Northwestern University News

CHICAGO, April 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ Art handlers with Mana-Terry Dowd LLC may set an industry precedent this month by being the first employees of a major art transportation company in Chicago to unionize.

'Moby Dick' -- Herman Melville's saga about Captain Ahab's pursuit of a great white whale -- will make its first fully-staged debut today, April 25 through May 4, and will be the subject of a free symposium at Northwestern University on April 12. The Melville classic is directed and adapted by David Catlin.

Each of Wolfgang Amade Mozart's vast number of compositions is considered a musical gem. Join Music Director Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as they celebrate Mozart's extensive catalog of masterpieces during the BNY Mellon Grand Classics Mozart Festival, a two-week exploration of the five pillars of Mozart's music - symphony, concerto, chamber music, opera and sacred music.

The Seldoms -- a Chicago-based contemporary dance company with a reputation for nontraditional performances -- will stage a theater work at Northwestern University from today, April 24 to 27 about the national discourse on climate change.

From today, April 24 through June 1, one of William Shakespeare's most famous histories 'Richard III' gets an innovative PNT treatment in this boldly re-imagined tale of power, treachery, seduction, and fate.

Not only has Northwestern University's 83rd Annual Waa-Mu Show snagged Joseph Jefferson ("Jeff") Award-winning Chicago-based director and actor Michael Goldberg to guest direct this year, the musical confection is partnering with Andy's Frozen Custard. The downtown Evanston store is creating a special Waa-Mu Concrete that will be available to sweet-loving Waa-Mu fans.

Tony-Nominated Director Randal Myler and multi-talented Music Director Dan Wheetman return to Lone Tree Arts Center (LTAC) to create a new vision for Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn after setting the bar high with Hank Williams: Lost Highway last spring and John Denver Holiday Concert in 2012. Returning to the roots of Mark Twain's classic American folktale, this production of Big River focuses on the talent and voices of the cast as they each become storytellers.

The Barrow Group announces its production of The Beautiful Dark by Erik Gernand. The play will run in the TBG Studio Theatre, 312 West 36th Street, floor 3, NY, NY from tonight, April 23 through May 18, 2014.

New Orleans

Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) and the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) will release a new live recording of the first-ever concert performances of Leonard Bernstein's complete score for the musical West Side Story featuring a stellar Broadway cast including Cheyenne Jackson and Alexandra Silber, and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, on June 10, 2014.

Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma announce Writers Theatre's World Premiere production of Days Like Today, with music and lyrics by Alan Schmuckler and book by Laura Eason, directed by Artistic Director Michael Halberstam, music direction by Doug Peck and choreography by Tommy Rapley. The production runs May 6-July 13, 2014 at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. The press opening is May 22, 2014 at 7:30pm.

Chicago Blackhawks chairman William Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz and his wife, Marilyn, are supporting the Northwestern University School of Communication by creating an endowment that will fund innovative student and faculty projects in the Theatre and Interpretation Center at Northwestern -- and rename the center.

Theatre Seven of Chicago and Stage Left Theatre announce the upcoming world premiere of Principal Principle, written by Theatre Seven Associate Artist Joe Zarrow and directed by Stage Left ensemble member Scott Bishop. Principal Principle is the third production of Stage Left's 32nd season and the second production of Theatre Seven's eighth season. Press opening is tonight, April 18th at 8:00 PM at Theater Wit, 1229 W Belmont. The production runs through May 18th.

Continuing its 26th Season, Lookingglass Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story, by Artistic Associate Sara Gmitter and directed by Jessica Thebus. In the Garden runs today, April 16 - June 15, 2014 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The Press Opening is Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 7:30 p.m..

CHICAGO, April 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ Art handlers with Mana-Terry Dowd LLC may set an industry precedent this month by being the first employees of a major art transportation company in Chicago to unionize.

Complete casting has been announced for Raven's revival of this later play by Tennessee Williams that was 'rediscovered' in acclaimed productions in London and New York. An autobiographical play that Williams first began writing around the time he started The Glass Menagerie, it concerns a young writer who in 1938 moves to a ramshackle French Quarter rooming house that's home to an assortment of desperate and eccentric characters. The New York Times said Vieux Carre is, along with The Glass Menagerie, Williams' other autobiographical memory play, one of two 'critical bookends' to Williams' career.

The Steppenwolf Theatre Company Ensemble has announced its newest member, playwright Bruce Norris. Among his many accomplishments, Norris is the author of The Qualms, playing July 3 - August 31 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre. Since 2000, Steppenwolf has produced seven of Norris's plays, including Clybourne Park and the world premieres of A Parallelogram, The Unmentionables, The Pain and the Itch, We All Went Down to Amsterdam, Purple Heart and The Infidel.

STAGE17, Chairman David Stoller (Executive Chairman of Reach4Entertainment), and President and Executive Producer Ondine Landa Abramson are pleased to present the world premiere of the original reality series Fan Fare which offers backstage scoop, from auditions to closing nights, as casts and creative teams from iconic Broadway shows reunite at the legendary Sardi's with Julie James, host of On Broadway from SiriusXM. STAGE17, a new digital entertainment destination for episodic fiction and reality programming, launched the original series on Sunday, April 6, 2014 and part two airs today, April 11, 2014.

Notre Dame's 85th annual Blue-Gold Game airs this today, April 12 at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.