The Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance presents the spring 2023 production season. Performances will be held on the campus of Illinois State University with location, dates, and times listed for each show below.
Spring 2023
Men on Boats
Written by Jaclyn Backhaus
Directed by Maggie Marlin-Hess
February 17, 18 and 22 through 25 at 7:30 p.m.
February 19 at 2 p.m.
Illinois State University, Westhoff Theatre
Ten explorers. Four boats. One Grand Canyon. Men on Boats is the true(ish) history of an 1869 expedition, when a one-armed captain and a crew of insane yet loyal volunteers set out to chart the course of the Colorado River.
Hansel and Gretel
Composed by Engelbert Humperdinck, Lyrical Translation by Cori Ellison
Directed by Matthew Vala
March 2 through 4 at 7:30 p.m.
March 4 and 5 at 2 p.m.
Illinois State University, Center for the Performing Arts Theatre
Engelbert Humperdinck’s delightful and family-friendly opera Hansel and Gretel, based on the Brothers Grimm fairytale, is a perennial favorite, enjoyed by audiences both young and old throughout the world. Cori Ellison’s spirited English singing translation of the opera now offers companies a fresh take on this classic work.
Equus
Written by Peter Shaffer
Directed by Jimmy Chrismon
March 31, April 1 and 5 through 8 at 7:30 p.m.
April 2 at 2 p.m.
Illinois State University, Westhoff Theatre
Dr. Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist, is confronted with Alan Strang, a boy who has blinded six horses in a violent fit of passion. This very passion is as foreign to Dysart as the act itself. To the boy’s parents, it is a hideous mystery; Alan has always adored horses. To Dysart, it is a psychological puzzle that leads both doctor and patient to a complex and disturbingly dramatic confrontation.
**Equus contains nudity, violence, and mature themes.**
Agathe Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
Adapted by Ken Ludwig
Directed by John Tovar
April 14, 15 and 19 through 22 at 7:30 p.m.
April 16 at 2 p.m.
Illinois State University, Center for the Performing Arts Theatre
Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer–in case he or she decides to strike again.
Spring Dance Concert: Rapture
Artistic Director Laina Reese
April 27 through 29 at 7:30 p.m.
April 29 at 2 p.m.
Illinois State University, Westhoff Theatre
