UMass Theater Announces 2024-25 Season

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The UMass Department of Theater promises to celebrate the wonder of being alive and living in the moment, of finding your rage and your voice – and the joy and art of the roller disco – during its recently announced 2024-25 season.

Tickets are now available for all performances through the Fine Arts Center Box Office. Tickets, which are $5 for students, seniors and Card to Culture patrons, and $17 for general admission, can also be purchased online or by calling 413-545-2511.

Area teachers and community groups have priority access to tickets for 10 a.m. matinees, and more information can be found on the Theater website.
 

John Proctor Is the Villain
By Kimberly Belflower
Directed by Kyle Boatwright
The Curtain Theater
Oct. 25, 26, 30, 31; Nov. 1, 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 29 at 10 a.m.
Nov. 2 at 2 p.m.

What if the heroes of The Crucible…are actually the women? Kimberly Belflower’s “John Proctor Is the Villain,” by turns intense and laugh-out-loud funny, follows a group of teenage girls who are grappling with the implications of sexuality and oppression as they study Arthur Miller's classic. Inspired by the #MeToo movement, they form their own feminism club at school – and are shocked to discover that maybe the heroes handed to us aren't heroes after all. It's a healing work that balances urgent political discourse with relatable, contemporary humor and the delirious joy of friendship, girlhood and growth.

Content advisory: Discussions of sexual assault, sexual harassment and grooming. Recommended for children ages 15 and older.

Our Town
By Thornton Wilder
Directed by Behnam Alibakhshi
The Curtain Theater
Nov. 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 20 at 10 a.m.
Nov. 23 at 2 p.m.

What is life’s destination? How much time do we waste on useless worries? How can love and kindness improve our lives?

Nearly 90 years after its writing, Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” remains one of the best-known plays in the English language, and we take its lessons for granted at our peril. It portrays the preciousness of a simple life and the joys of companionship. Follow the residents of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, as they navigate joy and pain, the unexpected and the mundane. “It is an attempt,” said Wilder, “ to find a value above all price for the smallest events of our daily life.”

“Our Town” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.

Content advisory: Alcohol use and smoking, discussions of death. Recommended for children ages 12 and older.

Unfinished Women Cry in No Man's Land While a Bird Dies in a Gilded Cage
By Aishah Rahman
Directed by Gilbert McCauley
The Curtain Theater
March 7, 8, 12, 13, 14 at 7:30 p.m.
March 8 & 15 at 2 p.m.
March 11 at 10 a.m.

“Unfinished Women,” Aishah Rahman’s theatrical jazz tour-de-force, portrays a group of teenage mothers trying to decide whether to put their babies up for adoption, while in a room nearby, doomed genius saxophonist Charlie 'Bird' Parker slowly dies in a drugged and dream-filled haze. Rahman weaves spoken word and jazz music together in an intimate, emotional work described as an “underground classic.”

Content advisory: Racial slurs, discussions of sexual activity and assault, discussions and depictions of drug and alcohol use and death. Recommended for children ages 15 and older.

Xanadu
Book by Douglas Carter Beane and music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar
Directed by Rose Schwietz Malla
The Rand Theater
May 2, 3, 8, 9 at 7:30 p.m.
May 3 &10 at 2 p.m.
May 7 at 10 a.m.

Escape into the glittering world of the pastels, spandex and synthesizers of the roller disco! Ancient Greek Muse Clio goes undercover as a leg-warmer-wearing Australian to help hapless wannabe artist Sonny find his purpose. Along the way, she finds she has an important choice to make between immortality or love and art. Xanadu is pure joy and silliness, with the hummable tunes of ELO mastermind Jeff Lynne.

It will leave the audience rolling with laughter – and on skates!

Xanadu is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.

Content advisory: Mild references to sex, some coarse language. Recommended for children ages 10 and older.

Fringe Fest ‘25
This is where UMass Theater hands its students the keys to let them take their skills out for a spin. Producing, fund raising, writing, directing, designing, stage managing, performing — everything to do with putting on a show, our students do it during Fringe Fest. Past festivals have included original works as well as classics given a new twist, and everything from one-acts to interactive exhibits. Join us in the spring to find out what our students have dreamed up for us this time around.

Fest event titles and performance details to be announced. Fringe Fest events are free, though reservations for some may be required.