Theatre and Dance presents spring season

The Department of Theatre and Dance is presenting a season of dance, musicals and drama this spring featuring nationally recognized directors, choreographers and faculty working with emerging student talent to produce innovative original productions that entertain audiences and explore the human condition.

‘The 39 Steps’

Feb. 16-17, 7:30 p.m.
Katharine Cornell Theatre, Ellicott Complex
$22 adults | $17 seniors/veterans/UB employees
$12 students | $7 UB students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets for The 39 Steps

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 theater.

“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 the Student Directed Series

‘The Odd Couple’

Feb. 23-24, 7:30 p.m.
Katharine Cornell Theatre, Ellicott Complex
$22 adults | $17 seniors/veterans/UB employees
$12 students | $7 UB students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets for the Odd Couple

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

“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 the Student Directed Series

Zodiaque Dance Company 49th Season Spring Program

Feb. 29-March 2, 7:30 p.m.
March 3, 2024 at 2 p.m.
Drama Theatre, Center for the Arts
$22 adults | $17 seniors/veterans/UB employees
$12 students | $7 UB students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets for Zodiaque Dance Company

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

• A participatory, pre-show workshop for ages 14 and up in the Center for the Arts dance studios (Rooms B82 and B84). Arrive at noon in the hallway outside of the dance studios 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 the Zodiaque Dance Company’s 2 p.m. performance in the
• Questions? Email Kerry Ring at kring2@buffalo.edu.

The Zodiaque’s 49th 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 the 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 Thomas Ralabate, professor emeritus. The concert features the contributions of dance alumni Amy Van Kirk and Evan Michael Stewart, as well as guest choreographers Jennifer Golonka and Christa Oliver.

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

‘Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play’

March 7-9, 7:30 p.m.
March 9-10, 2 p.m.
Black Box Theatre, Center for the Arts
$22 adults | $17 seniors/veterans/UB employees
$12 students | $7 UB students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets for Mr. Burns

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 performance at 2 p.m. March 9.

“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

‘King Henry VI Part 2,’ a Theatre Studio Ensemble production

April 5-6, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
Rehearsal Workshop, Center for the Arts
$22 adults | $17 seniors/veterans/UB employees
$12 students | $7 UB students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets to King Henry VI

Real Housewives meets Game of Thrones in Shakespeare’s “King Henry VI Part 2.” When Henry, King of England, marries Margaret of Anjou the English court begins to question Henry’s leadership and divides its 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 is 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 the base. To bring this cinematically scaled history to life, the 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, assistant professor of theatre and dance.

ChoreoLab

April 12-13, 7:30 p.m.
April 13-14, 2 p.m.
Black Box Theatre, Center for the Arts
$22 adults | $17 seniors/veterans/UB employees
$12 students | $7 UB students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets to ChoreoLab

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 30 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

MFA Dance Thesis Concert

April 19-20, 7:30 p.m.
Black Box Theatre, Center for the Arts
$22 adults | $17 seniors/veterans/UB employees
$12 students | $7 UB students (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets to MFA Dance Thesis Concert

The annual MFA Dance Thesis Concert features 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 MFA, the equivalent of the PhD in a scholarly discipline. The concert features collaborations with media artists and the student performers.

McCandless’ thesis project is sponsored by a Humanities New York Public Humanities Grant.

Directed by Anne Burnidge

‘9 to 5 The Musical’

April 26-27 and May 3-4, 7:30 p.m.
April 28 and May 4-5, 2 p.m.
Drama Theatre, Center for the Arts
$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”

With music and lyrics by Dolly Parton and book by Patricia Resnick, “9 to 5 The Musical” 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 the show works in the frame of camp, content includes sexual situations and references, violence (explicit and implied), gun violence and light drug use.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters will be provided for the performance at 2 p.m. May 4.

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

Directed and choreographed by Eric Deeb Weaver
Music direction by Matt Marco

Dancers Workshop

May 10-11, 7:30 p.m.
May 11, 2 p.m.
Katharine Cornell Theatre, Ellicott Complex
$22 adults | $17 seniors/veterans/UB employees
$12 Students | $7 UB Students, plus facility/service fees (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets for Dancers Workshop

Dancers Workshop is an annual student-run showcase led by UB dance majors and extending to all undergraduates. The 47th 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.

Directed by Lily Colligan as part of the Student Directed Series

Senior Dance Showcase

May 12, 4 p.m.
Katharine Cornell Theatre, Ellicott Complex
$22 adults | $17 seniors/veterans/UB employees
$12 students | $7 UB students, plus facility/service fees (Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)
Tickets for the Senior Dance Showcase

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. Senior Dance Showcase is student co-directed by Morgan Mahoney and Mia Pierce as part of the Student Directed Series.