Theatre Arts

The Arsonists

By Max Frisch
Directed by Beth Cherne

Performance Dates: 
April 20-21 & April 26-28, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
April 22 & 29, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Toland Theatre, Center for the Arts

ONLINE ticket sales begin Wednesday, October 4, 2017.  Tickets go on sale Monday, April 16 at 1:00 p.m.  Tickets may be purchased in person at the box office in Center for the Arts or by calling 608.785.8522 beginning Monday, April 16, 2018 at 1:00 p.m..

Ticket Prices: $18 adults; $16 seniors/non UWL students; $6 UWL students.

Fires are becoming something of a problem, popping up all over town, but Mr. Biedermann has it all under control.  A respected member of the community, he tries to live a life of blameless middle-class decency.  It is this sense of bourgeois propriety that renders Biedermann defenseless when two strangers finesse their way into his home and settle in.  But when they start filling his attic with petrol drums, will he help them light the fuse?  Inspired by the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948, this absurdist allegory satirizes the way in which people can be manipulated into accommodating their own destruction.

2018-2019 SEASON

Season tickets are on sale now.  Deadline to order season tickets is September 27, 2018.  
To order season tickets online, click on the BUY SEASON TICKETS buttons at the top of this page.

To order season tickets by mail, complete the Season Ticket Order Form and return to the Department of Theatre Arts (address is on the form).

To order season tickets by phone, please call the Department of Theatre Arts at 608.785.6701  

Hair(SummerStage 2018)

By Gerome Ragni, James Rado, and Galt MacDermot
Directed by Mary Leonard

Performance Dates: 
June 22-23 & 28-30, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
June 24 & July 1, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Toland Theatre, Center for the Arts
Assigned Seating

ONLINE ticket sales begin Wednesday, June 6, 2018.  In person/phone reservations begin Monday, June 18, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. at the box office in Center for the Arts or by calling 608.785.8522.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

Hair is the original 1960s rock opera, embodying the fun, wild, free-spirited energy of the “Age of Aquarius.”  The story of the “tribe”, a group of politically active, long-haired hippies, Hair chronicles the passionate fight against conscription into the Vietnam War and “loose” bohemian lifestyle of a generation that believed that change was possible.  Claude, his good friend Berger, their roommate Sheila and their friends struggle to balance their young lives, loves and the sexual revolution with their pacifist rebellion against the war and the conservative impulses of their parents and society.  Will Claude be forced into serving his country in a war he despises, or will peace, love and rock and roll rule?  

**Please Note: Hair is not included in the season ticket package.

MATURE AUDIENCE ONLY!  Contains Explicit Content/Language, Nudity, Drug References, Sexual References and Violence

 

Hair Scholarship Fundraiser

By Gerome Ragni, James Rado, and Galt MacDermot
Directed by Mary Leonard

Performance Dates
Saturday, September 8, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 9, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. 
Toland Theatre, Center for the Arts
General Admission

Ticket Prices: $25 adults; $22 seniors/non UWL students; $15 UWL students.

ONLINE ticket sales begin Wednesday, August 29, 2018.  Tickets are available for purchase in person at the box office in the Center for the Arts or by calling 608.785.8522 beginning Tuesday, September 4, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

MATURE AUDIENCE ONLY!  Contains Explicit Content/Language, Nudity, Drug References, Sexual References and Violence

**Please Note: Hair is not included in the season ticket package.

 

The Laramie Project  

By Moises Kaufmann
Directed by Greg Parmeter

Performance Dates:
October 12-13 & 18-20, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
October 14 & 21, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Toland Theatre, Center for the Arts
Assigned Seating.

ONLINE ticket sales begin Wednesday, October 3, 2018.  Tickets are available for purchase in person at the box office in the Center for the Arts or by calling 608.785.8522 beginning Monday, October 8, 2018 at 1:00 p.m.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

Ticket Prices: $18 adults; $16 seniors/non UWL students; $6 UWL students. 

