Events Calendar

Apr 27, 2024

7:30 PM

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TICKETS Adults $20 Youth & Non-UI Students $10 UI Students $5 Music by William Menefield Libretto by Sheila Williams Directed by William Menefield Co-Produced by the University of Iowa School of Music, Performing Arts Production Unit, and Hancher Auditorium. Fierce marks a major moment in our Hancher season. This new opera—making its Iowa premiere—reflects the collaborative spirit of Performing Arts at Iowa and will be co-produced by the School of Music, the Performing Arts Product...

Apr 29, 2024

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

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Join us for the kick-off of Iowa New Play Festival 2024! The Welcome Reception begins at 10:30 a.m. and the Guest Panel begins at 11 a.m.

Apr 29, 2024

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Reading Series Forgottonia By Eli Campbell Directed by Sarah Gazdowicz In 1987, the people of Forgottonia, Illinois are on the edge of poverty. In a last-ditch effort to save their town, they enter the Prison Sweepstakes, which would win them a government-funded prison (and all the jobs that come with it). But competing for a prison drags out more than they were bargaining for. Guest Roundtable to follow.

Apr 29, 2024

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series Anti-Hero: Revenge of the Swifties By Derick Edgren Otero Directed by Meredith Healy Fourteen-year-old Cora harasses a prominent music critic and his family into changing his scathing review of a country-turned-pop star's most divisive record. When he ignores her demands, an entire fandom works to save their queen's #reputation. Please be advised this production includes hate speech, implied child abuse, loud noises, and the use of haze.

Apr 29, 2024

9:00 PM - 11:00 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series Anti-Hero: Revenge of the Swifties By Derick Edgren Otero Directed by Meredith Healy Fourteen-year-old Cora harasses a prominent music critic and his family into changing his scathing review of a country-turned-pop star's most divisive record. When he ignores her demands, an entire fandom works to save their queen's #reputation. Please be advised this production includes hate speech, implied child abuse, loud noises, and the use of haze.

Apr 30, 2024

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

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A roundtable discussion of Anti-Hero: Revenge of the Swifties by Derick Edgren Otero.

Apr 30, 2024

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Reading Series Leeches By Adrian Enzastiga Directed by Natalie Villamonte Zito Leeches is a full-length play that takes place at an eviction court in an ambiguously Midwest post-pandemic U.S. city. The play explores the process of an eviction, the cycle of poverty, and the corrupt oppression of the American capitalist system: Eviction court is a no man’s land; tenants’ rights are crushed under landlord’s command, and social workers (can) do little to offer a h...

Apr 30, 2024

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series Spells for Going Forth by Daylight By Leigh M. Marshall Directed by Josh Turner In a world where the Roman Empire meets the 24-hour news cycle, Cleo wakes up in the Egyptian Realm of the Dead without a Book of Life to guide her to Paradise. As she tries to navigate her way through a treacherous afterlife filled with traps and predators, she finds she's able to tap into broadcasts from the living world that indicate her empire is on the brink of ...

Apr 30, 2024

9:00 PM - 11:00 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series Spells for Going Forth by Daylight By Leigh M. Marshall Directed by Josh Turner In a world where the Roman Empire meets the 24-hour news cycle, Cleo wakes up in the Egyptian Realm of the Dead without a Book of Life to guide her to Paradise. As she tries to navigate her way through a treacherous afterlife filled with traps and predators, she finds she's able to tap into broadcasts from the living world that indicate her empire is on the brink of ...

May 1, 2024

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

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A roundtable discussion of Spells for Going Forth by Daylight by Leigh M. Marshall.

May 1, 2024

2:30 PM - 4:30 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Reading Series And the Past Remains By Poonam Dhir Directed by Johanna Kasimow An exploration of kinship, commitment and recollection. Using non-linear etches in time and a series of shared moments, the story of a family and a childhood unfolds. A dramatic event grounds this vulnerable account. Through memory, witnessing and intimate encounters, And the Past Remains explores ideas of duty, devotion and belief. Please be advised this reading includes mentions of ...

May 1, 2024

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Reading Series Well Spoken By Alex Lead Directed by Søren Olsen An elderly gay moving out west rummages a nearby playground for a missing chunk of his brain. With the gate closing in two hours, he must convince the audience to watch his upcoming television show before he either loses too much blood or misses the plane. Whichever comes first. Performed by the author, Well Spoken is a meditation on the black diaspora, the queer diaspora, and ancestry. Please be ad...

May 2, 2024

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Reading Series The Words of Ants By Xiaoyan Kang Directed by Nina Morrison The visit of an uninvited woman changes Y's life forever. As the last natural inheritor, Y embarks upon a journey to preserve an almost extinct language, but at what cost? Guest Roundtable to follow.

May 2, 2024

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Reading Series Selections from the Undergraduate Playwrights Workshop

May 2, 2024

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series American Rusałki a play with music By Christopher Lysik Directed by Kayla Adams Set in 1800s, rural New England, a small town on the outskirts of a forest find themselves at the center of a storm—facing consequences from a sin that plagued the lands long ago. As several townspeople find themselves facing terrible obstacles, they will soon discover exactly what they're willing to do for those they love. Please be advised this production include...

May 2, 2024

9:00 PM - 11:00 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series American Rusałki a play with music By Christopher Lysik Directed by Kayla Adams Set in 1800s, rural New England, a small town on the outskirts of a forest find themselves at the center of a storm—facing consequences from a sin that plagued the lands long ago. As several townspeople find themselves facing terrible obstacles, they will soon discover exactly what they're willing to do for those they love. Please be advised this production include...

