Theatre UAB's production of "Spring Awakening" This season, Theatre UAB will present productions of “You Can’t Take It With You,” “Vinegar Tom,” “The Real Inspector Hound,” the 14th annual Festival of 10-Minute Plays and “A Little Night Music.”
Theatre UAB is the performance company of the University of Alabama at Birmingham College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Theatre.
Theatre UAB’s 2016-2017 season of plays was selected to provide the finest performance opportunities for the students in the department, says Chair Kelly Allison, MFA.
“The enrollment in the Department of Theatre has significantly increased in the past three years and now includes the largest number of out-of-state students in the history of the department,” Allison said.
That growth necessitates greater consideration of cast size and creating performance opportunities for theater and musical theater majors.
“This is a very talented group of artists who allow us to present works to the community that are both challenging and entertaining,” Allison said.
Each show is cast almost entirely from the student body. Between 40-50 students usually perform in the shows, with a crew working in costume construction, lighting, props and more, numbering 50-60 students. That means that each show averages about 100 students participating, which is roughly the number of the department’s majors. Theatre UAB offers more than 500 opportunities each year for student writers, actors, technicians, running-crew members, stage managers, dramaturgs or directors, and more than 100 opportunities each year for students to design scenery, costumes, lighting or sound.
Theatre UAB’s 2016-2017 season presents:
Oct. 19-23
“You Can’t Take It With You,” a time-honored classic of American farce written by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Directed by Dennis McLernon. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19-22 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Sirote Theatre. In this Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy, a wacky family finds their routine disrupted when one of the daughters brings her fiancé and his wealthy Wall Street family to dinner. Tickets are $12 and $15, $6 for students, and $10 for UAB employees and senior citizens. For tickets, call 205-975-2787 or go to www.AlysStephens.org. Visit Theatre UAB online at www.uab.edu/cas/theatre.
Nov. 9-12, Nov. 16-19
“Vinegar Tom,” written by Caryl Churchill. Directed by Theatre UAB alumni Luke Harlan. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9-12 and 16-18 and at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Odess Theatre. Written at the height of the second feminist movement in the 20th century, Churchill’s provocative play examines gender and power relationships through the lens of the 17th century witchcraft trials in England. This show has adult themes. Tickets are $15, $6 for students, and $10 for UAB employees and senior citizens. For tickets, call 205-975-2787 or go to www.AlysStephens.org. Visit Theatre UAB online at www.uab.edu/cas/theatre.
Feb. 22-26, 2017
“The Real Inspector Hound,” written by Tom Stoppard. Directed by Jack Cannon. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22-25 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Sirote Theatre. Stoppard’s hilarious lampooning of murder mystery conventions features feuding theater critics Moon and Birdboot as they are swept into the whodunit they are viewing. Touted by The Daily Mail as “a tour de force of theatrical metaphysics.” Tickets are $12 and $15, $6 for students, and $10 for UAB employees and senior citizens. For tickets, call 205-975-2787 or go to www.AlysStephens.org. Visit Theatre UAB online at www.uab.edu/cas/theatre.
Theatre UAB's production of "Dancing at Lughnasa" March 6-10, 2017
Theatre UAB’s 14th annual Festival of 10-Minute Plays, produced by Lee Shackleford. Shows at 7:30 p.m. nightly March 6-10, in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Odess Theatre. This marks Theatre UAB’s 14th year of original plays written, directed and acted by students, staff and faculty within the Department of Theatre. This enormously popular annual festival features new super-short plays that are smart, edgy, shrewd, shocking and often hilarious. Plays contain strong adult language and themes. All tickets are $5; these shows typically sell out. For tickets, call 205-975-2787 or go to www.AlysStephens.org. Visit Theatre UAB online at www.uab.edu/cas/theatre.
April 5-9, 2017
“A Little Night Music,” music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Directed by Valerie Accetta with musical direction by Carolyn Violi. Shows at 7:30 p.m. April 5-8 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 9, in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Sirote Theatre. Winner of four Tony Awards, this entrancing musical explores the tangled web of affairs of actress Desirée Armfeldt and the men who love her. Hilariously witty with heartbreaking moments of adoration, regret and desire, “A Little Night Music” features Sondheim’s haunting melody “Send in the Clowns.” This play has adult themes. Tickets are $15 and $20, $6 for students, and $10 for UAB employees and senior citizens. For tickets, call 205-975-2787 or go to www.AlysStephens.org. Visit Theatre UAB online at www.uab.edu/cas/theatre.
In addition to the department’s main-stage productions, 19 students participate in Theatre UAB Tour Groups. The student tour groups travel to schools, retirement homes and community centers on Fridays throughout the school year. Last season, the Theatre UAB Tour Groups performed 84 shows in 24 cities in 12 counties, and entertained more than 16,000 people.
This season’s tour shows will include Kids on The Block’s “Kids Are Different!” a puppet show about building empathy through understanding; “Jack & The Beanstalk”; Theatre UAB Cabaret presents “Girl Power!” which showcases the best of girl groups; and Theatre UAB Shakespeare Company with “Othello, The Moor of Venice (abridged).” For information and booking, call Theatre UAB Tour Groups at 205-934-3237.