Northwestern University Announces 4/09 Theater Calendar

The Theatre and Interpretation Center at Northwestern University will continue its 2008-09 season in April with the Mainstage productions of a musical adaptation of Aesop's fables, two performance hours, an adaptation of a Pierre Corneille classic and two performance hours hosted by the performance studies department.

April will open with four performances of "How Can You Run with a Shell on Your Back?" (April 10 to 12), an all-ages musical based on some of Aesop's fables that was written by Northwestern University alumni Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler. "No Laughing in the War Room: El Máximo and the Performance of International Threat in 1959," (April 10 to 11) will be the first of two performance hours in April hosted by the department of performance studies. "The Illusion"(April 24 to May 3) is playwright Tony Kushner's adaptation of Pierre Corneille's 17th century classic "L'Illusion Comique." April will conclude with a second performance hour, title to be announced later (April 24 to 25).

Performances are open to the public and will take place in venues on Northwestern's Evanston campus, as noted.

Single tickets to all productions may be purchased by phone through the Theatre and Interpretation Center Box Office at (847) 491-7282 or at the door prior to each performance. Tickets also are on sale through the Theatre and Interpretation Center Box Office or online at http://www.tic.northwestern.edu.

Optional dinner packages are now available before any performance at two downtown Evanston restaurants. GIO, 1631 Chicago Ave., offers Northern Italian cuisine. A dinner ticket, including an appetizer, entrée, dessert and coffee or tea may be purchased for $20. Tapas Barcelona, 1615 Chicago Ave., offers a wide variety of small plates. A dinner including a selection of assorted tapas, dessert and coffee or tea may be purchased for $25. Prices are exclusive of performance tickets, tax and gratuity. Packages may be purchased through the Theatre and Interpretation Center Box Office at (847) 491-7282.

The Theatre and Interpretation Center's April 2009 calendar will include:

"How Can You Run with a Shell on Your Back?" by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler, 7 p.m. Friday, April 10; 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 11; and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 12, Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. This high-spirited musical is based on some of Aesop's fables -- "Tortoise and the Hare," "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," "Androcles and the Lion" and "The Ant and the Grasshopper" -- that reveal universal truths for all ages. It follows six students and a substitute teacher who combine forces to turn an after-school detention into the madcap world of make-believe. A children's tale of joy and goodwill it features music, lyrics and book written by Northwestern University alumni Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler. The production will be directed by Northwestern theater faculty member Rives Collins. The Theatre and Interpretation Center production is presented in partnership with the Chicago Humanities Festival. Single tickets are $20 for the general public; $18 for seniors aged 65 and older, Northwestern faculty and staff and area educators and administrators; and $10 for children and full-time students.

Performance Hour, "No Laughing in the War Room: El Máximo and the Performance of International Threat in 1959," 8 p.m. Friday, April 10; and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 11, Annie May Swift Studio Space, 1920 Campus Drive, Evanston campus. On Jan. 1, 1959, Cuba's Fidel Castro, the nationalist leader of the 26th of July Movement, successfully deposed Batista. By December of that same year, the CIA had begun working with the Department of State to assassinate him. Adapted from primary source texts and directed by performance studies senior Sydney Howe, this performance hour explores the origins of animosity between the United States and Castro's Cuba. General admission is $5.

"The Illusion" by Tony Kushner, 8 p.m. Friday, April 24; 8 p.m. Saturday, April 25; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 26; 8 p.m. Thursday, April 30; 8 p.m. Friday, May 1; 8 p.m. Saturday, May 2; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 3, Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. An unyielding father is filled with regret after giving his son no alternative but to flee the family home. Through the help of a magician, he is allowed to view three scenes from his son's life, only to learn his remorse may have come too late -- or maybe not. Freely adapted by Tony Kushner from Pierre Corneille's 17th century classic "L'Illusion Comique" and directed by Northwestern University student and master of fine arts candidate Kathryn Walsh, this play within a play will move from mayhem to magic and back again as it questions what it really means to love, and the obligations that may come with that emotion.

Performance Hour, "(TBA)," 8 p.m. Friday, April 24; and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 25, Annie May Swift Studio Space, 1920 Campus Drive, Evanston campus. Created and directed by performance studies senior Sophie Angelson.

NORTHWESTERN NEWS: www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/

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