Theatre & Dance

PARKING LOT CONSTRUCTION:

Please note that the parking lot next to the Lowe Center for the Arts will be under construction beginning April 1, 2024. Arrive early to find alternative parking. Patrons may park in the ramp on the corner of Farwell & 17th Streets for free after 7:00 p.m. and on the weekends.  For those with mobility issues, there is a drop off site next to the Lowe Center for the Arts on the corner of 15th & Pine Streets.  The Parking Ramp can be located on the campus map (#30).

2025-2026 THEATRE SEASON 

Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really.

By Kate Hamill
Based Loosely on the Novel by Bram Stroker
Directed by Mary Trotter

Dracula Poster

Bouncing between horror and humor, Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s seminal novel is a thrilling play that questions who the true monsters are. When your survival is at stake…will you be able to distinguish the monster from the man?  Both terrifying and riotous, Kate Hamill’s imaginative, gender-bending “feminist revenge fantasy” is like no Dracula you’ve ever seen—exploring the nature of predators and reinventing the story as a smart, disquieting, darkly comic drama.  Hamill’s signature style and postmodern wit upends this familiar tale of Victorian vampires—driving a stake through the heart of toxic masculinity.  Fierce, feminist, and frightening, Dracula is a revenge fantasy worth sinking your teeth into! 

CONTENT WARNING:  Recommended for mature audiences.  Contains mature language and content.

Performance Dates:
October 10-11 & 16-18, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
October 12 & 19, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
Toland Theatre, Lowe Center for the Arts
333 N. 16th Street, La Crosse
Assigned Seating.

ONLINE TICKETS: $20 adults; $18 senior citizens/non UWL students/military; $8 UWL students.  Online tickets will have a small credit card processing fee added at checkout.  Patrons are encouraged to buy their tickets online and download the tickets to their phone/email.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.uwlax.edu/theatre-and-dance  beginning October 1, 2025.

IN PERSON/PHONE TICKETS:  $22 for adults, $20 for senior/non UWL students and $10 for UWL students (processing/printing fee already included in the price); call (608) 785-6696.  Box office opens October 6 for in person/phone ticket sales.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-3:00 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

Presented by arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide https://www.theatricalrights.com/

tick, tick...BOOM!

By Jonathan Larson
Directed by Nic Barilar
Music Direction by Katie Fries

tick, tick, BOOM poster

On the brink of his 30^th birthday, an aspiring musical theatre composer navigates love, friendship, and the pressure to create something great before time runs out. Before he electrified the world with Rent, Jonathan Larson struggled to leave his mark on Broadway. In this    autobiographical musical of that struggle, “Jon” questions whether he should continue to seek his big break or give it all up and move on with his life. Scored by the rock-inspired music that redefined the genre for the ‘90s, tick, tick… BOOM! explores the ticking-time-bombs that we set for ourselves, the social pressures to succeed, and how those pressures can make us lose sight of what’s most important.

Performance Dates:
November 7-8 & 13-15, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
November 9 & 16, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
Frederick Theatre, Morris Hall
1615 State Street, La Crosse
General Admission.

ONLINE TICKETS: $20 adults; $18 senior citizens/non UWL students/military; $8 UWL students.  Online tickets will have a small credit card processing fee added at checkout.  Patrons are encouraged to buy their tickets online and download the tickets to their phone/email.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.uwlax.edu/theatre-and-dance  beginning October 1, 2025.

IN PERSON/PHONE TICKETS:  $22 for adults, $20 for senior/non UWL students and $10 for UWL students (processing/printing fee already included in the price); call (608) 785-6696.  Box office opens November 3 for in person/phone ticket sales.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-3:00 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

Presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International
https://www.mtishows.com/ 

Ken Ludwig's The Game's Afoot,
or Holmes for the Holidays

By Ken Ludwig
Directed by Greg Parmeter

Game's Afoot poster

It’s Christmas Eve 1936, and Broadway star William Gillette, admired the world over for his portrayal as Sherlock Holmes, has invited his fellow cast members to his Connecticut castle for a weekend of revelry.  But, when one of the guests is stabbed to death, the festivities in this isolated house of tricks and mirrors quickly turns dangerous.  It’s up to Gillette, as he assumes the persona of his beloved Holmes, to find the killer before someone else is murdered.  This glittering holiday whodunit with twists, turns, and murderous pandemonium.

