UB Theatre and Dance Announces Spring 2023 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 spring 2023 season consists of live performances at the UB Center for the Arts and at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, both on UB North campus.

“Wasting Away” depicts a small group of high school graduates a short time after the death of their friend Damon. His friend Ethan hides their secret relationship, grappling with guilt and grief as Damon’s ghost visits him. “Wasting Away” is a romantic drama about internal and external homophobia and the consequences of withholding how one really feels about others when they suddenly, unexpectedly “disappear.”

By: Blake Arin Lombardo
Directed by: Fiona Lombardo
Feb. 24 - 25, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre
$5 All seats, plus Facility/Service Fees
Tickets

The 48^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.  

Choreographers include directors Ring, Deeb Weaver and dance faculty member Tom Ralabate. The concert is punctuated by the contributions of alumni choreographers Jen Apter, BFA ’15, Angel Mammoliti, BFA '16 and Amanda Benzin, BFA ‘04, plus local guest choreographers Matthew Clark, Rachael Leonard and Bill Thomas.  

Directed by Kerry Ring and Michael Deeb Weaver
March 3 - 4, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
March 4 – 5*, 2023 at 2 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts
Drama Theatre
$20 Adults | $10 Students/Seniors, plus Facility/Service Fees
Tickets

*UB Dance Day is Sunday, March 5. The performance has three ticketing options:

• $30 UB Dance Day Ticket, plus Facility/Service Fees (includes participatory pre-show events, per below, plus ticket to the 2 p.m. performance)
• $20 Adults, plus Facility/Service Fees (2 p.m. performance)
• $10 Students/Seniors, plus Facility/Service Fees (2 p.m. performance)

*The $30 UB Dance Day Ticket 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 12 p.m. in the hallway outside of the Dance Studios for check-in.
• A dance class focusing on the movement to be featured in the 2 p.m. performance, and observation of company warm up, plus Q and A with UB dance majors. No specific dancewear required. Come dressed to move.
• Admission to "Zodiaque Dance Company 48^th Season Spring 23 Program" 2 p.m. performance in the Drama Theatre.
  

A March 3, 10:30 a.m. performance for student and senior groups is available by reservation at 716-645-6921.

Somewhere in America, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plots to take over the world. If their new routine is good enough, they’ll claw their way to the top at Nationals in Tampa Bay. A comedic play about ambition, growing up and how to find our souls in the heat of it all. Finalist, 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, directed and created entirely by UB students of color.

By: Clare Barron
Directed by: Isabella Gomez-Barrientos
March 3 - 4, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre
$10 Adults | $5 Students/Seniors, plus Facility/Service Fees
Tickets

In "Eurydice", Sarah Ruhl reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love. With contemporary characters, ingenious plot twists, and breathtaking visual effects, the play is a fresh look at a timeless love story.

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

Now in its fourth 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’s spring program will include more than thirty-three student performers, both undergraduate and graduate. Student choreographers include Sidney Bowers, Victoria Rose Hyl, Samantha Schmeer and Brennah Woollis. ChoreoLab provides versatile choreographic and performance opportunities for UB students that reflect the current dance landscape.

Directed by Jenna Zavrel
March 31 – April 1, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
April 1 – 2, 2023 at 2 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts
Black Box Theatre
$20 Adults | $10 Students/Seniors, plus Facility/Service Fees
Tickets

The annual MFA Dance Thesis Concert will feature the premier of new works by MFA Dance candidates Anna Caison Boyd, Abby Cass, and Samantha Schmeer. The production showcases the culmination of the trio’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.

Directed by: Ariel Nereson
Choreographers: Anna Caison Boyd, Abby Cass and Samantha Schmeer
April 14 - 15, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts
Black Box Theatre
$20 Adults | $10 Students/Seniors, plus Facility/Service Fees
Tickets

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is the new Broadway adaptation of the classic musical. This contemporary take on the classic tale features the duo’s most beloved songs, including “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible/It's Possible” and “Ten Minutes Ago,” alongside an up-to-date, hilarious and romantic libretto by Tony Award nominee Douglas Carter Beane.

Cinderella is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization.

Music by: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by: Oscar Hammerstein II
New Book by: Douglas Carter Beane
Original Book by: Oscar Hammerstein II
Directed and co-choreographed by: James Beaudry
Co-choreographed by: Natasha McCandless

April 27 - 29, 2023 and May 5 – 6, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
April 29 - 30 and May 6 - 7, 2023 at 2 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts
Drama Theatre
$20 Adults | $10 Students/Seniors, plus Facility/Service Fees
Tickets

Dancers Workshop is an annual student-run showcase led by UB Dance majors, extending to all undergraduates, for a unique dance show experience. The 46^th installment, titled “Breaking Free”, includes 28 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: Juliana Guiffrida
Assistant Director: Lily Colligan
May 12 - 13, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre
$15 Adults | $10 Students/Seniors, plus Facility/Service Fees
Tickets

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 16 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.

Directed by: Natasha Skidmore and Madison Temple
May 14, 2023 at 4p.m.
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre
$10 All seats, plus Facility/Service Fees
Tickets

Tickets for Performances at the UB Center for the Arts
Information or charge by phone: 716-645-6915
Online purchase: ubcfa.org (select "Events and Exhibitions/Calendar")

Tickets for Performances at UB Katharine Cornell Theatre
Information: 716-645-6921
Charge by phone: 716-645-6915
Online purchase: ubcfa.org (select "Events and Exhibitions/Calendar")

Directions to Venues

Press Inquiries and Group Sales
Rob Falgiano 716-645-6921

UB Department of Theatre and Dance

UB Center for the Arts

The UB Theatre and Dance 2022-2023 season is sponsored in part by Fox Run at Orchard Park.