2022-23 Department Season
It is with great excitement that we announce the 2022-23 production season for Theatre & Dance!
We have worked hard to put together a season that reflects values of our department: work that puts into practice what we explore in our classrooms, studios, and shops; work that foregrounds issues of social justice; work that fosters collaboration between students and faculty and creates community; and work that provides opportunities to tell stories from a diversity of perspectives and experiences.
Below you will find a season that delves into past traditions and reimagines them, a musical that feels cutting edge and relevant almost 100 years after its premiere, contemporary plays that ask hard questions about the relationship between art and society, and newly created works of dance and theatre that speak to our moment.
We hope you are as excited as we are!
— Rebecca Lustig
Director of the Co-Curricular/Production Program
We Are Proud to Present…
a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as South West Africa, From the German Südwestafrika, Between the Years 1834 - 1915
Sept. 29 – Oct. 2, 2022
by Jackie Sibblies Drury
directed by Nigel Semaj
A group of actors gather to tell the little-known story of the first genocide of the 20th century. We Are Proud to Present… takes place largely in a rehearsal room that descends from collaborative to absurd as a group of idealistic actors — three black and three white — attempt to recreate the extinction of the Herero tribe at the hands of their German colonizers.
The Threepenny Opera
Oct. 28 – Nov. 6, 2022
by Bertolt Brecht
in collaboration with Elisabeth Hauptmann
music by Kurt Weill
directed by James Peck
musical director: Vincent Trovato
Set in the impoverished back alleys of Victorian London, The Threepenny Opera follows underworld antihero Mackie Messer (aka Mack the Knife) as he tries to woo Polly Peachum and elude the authorities. With its palpable evocation of corruption and dread, set to Weill's irresistible score, The Threepenny Opera remains a landmark of early twentieth-century musical theatre.
Oedipus — A Staged Reading
Nov. 11-13, 2022
by Seneca
adapted by Ted Hughes
directed by Matt Moore
In perhaps the world's first reboot, first-century Roman Playwright Seneca the Younger takes on the tale of the unlucky King Oedipus, better known from Sophocles' Oedipus Rex.
Reset: New Dances
Dec. 1-3, 2022
Our fall student dance concert, featuring exciting new choreographic works by Muhlenberg dancers.
(&Medea) — A Staged Reading
Jan. 27-29, 2023
a new play conceived by Janet Howe
written & developed by Jess Shoemaker
directed by Jamie McKittrick
(& Medea) is a poetic re-telling of the classic myth, following Medea through the most overlooked chapter of her history… the love story. Plans are tentative, but stay tuned for details about this exciting new-play development project.
Love + Information
Feb. 23-26, 2023
by Caryl Churchill
directed by Jessie Dean
Someone sneezes. Someone can’t get a signal. Someone put an elephant on the stairs. Someone hates irrational numbers. Someone told the police. Someone’s never felt like this before. In this fast-moving kaleidoscope, more than 100 characters try to make sense of what they know.
In Motion
March 30 – April 1, 2023
Dynamic new dance works by Muhlenberg's acclaimed dance faculty & guest artists, and featuring the talented students of Muhlenberg's Dance Program.
Local Girls
April 19-23, 2023
by Emma Goidel
directed by Beth Schachter
Local Girls is a play with music about searching for big-time glory in a small-time town. In the play, Diskit is a high school chemistry genius who needs some friends, while Riley is a high school burnout who needs a new screamer for her heavy metal band. A local “Battle of the Bands” contest could transform them both from high school losers to rock gods, but will that be enough to get both girls out of Tucker, Georgia?
Dance Emerge
April 27-30, 2023
Our spring student dance concert, featuring exciting new choreographic works by Muhlenberg dancers.
