UW Theatre and Dance, Cultural Programs Offer Diverse Performances this Spring

Both unique and classic performances are on tap for the University of Wyoming theatre and dance department's spring 2008 season.

Tickets for each individual performance, unless otherwise noted, are $7 for students, $11 for senior citizens, and $14 for others.

"Almost, Maine," by John Cariani, opens the spring season Feb. 8-15, with a special performance at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10. The comedy is set on a cold winter night in the tiny town of Almost, Maine, where romance is as magical and as fleeting as the dazzling Aurora Borealis overhead.

Feb. 18-24, UW hosts the Region VII Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. The festival, created in 1969, showcases the best productions and student work in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

The award-winning Broadway hit, "A Chorus Line," directed by guest James B. Nicola, closes the Theatre and Dance season April 24-30 on the Fine Arts Center main stage.

Tickets for "A Chorus Line," cost $8 for students, $13 for seniors and $16 for others. To purchase tickets, visit the Fine Arts Center box office or the Wyoming Union information desk, or call (307) 766-6666 or visit www.uwyo.edu/finearts.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays.

Other theatre and dance performances are the Irene Ryan Showcase, Feb. 16; "Shorts by Skirts," March 6-7; Student-directed One-acts, March 31-April 3; and Dance Comprehensives, May 2. Visit www.uwyo.edu/th&d for time and ticket information.

Additionally, Cultural Programs will bring a variety of internationally-known performers to campus. Four performances will be offered this spring. For individual performances and season ticket information, call the Fine Arts Center box office at (307) 766-6666 or visit www.uwyo.edu/finearts. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

The Belcea String Quartet opens the Cultural Programs spring concert season on Jan. 25. This acclaimed and award-winning group brings a fresh, young approach to chamber music.

Sunday, Feb. 24, Grammy-nominated pianist Piotr Anderszewski will perform at UW. He has played with symphonies across the United States. and around the world, and received the Gilmore Award, the music world's equivalent of the MacCarthur "Genius" award.

The Imani Winds, a Grammy-nominated wind quintet that recently won an award from Chamber Music of America for "adventurous programing" will take the stage March 12. The group will also perform with the UW Wind Ensemble on March 11.

Thursday, March 27, Irish pianist Barry Douglas, 1986 gold medalist at the Moscow Tchaikovsky International Competition, and "Camerata Ireland," the all-Irish orchestra he assembled, will perform Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto. This will be Douglas' seventh visit to UW.