In October 1998 in the middle of the prairie outside Laramie, Wyoming, Matthew Shepard, a 21 year old student at the University of Wyoming, was tied to a fence post, severely beaten, robbed, tortured and left, alone, to die. His body—battered, bloody, barely clinging to life—was discovered eighteen hours later. He was rushed to the hospital and put on life support. He died five days later. The reason for this brutal crime? Matthew Shepard was gay.

The hate crime attracted vast attention worldwide, bringing sexual discrimination and violence to the forefront of public discourse. The Tectonic Theater Project, led by their founder Moisés Kaufman, traveled to Laramie in the aftermath of the murder with the intent of creating a theatrical portrait of a town coming to grips with horrible, hate-fueled violence. Over the course of a year and a half, the group interviewed over 200 subjects, some directly related to the case and some regular citizens of Laramie. Out of these interviews, journal entries, and found texts, The Laramie Project was born. Hailed as one of the most captivating and encompassing pieces of contemporary theatre, the play shocks, challenges, and moves all who watch it as it reveals the lowest depths of hatred and greatest heights of compassion that lies within all human beings in any seemingly average community.

Almost, Maine

By John Cariani
Directed by Mary Leonard

Performance Dates:
November 1-3, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
November 4, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Frederick Theatre, Morris Hall
General Admission

ONLINE ticket sales begin Wednesday, October 3, 2018.  Tickets may be purchased in person at the box office in the Center for the Arts or by calling 608.785.8522 beginning Monday, October 29, 2018 at 1:00 p.m.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

Ticket Prices: $18 adults; $16 seniors/non UWL students; $6 UWL students. 

John Cariani’s Almost, Maine, where on one deeply cold and magical Midwinter Night, the citizens of Almost -- not organized enough for a town, too populated for a wilderness -- experience the life-altering power of the human heart. Relationships end, begin, or change beyond recognition, as strangers become friends, friends become lovers, and lovers turn into strangers. Propelled by the mystical energy of the aurora borealis and populated with characters who are humorous, plain-spoken, thoughtful, and sincere, Almost, Maine is a series of loosely connected tales about love, each with a compelling couple at its center, each with its own touch of sorcery.

**Please Note: Almost, Maine is not included in the season ticket package.

 

Enchanted April

By Matthew Barber
Based on the novel by Elizabeth von Arnim
Directed by Jeanne Willcoxon

Performance Dates:
November 30-December 1 & December 6-8, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
December 2 & 9, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Toland Theatre, Center for the Arts
Assigned Seating.

ONLINE ticket sales begin Wednesday, October 3, 2018.  Tickets may be purchased in person at the box office in the Center for the Arts or by calling 608.785.8522 beginning Monday, November 26 at 1:00 p.m.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

Ticket Prices: $18 adults; $16 seniors/non UWL students; $6 UWL students. 

 Sweet-natured Lotty Wilton is suffering depression from the bleak London winter, and from an oppressive relationship with her pompous solicitor husband. When she sees an advertisement in the paper to rent a castle in Italy for the month of April, an idyllic spot “for those who appreciate wisteria and sunshine,” she jumps at the chance to escape her downtrodden existence. Sensing an instant kinship with fellow housewife Rose Arnott, a severely angelic woman with sorrows of her own, Lotty persuades her along on the adventure. Seeking to reduce the costs, the two ladies find Caroline Bramble, a beautiful and exhausted socialite, and Mrs. Graves, an overbearing widow, to round out the party. As the month passes, verdant sun-drenched San Salvatore works its magic on each sad and hardened heart, healing grief and bringing hope. And with the arrival of two chastened husbands and one attractive young artist, romance blooms again. Matthew Barber’s Enchanted April, based on Elizabeth Von Arnim’s beloved novel of the 1920s, is a gentle and romantic comedy of manners. Against the backdrop of a country still reeling from World War I Enchanted April offers to its characters, and viewers, a necessary balm of sunshine and renewal.

