Published: Aug. 31, 2016

From an all-female production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" to a weekend Hip-Hop showcase to the classic "Rocky Horror Show" musical, the 2016-17 season at the University of Colorado's Department of Theatre & Dance promises fun, thought-provoking entertainment for audiences of all ages and tastes.

Patrons may buy tickets online at cupresents.org, over the phone at 303-492-8008, or in person at the CU Presents Box Office, located at 972 Broadway in Boulder. Discounts are available for CU Boulder faculty and staff, and the CU Boulder Concert Card offers special discounts for our students.

The theater season opens with the popular “44 Plays for 44 Presidents,” a unique examination of American history in a series of two-minute vignettes, and closes with the beloved, imaginative “Peter and the Starcatcher,” a “Peter Pan” prequel with music. For a more intimate theatergoing experience, audiences can take in the raw, emotional “Fefu and Her Friends” or the magic realism of “References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot.” 

“The 2016-17 season is exciting for several reasons,” says Theatre Department Chair Bud Coleman. “We have three professional freelance directors joining our team of faculty and student directors, and all three happen to be women: Lisa Wolpe, Emily Harrison and Hadley Kamminga-Peck. In addition, our production of ‘Twelfth Night,’ part of the Shakespeare at CU celebration on campus, features an all-female cast and artistic team. From a world premiere chosen from our 2015-16 New Play Festival, to Shakespeare, to a fantastic prequel to the Peter Pan story, to the story of a transvestite from Transylvania, we have something for everyone.”

The 2016-17 dance season brings in exciting guests with international reputations, including street dance specialists Teena Marie Custer and Asia One and aerial dance pioneer Ana Prada, a Roser Visiting Artist. The season also promises a weekend of performances, talks and workshops about women in Hip-Hop and a wide array of student-choreographed works inspired by skateboarding, consumerism, faith and more.

“I am thrilled with the roster of people we are lining up,” says CU-Boulder Director of Dance Erika Randall. “Some of the country’s most renowned Hip-Hop scholars and artists will be on our campus for Women of the Cypher, sharing their wisdom with students, faculty and community members. We have an incredible cohort of MFA students presenting works this year, and each is playing with rich physicality and thoughtful art-making in a unique way. This year's BFAs are a bunch of creative weirdos—in the best possible way!—so ‘Catapult’ will feel like a visit to the Island of Misfit Toys. And we’re so excited to have Roser Guest Artist Ana Prada in Boulder.. Her artfully crafted anti-gravity displays have stunned audiences, and we imagine her work for our students will do the same.”

Richard O'Brien's Rocky Horror Show