University at Buffalo Theatre and Dance Announces Spring 2024 Season

Join the University at Buffalo Department of Theatre and Dance for a season of dance, musicals and drama. Nationally recognized directors, choreographers and faculty work with emerging student talent to produce innovative original productions that entertain audiences and explore the human condition. The 2023-2024 season consists of live performances at the UB Center for the Arts and at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, both on UB North campus.

This season is sponsored in part by Fox Run at Orchard Park, celebrating its fifth year in support of our student productions.

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have "The 39 Steps", a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre. This two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of four), an onstage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers, and some good old-fashioned romance!

"The 39 Steps" is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.

From the novel by John Buchan
Adapted by Patrick Barlow
Directed by Moth Medina as part of our Student Directed Series
Feb. 16 - 17, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre
$22 Adults | $17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students | $7 UB Students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Buy tickets for The 39 Steps

This classic comedy centers around uptight, neat Felix Ungar and easygoing, disheveled Oscar Madison as new roommates.

"Simon’s skill is not only great but constantly growing...There is scarcely a moment that is not hilarious." - The New York Times

"The Odd Couple" is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.

By Neil Simon
Directed by Julia Witt as part of our Student Directed Series
Feb. 23 - 24, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre
$22 Adults | $17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students | $7 UB Students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets for the Odd Couple

The 49^th spring program includes diversified choreography in jazz, tap, ballet, modern, commercial and contemporary dance works performed by current UB dance majors who are members of our pre-professional Zodiaque Dance Company.  

The show is under the co-direction of faculty members Kerry Ring and Michael Deeb Weaver. Choreographers include Ring, Deeb Weaver and dance faculty members Melanie Aceto, Kurt Adametz and Professor Emeritus Thomas Ralabate. The concert is punctuated by the contributions of Dance alumni Amy Van Kirk and Evan Michael Stewart and guest choreographers Jennifer Golonka and Christa Oliver.

*UB Dance Day is Sunday, March 3. All standard ticketing options are available plus a special $32 UB Dance Day Ticket, which includes:

• A participatory pre-show workshop for ages 14 and up in the UB Center for the Arts Dance Studios (Rooms B82 and B82 in the basement of building). Arrive at noon in the hallway outside of the Dance Studios (rooms B82 and B84) for check-in.
• A dance class focusing on movement presented in the 2 p.m. performance, and observation of company warm up, plus Q&A with UB dance majors. No specific dancewear required. Come dressed to move.
• Admission to "Zodiaque Dance Company 49^th Season Fall 22 Program" 2 p.m. performance in the Drama Theatre.
• Questions? Email Kerry Ring at kring2@buffalo.edu.

Co-Directed by Kerry Ring and Michael Deeb Weaver
Feb. 29 – March 2, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
March 3, 2024 at 2 p.m.*
UB Center for the Arts
Drama Theatre
$22 Adults | $17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students | $7 UB Students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets for Zodiaque Dance Company

A March 1, 10:30 a.m. performance for students (grades K-12) and senior groups is available by reservation at 716-645-6921.

The UB Department of Media Study is a contributing sponsor towards Improved Journeys, a transdisciplinary faculty research project that includes the development of the danceSense performance.

What will endure when the cataclysm arrives—when the grid fails, society crumbles and we’re faced with the task of rebuilding? Anne Washburn’s imaginative dark comedy is an animated exploration of how the pop culture of one era might evolve into the mythology of another.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters will be provided for the March 9, 2 p.m. public performance.

"Mr. Burns, A Post-electric Play" is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.

By Anne Washburn
Score by Michael Friedman
Lyrics by Anne Washburn
Directed by Scout Davis
Music Direction by Matt Marco
March 7 - 9, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
March 9 - 10, 2024 at 2 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts
Black Box Theatre
$22 Adults | $17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students | $7 UB Students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets for Mr. Burns

Real Housewives meets Game of Thrones in Shakespeare’s "King Henry VI ii." When Henry, King of England, marries Margaret of Anjou the English court begins to question Henry’s leadership and divides their support between the Houses of Lancaster (Henry) and York. Margaret plots with her secret lover (Suffolk), the Duke of York leads a rebellion and the War of the Roses begins.

UB’s production will be an Original Practice experiment. Original Practice (or “OP”) attempts to mimic certain historical production conditions to better understand how shows looked, sounded and felt in Shakespeare’s time. Elizabethan actors worked under incredibly tight time constraints – sometimes with only four days of rehearsal. This production will experiment with the possibilities of spontaneity and improvisation using Shakespeare’s text as base. To bring this cinematically scaled history to life, UB’s actors will play between four and six roles each. Each actor will be cast in two tracks. Before every performance, a coin flip will determine which track they play that evening.

