The 2017-18 Mainstage season included a rotating repertory of "Topdog/Underdog" and "Exit Pursued by a Bear", "Assassins", "Three Sisters", Dance Now!, "Naga Mandala" and "The Three Musketeers".  

2017-2018 Mainstage Season

Topdog/Underdog and Exit, Pursued by a Bear

A Rotating Repertory in the Gladys G. Davis Theatre

" Topdog/Underdog" by Suzan-Lori Parks

September 21, 23, 27 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. September 23 and October 1 at 2 p.m.

Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play is a thrilling and darkly comic fable of brotherly love and sibling rivalry. Two African-American brothers, Lincoln (nicknamed Link) and Booth, were abandoned by their parents and have depended on each other for survival since they were teens. Trapped by their poverty, family history and ominously prophetic given names, the men find themselves locked in a dangerous game of deception, sparring over who’s the player and who’s the played.

" Exit, Pursued by a Bear" by Lauren Gunderson

September 22, 26, 28 and 30 at 7:30 p.m. September 24 and 30 at 2 p.m.

Nan has decided to teach her abusive husband Kyle a lesson. With the help of her friend Simon and a stripper named Sweetheart, she tapes Kyle to a chair and forces him to watch as they reenact scenes from their painful past. Through this night of emotional trials and ridiculous theatrics, Nan and Kyle are both freed from their past in this smart, dark revenge comedy.

 

"Assassins"

Music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman

Metropolitan Theatre

October 19, 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m.

October 22 at 2 p.m.

Stephen Sondheim’s multiple Tony Award-winning production  combines a blend of intelligently stunning lyrics and beautiful music with a panoramic story of our nation's culture of celebrity and the violent means some will use to obtain it, embodied by America's four successful and five would-be presidential assassins. 

"Three Sisters"

by Anton Chekhov

Gladys G. Davis Theatre

November 16, 17 and 28-30 at 7:30 p.m.

December 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m.

December 3 at 2 p.m.

 

In a small Russian town at the turn of the century, sisters Olga, Masha and Irina long to return to Moscow, the bustling metropolis they left 11 years ago. Ground down by disappointment, debt and the oppressive ordinariness of their daily lives, they’re never able to get there. Soldiers from the local military post provide them some companionship and society, but nothing can suffice to replace Moscow in their hopes. 

Dance Now! 2018

Lyell B. Clay Theatre

February 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m.

February 3 at 2 p.m.

 

WVU’s annual dance concert gives audiences the opportunity to experience a wide variety of styles in an eclectic and electric evening of choreography. A mix of student, faculty and guest choreographers join forces with visiting troupes to bring the best of dance to the Creative Arts Center. 

"Naga Mandala"

by Girish Karnad

Gladys G. Davis Theatre

March 1-3 and 6-9 at 7:30 p.m.

March 4 at 2 p.m.

Woven from two Indian folk tales, “Naga Mandala” is filled with magic and mysticism. A writer must stay awake all night in order to break a fatal spell. He searches for a story and finds one in the tale of a young bride, abused by her husband and seduced by a cobra. 

" The Three Musketeers"

Adapted by Catherine Bush from the book by Alexandre Dumas  

Gladys G. Davis Theatre

April 13, 14 and 17-21 at 7:30 p.m.

April 15 and 22 at 2 p.m.

A swashbuckling romp that cleverly updates the Dumas novel follows D'Artagnan as he arrives in Paris seeking to join the king's musketeers. In his haste, he offends three of the best musketeers—Porthos, Athos, and Aramis—and challenges each to a duel that afternoon. “The Three Musketeers” is a tale of heroism, treachery, close escapes and above all, honor.