Theatre Arts announces 2011-2012 season schedule

The University of North Dakota Department of Theatre Arts has a fresh, exciting line-up for its 2011-2012 Season, including a new drama straight from Broadway, two Musical Theatre experiences, and an American classic. “Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies opens our 2011-2012 Theatre season and introduces the theme of ‘time’ in its many variations,” said Kathleen McLennan, professor and chair of the department. The photojournalist and complex woman at the center of Time Stands Still must come to terms with the time of her own life that cannot be as readily controlled as her photography. In Assassins, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman cross the lines of both time and space to bring nine assassins and would be assassins together. This challenging but provocative subject for a musical explores how the past of each of these infamous characters leads up to an horrific act that alters the course of history. The third show of the season, All My Sons, by Arthur Miller, is set in 1947 shortly after the end of World War II. A grieving mother refuses to believe a son, missing in action, is dead and has preserved his bedroom to await his safe return. An older son who did return from the war and who wants to marry his missing brother’s fiancé tries to force his mother to move out of the past and accept the younger son’s death so the older son may begin his life with the woman he loves. The mother’s conflict is deepened by a terrible lie she shares with her husband that may implicate the father in the death of his son. So long as the lie remains buried, the past appears to have stopped time from moving forward for this family. The season closes with a musical theatre concert set in the here and now for our students. It will focus on contemporary music and be created anew at each performance through the engagement of audience members using all forms of social networking. Cast and audience will use twitter, facebook, texting, (and whatever new forms evolve in the next few months!) to communicate in the present moment and create a social network performance. My Generation promises to be a provocative experiment in a new form born of the world of our students. Your support helps to make this exciting work possible. “I deeply appreciate the participation of our audience members in the education of UND students,” McClennan said. “We are so thrilled with this season that we have lowered our ticket prices in the hope of bringing more of the campus and Grand Forks community to the Burtness Theatre. Live theatre is a wonderful adventure. Please join us!” 2011-2012 UND Theatre Arts Season October 11-15, 2011 -- Time Stands Still, by Donald Margulies; directed by Gaye Burgess November 15-19, 2011 -- Assassins, a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman; directed by Emily Cherry February 21-25, 2012 -- All My Sons, by Arthur Miller; directed by Kathleen McLennan April 17-21, 2012 -- My Generation, A Musical Theatre Concert; created and directed by Emily Cherr