Department of Drama | 2009-2010 Season

by Larry Shue | Directed by Richard Warner
Culbreth Theatre | 8pm | Sept 24-26, 30, Oct 1-2, 2009
with a 2pm matinee on Sat, Sept 26
The British are coming…and they’re about to uncover and unleash a hilarious brand of chaos on a tiny southern fishing lodge.  In this case the British are in the forms of Froggy, a gregarious soldier and his painfully shy friend Charlie.   When the soldier “protects” his friend from socializing by telling the lodge keeper Charlie speaks no English, the would-be wallflower is suddenly privy to a swirling storm of confessions and deceits and must reinvent himself as a charming foreigner.  His life-changing acting job propels a series of increasingly hilarious happenings that build to a comic crescendo and final faceoff of good versus evil.

Explorations: An Experimental Dance Concert
Culbreth Theatre | Oct 16, 2009 at 8pm, Oct 17, 2009 at 2pm and 8pm
Featuring experimental works choreographed and performed by U.Va. students and faculty members. 

by Naomi Iizuka | Directed by Doreen Bechtol
Helms Theatre | 8pm | Oct 22-24, 27-31, 2009
A young girl is lost in a cave on the edge of a rural North Carolina town.  One of nine friends is responsible for her death.  Yet her ghostly, echoed cries will haunt each of them forever, sending them on parallel paths that lead directly toward their own tragic fates.  What begins as a classic ghost story morphs into a multi-layered musing on grief, loss, guilt and karma.  Simple characters illuminate complex truths as Naomi Iizuka’s fascinating puzzle reveals itself one surprising revelation at a time.

by Molière, translated by James Magruder | Directed by Colleen Kelly
Helms Theatre | 8pm | Nov 12-14, 17-21, 2009
If you think the debate over health care in today’s world is confusing, wait until you see it through the wide and winking eyes of Molière.  Written in 1673 and playfully adapted by James Magruder, The Imaginary Invalid tells the tale of a hopeless hypochondriac whose “habit” is supported by all manners of medical practitioners.  So when it comes time to marry off his daughter, is it any surprise that he sees it as the ultimate chance to gain a doctor for a son?   She has other ideas, of course, and the result is a series of romantic misadventures, mistaken identities and more. Generously supported by the U.Va. Arts Enhancement Fund.

Structurally Sound: A Dance & Engineering Project
Helms Theatre | Nov. 23, 2009 | 8pm | FREE
Ten students from an Introduction to Engineering course were assigned to design devices that improve mobility for a handicapped person. Seven student and faculty choreographers were then asked to choreograph a dance integrating the devices. "The idea is that a device that helps a person with disability in one area can allow dancers to break out of their boundaries. The hope is that the dancers find freedom in the restrictions," said Rose Beauchamp, Head of Dance at U.Va. "We are interested in proving the ability to dance regardless of physical limitation." The event will showcase the choreographed dances as well as feature a discussion on the students' experience, both in designing and in dancing with the devices. Faculty mentors, choreographers and students will lead the talk. 

by Anton Chekhov | Translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Amanda McRaven
Culbreth Theatre | 8pm | Feb 18-20, 24-27, 2010
Love, happiness, hopes and dreams lie somewhere beyond the reach of each character in Anton Chekhov’s remarkable masterpiece.  Deftly mixing the comedy of everyday events with the desperate sadness of life’s greater longings, Chekhov’s complex tale is the ultimate window into the writer’s soul from one of the greatest and most celebrated playwrights the world has ever known.
Single tickets go on sale online Monday, January 18.

AXIS Dance Residency
U.Va. Dance is proud to welcome the AXIS Dance Company to Charlottesville in March of 2010.  AXIS Dance’s focus is on creating and presenting contemporary dance by artists with and without disabilities. More than any other company in the United States, AXIS is a bridge between contemporary dance and physically integrated dance. During their weeklong residency, AXIS will work with students and community members through workshops, master classes, lectures, demonstrations and live performance. For more information, click here.
Generously supported by Arts Connect, New England Foundation of the Arts, the U.Va. Arts Enhancement Fund and VSA Arts.

by Sarah Ruhl | Directed by Betsy Tucker
Helms Theatre | 8pm | March 25-27, 30-31, April 1-3, 2010
Are we dead when our hearts stop or when our cell phones stop ringing?  This is just one of the questions posed in Sarah Ruhl’s smart and quirky comedy.   When a woman chooses to answer a dead man’s cell phone at a restaurant, she begins an odyssey that soon has her at the epicenter of the bizarre life he left behind and fully ensnarled in a tangled web of lies of her own making.  Her intricate ruse delivers plenty of laughs along with fascinating observations about mortality and our obsessive need to connect in this digital age.
Single tickets go on sale online Monday, January 18.

Spring Dance Concert
Helms Theatre | April 15, 2010 at 8pm, April 16, 2010 at 8pm, April 17, 2010 at 2pm & 8pm
Featuring work choreographed and performed by U.Va. faculty members and visiting guest artists.
Single tickets go on sale online Monday, January 18.

by Stephen Schwartz & Roger Hirson | Directed by Robert Chapel
Culbreth Theatre | 8pm | April 22-24, 28-30, May 1, 2010
Your dad’s the king.   You’ve got all you’ll ever need at your fingertips, including power, pleasures of the flesh and more.  But none of this is enough to satisfy you on your eternal search for happily ever after.  Such is the plight of Pippin, the young prince at the heart of this all-time favorite musical theatre fairytale that debuted in the early 1970’s and has been delighting audiences around the world ever since.  With a show-within-a-show-stopping score by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Wicked) and a timeless story of passion, power politics and true love, Pippin is a show that reaches across generations to snare new fans every year.
Single tickets go on sale online Monday, January 18.