Announcing Our 2024-2025 Season!
Tickets will go on sale in September.
The Wizard of Oz
A Radio Drama adapted by Linus Speary
Directed by Josh Hsu
Listening Party in October
A delightful adaption for the radio of L. Frank Baum’s classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Great listening for the whole family!
John Proctor is the Villain
By Kimberly Belflower
Directed by Sara Valentine
November 6-10, 2024
At a rural high school in Georgia, a group of lively teens are studying The Crucible while navigating young love, sex ed, and a few school scandals. Holding a contemporary lens to the American classic, they begin to question who is really the hero and what is the truth, discovering their own power in the process. Alternately touching and bitingly funny, this new comedy captures a generation in mid-transformation, running on pop music, optimism, and fury, writing their own coming of age story.
Gianni Schicchi
In collaboration with the Osher School of Music
By Giacomo Puccini
Directed by Dr. Malinda Haslett
Conducted by Dr. Robert Lehmann
November 21-24, 2024
Gianni Schicchi, Puccini’s hilarious one-act opera, tells the story of a beloved family mourning the loss of Buoso Donati, that is…until they learn the contents of his last will and testament. When it is revealed that Donati has left his fortune to the local monastery, the family employs Gianni Schicchi to help them update, post-mortem, the document. Based on Dante’s Divine Comedy, the opera boasts one of the most beloved arias of all time, O mio babbino caro. Sung in Italian, with English supertitles, join us for an hour-long, delightful evening. It will be divine!
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes)
by Greg Allen
Directed by Rachel Price Cooper
December 5-8, 2024
Can a theatre ensemble possibly perform thirty plays in under an hour?! Join us for this high-octane, interactive theatre experience, one of Chicago’s longest-running theatre phenomena. Part theatre, part sporting event, each night is different as the audience picks the plays and cheers on the cast to make it past the finish line before the buzzer sounds.
The Birds
by Conor McPherson
Directed by Liz Carlson
February 21-March 2, 2025
Daphne du Maurier’s short story, also the basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, is boldly adapted by Conor McPherson—a gripping, unsettling, and moving look at human relationships in the face of societal collapse. In an isolated house, strangers Nat and Diane take shelter from relentless masses of attacking birds. They find relative sanctuary but not comfort or peace; there’s no electricity, little food, and a nearby neighbor may still be alive and watching them. Another refugee, the young and attractive Julia, arrives with some news of the outside world, but her presence also brings discord. Their survival becomes even more doubtful when paranoia takes hold of the makeshift fortress—an internal threat to match that of the birds outside.
Little Women
In collaboration with the Osher School of Music
Music by Jason Howland
Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein
Book by Allen Knee
Directed by Danny Hutchins
Musical Direction by Ed Reichert
Choreography by Vanessa Beyland
April 4-13, 2025
This timeless, captivating story is brought to life in this glorious musical filled with personal discovery, heartache, hope and everlasting love. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s life, Little Women follows the adventures of sisters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March. Jo is trying to sell her stories for publication, but the publishers are not interested – her friend, Professor Bhaer, tells her that she has to do better and write more from herself. Begrudgingly taking this advice, Jo weaves the story of herself and her sisters and their experience growing up in Civil War America.
Spring Dance Concert
Choreography by USM Dance Faculty & Guest Artists
April 25-27, 2025
A fantastic compilation of original dance works from USM Dance faculty & guest choreographers.
2023-2024 Past Productions
A Winter’s Tale
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Tess Van Horn
October 27-November 12
Wild jealousy. Unfounded accusations. Death and rebirth. And, of course, “Exeunt, chased by a bear”—one of Shakespeare’s most famous stage directions. Leontes, King of Sicily, suddenly becomes insane with jealousy believing his pregnant wife has been unfaithful to him. Acting upon his rage, he sets a tragedy in motion that will cost him, his family, and his friends dearly. Brilliantly juggling drama, comedy, romance, and suspense, The Winter’s Tale is filled with twists and turns, laughs and surprises, and fascinating characters. All this, and Shakespeare’s glorious poetry as well.
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
(30 Plays in 60 Mintues)
By Greg Allen
Directed by Rachel Price Cooper
November 30-December 3, 2023 (new dates)
Can a theatre ensemble possibly perform thirty plays in under an hour?! Join USM Theatre for the high-octane, interactive theatre experience that is 30 Neo-Futurist Plays from Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes), one of Chicago’s longest-running theatre phenomena. Each night audiences receive a menu of play titles that run the gamut between funny, serious, political, poignant, and abstract. Part theatre, part sporting event, each night is different as the audience determines the order and cheers on the cast to make it past the finish line before the buzzer sounds.
The War of the Worlds:
The 1938 Radio Script
By Howard E. Koch
Directed by Liz Carlson
Live Performance on March 7 & 8, 7pm at Russell Hall, Gorham Campus
Broadcast from New York’s Mercury Theatre in 1938, this infamous radio play, based on the novel by H. G. Wells, had many terrified listeners convinced that an actual alien invasion of Earth was taking place. Adapted by Howard E. Koch, co-writer of Casablanca, this delightfully frightful tale of an extraterrestrial takeover, presented live as a classic radio play with full sound effects, is sure to thrill.
The Prom
In collaboration with the Osher School of Music
Book & Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Book by Bob Martin
Music by Matthew Sklar
Directed by Danny Hutchins
Musical Direction by Edward Reichert
Choreography by Vanessa Beyland
April 5-14, 2024
Four eccentric Broadway stars desperately need to revitalize their stalling careers. So when they hear about a small town preventing a lesbian student from attending prom with her girlfriend, they know it’s time to put a spotlight on the issue… and themselves. The town’s parents want to keep the prom on the straight and narrow. One student just wants to bring her girlfriend to the prom. When Broadway’s brassiest joins forces with both, they find that love brings them all together.