Northwestern Theater to Present THE LARAMIE PROJECT in October

"The Laramie Project," a documentary-style drama set in Wyoming that recounts the brutal murder of an openly gay college student and named by Time magazine as "one of the 10 best plays of the year" will launch Northwestern University's 2014-15 Mainstage season Oct. 24-Nov. 2. Directed by Rives Collins, single tickets are $5 to $25.

The gripping play by Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theatre Project will be followed later this fall by the heart-warming musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" (Nov. 7-23) by Allan Knee and directed by Dominic Missimi. Single tickets are $5 to $30.

Both productions are part of Northwestern University's 34th Mainstage season of plays and musicals presented by the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts -- formerly known as the Theatre and Interpretation Center at Northwestern University.

The 2014-15 season will feature award-winning directors and playwrights, acclaimed alumnae and faculty, groundbreaking plays and musicals and the annual The Waa-Mu Show. The season reflects on the evolving definitions of family and community and invites audiences to embrace the circumstances that unite and strengthen us.

The fall line-up includes two National Theatre Live broadcasts -- Ben Power's newly adapted version of Euripides' "Medea" (Oct. 7) -- and Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire" (Nov. 4) directed by Benedict Andrews and starring Gillian Anderson. Single tickets for each screening range from $10 to $20.

The 2014-15 season continues this winter with a social satire as Northwestern MFA directing candidate Jerrell L. Henderson directs Lynn Nottage's quick-witted "Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine" (Jan. 30-Feb. 8), the story of a once successful business woman fighting her way out of social ruin as she tries to reunite with her family. Single tickets range from $5 to $25.

Winter heats up with Andrew Lippa's "Wild Party" (Feb. 13-March 1), a prohibition tale of loosened inhibitions, jealousy and a fateful gunshot. Tickets are $5 to $30. To close out winter, Northwestern's dance lecturer, Jeff Hancock, will provide artistic direction to "Danceworks 2015: Ties that Bind" (Feb. 27-March 8), an evening of cutting-edge dance that explores the connectivity of families and communities. Tickets are $5 to $25.

The Wirtz Center's spring season begins with Northwestern MFA directing candidate Aaron Snook directing Frank Galati's adaption of John Steinbeck's Depression-era classic, "The Grapes of Wrath," a testament to the strength of the American spirit and family bond. Tickets are $5 to $25.

Spring 2015 also will mark the 84th annual production of The Waa-Mu Show (May 1-10). The Waa-Mu Show is a Northwestern theatre tradition that continues to place itself at the forefront of new musical theatre writing, living up to its name as the "greatest college show in America" (Associated Press). Single tickets are $10 to $30 and will go on sale later this fall through the Wirtz Center box office. Subscribers may purchase tickets now with their season ticket order.

To end the season, Northwestern MFA directing candidate Lauren Shouse will direct Sarah Ruhl's comedy "In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play" (May 15-24), an investigation of relationships, intimacy and what it means to seek connection. Tickets are $5 to $25.

Productions in the 2014-15 season will be held, as noted, in venues on the University's Evanston campus, including the Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive; Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive; Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson Drive; or the Hal and Martha Hyer Wallis Theater, 1949 Campus Drive.

The seven-play subscription for $28 to $148 represents a 20 percent savings off single-ticket prices. Single tickets for all seven Mainstage productions are on sale now. Where applicable, ticket discounts are available for groups of eight or more. Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased by phone through the Wirtz Center Box Office at 847- 491-7282 or online at wirtz.northwestern.edu.

The following October events are open to the public and will take place on Northwestern's Evanston campus, as noted.

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