AIMEE AND JAGUAR, DADA GERT and More Set for Northwestern University Theatre and Dance, Jan 2014

A play set in war-torn Berlin and a National Theatre Live (NT Live) reprise broadcast of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" will help distract Chicago area theatre fans from January's frigid temperatures.

Both will take place in venues on Northwestern University's Evanston campus, as noted. Where applicable, ticket discounts are available for groups of eight or more.

The Theatre and Interpretation Center (TIC) at Northwestern University first winter 2014 Mainstage production, Jan. 31 to Feb. 9, is Lillian Groag's "Aimee and Jaguar," a stage adaptation of Erica Fisher's non-fiction book "Aimee and Jaguar." Joseph Hanreddy, the former artistic director of the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, will direct.

Chicago area and North Shore audiences will also have an opportunity to experience the best of British theatre when (TIC) presents the Jan. 14 reprise broadcast of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" in celebration of the National Theatre Live's 50th anniversary.

In commemoration of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, TIC will co-present with Next Theatre Company a free Jan. 20 staged reading of Vivienne Franzmann's award-winning British play "Mogadishu," about racial issues and false accusations in a London high school.

Northwestern's dance program will host Striding Lion Performance Group's multi-media dance theater performance reprisal of "Dada Gert," on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, at the Marjorie Ward Marshall Dance Center's Ballroom Theater. The work was inspired by Valeska Gert, a German dancer and cabaret artist who entertained audiences in Weimer-era Berlin.

All of the following events are open to the public.

JANUARY 2014 MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

"Aimee and Jaguar," by Lillian Groag, based on the book of the same name by Erica Fisher, directed by Joseph Hanreddy, 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31; 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1; 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6; 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7; 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. As war-torn Berlin crumbles underneath constant Allied bombing, a romance kindles between Lilly Wust, a mother of four with a husband away fighting for the Nazi cause, and Felice Schragenheim, a Jewish girl living on fake IDs and uncertain of her next meal. "Aimee and Jaguar" investigates the complex nature of love in the emotionally charged final days of the Third Reich. Written by Northwestern University alumna Lillian Groag, it is sponsored by a generous grant from The Alumnae of Northwestern University. Post-show discussions with the cast and creative team will follow the Jan. 31 opening night performance and the Feb. 2 matinee and Feb. 6 evening performances. Single tickets are $25 for the general public; $22 for senior citizens 62 and older, Northwestern University faculty and staff members, and educators and administrators; $10 for full-time students and $5 tickets exclusively for full-time Northwestern students on advance purchase. Discounts are available for groups of eight or more.

JANAURY 2014 NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE (NT LIVE) BROADCAST

National Theatre Live broadcast, "Hamlet," directed by Nicholas Hytner, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University's Evanston campus. National Theatre Live's 2010 broadcast of "Hamlet" returns to cinemas as part of the National Theatre's 50th anniversary celebration. Following his recent celebrated performances at London's National Theatre, Rory Kinnear plays Hamlet in a new production of Shakespeare's play about the human condition. Kinnear is joined by Clare Higgins (Gertrude), Patrick Malahide (Claudius), David Calder (Polonius), James Laurenson (Ghost/Player King) and Ruth Negga (Ophelia). Single tickets are $20 for the general public; $16 for Northwestern faculty and staff (phone and in-person only) and $10 for full-time students with valid IDs at Will Call. Discounts are available for groups of eight or more. For tickets, call the TIC Box Office at (847) 491-7282 or purchase online at www.tic.northwestern.edu/ntlive.

MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY COMMEMORATION SPECIAL EVENT

Staged reading of "Mogadishu," 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20, Josephine Louis Theatre, 20 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. British playwright and former schoolteacher Vivienne Franzmann dramatizes the story of a white woman teaching in a tough London secondary school. Her award-winning play can be seen as a kind of street test of multicultural education, with deeply problematic and tragic outcomes. It is co-presented by the Theatre and Interpretation Center at Northwestern University with Next Theatre Company. Admission is free and open to the public.

JANUARY 2014 DANCE

Striding Lion Performance Group's multi-media dance theater performance reprisal of "Dada Gert," 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, and 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, Northwestern University's Marjorie Ward Marshall Dance Center, Ballroom Theater, 10 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. Presented by the Northwestern University dance program, this hourlong multi-media dance theater performance by Striding Lion Performance Group was inspired by the life and work of Valeska Gert, a renegade dance, theater, film and cabaret artist whose punk-like "dance satires" challenged and thrilled audiences in Weimer-era Berlin. Conceived and choreographed by choreographer Annie Arnoult Beserra, it features dancers Beserra, Britt Banaszynski, Dana Dardai, Michaela Federspiel, Calyn Guberman, Jeff Hancock and Ericka Vaughn Lashley. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $10 for students and seniors 62 and older with IDs. For tickets, visit http://dadagert.brownpapertickets.com or phone (773)-769-7540.

CONSTRUCTION ALERT: A three-year construction project under way on the southeast end of the Northwestern University Evanston campus has closed the Arts Circle Drive to traffic. Free parking for evening and weekend events remains available, but the project will impact handicapped parking and patrons requiring special access to Evanston campus theaters. Visit www.tic.northwestern.edu/construction for more information.