Northwestern University News

Striding Lion Performance Group presents 'Dada Gert,' a multi-media dance theater performance inspired by the life and work of Valeska Gert, a renegade dance-theater-film-cabaret artist whose punk-like 'dance satires' alternately challenged and thrilled audiences in Weimar-era Berlin, conceived and choreographed by Annie Arnoult Beserra. The show runs one hour with no intermission.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' now in its 22nd season of provocative, alternative musical theatre, is accepting applications for its 2013 musical theatre scholarship. Each year, the New Line Theatre Scholarship Fund awards a scholarship to one St. Louis metro area high school senior who shows the potential to make outstanding artistic contributions in the American musical theatre. This scholarship is available only to high school seniors planning to study musical theatre in college (it does not require majoring in musical theatre). There are no restrictions on the use of these funds. The 2013 scholarship will be $1,000, and is funded by contributions from New Line supporters. Judith Newmark, theatre critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, selects the winner of the scholarship each year. The deadline is April 30.

An audio tour narrated by Valerie Harper - the actress best known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and its spinoff, "Rhoda" -- has been added to an exhibit about legendary theater and improv teacher Viola Spolin now at Northwestern University Library.

Crowded Fire Theater (CFT) presents the West Coast Premiere of Thomas Bradshaw's THE BEREAVED a wickedly funny take on Sex, Drugs, and the American Dream which opens with a press night on Monday April 8 at 8 PM at Thick House in San Francisco, (previews April 4-7) and runs through April 27.

As UWM celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Peck School of the Arts and the Year of the Arts, two Peck School alumni have been selected as the UWM Foundation Alumni Fellows for 2013.

I Am Harvey Milk, the new oratorio with music and words by Tony and Grammy Award nominee Andrew Lippa, will have its world premiere at The Nourse Auditorium (201-299 Hayes Street, San Francisco) as part of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus 35th Anniversary Celebration concert, "Harvey Milk 2013." The special two-night engagement will take place at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 27 and Friday, June 28. Starring Mr. Lippa as Harvey Milk and Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti as the Soprano soloist, I Am Harvey Milk is directed by Noah Himmelstein, conducted by Dr. Timothy Seelig, orchestrated by August Eriksmoen, and will feature the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus accompanied by the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony. I Am Harvey Milk is produced by Bruce Cohen, in association with Robb Nanus and Jessica Leventhal.

Huntington Theatre Company's 2013 Spotlight Spectacular will feature entertainment from Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana, stars of Broadway's Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, and a sneak peek of the Huntington's upcoming new musical The Jungle Book with Music Director Doug Peck and acclaimed Indian musician Shivalik Ghoshal.

Recognized for 'promoting a spirit of giving and community involvement,' the Renaissance Chicago North Shore Hotel was recently named Corporate Citizen of the Year by its peers within the Northbrook business community.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces William Shakespeare's Henry VIII, the first professional Chicago production in 400 years since its debut at Shakespeare's Globe in London. Staged by Artistic Director Barbara Gaines in CST's Courtyard Theater April 30-June 16, 2013, Henry VIII features a celebrated company of artists that includes Gregory Wooddell in the title role and Christina Pumariega as Anne Boleyn. The acting company features an ensemble of veteran CST actors which includes Kate Buddeke, David Darlow, Kevin Gudahl, Scott Jaeck, Ora Jones, David Lively and Mike Nussbaum.

A website dedicated to college rankings, Top 10 Online Colleges, recently named the 30 Most Beautiful College Art Galleries in the world. The international list is based on qualities such as reputation, location, architecture, history and artistic culture. The 30 Most Beautiful College Art Galleries list makes a handy web resource for students to learn more about the role of fine arts in college life. The full list can be viewed at the following link: http://www.top10onlinecolleges.org/30-most-beautiful-college-art-galleries/.

We all have problems in life; but imagine, after years of hard work and study to become a prominent surgeon, something goes horribly wrong in the operating room and, in an instant, your life is forever changed. It's normally the patient that's at risk of a complication in the operating room, not the doctor. However, one day as Emile Allen, M.D. was operating to save a woman's life, he barely escaped being electrocuted and nearly died. He remembered hearing a voice telling him: "I'm not ready for you yet. You have more work to do." He had no way of knowing the challenges he would face or how many times he would hear those words…

The Whitney Museum in New York has commissioned a new work by playwright Thomas Bradshaw for the Blues For Smoke Exhibition Live Performances to premiere April 26-28, at the Whitney. Blues for Smoke is an interdisciplinary exhibition that explores a wide range of contemporary art through the lens of the blues and blues aesthetics. Turning to the blues not simply as a musical category but as a field of artistic sensibilities and cultural idioms. Iconoclastic playwright Thomas Bradshaw has emerged as one of the most provocative and original voices in contemporary theater. His most recent play, Job, was produced by the Flea Theater in Fall 2012 and remounted this past January.

Lookingglass Theatre's Junior Board announces the 12th Annual Madhatter's Ball, "The Madhatter's Speakeasy" to be held at Venue One, 1044 W. Randolph, on Saturday, June 1, 2013. The VIP reception begins at 8pm. The event is from 9pm-midnight with an after-party, location TBD, from 12am-2:00am.

From rising art star to recluse, the life and work of self-taught printmaker and sculptor William Kent in many respects embodied the title of his semi-autobiographical 1964 print, "My Life Ruined By Sex." This exhibition, baring the same title, explores William Kent's (1919-2012) calamitous life through his art and personal ephemera, highlighting his skill and creativity as well as the paradoxes that drove him, bringing his erotically charged work back to New York City for the first time in nearly fifty years.

North Coast Repertory Theatre presents THE ODD COUPLE by Neil Simon, directed by Andrew Barnicle. The show will run in previews April 10 - 12, 2013 and continues April 13 - May 5, 2013.

Robert Bills will present Neil Simon's The Odd Couple (female version) performing Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm, April 5 - June 1, 2013 (no performances Saturday, 4/27 or 5/25) - at Gorilla Tango's Skokie Theatre (7924 Lincoln Ave, Skokie, Il). Tickets are $20; to purchase tickets call 847.677.7761 or visit www.gorillatango.com.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, will present stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. 54 Below also launches its new series of late night events this March. Joining Tuesday nights' popular "Backstage" with Susie Mosher will be the "54 Piano Bar," a new vocal competition - 'The Callback," and more.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents an all-Gershwin NJSO POPS program in New Brunswick and Newark, April 19-20. Conductor Gerald Steichen returns to the NJSO stage to conduct the Orchestra in Gershwin favorites including An American in Paris, Cuban Overture and selections from Porgy and Bess and Girl Crazy, along with songs from the composer's rich canon.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced casting for the upcoming third annual Next Up, continuing Steppenwolf's commitment to Chicago's next generation of theater artists.