Northern Michigan University’s Forest Roberts Theatre will present a full slate of plays, dance, local music and special events during the 2017-18 season. Details will be announced closer to each event, but an overview of the schedule follows. Those with an asterisk are part of the mainstage season ticket package. For updated information, visit nmu.edu/frt.

Season Premiere Party, Aug. 31: A red-carpet season kickoff featuring Alpha Psi Omega, the First Nighters Club, Forest Roberts Theatre faculty and an ice cream social sponsored by Jilbert’s Dairy. This free event is designed for students and community members to learn more about the opportunities available at Forest Roberts Theatre (FRT).

Noises Off,* Sept. 29–Oct. 7: Called the funniest farce ever written, Noises Off presents a manic cast of itinerant actors rehearsing a flop called Nothing's On. Doors slamming, on and offstage intrigue and errant sardines all figure in the plot of this hilarious and classically comic play. Features senior capstone students.

Rock the FRT, Oct. 14: A Battle of the Bands that celebrates local music coming together to compete for a cash prize. Featuring entertainment design by theater program students

Haunted Theatre, Oct. 26-28: The Forest Roberts Theatre stage is transformed into a fun and spooky haunted house for a First Nighters Club fundraiser to benefit the FRT. (Rated PG-13)

Constellations,* Nov. 9-18: This futuristic romance by Nick Payne begins with a simple encounter between a man and a woman. But what happens next defies the boundaries of the world we think we know—delving into infinite possibilities and raising questions about the difference between choice and destiny.

Shrek, The Musical, Jr., Nov. 17-19: This Superior Arts Youth Theater production will take place on the FRT stage and feature local talent from grades K-8.

The Bold, The Young, and the Murdered, Dec. 7-9: Alpha Psi Omega, the National Theatre Honors Society, presents a comedy featuring the work of students. The soap opera The Bold and the Young is in its last days. The producer gives the cast an ultimatum: Complete one episode overnight or the show dies. But when the director ends up murdered, it seems like his threat might actually come true.

Scrooge!* Dec. 14-17: The long-standing FRT tradition continues with this musical adaptation designed for the whole family. Bitter miser Scrooge is transformed by a frightening night of ghosts that open his eyes to the possibilities of Christmas cheer. Based on the Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol.

Halfway Party, Jan. 19: A mid-season gathering of those involved in the FRT to touch base, enjoy food together and get ready to start the new semester by learning about unique opportunities and exciting upcoming events.

Fringe Festival 2018*, Feb. 8-10: The following pieces performed, produced and directed by NMU students will be featured each night: The Valentine Fairy, an anti-romance in which a woman who’s decided to give up on love arrives home to find a man in a white tutu, who shows where she went wrong in previous romantic encounters; The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged, an irreverent, fast-paced romp through the Bard’s plays; and Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles by a student Lundin Honors Research Fellow.

NMU Dance Concert*, Feb. 23-24: Students in the NMU dance minor perform all styles, from ballet to hip hop to improvisation, in this annual showcase.

Peter Pan, March 15-18: This Superior Arts Youth Theater production will take place on the FRT stage and feature local talent in grades K-12.

Tarzan*, April 13-21: Based on Disney's animated musical and Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan of the Apes, this classic comes to life. The FRT is proud to present Tarzan as a part of its “green season” of re-purposed costumes. Audiences can also enjoy a dramaturgical lobby display on the rainforest of Tarzan produced in partnership with NMU Zoology and Environmental Science students.

Miss Upper Peninsula and Miss Teen Upper Peninsula Pageant, April 27-28: JLSW Designs presents the official preliminary round to the Miss Michigan Pageant, a Miss USA preliminary.

Drama Prom and Jimmy Awards, May 3: This end-of-the-season formal event celebrates the hard work of theater students throughout the year.

Dancing With Our Stars, May 23-24: This annual fundraiser for the U.P. Home Health and Hospice Foundation features local celebrities dancing for a good cause, Marquette style.

For more information, visit www.nmu.edu/frt.