UK Theatre and Dance announces 2023-24 season

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 29, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Department of Theatre and Dance announces their 2023-24 season, featuring a Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary drama, a beloved classic with a modern spin, the annual dance concert with works by faculty and student artists, along with a hit musical with some ‘80s beats that will keep you dancing.  

“Welcome to our 2023-24 season. We have curated a fantastic collection of theatre and dance experiences to stimulate the mind, soul and warm the heart. Our season asks questions about how and why we live and the values we bring. The pieces combine laughter, nostalgia, politics, song, and dance and are brought to life by the amazing talents of faculty, staff, and students in the Department of Theatre and Dance,” said Stephen Wrentmore, producer.

Tickets to all shows are available now through the Singletary Center for the Arts Box Office at scfatickets.com or by calling 859-257-4929.   

The upcoming season features the following:

"Good” by C.P. Taylor 
Performances: Nov. 9-11 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. 
Guignol Theatre 
General Admission: $13 for students/ $20 for adults 

Professor Halder, a scholar of German literature, is a good man. People tell him so. Even as they come to him to burn his books. Set in 1930s Germany, "Good" explores the creeping growth of fascism as it trickles poison into the ear and points at the "others'" and tells us "They are the problem." The good professor must make some choices to protect his books. To protect his life. "Good" is a fever dream that examines how self-preservation can lead to self-destruction. "If I am not for myself, then who is for me?" asks Halder. 

Produced by special arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY of Woodstock, Illinois. 

“Little Women” by Kate Hamill  
adapted from the novel by Louisa May Alcott 
Performances: Nov. 16-18 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 18-19 at 2 p.m. 
Guignol Theatre 
General Admission: $13 for students/ $20 for adults  

"You can be lonely in a crowd, if it's not the right crowd," says Jo in this sparkling stage version of Louisa May Alcott's beloved novel about the March sisters. Playwright Kate Hamill (The Wall Street Journal 2021's Playwright of the Year) honors the spirit of Alcott's original story while freshly interpreting it for a new era. This adaptation will have audiences falling in love with Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy all over again as they grow from young girls to little women. 

"LITTLE WOMEN" was commissioned and originally produced by the Jungle Theater. 
(Sarah Rasmussen, Artistic Director), Minneapolis, MN; New York City premiere at Primary Stages (Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Shane Dr. Hudson, Executive Director; Casey Childs, Founder), June 2019; Developed at the Colorado New Play Festival, Steamboat Springs, June 2018. 

“Home” Dance Concert 
Performances: Feb. 2-3 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. 
Guignol Theatre 
General Admission: $13 for students/ $20 for adults 

We’ve returned home. Home to the studio, to the theatre, to creating, sweating, dancing, and witnessing the magic of movement. "Home" provides a venue for students to perform faculty, guest artist and student choreography, which embraces a variety of forms. Through Irish step dance, contemporary ballet, hip-hop, modern and dance theatre, UK Dance celebrates Home as verb, not a concept. 

“Fairview” by Jackie Sibblies Drury 
Performances: Feb. 29-March 2 at 7:30 p.m. and March 2-3 at 2 p.m. 
Briggs Theatre 
General Admission: $13 for students/ $20 for adults 

The 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner "Fairview" follows the Fraiser family as they prepare for their grandmother's perfect birthday. But as the perfect party becomes increasingly difficult to pull off, is anything as it seems? This dazzling play, part comedy, part searing satire, is full of surprises. The Pulitzer Committee called "Fairview" "a hard-hitting drama that examines race in a highly conceptual, layered structure, ultimately bringing audiences into the actors' community to face deep-seated prejudices." 

"Fairview" was originally commissioned and presented by Soho Rep, New York, NY. 
(Sarah Benson, Artistic Director; Cynthia Flowers, Executive Director) and 
Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Berkeley, CA (Tony Taccone, Artistic Director; Susan Medak, Managing Director) 

"Footloose” Stage Adaptation by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie 
Music by Tom Snow, Lyrics by Dean Pitchford 
Performances: April 11-13 at 7:30 p.m. and April 13-14 at 2 p.m. 
Guignol Theatre 
Assigned Seating: $19 for Students/ $25 for adults  

“Everybody cut loose!” Based on the fabulous classic 80s movie starring Kevin Bacon, "Footloose" tells the story of Ren McCormack, a teenager who moves from the big city of Chicago to a small town where rock n' roll music and dancing are ... illegal! Along with other kids at school, Ren begins to challenge the strict order of the town, all while falling for conservative Rev. Shaw’s daughter, Ariel. Featuring familiar songs like “Footloose,” “Holding Out for a Hero” and “Let’s Hear it for the Boy,” this show is sure to warm your heart and throw you back to the drama of high school love and teenaged revelry! 

Find the upcoming 2023-24 Main Stage Season here: https://finearts.uky.edu/theatre-dance/current-season.