NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma’s Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts has announced its 2024-25 University Theatre season, coinciding with the college’s centennial.
“While all University Theatre seasons are special, this one stands out as part of our centennial celebration,” said Mary Margaret Holt, dean of the college. “Our goal is to provide students with opportunities to practice and succeed in the art disciplines they study in classrooms, rehearsal halls and production studios while sharing their accomplishment with our university and central Oklahoma communities.”
The season will feature opera, drama, dance and musical theater, with both students and audiences in mind. It opens Sept. 26 with a double bill of one-act operas, Gaetano Donnizetti’s Rita and Maurice Raval’s L’heure Espagnole, performed in French with English supertitles. The production runs Sept. 26-29 at the Reynolds Performing Arts Center.
Theater season productions for 2024-25 are:
Rita and L’heure Espagnole (September), Reynolds Performing Arts Center, directed by Nicole Kenley-Miller with musical direction by Jonathan Shames. The one-act operas explore the comedic side of relationships.
As You Like It (October), Elsie C. Brackett Theatre, directed by Alissa Branch. William Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy is about love, exile and reconciliation in the Forest of Arden.
Oklahoma Festival Ballet (November), Reynolds Performing Arts Center, choreography by Rena Butler, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Glen Edgerton and Mary Margaret Holt. Berio Suite by William Forsythe, an excerpt from Kylián’s Whereabouts Unknown, and Holt’s The Nutcracker, Act II, will be performed. The program also includes premieres of original works by choreographers Rena Butler and Glenn Edgerton.
Rent (November-December), Elsie C. Brackett Theatre, directed by Ashton Byrum, musical direction by Mandy Jiran and choreographed by Leslie Kraus. Rent is set in New York City during the height of the AIDS epidemic, looking at the grittier side of life and artistic expression. Written by the late Jonathan Larson, Rent is a Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Drama Desk Award-winning musical.
Young Choreographers’ Showcase (January), Elsie C. Brackett Theatre. OU School of Dance student choreographers present original dance works. The performances are in collaboration with lighting design students in the Helmerich School of Drama.
Waiting for Lefty (February), A. Max Weitzenhoffer Theatre, directed by Seth Gordon. Based on the historic taxi driver strikes of 1934, Clifford Odets’ Waiting for Lefty looks at the socioeconomic tensions of The Great Depression.
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (March), Reynolds Performing Arts Center, directed by Nicole Kenley-Miller with musical direction by Jonathan Shames. The opera is by composer Kurt Weill and playwright Bertolt Brecht and was first performed in 1930. It is a satirical commentary on capitalism, greed and societal corruption.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (April), A. Max Weitzenhoffer Theatre, directed by Lyn Cramer, musical direction by Paul Christman, choreographed by Lyn Cramer and Michelle Rambo. Written by Rachel Sheinkin, the musical comedy is about a group of quirky middle school students competing in a spelling bee.
Contemporary Dance Oklahoma (April-May), Elsie C. Brackett Theatre, choreographed by Netta Yerushalmy, Armadi ‘Baye’ Washington and Sam ‘Asa’ Pratt, Austin Hartel, Leslie Kraus and Roxanne Lyst. The performances include works by Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, Israeli dance artist Netta Yerushalmy, and choreographic duo Baye and Asa.
A full theater season schedule is available here. Tickets can be purchased online at 405-325-4101 or at the OU Fine Arts Box Office inside Catlett Music Center, 500 W. Boyd, Norman.
The Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts celebrates its centennial at the University of Oklahoma this year. The college produces over 300 concerts, recitals, dramas, musicals, operas and dance performances each year. Learn more at ou.edu/finearts.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. OU was named the state’s highest-ranking university in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent Best Colleges list. For more information about the university, visit ou.edu.
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