WWU Theatre & Dance Presents Theatre on Campus, Dance in Fairhaven This Summer

The Western Washington University Department of Theatre & Dance is producing a summer season of musicals and comedies in the WWU Performing Arts Center and contemporary dance performances at the Firehouse Performing Arts center this summer.

Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m., and matinees are at 2 p.m. A complete list of times and dates is available online at cfpa.wwu.edu/theatredance. A special three-show discount subscription is available for $40 by calling the box office.

Dance faculty Nolan Dennett directs WWU student dancers in “Graffiti Dance Theatre” July 28-30 at the Firehouse Performing Arts Center in Fairhaven. The movement is impressionistic – inspired by a range of personal and poetic subjects. Contributing choreographers include Dennett, Keenan Komoto, Nora Lang, Elliauna Madsen, Isabella Matossi, Tara Reiter, and featuring work by artist-in-residence Juan Carlos Claudio. Tickets are $5 for students and youth, and $10 for general public, available at the WWU Box Office for presale, or at the door of the Firehouse on the day of performance.

The first musical of the season is Dan Goggin’s crowd-pleaser “Nunsense.” The story begins when the Little Sisters of Hoboken discover that their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52 of the sisters, and they are in dire need of funds for the burials. The sisters decide that the best way to raise the money is to put on a variety show. Nunsense runs Aug. 10-14 on the Mainstage. Tickets for Nunsense are $15-19 with $7 off for all students.

In “Seminar,” a provocative comedy from Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck, four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with an international literary figure – a role originated on Broadway by the late Alan Rickman. Seminar opens in the DUG Theatre in the Performing Arts Center on Aug. 17 and runs through Aug. 21. Tickets are $9 for students and youth, $16 for adults.

In collaboration with the Music Department, the season closes with Stephen Sondheim’s memorable tale of love and lust, “A Little Night Music.” Director Heather Dudenbostel is staging the play in concert after the fashion of successful revivals by San Francisco Symphony of “Sweeney Todd” as well as The New York Philharmonic's concert version of “Company.” A Little Night Music plays on the Mainstage for a limited run of three performances Aug. 26-28. Tickets are $15-19 with a $7 discount for all students. Seating is available in the balcony by request. Call the Box Office for more information.

For more information about Western Summer Theatre, visit cfpa.wwu.edu/theatredance. Tickets and disability accommodation information are available at the WWU Ticket Office, (360) 650-6146. Summer Ticket Office hours are Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and before show times.