2024-2025 Production Season

Music, Book and Lyrics by Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond
Directed and choreographed by Doug Weyand
Music Direction by Matt Marco

Oct. 31 – Nov. 2, 2024
7:30 p.m.
Nov 2 - 3, 2024
2 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

In this hilarious and outlandish story, the lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell a story to win a prize like no other — the chance to return to life. This popular musical is a funny, moving look at what makes a life well-lived!

Due to mature content, language, and themes, including references to sex, drugs, and violence, the production is recommended for ages 13+.

RIDE THE CYCLONE is presented through special arrangement with Broadway Licensing Global.
www.broadwaylicensing.com

By Anton Chekhov
English version by Sarah Ruhl
Based on a literal translation by: Elise Thoron with Natasha Paramonova and Kristin Johnsen-Neshati
Directed by Lana Sugarman

Nov. 8 - 9, 2024
7:30 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts Rehearsal Workshop

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

Transplanted from their beloved Moscow to a provincial Russian town, three sisters – school teacher Olga, unhappily married Masha and idealistic Irina – yearn for the city of their childhood, where they imagine their lives will be transformed and fulfilled. Three Sisters is the portrait of a family grappling with the bittersweet distance between reality and dreams. Three Sisters premiered at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 24, 2009.

Three Sisters (Ruhl) is recommended for ages 14+.
Content Note: This production includes mature content and adult themes such as references to sex, drugs and violence.  A gunshot sound effect is in this production.

THREE SISTERS is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.
www.concordtheatricals.com

Directed by Anne Burnidge
Choreographers: Shannon Brien, Kenny Harrison, Juliana Hassouna, Charity John, Olivia Lopez, Gia Maresca, Ariana Mullin, Kelly Quinn and Mya Tran

Nov. 15 - 16, 2024
7:30 p.m.
Nov. 16 - 17, 2024
2 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

Celebrating diversity in both genre and theme, Emerging Choreographers Showcase features new dance works created and performed by BA, BFA, and MFA dance majors. In ECS, student choreographers receive close faculty mentorship and collaborate with student lighting designers, sound designers, costumers, and technicians.

By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Thembi Duncan

Nov. 21 – 23, 2024
7:30 p.m.
Nov. 23 - 24, 2023
2 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts Drama Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

FABULATION is a social satire about an ambitious and haughty African American woman, Undine Barnes Calles, whose husband suddenly disappears after embezzling all of her money. Pregnant and on the brink of social and financial ruin, Undine retreats to her childhood home in Brooklyn’s Walt Whitman projects, only to discover that she must cope with a crude new reality. Undine faces the challenge of transforming her setbacks into small victories in a battle to reaffirm her right to be. FABULATION is a comeuppance tale with a comic twist.

Fabulation is recommended for ages 16+.
Content Note: Strong language. Contains descriptions and depictions of cocaine and heroin drug use and mentions of abortion.

FABULATION is presented by arrangement with Dramatists Play Service.
www.dramatists.com

Co-Directed by Joshua Ikechukwu, Amelia Rojek, and Dani Schofer

Nov. 22 - 23, 2024
at 7:30 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts
Black Box Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

The MFA Showcase offers a peek into the creative process of dancemaking, featuring works in various stages of completion from current MFA Dance students. The works are often generated collaboratively with other artists, and the Showcase offers a space for choreographers to experiment and innovate movement-based performance. The concert is under the direction of MFA students Joshue Ikechuku, Amelia Rojek, and Dani Schofer.

UB’s graduate dance program is built upon the belief that dance is a fundamental expression of humanity with the ability to inform, transform, reflect upon, and lead local and global change in the 21st century. With close faculty mentorship and numerous opportunities to create and present work, MFA Dance students engage in advanced practical, theoretical, and critical inquiry while honing their abilities as artists, dance makers, educators, writers, innovators, scholars, policy makers and leaders.

Book by Jeremy Meyers
Created by Jeremy Meyers and John DellaContrada
Instrumental Compositions by Prairie Pavement (Jack Chadwick, Sal Constantin, Dylan Lumb, and Owen Shotwell)
Inspired by “The Egg” by Andy Weir
Directed by Jeremy Meyers
as part of our Student Directed Series

Feb. 7 - 8, 2025
7:30 p.m.
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

God decides humanity is going to end. Ian Voe Meyer, a recently deceased heart surgeon, must be the one to pull the plug. Ian will be the last soul to exist in the cycle of human reincarnation, leaving the rest of the world to fade away. To demonstrate the ugliness of humanity to Ian, God takes him through his chaotic home life, and across time and space into past lives. Will Ian challenge God’s decision or will he be the final casualty in the long line of human rebirth?

Due to mature content, language, and themes, including references to death and suicide, the production is recommended for ages 13+.

By Oliver Lansey
Directed by Sophia Vessecchia
as part of our Student Directed Series

Feb. 14 - 15, 2025
7:30 p.m.
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

Inspired by the likes of Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred Hitchcock, Ernest and the Pale Moon is a spinechilling tale of obsession and murder based upon a short story by Oliver Lansley about a man who spends his days watching the beautiful young woman who lives in the apartment block opposite.

