IU Theatre Announces 2011-2012 Season, Opening With Hair

The Indiana University Department of Theatre and Drama in the College of Arts and Sciences announces its upcoming 2011-2012 season at the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center. Themed "Make Love, Not War," the season presents a series of plays and musicals that explore notions of war and peace, desire and ambition, oppression and liberation and love and sex.

The fall semester opens in October with Hair, the original rock musical by Galt MacDermot depicting the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s. Up next is Sara Ruhl's Tony-nominated, Victorian-era sex comedy In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, followed by Robert Kauzlaric's new adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's swashbuckling classic, The Three Musketeers. The semester concludes with another contemporary retelling of a timeless classic, Ellen McLaughlin's randy, outrageous interpretation on Aristophanes's play about female empowerment, Lysistrata.

The IU Department of Theatre and Drama is planning events in conjunction with both Lysistrata and IU's Themester for fall 2011, "Making War, Making Peace."

Spring semester debuts with Christopher Hampton's chilling adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, where sex is used as a cruel weapon of humiliation and degradation. Mischief and madness then take a lighter turn in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Playwright Martin McDonagh investigates the fine line between fact and fiction in human storytelling with the black comedy, The Pillowman. Wrapping up the 2011-2012 season is Cabaret, the popular musical depicting the glitz, glamour, and seediness of the nightlife culture in Nazi-era Berlin.

2011-2012 IU Theatre Season

Hair: music by Galt MacDermot; book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni; directed by guest artist Patti Wilcox; Ruth N. Halls Theatre, Oct. 7, 8, 11-15, 2011. Awards: 1969 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical.

Return to the 1960s with the 2009 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical Revival. Peace, love and freedom are the lifeblood of American youth. Claude, a peace-loving hippie, has been drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. As his friends try to convince him to dodge the draft, Claude is torn between peace and duty. The original rock musical, this Broadway hit perfectly captures the teenage angst of being caught between one's ideals and adulthood. Mature content including nudity.

"A remarkably joyous and occasionally heartbreaking piece of theater." --TheaterMania.com

In the Next Room, or the vibrator play: by Sara Rule, directed by Dale McFadden; Wells-Metz Theatre, Oct. 21, 22, 25-29, 2011. Awards: Nominated for three 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Play.

The explorers of personal freedom and self-awareness are as American as the pioneers of yesterday who journeyed into the wilderness. This humorous, insightful, and affirming play takes us into the world of an adventurous doctor, his unhappy patients, and the medical device that transforms their lives. In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, is an unforgettable comedy about marriage, intimacy and electricity. Mature content.

"Insightful, fresh and funny . . . as rich in thought as it is in feeling." --The New York Times

The Three Musketeers: by Robert Kauzlaric, adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, directed by Murray McGibbon; Ruth N. Halls Theatre, November 11, 12, 15-19, 2011.

In his quest to become a Musketeer, young d'Artagnan befriends the legendary Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. His acts of bravery earn the respect of King Louis XIII and ensnare d'Artagnan in the deadly schemes of Cardinal Richelieu and the beautiful yet depraved Milady Clarik. When the love of his life, Constance Bonacieux, is kidnapped on the eve of war, d'Artagnan must weigh loyalty to king and country, comrades-in-arms, and the callings of his heart. Journey through an epic tale of passion, intrigue and adventure. "All for one, and one for all!"

Lysistrata: by Ellen McLaughlin, based on the play by Aristophanes, directed by Fonatine Syer; Wells-Metz Theatre, Dec. 2, 3, 6-10, 2011.

Athens is at war with Sparta, and the women have had enough. Lysistrata devises a plot to end the war, but for her scheme to work ALL the women MUST agree. Join the actors in the theatre, join the audience in the laughs, and maybe even join the troupe on stage! This production of Aristophanes' most-famous play promises to be a loose, bawdy, outrageous circus-romp that is serious in its message to end all war. Mature content.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses: by Christopher Hampton, adapted from the novel by Choderlos de Laclos, directed by Nancy Lipschultz; Wells-Metz Theatre, Feb. 3, 4, 7-11, 2012. Awards: Winner of the 1987 New York Drama Critic's Circle Award for Best Foreign Play. Nominated for both the Tony Award for Best Play and the Drama Desk Award for Best Play.

"Who would not tremble to think of the ills that may be caused by one dangerous liaison?" --Choderlos de Laclos

Seduction can be deadly, even when The Players are expert. After the Marquise de Merteuil is scorned by her former lover, Count Gercourt, the Marquise enlists the aid of the infamous Vicomte de Valmont to humiliate the errant Count by spoiling his virginal fiancée. Meanwhile, Valmont is engrossed in the seduction of a faithfully married woman with devout principles. The game is set for the dark forces of human nature to act upon the innocent. Mature content.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: by William Shakespeare, directed by Jane Page, who directed last season's production of Angels in America; Ruth N. Halls Theatre, Feb. 24, 25, 28 - March 3, 2012.

"Ay me . . . The course of true love never did run smooth . . ."

When four young lovers escape into the forest, their romantic cross-purposes are complicated by the interference of Oberon, king of the fairies, and his spritely servant Puck. Mischief, mistaken identity, and magic love potions result in a temporary madness that can only be cleared by the coming morning. One of the Bard's most beloved comedies.

The Pillowman: by Martin McDonaugh, directed by Mark Kamie, Wells-Metz Theatre, March 23, 24, 27-31, 2012. Awards: Winner of the 2004 Olivier Award for Best New Play, the 2004 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best New Foreign Play, and two Tony Awards for production. It was also nominated for the 2004 Evening Standard Award for Best New Play.

In a totalitarian police state, there is no escape for writer Katurian Katurian when he is detained and questioned by the police, who have discovered suspicious similarities between his short stories and series of gruesome child murders. Katurian's torturous interrogation is filled with black comedy and frightening discoveries, begging the question: If the first duty of a storyteller is to tell a story, how do you know when it's true? Mature content.

Cabaret: music by John Kander, book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Fred Ebb, directed by George Pinney; Ruth N. Halls Theatre, April 13, 14, 17-21, 2012. Awards: The original 1967 production won 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Two subsequent prominent revivals in 1987 and 1998 produced an additional 13 Tony Awards and a slew of other honors.

Wilkommen et Bienvenue to an impoverished and wicked Berlin at the end of the Weimar Republic. It's New Year's Eve, 1930, and American writer Cliff Bradshaw arrives at the Kit Kat Klub to find himself at the mercy of the toast of Mayfair -- Sally Bowles, a drugged-out good-time girl and resident cabaret singer. Despite the rousing musical numbers, the reality of the world outside the nightclub begins to dim the glitz and glamour, as Hitler begins his rise to power. Mature content.

For more information about the IU Department of Theatre and Drama, visit theatre.indiana.edu.

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