MEDIA CONTACT: Judy Moore at (847) 491-4819 or jkm229@northwestern.edu

March 9, 2004

April 2004 Theatre/Dance Calendar

Northwestern University theatrical and dance productions are held in facilities in the Theatre and Interpretation Center, on the Arts Circle, Evanston campus, as noted below.

For more information or to order tickets by phone, call the Theatre and Interpretation Center box office at (847) 491-7282.

Online ticket sales for Northwestern Mainstage productions also are available through TicketWeb.com by going to the Northwestern Theatre and Interpretation Center Web site at http://www.tic.northwestern.edu/tickets.html and clicking the TicketWeb icon.

MAINSTAGE THEATRE

The Northwestern University 2003-04 Mainstage season is supported by the Sara Lee Foundation.

“This is Not a Pipe Dream,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 15; 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 16; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 17; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 18, Ethel M. Barber Theatre, 30 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. Barry Kornhauser’s family play explores the dreams and wishes of renowned artist Rene Magritte as a young boy. As a child his father tells him that his desire to become a painter is merely a “pipe dream.” He perseveres and becomes a painter who works with the style of surrealism to understand the world and communicate with it. Theatre faculty member Lynn Kelso will direct the production. It is suitable for audiences aged 8 and up and will tour area schools this spring. Single tickets are $17 for the general public; $15 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $9 for full-time students.

“The Birds,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 23; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 24; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 25; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29; 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 30; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 1; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 2, Josephine Louis Theatre, 20 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. This classic comedy, as conceived and directed by Leslie Buxbaum, is considered one of Aristophanes finest. When two Athenians in search of “elsewhere” arrive in the land of the Birds, a comedic and provocative encounter ensues between humans, birds and gods, as wildly different worlds collide. Single tickets are $17 for the general public; $15 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $9 for full-time students.

ANNUAL PRODUCTION

Waa-Mu Show, “Pomp and Circumstance,” 8 p.m. Friday, April 30; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 1; 2 p.m. Sunday, May 2; 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 5; 8 p.m. Thursday, May 6; 8 p.m. Friday, May 7; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 8; 2 p.m. Sunday, May 9, Cahn Auditorium. This year’s Waa-Mu Show highlights college life as the cast journeys through the four years at Northwestern. Single tickets are $27 to $21 for the general public; $17 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $11 for children and full-time students.

SPECIAL PRODUCTION

English-language world premiere, “Finished from the Start,” 8 p.m. Friday, April 16, and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 17, Mussetter-Struble Theatre, 1949 Campus Drive, Evanston campus. Chilean playwright Juan Radrigan’s play is set in the early 1980s in Chile during the reign of Augusto Pinochet. It chronicles a few hours in the lives of two unemployed laborers who lack food, shelter and family. It is a powerful statement about the brutal and absurd ways in which the dictatorship affected Chileans. Originally written in Spanish, it was translated into English by Ana Puga, assistant professor of theatre at Northwestern, and Monica Nuñez-Parra. This is the first time this English translation of “Finished from the Start” will be staged. Director Martin Balmaceda, a preeminent interpreter of Radrigan’s work, and Puga are the co-founders of LaMicro Theater, a Chicago- and New York-based group dedicated to staging Spanish, Latin American and United States Latino theater works. A 6:30 p.m. opening night (April 16) reception is open to the public. An exhibition on Pinochet’s dictatorship can be viewed before and after each performance in the Commons area of the Theatre and Interpretation Center. Playwright Radrigan will travel from Santiago, Chile for the opening night reception, post-show discussions and the exhibition accompanying the production. Admission to the play and opening night pre-performance reception is free. Reservations are required. To make a reservation, call (847) 491-7282. Unclaimed reservations will be released to the general public 15 minutes prior to each performance.