Performance Dates:
December 4-6, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
December 6 & 7, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
Toland Theatre, Lowe Center for the Arts
333 N. 16th Street, La Crosse
Assigned Seating.

ONLINE TICKETS: $20 adults; $18 senior citizens/non UWL students/military; $8 UWL students.  Online tickets will have a small credit card processing fee added at checkout.  Patrons are encouraged to buy their tickets online and download the tickets to their phone/email.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.uwlax.edu/theatre-and-dance  beginning October 1, 2025.

IN PERSON/PHONE TICKETS:  $22 for adults, $20 for senior/non UWL students and $10 for UWL students (processing/printing fee already included in the price); call (608) 785-6696.  Box office opens December 1 for in person/phone ticket sales.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-3:00 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

Presented by special arrangement with Concord Theatrical on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. 
https://www.concordtheatricals.com/ 

Machinal

By Sophie Treadwell
Directed by Mary Trotter

Machinal Poster

Machinal is a powerful expressionist play about the status of women in an increasingly mechanized society and the torture of a loveless marriage. From the outside, Helen Jones and her husband had a ‘happy marriage’. Until she murdered him. Based on the real-life case of convicted and executed murderer Ruth Snyder, Sophie Treadwell’s ground-breaking Machinal is a pulse-pounding journey of someone pushed to the breaking point by the relentless machinery of life, expectation, and convention.  Machinal explores ideas of feminism, equality, crime, and freedom in Prohibition Era America.

Performance Dates:
February 27-28 & March 5-7, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
March 1 & 8, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.
Toland Theatre, Lowe Center for the Arts
333 N. 16th Street, La Crosse
Assigned Seating.

ONLINE TICKETS: $20 adults; $18 senior citizens/non UWL students; $8 UWL students.  Online tickets will have a small credit card processing fee added at checkout.  Patrons are encouraged to buy their tickets online and download the tickets to their phone/email.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.uwlax.edu/theatre-and-dance  beginning October 1, 2025.

IN PERSON/PHONE TICKETS:  $22 for adults, $20 for senior/non UWL students/military and $10 for UWL students (processing/printing fee already included in the price); call (608) 785-6696.  Box office opens February 23 for in person/phone ticket sales.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-3:00 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

My Days with Peter Rabbit (and His Friends)

Based on the Tales of Beatrix Potter (by Beatrix Potter)
Adapted by Nic Barilar and David Harlan
Directed by Nic Barilar

Peter Rabbit poster

Adapted from the Tales of Beatrix Potter and featuring the beloved characters of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jeremy Fisher, Squirrel Nutkin and more, this play will spark the imagination - and delight - children of all ages. Join us for a journey through the fields, around the farms, over the lakes and rivers, and into the burrows of Beatrix Potter’s fabled (and fabulous) English countryside!

School Performance Dates:
April 8-10, 2026 at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 1:00 p.m. 
Beginning Monday, August 25, please contact the UWL Department of Theatre and Dance at 608-785-6701 to register your school group.  Seating is limited.
**Please Note:  The 9:00 a.m. performances will be sensory-friendly versions with reduced sound effects, additional house lights, etc.

Public Performance Dates:
Saturday, April 11 at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 12 at 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m.
Frederick Theatre, Morris Hall
1615 State Street, La Crosse
General Admission Seating.
**UWL Theatre & Dance children's show tend to sell out.  We encourage patrons to purchase their tickets online early.**

ONLINE TICKETS: $10 adults/senior citizens/non UWL students; $8 UWL students/children.  Online tickets will have a small credit card processing fee added at checkout.  Patrons are encouraged to buy their tickets online and download the tickets to their phone/email.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.uwlax.edu/theatre-and-dance  beginning October 1, 2025.

