UTA Theatre Arts And Dance To Present HEAD OVER HEELS Beginning This Month

The University of Texas at Arlington Department of Theatre and Dance will present Head Over Heels, the 2018 Broadway musical mash up of Renaissance poetry and 1980's pop music by The GoGo's. The show runs for six performances from February 28-March 2 at 7:30 pm, with matinee performances on March 2 and 3 at 2pm, and is directed by UTA musical theatre program head, J. Austin Eyer, with lighting and scenery by UTA design faculty Leah Mazur. The show is written by James Magruder and Jeff Whitty.

Loosely based on Sir Phillip Sidney's The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia, the plot follows a royal court as they are warned by the Oracle of Delphi that they will soon lose their divine "beat." King Basilius, whose title is at stake, forces the royal family to try to escape their fate. Through a plot containing usurped kingship, unlikely lovers, and gender-fluid disguises, Head Over Heels explores unconditional love no matter someone's gender or sexual identity.

"I am incredibly excited to bring this work to UTA's campus," says Eyer. "When the show premiered, it was the first Broadway musical to feature a non-binary character and feature a trans actor in an original leading role. The people of Arcadia reflect the students in our Department of Theatre Arts and Dance incredibly well."

Senior Musical Theatre Major Sarah Jo Adams agrees: "What I love most about Head Over Heels is the joy it brings with positive queer representation. We don't see happy endings for queer characters very often in the arts, especially in the theatre, but Head Over Heels allows for an acceptance of one's true authenticity."

UTA Musical Theatre program director, Eyer, has performed on Broadway and national tours. He co-authored the book Broadway Swings: Covering the Ensemble in Musical Theatre (Bloomsbury and Methuen Drama 2015). Recent projects include devised performance Queer-Antiracist-Feminism and Design for the Future for MIT's Media Lab.

Scenographer Mazur heads the design and technology BFA program at UTA. Recent work in DFW includes The Visit at Amphibian Stage and Artemisia at Circle Theatre.

Costume design by Margaret Crowley. Music Director, Vicky Nooe. Sound design, Bill Eickenloff. Props, Phillip Schroeder. Production Stage Manager, Heather Schmitt. Deck Stage Manager, Madelyn Vokes. Assistant Stage Managers, Laz Jarrell and Kirsten Wirkler. Associate Choreographers, Sarah Jo Adams and Emma Gervasi. Assistant Director, Peyton Wilkonson. Dramaturgy by Frederick D. Miller.

Tickets are $16, $12 for students, seniors, and UTA faculty and staff. For tickets visit https://utatickets.com/ We do not recommend this show for audiences under age 16.

The Department of Theatre Arts and Dance in the College of Liberal Arts at UTA provides comprehensive undergraduate education through theory, research, and practice in the performing arts, theatrical design, and dance. Theatre Arts and Dance's educational environment is characterized by shared values, unity of purpose, diversity of opinion, mutual respect, and a commitment to lifelong learning.

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