University Theatre and Concerts

YOUNG CHOREOGRAPHERS' SHOWCASE

Jan. 23, 24, 25 at 8 p.m.
Jan. 26 at 3 p.m.
Elsie C. Brackett Theatre

Tickets on sale beginning January 8, 2025.

Be delighted and inspired as School of Dance student choreographers present original dance works for the OU stage. In creative collaboration with Helmerich School of Drama lighting design students, these young artists bring creative and thought-provoking energy to each production.

This production may contain adult content.

Ticket Prices
Advance Purchase, Adult: $38
Advance Purchase, OU Employee, Military, Seniors: $33
Advance Purchase, OU Student: $14
At the Door: Adult $40, Student $15 (with ID)
Prices include processing fee and tax

WAITING FOR LEFTY

Feb. 7, 8, 13, 14, 15 at 8 p.m.
Feb. 9, 16 at 3 p.m.
A. Max Weitzenhoffer Theatre

Tickets on sale beginning January 21, 2025.
 

Written by Clifford Odets
Directed by Seth Gordon

Six cab drivers at a fateful union meeting share glimpses into their private lives as they publicly wrestle with a difficult decision—to strike or not to strike? Based on the historic taxi driver strikes of 1934, Clifford Odets’ Waiting for Lefty dramatizes the socioeconomic tensions of his time and captures the dangerous sounds of revolt. 

This Production contains adult themes, violence, and coarse language.

Ticket Prices
Advance Purchase, Adult: $38
Advance Purchase, OU Employee, Military, Seniors: $33
Advance Purchase, OU Student: $14
At the Door: Adult $40, Student $15 (with ID)
Prices include processing fee and tax

RISE & FALL OF THE CITY OF MAHAGONNY

March 6, 7, 8 at 8 p.m.
March 9 at 3 p.m.
Reynolds Performing Arts Center

Tickets on sale beginning February 17, 2025.

Composed by Kurt Weill, Libretto by Bertolt Brecht
Directed by Nicole Kenley-Miller
Musical Direction by Jonathan Shames, OU Opera Artistic Director

In their second full-length satirical opera collaboration, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht create an apocalyptic world. Three fugitives break down in the middle of No-Man's Land, USA, and decide to start their own city, populated by fortune seekers, prostitutes, and shady dealers. Power, greed, and vice permeate their new society, ultimately leading to its destruction. Performed in English.

This production contains adult themes and violence.

Ticket Prices
Advance Purchase, Adult: $33
Advance Purchase, OU Employee, Military, Seniors: $28
Advance Purchase, OU Student: $14
At the Door: Adult $45, Student $15 (with ID)
Prices include processing fee and tax

THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

April 4, 5, 10, 11, 12 at 8 p.m.
April 6, 13 at 3 p.m.
A. Max Weitzenhoffer Theatre

Tickets on sale beginning March 10, 2025.

Music & lyrics by William Finn, Book by Rachel Sheinkin, Conceived by Rebecca Feldman
Additional material by Jay Reiss
Directed by Lyn Cramer
Musical Direction by Paul Christman
Choreographed by Lyn Cramer & Michelle Rambo

An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming "ding" of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves a champion! At least the losers get a juice box.

A riotous ride, complete with audience participation, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delightful den of comedic genius and is the winner of multiple Tony and Drama Desk Awards.

This production contains some adult content.

Ticket Prices
Advance Purchase, Adult: $43
Advance Purchase, OU Employee, Military, Seniors: $38
Advance Purchase, OU Student: $14
At the Door: Adult $45, Student $15 (with ID)
Prices include processing fee and tax

CONTEMPORARY DANCE OKLAHOMA

April 25, 26, May 1, 2 at 8 p.m.
April 27 & May 3 at 3 p.m.
Elsie C. Brackett Theatre

Tickets on sale beginning April 7, 2025.

Choreographed by Netta Yerushalmy, Armadi ‘Baye’ Washington & Sam ‘Asa’ Pratt, Austin Hartel, Leslie Kraus, Roxanne Lyst

In an exciting multi-faceted production, Contemporary Dance Oklahoma explores the  power of contemporary dance and breathtaking storytelling, including works by Guggenheim Fellowship recipient and Israeli dance artist Netta Yerushalmy. Emerging, immersive choreographers Baye & Asa join OU School of Dance faculty to complete this innovative production. 

This production is suitable for all audiences.

