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UPCOMING: 2023-2024 NMU Theatre and Dance Season

JOIN US AFTER EACH OPENING NIGHT FOR OUR OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION!

 

Wildcat Theatre Follies

September 7-8

A Celebration of NMU's Brightest Stars

We’re back, Wildcats! Enjoy a beginning-of-the-year showcase of our theatre and dance students featuring a collection of scenes, songs, monologues, and dance pieces.

FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE

FAMILY-FRIENDLY | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 1HR 30MINS

THIS PRODUCTION WILL HAVE A CLOSING NIGHT PARTY INSTEAD OF AN OPENING NIGHT PARTY ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8.

 

Monty Python's SPAMALOT

October 12-14 and 19-20

Lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Book & Lyrics by ERIC IDLE Music by JOHN DU PREZ & ERIC IDLE

MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and features a bevy of beautiful show girls, not to mention cows, killer rabbits, and French people. Did we mention the bevy of beautiful showgirls? The 2005 Broadway production won three Tony® Awards, including Best Musical, and was followed by two successful West End runs. The outrageous, uproarious, and gloriously entertaining story of King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake will delight audiences as they search for the Holy Grail and “always look on the bright side of life.”

FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE

MEANT FOR A MATURE AUDIENCE | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 2HRS 30MINS | 15min Intermission

 

Clybourne Park

November 2-4 and 9-11

Written by Bruce Norris

CLYBOURNE PARK explodes in two outrageous acts set fifty years apart. Act One takes place in 1959, as nervous community leaders anxiously try to stop the sale of a home to a black family. Act Two is set in the same house in the present day, as the now predominantly African-American neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of gentrification.

PANOWSKI BLACK BOX THEATRE

MEANT FOR A MATURE AUDIENCE | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 2HR

 

A Christmas Carol

December 7-9 and 14-16

Original Book by Charles Dickens

A faithful rendition of the Dickens classic. Ebenezer Scrooge is haunted by the ghosts of Jacob Marley, Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come. Faced with his own mortality and the evil results of his misanthropic, miserly ways, Scrooge is redeemed, reconciled with his nephew and his neighbors, and becomes a second father to his assistant’s son, Tiny Tim.

FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE

FAMILY-FRIENDLY | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 1HR 20 MIN | No Intermission

 

Holiday Soirée

December 14

A holiday fundraising even for departmental scholarships

Join us for a festive evening to celebrate the holiday season with the inaugural NMU Theatre and Dance Holiday Soirée. This special event will support Theatre and Dance Student Scholarships. Indulge in a Holiday buffet to kick off the evening and be enchanted by holiday performances presented by our talented theatre and dance students. Plus, a special visit from Santa Claus himself! It's a night of seasonal entertainment, delectable treats, and holiday cheer. Don't miss out on this magical celebration for student scholarships.

PANOWSKI BLACK BOX THEATRE

FAMILY-FRIENDLY | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 3HRS | Brief Intermission | Live Auction

 

CO/LAB Dance Company

February 1-3

Carnival of the Animals: A Short Ballet

Come experience a ballet for the young and young at heart, set to the renowned musical score by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns.

Carnival of the Animals will be followed by a choreographic showcase by NMU students and faculty. 

This event is generously supported by the Siril Endowment for the Arts.

FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE

FAMILY-FRIENDLY | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 1HR

 

Eisenhower Dance Company

February 8-9

Moving into its 33rd season, Eisenhower Dance Detroit gives life to the work of nationally and internationally known choreographers along with that of its founding artistic director, Laurie Eisenhower, and current artistic director, Stephanie Pizzo. Considered one of the finest contemporary dance companies in the Midwest, the company has performed works by choreographers Hope Boykin, Marc Brew, Tamisha A. Guy, Norbert De La Cruz III, Maleek Washington, James Grieg and Rauf Yasif, Micaela Taylor, Nicolo Fonte, and Joshua Peugh, to name a few. Ms. Pizzo continues to expand the company’s innovative style and artistic vision while still honoring the legacy of Eisenhower Dance Detroit’s founder.

