The Post

Niagara University, N.Y. (September, 2022) – NU Theatre Artistic Director Steve Braddock is thrilled to announce the NU Theatre 2022-23 season of educational and entertaining works that will inspire students, faculty and patrons alike. Featuring six electrifying works on our main Leary Stage, as well as our annual Short Play Festival, and one production in our intimate black box theatre, The Acting Studio, from October through May, Niagara University Theatre’s 59th production season includes:

• Us & Them: Aerial Investigations conceived by NU Physical Theatre Instructor Mara Neimanis | Original Production (Leary Stage)
• Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice (Leary Stage)
• Miss Bennett: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson & Margot Melcon (Leary Stage)
• Short Play Festival (Leary Stage) – All-Student Directed
• Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare (The Acting Studio)
• Art by Yasmina Reza (Leary Stage) – All-Student Produced
• Everybody by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Leary Stage)
• A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder by Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak (Leary Stage)

Please see below for performance times and ticket information. Tickets are on sale now!

Please check with our box office (boxoffice@niagara.edu | 716-286-8685) for current COVID safety protocols. 

Sentiments from NU Theatre’s Artistic Director: 

Let’s hear it for new beginnings. After a couple of years of trial and error, pivots and adjustments, and learning new ways of approaching the shared work that is live theatre, we are thrilled to welcome you to another full season of exhilarating, innovative drama in the beautiful Leary Theatre. This season, we’re absolutely delighted to offer you stories that celebrate beginnings: cultural, legendary, romantic, ambitious, and many more that we hope will have you celebrating, with us, the beginning of a new era for Niagara University Theatre.

Come share our stories. We’re ready to begin. Are you?

Steve Braddock, Director, NU Theatre

US & THEM: AERIAL INVESTIGATIONS WITH PINK FLOYD

Devised by Mara Neimanis | Original Production

Kicking off our 2022-2023 season, US & Them: Aerial Investigations (Oct. 13-17) is a devised piece by adjunct lecturer and Niagara alumna Mara Neimanis. Daring Aerialists fly, swing, and spin on suspended metal sculpture. Clowns grapple with the grand gravity of facts and figures and figments of the imagination. They meet in a post Roe v. Wade world, on the dark side of the moon. Niagara University is thrilled to present this workshop performance, an innovative approach to theatrical form, arising from our Physical Theatre classes. There will be no charge to see this production. Tickets may be reserved on a first-come, first served basis.

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER 

by Rick Elice

Based on the novel by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson

In November, NU Theatre sets sail into a tale of Where Pan Began. This wildly theatrical prequel to J.M. Barrie’s “Peter and Wendy” upends the century-old story of how an orphan boy becomes the legendary Peter Pan. From marauding pirates and jungle tyrants to unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes, Peter and the Starcatcher (Nov. 3-7) playfully explores the depths of greed and despair…and the bonds of friendship, duty and love.

MISS BENNETT: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY

by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon

To round out the Fall semester and celebrate the upcoming holiday season, NU Theatre presents a sparkling holiday play for the whole family to enjoy. Miss Bennett: Christmas At Pemberley (Dec. 1-5), a charming sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, is set two years after the novel ends, only this time with bookish middle-sister Mary as the unlikely heroine. Mary is growing tired of her role as dutiful middle sister in the face of her siblings’ romantic escapades. When the family gathers for Christmas at Pemberley, an unexpected guest sparks Mary’s hopes for independence, an intellectual match, and possibly even love. But nothing is ever simple in Jane Austen’s world as chaos and comedy abound. 

SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL

Comedies, dramas, and everything in-between from January 20-22 when NU Theatre presents our annual Short Play Festival – a smorgasbord of ten-minute, student-directed plays. If one is not to your taste, you only have to wait 10 minutes until the next one.

Some of the plays contain adult situations and language.