May 3, 2024

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

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A roundtable discussion of American Rusałki: a play with music by Christopher Lysik.

May 3, 2024

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Reading Series birdWatching By Cianon Jones A nature documentary. Guest Roundtable to follow.

May 3, 2024

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series Razor Creek: a folk-rock, sci-fi musical Book & Lyrics by K.T. Peterson Music by K.T. Peterson and Paige Scott Directed and Choreographed by Michael C. Flores Razor Creek is a rock concert in coal-mining country, Kentucky. It is 1935, and residents get on best they can; fighting the devil, cracking jokes, staying alive, but when Razor Creek experiences an out-of-the-ordinary hardship, like the disappearance of a beloved invalid woman in town, r...

May 3, 2024

7:30 PM

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Part of Hancher's Broadway Series After 25 years, Chicago is still the one musical with everything that makes Broadway shimmy-shake: a universal tale of fame, fortune, and all that jazz, with one show stopping song after another and the most astonishing dancing you’ve ever seen. No wonder Chicago has been honored with 6 Tony Awards, 2 Oliver Awards, a Grammy, and thousands of standing ovations. As we celebrate our 25th anniversary—you’ve got to come see why the name on everyone’s lips is st...

May 3, 2024

9:00 PM - 11:00 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series Razor Creek: a folk-rock, sci-fi musical Book & Lyrics by K.T. Peterson Music by K.T. Peterson and Paige Scott Directed and Choreographed by Michael C. Flores Razor Creek is a rock concert in coal-mining country, Kentucky. It is 1935, and residents get on best they can; fighting the devil, cracking jokes, staying alive, but when Razor Creek experiences an out-of-the-ordinary hardship, like the disappearance of a beloved invalid woman in town, r...

May 4, 2024

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

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A roundtable discussion of Razor Creek: a folk-rock, sci-fi musical with Book and Lyrics by K.T. Peterson, music by K.T. Peterson and Paige Scott.

May 4, 2024

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

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Iowa New Play Festival – Reading Series No Gun Salute for Ofeke By Sixtus Igbokwe Directed by Patrick Adu After his fourth and final attempt to be admitted into the Ikenga masquerade cult, Ofeke gives up his quest for true manhood which the cult confers on its subjects. His resignation from the pursuit is accompanied by a detest for it, for in his words, “They failed, not I.” But his sudden discovery of a personal secret of the cult leader, Obosi, offers Ofeke a real bargaining voice, bu...

May 4, 2024

2:00 PM

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Part of Hancher's Broadway Series After 25 years, Chicago is still the one musical with everything that makes Broadway shimmy-shake: a universal tale of fame, fortune, and all that jazz, with one show stopping song after another and the most astonishing dancing you’ve ever seen. No wonder Chicago has been honored with 6 Tony Awards, 2 Oliver Awards, a Grammy, and thousands of standing ovations. As we celebrate our 25th anniversary—you’ve got to come see why the name on everyone’s lips is st...

May 4, 2024

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

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Join us for This is Only a Test, a stand-up comedy showcase presented by the students of Stand-up Comedy Practicum. Featuring performances from Erick Cortes-Parra, Elise Dahan, Piper Eagle, Alejandro Gonzalez, Emily Hill, Leo Karp, Brody Kivett, Joseph Lepire, Max Nielsen, Hozay Ruelas, and Tadas Visgirda. Tickets: Tickets for the Iowa New Play Festival will be available at the Theatre Building. Visit our website for more details.

May 4, 2024

7:30 PM

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Part of Hancher's Broadway Series After 25 years, Chicago is still the one musical with everything that makes Broadway shimmy-shake: a universal tale of fame, fortune, and all that jazz, with one show stopping song after another and the most astonishing dancing you’ve ever seen. No wonder Chicago has been honored with 6 Tony Awards, 2 Oliver Awards, a Grammy, and thousands of standing ovations. As we celebrate our 25th anniversary—you’ve got to come see why the name on everyone’s lips is st...

May 5, 2024

2:00 PM

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Part of Hancher's Broadway Series After 25 years, Chicago is still the one musical with everything that makes Broadway shimmy-shake: a universal tale of fame, fortune, and all that jazz, with one show stopping song after another and the most astonishing dancing you’ve ever seen. No wonder Chicago has been honored with 6 Tony Awards, 2 Oliver Awards, a Grammy, and thousands of standing ovations. As we celebrate our 25th anniversary—you’ve got to come see why the name on everyone’s lips is st...

Jun 4, 2024

7:30 PM

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Part of Hancher's Broadway Series Broadway’s Come From Away is a Best Musical winner all across North America! This New York Times Critics’ Pick takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships. Don't miss this breathtaking musical written by Tony Award nomi...

Jun 5, 2024

7:30 PM

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Part of Hancher's Broadway Series Broadway’s Come From Away is a Best Musical winner all across North America! This New York Times Critics’ Pick takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships. Don't miss this breathtaking musical written by Tony Award nomi...

Jun 6, 2024

7:30 PM

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Part of Hancher's Broadway Series Broadway’s Come From Away is a Best Musical winner all across North America! This New York Times Critics’ Pick takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships. Don't miss this breathtaking musical written by Tony Award nomi...