This event is generously supported by the Siril Endowment for the Arts.

FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE

FAMILY-FRIENDLY | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 1HR 30Mins

 

Puffs

February 22-24 and February 29 - March 2

This clever and inventive play never goes more than a minute without a laugh giving you a new look at a familiar adventure from the perspective of three potential heroes just trying to make it through a magic school that proves to be very dangerous for children. Alongside them are the Puffs, a group of well-meaning, loyal outsiders with a thing for badgers who are so lovable and relatable, you’ll leave the theater wishing they were in the stories all along. Their hilariously heartfelt and epic journey takes the classic story to new places and reimagines what a boy wizard hero can be.

PANOWSKI BLACK BOX THEATRE

MEANT FOR A MATURE AUDIENCE | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 2HR

 

Anything Goes

April 11-13 and 18-20

Music, dance, laughs and the age-old tale of boy meets girl... this show is delightful, delicious and de-lovely. ANYTHING GOES is set aboard the ocean liner S. S. American, where nightclub singer/evangelist Reno Sweeney is en route from New York to England. Her pal Billy Crocker has stowed away to be near his love, Hope Harcourt, but the problem is Hope is engaged to the wealthy Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Joining this love triangle on board the luxury liner are Public Enemy #13, Moonface Martin and his sidekick-in-crime Erma. With the help of some elaborate disguises, tap-dancing sailors and good old-fashioned blackmail, Reno and Martin join forces to help Billy in his quest to win Hope’s heart.

FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE

FAMILY-FRIENDLY | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 2HRS 30MINS | 15min Intermission

 

All shows are part of the Flex Pass Season. 

 


 

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2024 North Coast Theatre Festival


 

Panowski Play: Ghost Soldiers

May 9-11

The Playwriting Award was established in 1977 by the Forest Roberts Theatre at NMU. The award is designed to encourage and stimulate artistic growth among educational and professional playwrights. It provides students and faculty the unique opportunity to mount and produce original work on the university stage. Submissions will be accepted biennially and must adhere to the theme of that competition cycle. They will be blindly read and judged by members of a screening committee. The winning play will be featured in our North Coast Theatre Festival Season.

Ghost Soldiers written by Keli Crawford-Truckey

This year's world-premiere play is titled Ghost Soldiers. The play is written by and will be directed by Keli Crawford-Truckey. Ghost Soldiers tells the story of the soldiers who were a part of the "Polar Bear Expedition" during World War I. The action jumps back and forth between brief vignettes between the 1930s, ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, '70s, and World War I (specifically 1918-1919).

PANOWSKI BLACK BOX THEATRE

ADULT THEMES | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 1HR 30Mins | No Intermission

 

Drag Cabaret

May 30-31

A Pride Month Kick-Off Event

Join NMU Theatre and Dance for a drag cabaret to start Pride Month! Celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in Marquette and beyond as performers make the Forest Roberts Theatre stage their own.

PANOWSKI BLACK BOX THEATRE

FAMILY-FRIENDLY | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 2HRS | 15min Intermission

 

To Be Announced

June 27-29

FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE

 

 

North Coast Dance Festival

Masterclass July 24, Performances July 25-26

3rd Annual Dance Festival

Join us for the 3rd Annual North Coast Dance Festival, a spectacular celebration of dance! Professional dancers from across the country will gather alongside the NMU CO/LAB Dance Company for engaging educational experiences and mesmerizing performances. Don't miss this unforgettable event filled with grace, talent, and artistry.

Returning this year are professional ballet dancers Julia Feldman, Mate Szentes, and Ava Chatterson. NCDF is thrilled to announce that the Giordano Jazz Dance Company from Chicago will perform their new piece choreographed by Al Blackstone and set to a Gershwin score.

This event is generously supported by the Siril Endowment for the Arts.

FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE

FAMILY-FRIENDLY | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 1HR 15MIN | 15min Intermission

 

 

All shows are part of the Flex Pass Season.