UM drama/dance department
sets 2005-06 schedule

UM’s Department of Drama/Dance 2005-06 season features a contemporary musical extravaganza, innovative dance programs and a wide array of dramas and comedies.

Following is the schedule for the season, which opens Sept. 9. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m.; matinees, when offered, are at 2 p.m.

-- Sept. 9-10: “It Just Catches.” A one-hour theatrical event based on the writings of Ernest Hemingway. Written by Carol Hemingway and performed by the Montana Repertory Theatre.

-- Oct. 4-8 and 11-15: “Bat Boy: The Musical.” Written by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe. This quirky, tabloid-inspired musical charmed critics and inspired a cult following during its off-Broadway run.

-- Oct. 25-29 and Nov. 1-5: “Proof.” David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning mystery considers the nature of genius, love, trust and integrity.

-- Nov. 25-26, Nov. 29-Dec. 3 and Dec. 6-10: “Peter Pan or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up.”
J.M. Barrie’s beloved characters come to life in this faithful adaptation by Trevor Nunn and John Caird. This magical, thought-provoking classic played to sold-out houses during its run at London’s National Theatre.

-- Jan. 24-28, (matinee only Jan. 28): “The Trip to Bountiful.” Written by Horton Foote, this is the story of Carrie Watts, an elderly woman who flees the stifling confinement of the city apartment she shares with her son and daughter-in-law to revisit her hometown in Texas.

-- Feb. 28-March 4 and March 7-11: “Dancing at Lughnasa.” In this play, Brian Friel, one of Ireland’s greatest living playwrights, fondly recounts the childhood of a young man raised in a household of women — his mother and her four sisters — and the family dynamics between these strong, distinct characters.

-- March 21-25 and April 4-8, (matinee only April 8): “The Debutante Ball.” Beth Henley’s dark comic drama exposes secrets of a polite Southern society and delves into the power that love and lovelessness exercise over our lives.

-- April 25-29 and May 2-6: “The Time of Your Life.” A comedy by William Saroyan, set in a 1939 San Francisco waterfront honky-tonk, that offers glimpses into the lives of wistful dreamers, barroom philosophers and a host of eccentric characters.

-- May 3-6: “Spring Dance Concert.” Held each May, the Spring Dance Concert celebrates student, faculty and guest-artist choreography featured by the UM dance program throughout the year.

Season tickets with a 35 percent savings over general admission prices for all productions are available, as well as a flex plan that allows purchasers to select any combination of five performances. For information, call the drama/dance department at (406) 243-4481 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.

Additional information about 2005-06 season productions is available online at http://www.sfa.umt.edu/drama.