2024 North Coast Theatre and Dance Festival
Ghost Soldiers
May 9-11
The Playwriting Award was established in 1977 by the Forest Roberts Theatre at NMU. The award is designed to encourage and stimulate artistic growth among educational and professional playwrights. It provides students and faculty the unique opportunity to mount and produce original work on the university stage. Submissions will be accepted biennially and must adhere to the theme of that competition cycle. They will be blindly read and judged by members of a screening committee. The winning play will be featured in our North Coast Theatre Festival Season.
Ghost Soldiers written by Keli Crawford-Truckey
This year's world-premiere play is titled Ghost Soldiers. The play is written by and will be directed by Keli Crawford-Truckey. Ghost Soldiers tells the story of the soldiers who were a part of the "Polar Bear Expedition" during World War I. The action jumps back and forth between brief vignettes between the 1930s, ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, '70s, and World War I (specifically 1918-1919).
PANOWSKI BLACK BOX THEATRE
MEANT FOR A MATURE AUDIENCE | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 1HR 30Mins | No Intermission
Drag Cabaret
May 30-31
A Pride Month Kick-Off Event
Join NMU Theatre and Dance for a drag cabaret to start Pride Month! Celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in Marquette and beyond as performers make the Forest Roberts Theatre stage their own.
PANOWSKI BLACK BOX THEATRE
APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 2HRS | 15min Intermission
The Second City
June 27-28
The Second City 65th Anniversary Tour
The Second City is celebrating 65 years of legendary laughs! Showcasing some of our audience’s favorite songs, sketches, and characters written on our stages by some of our illustrious alumni, including Catherine O’Hara, Tina Fey, Keegan-Michael Key, Amber Ruffin, Stephen Colbert, Tim Meadows, Bill Murray, Tim Robinson, Joan Rivers, Eugene Levy, Adam McKay and so many more... With material handpicked from our iconic comedy archive and brought to life by our all-star ensemble, see for yourself why The Second City continues to be the world’s most influential name in comedy for sixty-five years and counting.
FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE
North Coast Dance Festival
Masterclass July 24, Performances July 25-26
3rd Annual Dance Festival
Join us for the 3rd Annual North Coast Dance Festival, a spectacular celebration of dance! Professional dancers from across the country will gather alongside the NMU CO/LAB Dance Company for engaging educational experiences and mesmerizing performances. Don't miss this unforgettable event filled with grace, talent, and artistry.
Returning this year are professional ballet dancers Julia Feldman, Mate Szentes, and Ava Chatterson. NCDF is thrilled to announce that the Giordano Dance Company from Chicago will perform their new piece, "Gershwin in B" choreographed by Al Blackstone and set to a Gershwin score.
This event is generously supported by the Siril Endowment for the Arts.
FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE
FAMILY-FRIENDLY | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 1HR 15MIN | 15min Intermission
All shows are part of the Flex Pass Season.
UPCOMING: 2024-2025 NMU Theatre and Dance Season
JOIN US AFTER EACH OPENING NIGHT FOR OUR OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION!
Wildcat Theatre Follies
September 5-6
A Celebration of NMU's Brightest Stars
We’re back, Wildcats! Enjoy a beginning-of-the-year showcase of our theatre and dance students featuring a collection of scenes, songs, monologues, and dance pieces.
APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 1HR 30MINS
Cabaret
October 3-4 and 10-12
Book by Joe Masteroff | Music by John Kander | Lyrics by Ed Kebb
Daring, provocative and exuberantly entertaining, Cabaret explores the dark and heady life of Bohemian Berlin as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich.
In a Berlin nightclub, as the 1920's draw to a close, a garish Master of Ceremonies welcomes the audience and assures them they will forget all their troubles at the Cabaret. With the Emcee's bawdy songs as wry commentary, Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin's natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. Cliff, a young American writer newly arrived in Berlin, is immediately taken with English singer Sally Bowles. Meanwhile, Fräulein Schneider, proprietor of Cliff and Sally's boarding house, tentatively begins a romance with Herr Schultz, a mild-mannered fruit seller who happens to be Jewish.
FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE
MEANT FOR A MATURE AUDIENCE | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 2HRS | 15min Intermission
Frankenstein
October 31 - November 2 and 7-9
Written by Fred Carmichael
Will give you a full measure of thrills and laughs ... [with] ever increasing suspense.
Harking back to the original concept of Frankenstein, this version amplifies the film's suspenseful horror and adds greater depth of character and motivation as well as a new and different love story. All of the eagerly anticipated elements are here: the stone walled laboratory, the crazed scientist, angry villagers, a swooning heroine, a fearful storm and the hideous yet pathetic, deadly creature with its confused mind and powerful, undisciplined body. The final confrontation between the doctor and the creature produces a startling surprise.
PANOWSKI BLACK BOX THEATRE
FAMILY-FRIENDLY (Contains Mild Adult Themes) | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 2HR
Home for the Holidays
December 5-14
More information coming soon!
FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE
FAMILY-FRIENDLY | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 1HR 20 MIN | 15min Intermission
Holiday Soirée
December 12
A holiday fundraising even for departmental scholarships
Join us for a festive evening to celebrate the holiday season with the inaugural NMU Theatre and Dance Holiday Soirée. This special event will support Theatre and Dance Student Scholarships. Indulge in a Holiday buffet to kick off the evening and be enchanted by holiday performances presented by our talented theatre and dance students. Plus, a special visit from Santa Claus himself! It's a night of seasonal entertainment, delectable treats, and holiday cheer. Don't miss out on this magical celebration for student scholarships.
PANOWSKI BLACK BOX THEATRE
APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 3HRS | Brief Intermission | Live Auction
Alice in Wonderland: An Immersive Experience
February 6-8
A CO/LAB Dance Company Immersive Dance Experience
More information coming soon!
Much Ado About Nothing
February 20 - March 1
Written by William Shakespeare | Adapted by Jerome McDonough
From the author of Running comes a contest-tailored abridgement of the Shakespeare classic.
From the author of Running comes a contest-tailored abridgement of the Shakespeare classic. Young lovers, virtue, villainy, and charming naivete abound. Don John and Borachio and the unwitting Margaret supply the deception regarding Hero. Claudio, Leonato, Don Pedro, and Ursula are the saddened recipients. Only Beatrice, Hero's closest friend, refuses to accept the fabrication and enlists the help of her sometimes suitor, sometimes nemesis, Benedick. Their love battle weaves through the other passions of the play. Order is restored despite the hilarious and oddly-worded meddling of Dogberry and Verges, the inept clowns, uh, constables (these plum comic roles are females in this version). The wedding day finally arrives, under most unusual circumstances, and Friar Francis (who helped right the wrong) blesses the union of Hero and Claudio. Benedick and Beatrice are each mirthfully betrayed by letters and poems in their own hands and a second love match is made. Only Don Pedro seems left out of the joy, and is chided by the formerly sworn woman hater, Benedick -- "Prince, thou art sad. Get thee a wife!" And music and dancing and celebration bring down the curtain on Much Ado About Nothing.
PANOWSKI BLACK BOX THEATRE
MEANT FOR A MATURE AUDIENCE | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 40MINS | No Intermission
Jesus Christ Superstar
April 10-19
Lyrics by Tim Rice | Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
A thrilling rock opera based on the last week of Jesus’ life, Jesus Christ Superstar has wowed audiences for over 50 years.
What’s the buzz? The first musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to be produced for the professional stage, Jesus Christ Superstar has wowed audiences for over 50 years. A timeless work, the rock opera is set against the backdrop of an extraordinary and universally known series of events but seen, unusually, through the eyes of Judas Iscariot. Loosely based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Superstar follows the last week of Jesus Christ’s life. The story, told entirely through song, explores the personal relationships and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, his disciples, his followers and the Roman Empire.
The iconic 1970s rock score contains such well-known numbers as “Superstar,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and “Gethsemane.” A true global phenomenon and perfect pick for schools, community theaters and professionals alike, Superstar continues to touch new generations of audiences and performers.
FOREST ROBERTS THEATRE
MEANT FOR A MATURE AUDIENCE | APPROXIMATE RUN TIME: 2HRS | 15min Intermission
All shows are part of the Flex Pass Season.