TIC at Northwestern to Present SWEENEY TODD and CONNECTICUT YANKEE

The Theatre and Interpretation Center (TIC), the department of performance studies and the Dance Program at Northwestern University continue their fall season with two Tony Award-winning productions, a new adaptation of a literary classic, a new performance studies work and the annual fall dance concert.

The musical thriller “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” will kick off TIC’s 2008-09 Mainstage Season (Oct. 31 to Nov. 9), to be followed by the first production in TIC’s Works-In-Progress initiative, “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” (Nov. 7 to 15). The TIC fall productions conclude with the captivating tale of “Indians” (Nov. 14 to 23). At the end of the month, the department of performance studies will present “The Submarine Mare, and Other Hindoo Tales” (Nov. 21 and 22), and the Dance Program will present the New Movement Dance Project’s annual Fall Dance Concert (Nov. 20 to 23).

All events are open to the public and will take place in venues on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. Single tickets to all productions may be purchased through the TIC Box Office at (847) 491-7282 or purchased at the door.

Subscriptions to the TIC 2008-09 Mainstage Season also are on sale through the TIC Box Office. Subscription prices are $130 for adults; $120 for seniors aged 65 and older, Northwestern faculty and staff and area educators and administrators; and $50 for children and full-time students. Venues and single-ticket prices are shown below with the listings for each production.

Optional dinner packages are now available before any performance at two downtown Evanston restaurants. GIO, 1631 Chicago Ave., offers Northern Italian cuisine. A dinner ticket, including an appetizer, entrée, dessert and coffee or tea may be purchased for $20. Tapas Barcelona, 1615 Chicago Ave., offers a wide variety of small plates. A dinner including a selection of assorted tapas, dessert and coffee or tea may be purchased for $25. Prices are exclusive of performance tickets, tax and gratuity. Packages may be purchased through the TIC Box Office at (847) 491-7282.

The Theatre and Interpretation Center, performance studies and Dance Program November 2008 calendar will include:

“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler and directed by George Cederquist, 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2; 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6; 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7; 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. An exhilarating ride of music, song and spectacle, this Tony Award-winning musical, from an adaptation by Christopher Bond, is based on the 19th century legend of Sweeney Todd. Returning home after 15 years in the Australian penal colonies on false charges, he joins forces with the owner of the worst meat pie shop in London to seek revenge on those who have wronged him. Directed by George Cederquist, the results of this dark plot are mass murder, a booming meat pie business and grave misfortune. The production is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). Single tickets are $25 for the general public; $22 for seniors aged 65 and older, Northwestern faculty and staff and area educators and administrators; and $10 for children and full-time students.

Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” adapted and directed by Shawn Douglass, 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7; 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9; Friday, 8 p.m. Nov. 14; and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, Hal and Martha Hyer Wallis Theater, Theatre and Interpretation Center, 1949 Campus Drive, Evanston campus. By turns funny and serious, this ensemble-based piece tells the story of an ambitious, time-traveler who attempts to impose the “American way” on King Arthur’s realm. Tickets are $10.

“Indians” by Arthur Kopit and directed by Shade Murray, 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14; 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16; 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20; 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21; 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. “Indians” is a captivating and analogous tale of ego, ambition and desire that depicts the life of master showman Buffalo Bill Cody as he makes his comeback in a ghost town -- all the while aware that his so-called heroism is having destructive effects. The Theatre and Interpretation Center’s production is a combination of Old West mythology, circus spectacle and Native American ritual. Director Shade Murray recreates the dazzling entertainment that was Buffalo Bill and his Wild West show and the complicated, conflicted performer that was the man himself. Single tickets are $20 for the general public; $18 for seniors aged 65 and older, Northwestern faculty and staff and area educators and administrators; and $10 for children and full-time students.

Fall 2008 Dance Concert, 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20; 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21; 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, Marjorie Ward Marshall Dance Center, Ballroom Studio, 10 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. The Fall Dance Concert is an annual performance choreographed and produced by Northwestern’s New Movement Project, a student group sponsored by the University’s Dance Program. Student choreographers are selected by a panel of peers and dance faculty to create original and artistically mature premiere works in a variety of genres. The New Movement Project is part of the Dance Program’s community outreach program that includes student performances at area festivals, senior centers and schools. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 for children and full-time students. Tickets are available through the Theatre and Interpretation Center Box Office at (847) 491-7282.

Performance Hour, “The Submarine Mare, and Other Hindoo Tales,” 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, Mussetter-Struble Theater, Theatre and Interpretation Center, 1949 Campus Drive, Evanston campus. Directed by department of performance studies graduate students Munjulika Rahman and Derek Barton, “The Submarine Mare, and Other Hindoo Tales” is the story of a young British girl in 19th century India and her encounter with Indian stories and culture. Framed by the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and the Cawnpore massacre, the original work is loosely grounded in historical accounts. It incorporates Indian dance and music with an adaptation of Hindu myths in a story about cultural collision and conflict and the possibility of reaching beyond it. Tickets are $5 and will only be sold at the door prior to each performance.

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