IN PERSON/PHONE TICKETS:  $12 adults/senior/non UWL students and $10 for UWL students/children (processing/printing fee already included in the price); call (608) 785-6696.  Box office opens April 6 for in person/phone ticket sales.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-3:00 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Book & Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman
Music & Lyrics by Steven Lutvak
Based on the novel Israel Rank by Roy Horniman
Directed by Greg Parmeter
Music Direction by Kathryn Skemp Moran

Gentleman's Guide poster

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is the knock-'em-dead, uproarious hit with over ten Tony Award nominations and four wins. When the low-born Monty Navarro finds out that he's eighth in line for an earldom in the lofty D'Ysquith family, he figures his chances of outliving his predecessors are slight and sets off down a far more ghoulish path. Can he knock off his unsuspecting relatives without being caught and become the ninth Earl of Highhurst? And what of love? Because murder isn't the only thing on Monty's mind....  A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is a murderous romp filled with unforgettable music and non-stop laughs.

Performance Dates:
April 24-25 & 30-May 2, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
April 26 & May 3, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.
Toland Theatre, Lowe Center for the Arts
333 N. 16th Street, La Crosse
Assigned seating.

ONLINE TICKETS: $22 adults; $20 senior citizens/non UWL students; $8 UWL students.  Online tickets will have a small credit card processing fee added at checkout.  Patrons are encouraged to buy their tickets online and download the tickets to their phone/email.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.uwlax.edu/theatre-and-dance  beginning October 1, 2025.

IN PERSON/PHONE TICKETS:  $24 for adults, $22 for senior/non UWL students/military and $10 for UWL students (processing/printing fee already included in the price); call (608) 785-6696.  Box office opens April 20 for in person/phone ticket sales.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-3:00 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

Presented in arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI)
https://www.mtishows.com/

Digital Programs

In an effort to reduce waste and reduce our carbon footprint, we will no longer be offering printed programs for any theatre production.  But, don't worry...you'll be able to access the program online!

Accessing Show Programs

When you arrive at the theatre, there will be postings with a QR code in the lobby and as you enter the theatre.  You simply scan this code with your phone's camera to access the online program.

Benefits to Patrons

Programs will be mobile-friendly, will be available sooner, and will be archived on our website.  Programs can also be accessed before and after the production on your laptop or computer.

Using mobile devices during shows?

We strongly encourage patrons to view the programs before the start of the performance, during intermission, or when the performance concludes.  As always, cell phones are distracting to the actors and other patrons, so viewing the programs before or after the production is ideal.

Will we return to printed programs?

The short answer is probably not.  While there still may be special instances where print programs are needed, the UWL Department of Theatre and Dance is committed to providing this digital platform to our patrons in order to be more environmentally friendly and encourage sustainable business practices.

2025-2026 Theatre Season Digital Programs

Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really.
tick, tick...BOOM!
Ken Ludwig's The Game's Afoot
Machinal
My Days with Peter Rabbit (and His Friends)
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Archived Digital Programs

Puffs (2024)

Art in Motion: A Concert of Dance (2024)

What the Constitution Means to Me (2024)
The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley (2024)
Much Ado About Nothing (2025)

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse (2025)
Cabaret (2025)

Cinderella (SummerStage 2023)
Dr. Faustus (2023)
Fuddy Meers (2023)
The Wolves (2023)
Art in Motion: A Concert of Dance (2024)
James and the Giant Peach (2024)
Orlando (2024)

Murder on the Orient Express (2022)
The Last Train to Nibroc (2022)
A Christmas Carol (2022)
The Secret in the Wings (2023)
Dragons Love Tacos (2023)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2023)