What does love entanglement, luscious locks and the study of motion have in common? The spring 2016 theatre and dance production lineup, of course! The season begins Feb. 18 with Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya,” directed by Assistant Professor Melanie Dreyer-Lude.

Tickets for “Uncle Vanya,” “Hair” and the “Images in Motion: Spring Dance Concert” are now on sale at campus box offices or through Missouri State TIX.

Chekhov classic revamped for modern stage

Chekhov’s classic existential comedy, originally published in 1897, is resonating with contemporary audiences, thanks to this fresh new translation in everyday English.

Synopsis

Vanya and his niece Sonya have devoted their lives to managing the family’s country farm estate, including the support of Sonya’s self-absorbed father, Professor Serebryakov who returns to the estate with his beautiful, much-younger second wife, Yelena. All must face their regrets and unfulfilled dreams when both Vanya and his friend Astrov, the village doctor, fall under the spell of the sensuous Yelena, while Sonya confesses her unreciprocated love for Astrov. “Uncle Vanya” plumbs the depths of the human psyche with insight, wit and compassion.

Schedule

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m., Feb. 18-19, 22-26 & 29; 2:30 p.m., Feb. 21 & 28
Location: Craig Hall Balcony Theatre
Tickets: $14 Adults; $12 Students/Seniors; $8 in advance with MSU ID

Musical explores themes central to 1960s culture

“Hair” captures the hippie counterculture ethos of the 1960s and reflects the kaleidoscope of social change movements: civil rights, peace, black power, free speech, women’s liberation, gay rights, the sexual revolution, environmentalism, New Age spirituality and human potential.

Synopsis

In this musical, Claude falls in with a tribe of young political activists and free spirits living in New York City in the midst of the Vietnam War. The group explores free love and consciousness-expanding drugs, but soon Claude is summoned by the local draft board for military service in Vietnam. Ultimately, he must decide whether to submit to the expectations of his conservative parents and society — thus sacrificing his pacifist values and possibly his life — or burn his draft card in unity with the tribe.

Schedule

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m., April 7-9; 2:30 p.m., April 10
Location: Craig Hall Coger Theatre
Tickets: $18 Adults; $16 Students/Seniors; $12 in advance with MSU ID

Spring concert deconstructs motion of dance

This year’s spring dance concert, “Images in Motion,” features new faculty-choreographed works that explore the fleeting nature of human activities in space and time. Each moment frames a never-to-be-repeated, multi-dimensional composition of form, light, color, texture, sound and feeling.

The concert is inspired by photographer Eadweard Muybridge’s ground-breaking studies in motion during the late 1800s — particularly his study of a ballet dancer that captured the seamless, fluid motion and presented a frame-by-frame deconstruction.

Schedule

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m., April 28-30; 2:30 p.m., May 1
Location: Craig Hall Coger Theatre
Tickets: $14 Adults; $12 Students/Seniors; $8 in advance with MSU ID