MEASURE FOR MEASURE

by William Shakespeare 

In the Bard’s Measure For Measure (Feb. 23-26) decadent Vienna is in turmoil after decades of societal upheaval, and the Duke has abruptly gone AWOL, leaving his faithful deputy, Angelo, in charge. Determined to put an end to moral corruption, Angelo decides to restore order, using an iron fist to uphold repressive laws. When a young man is sentenced to death, his sister Isabella pleads to Angelo for her brother’s life. Angelo then puts Isabella in an untenable position, hypocritically subverting his own Puritanical rules in the process. Running in our Acting Studio Black Box Theatre, Shakespeare’s dark comedy is an exploration of how human actions are guided by one’s deepest fears and faults, and asks “what happens to a society when women’s voices are silenced?”

ART

by Yasmina Reza

Translated by Christopher Hampton

This season’s all-student-run production is the winner of the 1996 Olivier Award for Best Comedy and the 1998 Tony Award for Best Play. Art (Mar. 3-5) is a comedy about the value and aesthetics of art and the toll it takes on friendship when the line is crossed.

EVERYBODY

by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Back on the mainstage, this modern riff on the fifteenth-century morality play Everyman follows Everybody (chosen from amongst the cast by lottery at each performance) as they journey through life’s greatest mystery—the meaning of living. Everybody (Mar. 30 – Apr. 3) was a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize.

A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER

Book and Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman

Music by Steven Lutvak

Based on the novel Israel Rank by Roy Horniman

Closing out the 2022-2023 season is a tale of a distant heir to a family fortune, who sets out to speed up the line of succession by using a great deal of charm… and a dash of murder. A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Apr. 27 – May 7) is the knock-’em-dead (literally) most-nominated show of the 2014 season. Nominated for ten Tony Awards, the musical won four, including Best Musical, and Best Book. When the low-born Monty Navarro finds out that he’s eighth in line for an earldom in the lofty D’Ysquith family, he figures his chances of outliving his predecessors are slight and sets off down a far more ghoulish path. Can he knock off his unsuspecting relatives without being caught and become the ninth Earl of Highhurst? And what of love? Because murder isn’t the only thing on Monty’s mind….

39^TH ANNUAL FRIENDS OF NU THEATRE GALA

On Saturday, May 6th, the Friends of Niagara University Theatre will host the 38th Annual Friends of Niagara University Theatre Gala including a 4 p.m. production of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder at the Leary Theatre within the Elizabeth Ann Clune Center for Theatre, Clet Hall, and a cocktail reception, dinner, auctions, and much celebration immediately following, at the Russell J. Salvatore Dining Commons. Ticket prices will be announced at a future date. For more information about the Gala, please contact the Friends of Niagara University Theatre at (716) 286-8483 | friendsnutheatre@gmail.com

N.U.R.T.

During the summer of 2023, NU Theatre will once again present free children’s theatre for the community. Our N.U.R.T. (Niagara University Repertory Theatre) troupe will present a rotating repertoire of children’s stories during July and August. Suitable for children ages three through 10, the N.U.R.T. troupe will perform in the air-conditioned Leary Theatre within the Elizabeth Ann Clune Center for Theatre, Clet Hall, as well as on tour throughout the Western New York community. In addition, NU Theatre will continue its tradition of presenting a free mainstage production. Locations, dates and times for performances will be announced in the spring. 

CALENDAR

US & THEM: AERIAL INVESTIGATIONS | Original Production

Directed by Mara Neimanis

Thursday, October 13 at 7:00pm (opening night)

Friday, October 14 at 7:30pm

Saturday, October 15 at 2:00pm & 7:30pm

Sunday, October 16 at 2:00pm (post show discussion)

Monday, October 17 at 7:00pm

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER

by Rick Elice

Based on the novel by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson

Directed by Steve Braddock, Music Directed by Dr. Bridget Moriarty, Choreographed by Terri Vaugahn

Thursday, November 3 at 7:00pm (opening night)

Friday, November 4 at 7:30pm

Saturday, November 5 at 2:00pm & 7:30pm

Sunday, November 6 at 2:00pm (post show discussion)

Monday, November 7 at 7:00pm

MISS BENNETT: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY

by Lauren Gunderson & Margot Melcon

Directed by Robyn Horn

Thursday, December 1 at 7:00pm (opening night)

