Tickets for the 2021-22 theatre and dance season are now available for purchase. The season, themed “Show Up!” was chosen for its joyful and community-focused themes. CMU theatre is fully live this year and patrons, performers, and crew are all looking forward to gathering in community again.
The season will open on September 23 with the lively and heartwarming musical, Godspell. Loosely based on parables as taught in the Gospel of Matthew, the show focuses on and revolves around the community developed around Jesus’s teachings during and after his life. Using a wide variety of games, storytelling techniques, plenty of comedy and an eclectic blend of songs, ranging in style from pop to vaudeville, messages of kindness, tolerance and love come vibrantly to life.
November 4-6, the American farce, Room Service, will be presented. A theatre producer, living with several actors in a Broadway hotel, is desperately in need of a good script. When he finds one, along with $15,000 to produce it, hilarity ensues as he plays hide-and-seek with the donor who wants to withdraw his financial support, attempts to outwit creditors, and tries to get his play up and running.
The first dance concert of the year, titled Time to Connect, will wrap up the fall season. As perspectives on time and connection evolve and change, the juxtaposition of time passing both quickly and slowly can be felt, as well as the ache for physical connection. Dancers and designers will explore how time and connection changes and influences artistic work in this concert as we start to come back together again.
The spring season will open with The SpongeBob Musical, presented for adults and children alike. The musical has SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom facing the total annihilation of their undersea world. As you might expect, chaos erupts and the power of optimism struggles to prevail. The SpongeBob Musical is based on the beloved animated series and features original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alexander Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants and T.I., and songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny and Andy Paley.
In April, the first ever Mesa Spring Festival will be presented, featuring two small venue shows directed by students, along with a variety of short works, works-in-progress, and faculty performances. Exit, Pursued by a Bear is a dark comedy about a woman and her quirky friends who decide to teach her abusive husband a lesson. In Rabbit Hole, Becca and Howie seem to have a perfect family life in suburban New York until a tragic accident takes the life of their four-year old son. Rabbit Hole explores the complexity of a family navigating deep grief, and learning what it means to continue living when things fall apart.
The season finale, as always, is the spring dance concert, titled Finding Joy. We have all experienced loss, grief and difficulty over the past year. However, we are reminded of the large and small ways we have, and can continue to, share joy. Dancers and choreographers will lean into these uplifting experiences to find the joy in sharing art during the spring concert.
While face masks are not required in Moss at this time, they are highly encouraged. Patrons are asked to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and consider vaccination or testing before attending an event. Steps will be taken in the venue to allow for the choice to socially distance, and performers will remain at an increased distance from audience members.
Tickets for the season are available online and offer a discount for purchasing all six shows as a package.