Ticket Prices
Advance Purchase, Adult: $38
Advance Purchase, OU Employee, Military, Seniors: $33
Advance Purchase, OU Student: $14
At the Door: Adult $40, Student $15 (with ID)
Prices include processing fee and tax

RITA & L'HEURE ESPAGNOLE

Sept. 26, 27, 28 at 8 p.m.
Sept. 29 at 3 p.m.
Reynolds Performing Arts Center

Tickets on sale now!

Rita: Composed by Gaetano Donizetti, Libretto by Gustave Vaëz
L'heure Espagnole: Composed by Maurice Ravel, Libretto by Franc-Nohain
Directed by Nicole Kenley-Miller
Musical Direction by Jonathan Shames

We open the season with a double bill of charming one-act operas that explore the comedic side of relationships. Rita gives us a slapstick glimpse into the fraught marriage of Rita and Beppo, further complicated by the arrival of her former husband, thought to be dead. L'heure espagnole introduces us to a clockmaker and his wife, Concepcion, who hides her lovers in his clocks. Who will Rita and Concepcion end up with? Sung in French with English supertitles and English dialogue. 

This production contains adult themes.

A free pre-show talk featuring cast members, the director, and dramaturg will be offered 45 minutes prior to the performance in the 2nd floor gallery of the Reynolds Performing Arts Center building.

Ticket Prices  
Advance Purchase, Adult: $33
Advance Purchase, OU Employee, Military, Seniors: $28
Advance Purchase, OU Student: $14
At the Door: Adult $45, Student $15 (with ID)
Prices include processing fee and tax

RITA & LHEURE ESPAGNOLE PROGRAM (PDF)

OKLAHOMA FESTIVAL BALLET

Nov. 1, 8, 9 at 8 p.m.
Nov. 3, 10 at 3 p.m.
Reynolds Performing Arts Center

Tickets on sale now!

Choreography by William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Glen Edgerton, Mary Margaret Holt

Spend an enchanted and captivating evening taking in the artistry of Berio Suite by American choreographer William Forsythe, a stunning excerpt from Whereabouts Unknown by Jiří Kylián and the magic of Mary Margaret Holt's The Nutcracker, Act II.  In addition, a premiere by School of Dance choreographer Glenn Edgerton will stir emotions and contribute to a memorable and moving evening with their original works.

This production is suitable for all audiences.

Ticket Prices
Advance Purchase, Adult: $38
Advance Purchase, OU Employee, Military, Seniors: $33
Advance Purchase, OU Student: $14
At the Door: Adult $40, Student $15 (with ID)
Prices include processing fee and tax

OKLAHOMA FESTIVAL BALLET PROGRAM (PDF)

AS YOU LIKE IT

Oct. 11, 12, 17, 18 at 8 p.m.
Oct. 13, 20 at 3 p.m.
Elsie C. Brackett Theatre

Tickets on sale now!

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Alissa Branch

A banished duke, an exiled brother, and an outcast cousin all meet in the Forest of Arden, seeking refuge from their plights. Among its many branches and wonders, they discover a world of pastoral leisure, disguises, and love. “All the world’s a stage” and all society’s rules of conformity are off in this exuberant theatrical journey into one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies.

This production is suitable for all audiences.

Ticket Prices
Advance Purchase, Adult: $38
Advance Purchase, OU Employee, Military, Seniors: $33
Advance Purchase, OU Student: $14
At the Door: Adult $40, Student $15 (with ID)
Prices include processing fee and tax

AS YOU LIKE IT PROGRAM (PDF)

RENT

Nov. 22, 24, Dec. 6, 7 at 8 p.m.
Nov. 24, Dec. 8 at 3 p.m.
Elsie C. Brackett Theatre

Tickets on sale beginning November 4, 2024.

Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson
Directed by Ashton Byrum
Musical Direction by Mandy Jiran
Choreographed by Leslie Kraus

Set in NYC at the end of the last millennium during the height of the AIDS epidemic, before Giuliani “cleaned up” the city, before Disney took over 42nd street, before 9/11. New York City was grittier, cheaper, more intimate, and less gentrified, but still the center of the world - the epicenter of artistic expression. Written by the late Jonathan Larson, RENT is the Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, and Drama Desk Award winning musical that redefined Broadway and challenges us to decide how we will measure our lives as artists, lovers, and humans.

This production contains adult themes and sexual content.

Ticket Prices
Advance Purchase, Adult: $43
Advance Purchase, OU Employee, Military, Seniors: $38
Advance Purchase, OU Student: $14
At the Door: Adult $45, Student $15 (with ID)
Prices include processing fee and tax

RENT PROGRAM (PDF)