Friday, December 2 at 7:30pm

Saturday, December 3 at 2:00pm & 7:30pm

Sunday, December 4 at 2:00pm (post show discussion)

Monday, December 5 at 7:00pm

SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL

By Various Playwrights

Directed by The Junior Directing class

Cycle A:

Friday, January 2 at 7:30pm 

Saturday, January 21 at 2:00pm

Cycle B:

Saturday, January 21 at 7:30pm

Sunday, January 22 at 2:00pm

MEASURE FOR MEASURE

by William Shakespeare 

Directed by Steve Braddock

Thursday, February 23 at 7:00pm (opening night)

Friday, February 24 at 7:30pm

Saturday, February 25 at 2:00pm & 7:30pm

Sunday, February 26 at 2:00pm (post show discussion)

ART

by Yesmina Reza

Translated by Christopher Hampton

NU Players’ Present – All-student produced

Friday, March 3 at 7:30pm (opening night)

Saturday, March 4 at 2:00pm & 7:30pm

Sunday, March 5 at 2:00pm

EVERYBODY

by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Directed by Dave Peterson

Thursday, March 30 at 7:00pm (opening night) 

Friday, March 31 at 7:30pm

Saturday, April 1 at 2:00pm & 7:30pm

Sunday, April 2 at 2:00pm (post show discussion)

Monday, April 3 at 7:00pm

A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER

Book & Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman

Music by Steven Lutvak

Based on the novel, Israel Rank by Roy Horniman

Directed by Doug Zschiegner, Music Directed by Dr. Bridget Moriarty, Choreographed by Terri Vaughan

Thursday, April 27 at 7:00pm (opening night)

Friday, April 28 at 7:30pm

Saturday, April 29at 2:00pm & 7:30pm

Sunday, April 30 at 2:00pm (post show discussion)

Thursday, May 4 at 7:00pm

Friday, May 5 at 7:30pm

Saturday, May 6 at 4:00pm (Friends of NU Theatre Gala)

Sunday, May 7 at 2:00pm

TICKET INFORMATION: There are three ways to purchase tickets for NU Theatre productions:

1) ONLINE:  We offer one of the lowest service fees online. Simply go to:   http://theatre.niagara.edu/ to purchase your tickets, select your seat locations, and your tickets will be emailed directly to you. No need to print them, simply show the barcode on your phone to our House Managers when you arrive.

2) IN PERSON: Visit our box office in the lobby of the Elizabeth Ann Clune Center for Theatre, Clet Hall:   Monday-Friday 2:30-4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to curtain. No physical ticket will be issued – instead, after paying at our box office, present your ID to our House Manager and they will check in your reservation.

3) BOX OFFICE TELEPHONE AND EMAIL:  Call 716-286-8685 or send an e-mail to boxoffice@niagara.edu  Voicemail messages and emails are returned as soon as possible.

Ticket prices for NU Theatre productions: 

Plays: $15 general admission for adults; $10 for NU employees, NU alumni, Friends of NU Theatre, seniors 62 and over; and youth 21 and younger (non-NU)

Musicals: $20 general admission for adults; $15 for NU employees, NU alumni, Friends of NU Theatre, seniors 62 and over; and youth 21 and younger (non-NU)

NU Players Present (Art): $8 for all audience members (No Student Rush Available and NU Students Pay for Tickets). 

Tickets for NU Students:  NU Students with a valid NU ID are entitled to one ticket per main stage production and black box production.

Student Rush Policy: Any non-NU student, 21 and younger, with a current student ID card, may be admitted free of charge when there are seats available. Such tickets will be distributed five minutes prior to curtain. To guarantee tickets, purchase a discounted Youth ticket for $10 – $15.

Season Pass: $85 Guarantee your seat to all 7 NU Theatre productions (does not include the NU Players Presents production of Art) with a 22-23 Season Pass. By purchasing a season pass, you save the cost of one general admission ticket.

Media representatives who wish to schedule an interview or photography are asked to contact Steve Braddock, Director of Niagara University Theatre, at (716) 286-8329 or sbraddock@niagara.edu or Keirsten Thomas, Administrative Assistant at (716) 286-8483 or kthomas@niagara.edu