Upon seeing her with another man he is thrown into a jealous rage and driven to murder, though all is not what it may at first seem and slowly Ernest’s guilt sends him on a spiraling descent into madness.

Ernest and the Pale Moon is recommended for ages 12+.
Content Warning: Murder, sounds of gunshots and war.

ERNEST AND THE PALE MOON is presented by arrangement with Les Enfants Terribles.
www.lesenfantsterribles.co.uk

By Arthur Kopit
Directed by Jo Yanko
as part of our Student Directed Series

Feb. 21 - 22, 2025
7:30 p.m
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

This strange meeting features The Woman in the Safari Outfit, the Woman in Armor (she has barracks language down pat, wears rusty armor, is called Joan of Arc and carries a big crucifix), the Woman with the Gavel, and others. The business at hand is how to attack the men's ward before they attack the women and devour them like cannibals? A ruse is needed so they kill the Aviatrix named Amelia Earhart. This exercise causes them to lose the strand of their thought and forget why they did it.

Chamber Music is intended for a mature audience due to intense adult themes.
Content Note: The depictions of mental health issues among the patients as well as their treatment can be disturbing.

CHAMBER MUSIC is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.
www.concordtheatricals.com

Co-Directed by Kerry Ring and Michael Deeb Weaver
Choreographers TBA

Feb. 27 – Mar. 1, 2025
7:30 p.m.
Mar. 2, 2025
2 p.m.*
Morning Program:
Feb. 28, 2025
10 a.m.**
UB Center for the Arts Drama Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

Zodiaque Dance Company is UB’s eminent pre-professional dance company. Join us in celebrating five decades of innovative, creative performances at the 50th Anniversary concerts this spring at UB Center for the Arts!

In keeping with Zodiaque’s mission, the spring program will feature a diverse array of dance styles across two acts, created by a varied and accomplished group of choreographers. The concert is under the co-direction of faculty members Kerry Ring and Michael Deeb Weaver, who will also set works.  The performance will showcase collaborations with our Theatre Design and Technology program who will provide new set, costume, lighting, and projection designs.

*UB Dance Day is Sun. Mar. 2. All standard ticketing options are available plus a special $32 UB Dance Day Ticket, which includes:
·         A participatory pre-show workshop for ages 14 and up in the UB Center for the Arts Dance Studios (Rooms B82 & B82 in the basement of building).  Arrive at noon in the hallway outside of the Dance Studios (rooms B82 and B84) for check-in.
·         A dance class focusing on movement presented in the 2pm performance, and observation of company warm up, plus Q&A with UB dance majors. No specific dancewear required. Come dressed to move!
·         Admission to "Zodiaque Dance Company Celebration 50 Spring Program" 2 p.m. performance in the Drama Theatre.
·         Questions: Email Professor Kerry Ring: kring2@buffalo.edu

**Students, senior citizens and the general public are welcome to attend the morning program. Tickets may be purchased online or in person at the Box Office. Backstage tours for groups available upon request. Contact: td-theatredance@buffalo.edu

By Maria Irene Fornes
Directed by Lindsay Brandon-Hunter

Mar. 6 - 8, 2025
7:30 p.m.
Mar. 8 - 9, 2025
2 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

One of Off-Broadway’s best-loved plays, originally directed by the author. The audience follows the lives of eight women. For this play, María Irene Fornés received one of her nine Obie awards.

“A wonderful, important play.” ⁠—⁠Susan Sontag

“One of the most powerful plays written about the mysteries and shared hallucinations of the female experience.” ⁠—⁠L A Weekly

“Though written in 1977, the message of FEFU AND HER FRIENDS remains ever the same: women don’t know what to do with feminism. Or rather, they don’t know what to do with themselves. It’s a strange, unsettling play, not least because the strong women characters are at a loss with each other and with themselves. Without a man to center around, they disintegrate into cattiness and then madness. Fefu is probably deranged to begin with. She ‘pretends’ to shoot her husband with a gun that may or may not be loaded. She likes men better than women and in fact finds women ‘loathsome.’ Fefu and her friends are a group of society women, circa 1935. They’re bored and affected in the manner of wealthy women who have too much free time.” ⁠—⁠Jenny Sandman, CurtainUp

Fefu and Her Friends is recommended for ages 14+.
Content notes:  the production includes prop firearms and the sound of gunshots, and includes depictions of death, distress due to mental illness (including hallucination), and discussion of acquired physical disability. 

FEFU AND HER FRIENDS is presented by arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing, Inc.
www.broadwayplaypublishing.com/

Directed by Anne Burnidge
Choreographers TBA

Mar. 28 - 29, 2025
7:30 p.m.
Mar. 29 - 30, 2025
2 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

Now in its sixth season, ChoreoLab is a performance and choreographic research laboratory for faculty, graduate and undergraduate dance students, and guest artists. Dedicated to fostering a diverse, creative environment to explore movement, the program embraces contemporary trends, while supporting dancers investigating the role of dance within society and culture. ChoreoLab provides versatile opportunities for UB students that reflect the current dance landscape.

