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Washington University in St. Louis News & Information > News Topics > Arts & Literature >

Theatre

Transmotion
 Washington University Dance Theatre to feature original works Dec. 4-6

Nov. 20,
2009 --
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| David Kilper/WUSTL Photo Services |
| It Sang A Long Time Ago |
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Washington University Dance Theatre (WUDT), the annual showcase of professionally choreographed works performed by student dancers, will present Transmotion, its 2009 concert, Dec. 4 to 6 in Edison Theatre. Performances — sponsored by the Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences — will feature more than three dozen student dancers, selected by audition, in seven original works by faculty and guest choreographers. Pieces range from ballet and contemporary dance to works drawing on Chinese and Native American traditions.

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What You Will
 Tony Award-winner Roger Rees brings one-man show to Edison Theatre Nov. 20

Nov. 3,
2009 --
Olivier and Tony Award-winning actor Roger Rees is probably best known to American audiences for his work on the small screen — as the dashing English tycoon Robin Colcord on Cheers, as British Ambassador Lord John Marbury on The West Wing and, most recently, as Dr. Colin Marlow on Grey's Anatomy. But next month Rees, a 22-year veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), will return to the stage with What You Will, a side-splitting one-man-show that combines the Bard's greatest soliloquies with colorful observations about the acting life and offbeat (and occasionally bawdy) tales of theatrical disaster.

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Remember Me
 Parson Dance and East Village Opera Company bring ambitious rock-opera to Edison Theatre Nov. 14 and 15

Oct. 27,
2009 --
It's a timeless tale: two rivalrous brothers vie for the love of a single woman. But Remember Me, the ambitious new collaboration between Parsons Dance Company and the East Village Opera Company (EVOC), is anything but old-fashioned. Combining contemporary dance with live and recorded music as well as video projections, aerial choreography and special effects, Remember Me is at once rock-opera and opera that really rocks. Next month these two internationally renowned companies will return to Edison Theatre to present Remember Me as part of the 2009-10 OVATIONS Series.

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Ragtime
 The Black Rep and Performing Arts Department join forces for acclaimed musical Oct. 16 to Nov. 1

Sept. 24,
2009 --
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| Joe Angeles/WUSTL Photo Services |
| Shaun Hudson as Coalhouse Walker, Jr., and Renae Adams as Mother |
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Ragtime, Terrence McNally's acclaimed adaptation of the 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow, is a sweeping and ambitious tale of race, class and the promise of America at the dawn of the 20th century. It is also a tremendously demanding theatrical production, requiring almost 50 actors and at least a dozen musicians. Indeed, Ragtime is so logistically challenging — more than 150 different costumes must be designed and sewn — that it virtually precludes staging by all but the largest of regional theaters. Yet next month, The Black Rep will join forces with the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences to present this Tony Award-winning musical as the fall Mainstage production.

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Sleeping Beauty Wakes
 GrooveLily returns to Edison Theatre Oct. 2 and 3

Sept. 15,
2009 --
Fairytales do come true — sort of. Just ask Sleeping Beauty, whose 900 years of enchanted rest finally come to an end in a modern-day sleep disorder clinic, far from the land of far far away. Welcome to Sleeping Beauty Wakes, an artfully twisted take on the classic children's story, by theatrical power-pop trio GrooveLily. In October these acclaimed indie troubadours will return to St. Louis for a pair of performances as part of the Edison Theatre OVATIONS Series.

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underground
 David Dorfman Dance at Edison Theatre Sept. 25 and 26

Sept. 8,
2009 --
"Does what you do make a difference?" "Is violence ever justified?" "When can activism become terrorism, or vice versa?" Such provocative questions lie at the heart of underground, an ambitious evening-length multimedia dance piece by acclaimed choreographer David Dorfman. On Sept. 25 and 26 Dorfman — a Washington University alumnus — will return to Edison Theatre with his company, David Dorfman Dance, to launch the 2009-10 OVATIONS Series.

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Dancing Who I Am
 Concert/panel discussion to examine dance and ethnic identity Sept. 12; film screening Sept. 13

Sept. 3,
2009 --
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| Rulan Tangen |
Around the world dance is often quite literally the physical embodiment of cultural identity and practice. Yet for individual dancers, the power of such traditions can give rise to certain expectations and even stereotypes based on perceived identity. On Sept. 12 the Dance Program in the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences will explore the role of ethnicity in contemporary dance with "Dancing Who I Am," a panel discussion and informal concert featuring faculty members as well as leading critics and choreographers from around the country. The event comes as part of the semester-long series "Ethnic Profiling: A Challenge to Democracy," organized by the Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values. Also as part of the series, the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies will screen Ancestor Eyes, an award-winning Native American short film, Sept. 13.

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Transformations
 Performing Arts Department announces 2009-10 season

Aug. 7,
2009 --
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| David Marchant |
| Young Choreographers Showcase |
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Live performance has always been a multidisciplinary event, its three great streams — theater, music and dance — forever shifting and combining in new and unpredictable ways. For its 2009-10 season, the Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences will present a handful of works that together highlight both the boundless possibility and transformational power of the stage.

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OVATIONS
 Edison Theatre announces 2009-10 line-up

May 12,
2009 --
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| Lois Greenfield. |
| Aquila Theatre Company |
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Theater is challenging, educational and inspiring. It is also, lest we forget, fun! For its 2009-10 season, Washington University's Edison Theatre will present more than a dozen events by nationally and internationally renowned performing artists. The flagship OVATIONS Series will range from provocative dance and multimedia rock opera to funk-infused klezmer (or is that klezmer-infused funk?) and whimsical twists on literary classics. Meanwhile the popular ovations for young people series will offer specially priced Saturday matinees for audiences of all ages.

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Mother Courage and Her Children
 PAD to present Bertolt Brecht classic April 17 to 26

April 3,
2009 --
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| David Kilper/WUSTL Photo Services |
| Senior Kaylin Boosalis as Mother Courage |
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Armies burning with religious fervor, towns overrun by mercenary violence, a family disintegrating amidst the crossfire. Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children is widely considered the greatest anti-war play of the 20th century. Later this month Washington University's Performing Arts Department will present this epic tale of a protective yet all-too pragmatic matriarch as its spring Mainstage production.

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