Director, Danielle Rosvally is documenting her behind-the-scenes process on TikTok.

By William Shakespeare
Adapted and directed by Danielle Rosvally, PhD
April 5 - 6, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts
Rehearsal Workshop
$22 Adults | $17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students | $7 UB Students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets to King Henry VI

Now in its fifth season, ChoreoLab is a performance and choreographic research laboratory for faculty, graduate and undergraduate dance students, and guest artists. Dedicated to fostering a diverse, creative environment to explore movement, the program embraces contemporary trends, while supporting dancers investigating the role of dance within society and culture. ChoreoLab provides versatile opportunities for UB students that reflect the current dance landscape.

The spring program will include more than thirty student performers and technical crew, both undergraduate and graduate. Choreographers include Naila Ansari, Anne Burnidge, Jeremy Guyton, EJ Ferencak, and Minou Lallemand, plus student choreographers Rebekah Bono, Sophia Fino and Juliana Hassouna.

Directed by Jenna Zavrel
April 12 – 13, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
April 13 – 14, 2024 at 2 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts
Black Box Theatre
$22 Adults | $17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students | $7 UB Students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets to ChoreoLab

The annual MFA Dance Thesis Concert will feature the premier of new works by MFA Dance candidates Natasha McCandless and Hannah Walter. The production showcases the culmination of the duo’s creative research from their Thesis projects, a requirement for the conferral of the degree Master of Fine Arts. The concert features collaborations with media artists and the student performers.

The Master of Fine Arts in Dance is the equivalent of the PhD in a scholarly discipline and represents the synthesis of years of study and the honing of artistic sensibilities. The MFA Dance Thesis Concert is an opportunity to see new works by the next generation of doers, makers and thinkers in the field.

Natasha McCandless’s Thesis project is sponsored by a Humanities New York Public Humanities Grant.

Directed by Anne Burnidge
Choreographers: Natasha McCandless and Hannah Walter
April 19 - 20, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts
Black Box Theatre
$22 Adults | $17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students | $7 UB Students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets to MFA Dance Thesis Concert

"9 to 5 The Musical", with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton and book by Patricia Resnick, is based on the hit movie. Set in the late 1970s, this hilarious story of friendship and revenge in the Rolodex era is rated PG-13 by Music Theatre International. Audiences should be advised that, while this show works in the frame of camp, content includes sexual situations and references, violence (explicit and implied), gun violence and light drug use.

May 3, 10 a.m. performance for students (grades 7-12) and senior groups is available by reservation at 716-645-6921. American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters will be provided. ASL interpreters will also be provided for the May 4, 2 p.m. public performance.

"9 to 5 The Musical" is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.

Music and lyrics by Dolly Parton
Book by Patricia Resnick, based on the Twentieth Century Fox film
Directed and Choreographed by Eric Deeb Weaver
Music Direction by Matt Marco
April 26 - 27, 2024 and May 3 – 4, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
April 28, 2024 and May 4 - 5, 2024 at 2 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts
Drama Theatre
$22 Adults | $17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students | $7 UB Students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets to 9 to 5 The Musical

Dancers Workshop is an annual student-run showcase led by UB Dance majors, extending to all undergraduates, for a unique dance show experience. The 47^th installment includes several dozen choreographers and more than 100 performers, with a variety of styles represented: jazz, jazz-funk, contemporary, modern, tap, hip hop and ballet. Dancers Workshop is a fun way to celebrate diverse talent at UB beyond the Department of Theatre and Dance, and to commemorate the end of a successful year for all students.

Directed by Lily Colligan as part of our Student Directed Series
May 10 - 11, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
May 11, 2024 at 2 p.m.
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre
$22 Adults | $17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students | $7 UB Students + Facility/Service Fees (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets for Dancers Workshop

The annual Senior Dance Showcase provides graduating dance majors with a final opportunity to perform their own choreography for the community before their future professional endeavors in the arts. The program features more than a dozen graduating seniors who appear primarily in solo works, as well as in collaborative group pieces, as they take the UB stage a final time. Senior Dance Showcase is student-directed and produced.

Co-Directed by Morgan Mahoney and Mia Pierce as part of our Student Directed Series
May 12, 2024 at 4 p.m.
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre
$22 Adults | $17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students | $7 UB Students + Facility/Service Fees (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets for the Senior Dance Showcase

Online purchases through ubcfa.org. Advance tickets are also available in person at the UBCFA Ticket Office.

Groups of 10 or more receive $2 off per ticket. Call 716-645-6921 for group reservations only. Tickets are not otherwise sold by phone.

(10 person minimum): Email ubcfatickets@buffalo.edu to make a reservation. Please allow 24 hours for a reply.