lauren Gunderson
Gladys G. Davis Theatre
February 29 – March 3 & March 5 – 8, 2024
Directed by Brianne Taylor
William Shakespeare wrote his plays in pieces, never putting all the parts together until the actors were on stage, for fear of someone stealing his work. But who’s to stop people stealing it after he dies? This is the conundrum faced by his friends. When a sub-par Hamlet rip-off hits a stage near the Globe Theatre, members of the King’s Men, are incensed. To try to put an end to the plagiarism and Will’s work for the ages, they hatch a plan to put it all down on pager, setting them off on a mad chase to find all the bits and pieces to create the First Folio. A funny, charming play about the battle to save a legacy, offering up excerpts of some of the Bard’s most beloved writing.
Buy tickets for The Book of Will
Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella (Broadway Version)
by Douglas Carter Beane, Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers, and Lewis Flinn
Lyell B. Clay Theatre
April 18 – 21, 2024
Directed by Lee Blair
Since her father’s death, Ella lives a life of servitude to her stepmother and stepsisters as they call her “Cinder-Ella” when she cleans ashes from the fireplace. From her own little corner of the world, she dreams beyond with hope for her, her village and its people. As if manifesting from her own thoughts, a journey of transformation ensues with a doubtful prince soon to be king, her rebellious friend, and the village’s crazy vagrant lady with a magical touch all showing Ella that happiness isn’t impossible to find.
A centuries-old folk tale told the world over, this classic musical take by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II steps into our modern world with a new book from playwright Douglas Carter Beane.
Buy tickets to Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella
Spring Showcase of Dance
Antoinette Falbo Theatre
April 25 – 27, 2024