Theatre

Ellen McLaughlin’s fresh, fast-paced comedy, inspired by the Aristophanes play, follows Lysistrata, an Athenian housewife, who calls for the women of Greece to help end the Peloponnesian War. She proposes a radical plan: all Greek women must refuse to engage in lovemaking until the men see reason, lay down their arms and come home to lay down with their wives in peace. The women agree to make the sacrifice and pandemonium ensues as men wander the country in an agony of unsatisfied lust. Will Lysistrata and her crew accomplish what the politicians could not?

Ellen McLaughlin’s fresh, fast-paced comedy, inspired by the Aristophanes play, follows Lysistrata, an Athenian housewife, who calls for the women of Greece to help end the Peloponnesian War. She proposes a radical plan: all Greek women must refuse to engage in lovemaking until the men see reason, lay down their arms and come home to lay down with their wives in peace. The women agree to make the sacrifice and pandemonium ensues as men wander the country in an agony of unsatisfied lust. Will Lysistrata and her crew accomplish what the politicians could not?

Ellen McLaughlin’s fresh, fast-paced comedy, inspired by the Aristophanes play, follows Lysistrata, an Athenian housewife, who calls for the women of Greece to help end the Peloponnesian War. She proposes a radical plan: all Greek women must refuse to engage in lovemaking until the men see reason, lay down their arms and come home to lay down with their wives in peace. The women agree to make the sacrifice and pandemonium ensues as men wander the country in an agony of unsatisfied lust. Will Lysistrata and her crew accomplish what the politicians could not?

Indie singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane joins the WCFSO for the Midwest premiere of his acclaimed Crane Palimpsest for baritone and chamber orchestra, a 2012 work in which this gifted composer/performer explores connections between the worlds of popular and classical music. 

Linking these two worlds are Fairy Queen by Henry Purcell and Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony.  Purcell captures the earthy English Baroque imagination in his adaptation of Shakespeare's outdoor fantasy Midsummer Night's Dream, while Beethoven conveys the everyday sound of the 19th century through this evocative orchestral depiction of nature. 

The Department of Theatre will hold auditions for fall productions of Lysistrata and November. Returning students are encouraged to attend on Sunday, Aug. 19. New students and non-theatre majors are encouraged to attend on Monday, Aug. 20. Actors who are called back may have evening commitments on Aug. 21 and Aug. 22. Those with special circus skills should plan to attend on Thursday, Aug. 23.

A princess, an unhappy royal fairy, a spinning, wheel and a prince who saves the day! The Sturgis Youth Theatre, a program of the University of Northern Iowa Department of Theatre, is offering a production of "The Spell of Sleeping Beauty." The production will play from July 19 through July 22, in the Bertha Martin Theatre, in UNI's Strayer-Wood Theatre.

Students in fourth grade and higher are participating in a theatre camp. The production is directed by Gretta Berghammer, professor of drama and theatre for youth at UNI. The Sturgis Youth Theatre was founded in 1999 by Berghammer and was created to provide quality productions, meaningful production experiences and varied theatre study opportunities for youth in Cedar Falls and the surrounding communities.

Performances will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 19; 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., Friday, July 20; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Saturday, July 21; and 2 p.m., Sunday, July 22. Tickets are $7 and may be purchased by calling the Strayer-Wood Theatre box office at 319-273-6381 or online at http://www.vpaf.uni.edu/unitix/.

In this comedy, Shakespeare weaves together two ancient folk myths, one involving a vengeful, greedy Jewish creditor trying to exact a pound of flesh from a Christian over an unpaid debt, the other involving a marriage suitor’s choice among three chests to win the hand of his beloved. How does one harmonize the Elizabethan anti-Semitic portrayal of Shylock with the fairy-tale romance of Portia and Bassanio? And then make this experience relevant and comedic to a contemporary audience? Join us as we celebrate the final production in our exploration of politically-themed work.

Story and Book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming

Music and Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe

Directed by Patrick Elkins-Zeglarski 

Based on events as chronicled in Weekly World News, Bat Boy: The Musical is a musical comedy/horror show about a half boy/half bat creature who is discovered in a cave near Hope Falls, West Virginia. For lack of a better solution, the local sheriff brings Bat Boy to the home of the town veterinarian, Dr. Parker, where he is eventually accepted as a member of the family and taught to act like a “normal” boy by the veterinarian’s wife, Meredith, and teenage daughter, Shelley. Bat Boy is happy with his new life, but when he naively tries to fit in with the narrow-minded people of Hope Falls, they turn on him, prodded by the machinations of Dr. Parker, who secretly despises Bat Boy. Shelley and Bat Boy, who have fallen in love, run away together from the ignorant townfolk and have a blissful coupling in the woods, but their happiness is shattered when Meredith arrives and reveals a secret. Soon the entire town arrives and hears the shocking story of Bat Boy’s unholy origin.  In between the howls of laughter and using virtually every style of music, Bat Boy: The Musical tackles American prejudice, the fierceness of modern religion, genetic engineering, and lots more.

Story and Book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming

Music and Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe

Directed by Patrick Elkins-Zeglarski 

Based on events as chronicled in Weekly World News, Bat Boy: The Musical is a musical comedy/horror show about a half boy/half bat creature who is discovered in a cave near Hope Falls, West Virginia. For lack of a better solution, the local sheriff brings Bat Boy to the home of the town veterinarian, Dr. Parker, where he is eventually accepted as a member of the family and taught to act like a “normal” boy by the veterinarian’s wife, Meredith, and teenage daughter, Shelley. Bat Boy is happy with his new life, but when he naively tries to fit in with the narrow-minded people of Hope Falls, they turn on him, prodded by the machinations of Dr. Parker, who secretly despises Bat Boy. Shelley and Bat Boy, who have fallen in love, run away together from the ignorant townfolk and have a blissful coupling in the woods, but their happiness is shattered when Meredith arrives and reveals a secret. Soon the entire town arrives and hears the shocking story of Bat Boy’s unholy origin.  In between the howls of laughter and using virtually every style of music, Bat Boy: The Musical tackles American prejudice, the fierceness of modern religion, genetic engineering, and lots more.

In this comedy, Shakespeare weaves together two ancient folk myths, one involving a vengeful, greedy Jewish creditor trying to exact a pound of flesh from a Christian over an unpaid debt, the other involving a marriage suitor’s choice among three chests to win the hand of his beloved. How does one harmonize the Elizabethan anti-Semitic portrayal of Shylock with the fairy-tale romance of Portia and Bassanio? And then make this experience relevant and comedic to a contemporary audience? Join us as we celebrate the final production in our exploration of politically-themed work.