The spring program will include a sizable cohort of student performers and technical crew, including both undergraduate and graduate students.

Directed by Rebecca Chaleff
Choreographers: Joshua Ikechukwu, Dani Schofer, and Amelia Rojek

Apr. 4 - 5, 2025
7:30 p.m.
UB Center for the Black Box Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

The annual MFA Dance Thesis Concert will feature the premier of new works by MFA Dance candidates Joshua Ikechukwu, Amelia Rojek, and Dani Schofer. The production showcases the culmination of the trio’s creative research from their thesis projects, a requirement for the conferral of the degree Master of Fine Arts. The concert features collaborations with designers, technologists, and the student performers.

The Master of Fine Arts in Dance is the equivalent of the PhD in a scholarly discipline and represents the synthesis of years of study and the honing of artistic sensibilities. The MFA Dance Thesis Concert is an opportunity to see new works by the next generation of doers, makers, and thinkers in the field.

A Five Lesbian Brothers play written by Maureen Angelos, Babs Davy, Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey, and Lisa Kron
Directed by Janet Werther

Apr. 11 - 12, 2025
7:30 p.m.
UB Center for the Arts Rehearsal Workshop

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

Something's rotten in Big Bone! Pretty Patty Johnson is thrilled to join the secretarial pool at the Cooney Lumber Mill under the iron-fisted leadership of sultry office manager Susan Curtis. But she soon begins to feel that all is not right—the enforced diet of Slim-Fast shakes, the strange clicking language between the girls, the monthly disappearance of a lumberjack. By the time Patty discovers murder is part of these office killers' skill set, it's too late to turn back! In the guise of satiric exploitation-horror, The Secretaries takes an unflinching look at the warping cultural expectations of femininity. The Secretaries premiered at the WOW Cafe in New York City in December 1993 under the direction of Kate Stafford.

"The Secretaries is a sustained, amusing look at the fine line between aggression and assertiveness. – The New Yorker

"95 minutes of gritty, bawdy, bloody humor pregnant with incisive social commentary." – San Francisco Examiner

Due to strong language, depictions of alcohol use, and other sensitive content, The Secretaries is recommended for a mature audience.

THE SECRETARIES is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.
www.concordtheatricals.com

Book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell
Music and Lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross
Directed and Choreographed by James Beaudry
Music Direction by Matt Marco

Apr. 25 - 26, 2025 and May 2 – 3, 2025
7:30 p.m.
Apr. 27, 2025 and May 3 - 4, 2025
2 p.m.
Morning Program:
Apr. 25, 2025
10 a.m.
UB Center for the Arts Drama Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

A union strike at a pajama factory generates plenty of steam heat in this toe-tapping, comedic love story.

The Pajama Game was awarded the 1955 Tony for Best Musical and, over half of a century later, claimed the award for Best Revival of a Musical, proving that the story is truly timeless. With an energetic score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross (Damn Yankees), The Pajama Game is brimming with songs and dances that have become musical theatre standards, including "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway."

Conditions at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory are anything but peaceful as sparks fly between new superintendent, Sid Sorokin, and Babe Williams, leader of the union grievance committee. Their stormy relationship comes to a head when the workers strike for a 7 ½ cent pay increase, setting off not only a conflict between management and labor, but a battle of the sexes as well.

Featuring plenty of fun and splashy production numbers, including a comic "dream ballet," The Pajama Game is filled with standout featured roles and a large ensemble, making it a perfect choice for high schools and community theatres. This perennial favorite is a surefire crowd-pleaser and a glowing example of solid, classic musical comedy.

The Pajama Game is rated PG by Music Theatre International.
Content note: This production has mild stage violence and depicts alcohol use.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters will also be provided for the May 3, 2 p.m. public performance.

*Students, senior citizens and the general public are welcome to attend the morning program. Tickets may be purchased online or in person at the Box Office. Backstage tours for groups available upon request. Contact: td-theatredance@buffalo.edu

THE PAJAMA GAME is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.
www.mtishows.com

Directed by Shannon Brien
as part of our Student Directed Series

May 8 - 10, 2025
7:30 p.m
May 10, 2025
2 p.m.
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

Dancers Workshop is an annual student-run showcase led by UB Dance majors, extending to all undergraduates, for a unique dance show experience. The 48^th installment includes work from a substantial cohort of choreographers working with a sizable cast of dancers in a variety of styles. Dancers Workshop is a fun way to celebrate diverse talent at UB beyond the Department of Theatre and Dance, and to commemorate the end of a successful year for all students. 

Directed by Kelly Quinn and NJ Wingo as part of our Student Directed Series
as part of our Student Directed Series

May 11, 2025
4 p.m
UB Katharine Cornell Theatre

$22 Adults
$17 Seniors/Veterans/UB Employees
$12 Students
$7 UB Students
(Ticketmaster fees apply when purchasing online.)

The annual Senior Dance Showcase provides graduating dance majors with a final opportunity to perform their own choreography for the community before their future professional endeavors in the arts. The program features more than a dozen graduating seniors who appear primarily in solo works, as well as in collaborative group pieces, as they take the UB stage a final time. Senior Dance Showcase is student-directed and produced.