LaChiusa's THE WILD PARTY, TWELFTH NIGHT & More Set for Texas Theatre and Dance's 2015-16 Season

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance announces the 2015-2016 season, a striking range of works including a cherished romantic comedy, a decadent musical, bold, new choreography, and the transformative story of a young girl's perseverance while under the darkest shadow of war.

"Our season begins with a symbol of the Holocaust, one that is more powerful and enduring than any Nazi evil. The beauty and profundity of a diary written by a Jewish girl hiding for over two years in an Amsterdam attic is the subject of our first offering this season. Presented in recognition of the 70th anniversary of the Allied liberation of the Nazi death camps, The Diary of Anne Frank is the centerpiece for a two-day festal of literature, dance, art, music and scholarship focusing on the Holocaust and the many works of art written and performed by its victims," shares Dr. Brant Pope, chairman of the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin.

"Our theatre season also features the Shakespearean classic Twelfth Night and the Roaring Twenties musical hit, The Wild Party which won Obie, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for its extraordinary book and score. Four new plays will culminate our theatre season as part of UTNT (UT New Theatre), which features the work of our internationally celebrated playwriting program. Under the new leadership of Charles O. Anderson, our dance season offers two new programs of original work including Bodies & Souls, featuring the work of acclaimed choreographers who have worked with our students to create premiere pieces for you, our audience."

In addition, the department is partnering with ZACH Theatre on the co-production of Tomás and the Library Lady, a story of a young son of migrant farm workers. A chance encounter brings him to the local Carnegie Library where he meets a "library lady" who recognizes his thirst for knowledge and encourages him to read. Presented on ZACH's Whisenhunt Stage January 22-February 20, 2016, this inspirational story for family audiences suggests what reading - and self-respect - can make possible.

Tickets for the Subscription Series are on sale beginning August 5 at JoinTheDrama.org, or by calling (512) 471-4454. Subscription Packages range in price from $60 to $160. In addition to saving 20% or greater off ticket prices for season performances, subscribers enjoy preferred seating and free and easy ticket exchanges.

Individual tickets for Texas Theatre and Dance performances go on sale September 9 at authorized ticket outlets, which include the Bass Concert Hall Box Office, most H-E-B stores and all Texas Box Office outlets, online at JoinTheDrama.org, or by calling (512) 477-6060 or (800) 982-BEVO (2386). Tickets for Tomás and the Library Lady may be purchased through ZACH Theatre at 512-476-0541 (ext. 1) beginning August 10.

THE 2015-2016 SUBSCRIPTION SERIES

The Diary of Anne Frank
A Play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
October 8-18, 2015

A story known across the world, The Diary of Anne Frank is the haunting, yet inspiring account of a young Jewish girl and her family's lives during World War II. Seeking refuge from Nazi persecution, Anne, along with seven others, hid in a "secret annex" in Amsterdam for two years. Told through recordings in Anne's cherished diary, the play stands as a timeless reflection of her fear, hope and faith during one of the darkest periods in history.

Dance Repertory Theatre presents
Fall For Dance
November 12-15, 2015

Exploring the genre of contemporary ballet, Fall For Dance features works by former San Francisco Ballet dancer and artistic director of The Foundry, Alex Ketley; former dancer with Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and guest artist with La La La Human Steps, Manuel Vignoulle; and Texas Theatre and Dance faculty members David Justin and Andrea Beckham.

The Wild Party
Music and Lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa
Book by Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe
Based on the poem by Joesph Moncure March
November 20-December 5, 2015

Set in Manhattan in the Roaring Twenties, vaudeville performer Queenie and her volatile partner, Burrs, host an evening of excess for their guests; a collection of the unruly and undone. The jazz and gin-soaked party rages to a mounting sense of threat as artifice and illusion are stripped away. When midnight debauchery leads to tragedy at dawn, this dark and decadent musical reminds us that no party lasts forever.

Twelfth Night
By William Shakespeare
February 26 - March 6, 2016

Following a shipwreck on a strange shore, Viola fears her brother dead and is forced to build a new life on her own. Masquerading as a man in order to procure a job with Duke Orsino, she finds herself in the midst of a topsy-turvy love triangle.

Magic, mayhem and mistaken identities come to the stage in Shakespeare's cherished romantic comedy of revelry, reunion and love.

Dance Repertory Theatre presents
Bodies & Souls
April 8-17, 2016

Under the direction of Charles O. Anderson, Andrea Beckham and Lyn Wiltshire, the award-winning dance company, Dance Repertory Theatre, presents contemporary works by emerging and nationally renowned choreographers including Alvin Rangel and Johnnie Cruise Mercer.

UTNT (UT New Theatre)
April 14-24, 2016

UTNT (UT New Theatre) presents newly developed works from playwrights of Texas Theatre and Dance and the Michener Center for Writers. Now in its ninth season, this showcase exists as an incubator for new work, with many plays continuing on to be professionally produced across the country.

The 2016 UTNT (UT New Theatre) plays under considerations include:

The Silent Woman
By Lydia Blaisdell

The strange, true tale of a painter living with an effigy of his ex-lover in 1919 Europe. Because the doll cannot dress herself, the painter enlists a young maid to help him, resulting in an intricate, erotic game of pretend. The Silent Woman is the winner of the 2015 Kentucky Women's Playwriting Prize.

Dead Leaves
By Joanna Garner

Pearle is dead, Benjamin is not, and Ella is somewhere in-between. Dead Leaves is a tale of both the living and the ghosts trapped in a small town - told through text, imagery, and original mountain gospel, country and folk music.

Home Stretch
By Gia Marotta

Ellen and Meg have kept their distance since their brother Henry's death 25 years ago. When circumstances force Meg to live with Ellen and her son David for a month, the sisters are asked to reckon with the loss that drove them apart. Home Stretch is a rich and theatrical story about grief, memory and the harrowing work of forgiveness.

Girls in Cars Underwater
By Tegan McLeod

When newbie Dusty is hired at the most difficult bar in the city, she forms an unexpected bond with one of the old-timers. But allegiances beyond the bar start to threaten Dusty's new-found security - and in one terrifying night, everything changes. Girls in Cars Underwater is an unflinching exploration of love and loss and the power of both to ruin and remake our lives.

Titles, artists, venue and dates are subject to change.

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