 

Urinetown

By Mark Hollmann & Greg Kotis
Directed by Mary Leonard 

Performance Dates:
March 1-2 & 7-9, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
March 3 & 10, 2019 at 2:00 p.m.
Toland Theatre, Center for the Arts
Assigned Seating

ONLINE ticket sales begin Wednesday, October 3, 2018.  Tickets may be purchased in person at the box office in the Center for the Arts or by calling 608.785.8522 beginning Monday, February 25, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

 Ticket Prices: $20 adults; $18 seniors/non UWL students; $6 UWL students.  

Winner of three Tony Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards and two Obie Awards, Urinetown is a hilarious musical satire of the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, municipal politics and musical theatre itself! Hilariously funny and touchingly honest, Urinetown provides a fresh perspective on one of America's greatest art forms.

In a Gotham-like city, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought, has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity's most basic needs. Amid the people, a hero decides that he's had enough and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom!

 

The Cat in the Hat

By Dr. Seuss
Adapted by Katie Mitchell
Directed by Jeanne Willcoxon

School Performance Dates/Information
April 3, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.
April 4, 2019 at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.
April 5, 2019 at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.
(School groups only)

Ticket Prices:  Tickets are $5 per person (children, teachers, chaperons, etc.)
Schools may reserve group tickets beginning August 27, 2018 by calling the Department of Theatre Arts at 608.785.6701.

Public Performance Dates:
Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.
Frederick Theatre, Morris Hall
General Admission

Ticket Prices:  Tickets are $6 for children/UWL students; $10 for adults/senior citizens.

ONLINE ticket sales begin Wednesday, October 3, 2018.  Tickets may be purchased in person or by phone by calling the box office at 785.8522 beginning Monday, April 1, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance. General admission seating. Limited seating available. **Please note that the children’s production tends to sell out quickly.**

**Please Note: The Cat in the Hat is not included in the season ticket package.

Leave it to the Cat in the Hat! Everyone’s favorite feline in the red and white hat turns a rainy afternoon upside down with his madcap mischief and wacky adventures.  Speaking only in rhyme, the Cat in the Hat shows Sally and her brother that “it’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how,” despite the misgivings of their well-mannered Fish.  But what will Mother think of all the antics when she returns home?  Find out when all of your favorite moments from this Dr. Seuss classic come to life before your eyes. 

 

The Country Wife

By William Wycherley
Directed by Greg Parmeter

Performance Dates: 
April 26-27 & May 1-4, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
April 28, 2019 at 2:00 p.m.
Toland Theatre, Center for the Arts
Assigned Seating

ONLINE ticket sales begin Wednesday, October 3, 2018.  Tickets may be purchased in person at the box office in Center for the Arts or by calling 608.785.8522 beginning Monday, April 22, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

Ticket Prices: $18 adults; $16 seniors/non UWL students; $6 UWL students.

A great and funny comedy of the Restoration, The Country Wife tells the story of Horner, a notorious and lascivious man-about-town and his ingenious scheme for the rampant and mass seduction of the women of London society. By spreading the false rumor of his own impotence, he gains the sympathy of the husbands of the town and, more importantly, free access to their wives. Meanwhile the newly-married Pinchwife desperately attempts to keep his naïve country bride from the clutches of predatory London bachelors. When she and Horner meet, events spiral out of his control.

 

Kinesis Dance Theatre

Choreographed by Kathy Gorman



Performance Dates:
May 10-11, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
Toland Theatre, Center for the Arts
General Admission

ONLINE ticket sales begin Wednesday, October 3, 2018.  Tickets may be purchased in person at the box office in Center for the Arts or by calling 608.785.8522 beginning Monday, May 6, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.  Box office hours are Monday through Friday 1:00-4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance.

Ticket Prices: $18 adults; $16 seniors/non UWL students; $6 UWL students.

Kinesis Dance Theatre is a UWL student dance group under the direction of choreographer Kathy Gorman. The UWL modern dance troupe first made its debut on the Toland Theatre stage in March 2009 and has been creating evocative and captivating dance performances ever since. Student members of Kinesis Dance Theatre choreograph and perform many of their own solo or small group pieces while working with the theatre lighting and costume designers at UWL to create a full, theatrical experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: