Events and Productions

2022-2023 Mainstage Season

Fall semester

Pride and Prejudice by Kate Hamill, based on the novel by Jane Austen, directed by Laura Smiley.

Pride and Prejudice Logo

"This isn’t your grandmother’s Austen! Bold, surprising, boisterous, and timely, this P&P for a new era explores the absurdities and thrills of finding your perfect (or imperfect) match in life. The outspoken Lizzy Bennet is determined to never marry, despite mounting pressure from society. But can she resist love, especially when that vaguely handsome, mildly amusing, and impossibly aggravating Mr. Darcy keeps popping up at every turn?! Literature’s greatest tale of latent love has never felt so theatrical, or so full of life than it does in this effervescent adaptation. Because what turns us into greater fools…than the high-stakes game of love?" (Dramatists Play Service)

Performances of Pride and Prejudice will be October 14-15, and 18-20 at 7:30pm and October 16 at 2pm in the Stoner Black Box Theater. Tickets will be available at www.sru.edu/tickets.

Head Over Heels by James Magruder and Jeff Whitty, Songs by the Go-Go's, directed by David Skeele.

Head Over Heels Logo

HEAD OVER HEELS is the bold new musical comedy from the visionaries that rocked Broadway with Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Avenue Q and Spring Awakening. This laugh-out-loud love story is set to the music of the iconic 1980’s all-female rock band The Go-Go’s, including the hit songs, “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Vacation,” Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “Mad About You.”

A hilarious, exuberant celebration of love, HEAD OVER HEELS follows the escapades of a royal family on an outrageous journey to save their beloved kingdom from extinction—only to discover the key to their realm’s survival lies within each of their own hearts. (Broadway Licensing)

Performances of Head Over Heels will be November 17-19, and 21 at 7:30pm and November 20 at 2pm in the Performing Arts Center Miller Theater. Tickets will be available at www.sru.edu/tickets.

Spring semester

Hand to God by Robert Askins, directed by David Skeele.

Hand To God image

After the death of his father, meek Jason finds an outlet for his anxiety at the Christian Puppet Ministry, in the devoutly religious, relatively quiet small town of Cypress, Texas. Jason’s complicated relationships with the town pastor, the school bully, the girl next door, and—most especially—his mother are thrown into upheaval when Jason’s puppet, Tyrone, takes on a shocking and dangerously irreverent personality all its own. HAND TO GOD explores the startlingly fragile nature of faith, morality, and the ties that bind us. (Dramatists Play Service)

Performances of Hand to God will be March 3-4, 7-9 at 7:30pm and March 5 at 2pm in the Stoner Black Box Theater. Tickets are available at www.sru.edu/tickets.

Seussical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, directed by Aaron Galligan-Stierle.

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Now one of the most performed shows in America, Seussical TYA is a fantastical, magical, musical extravaganza! Tony-winners, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Lucky Stiff, My Favorite Year, Once on This Island, Ragtime) have lovingly brought to life all of our favorite Dr. Seuss characters, including Horton the Elephant, The Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, lazy Mayzie and a little boy with a big imagination – Jojo. The colorful characters transport us from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus to the invisible world of the Whos.

The Cat in the Hat tells the story of Horton, an elephant who discovers a speck of dust containing Whos, including Jojo, a Who child sent off to military school for thinking too many "thinks." Horton faces a double challenge – not only must he protect the Whos from a world of naysayers and dangers, but he must guard an abandoned egg, left to his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping and a trial, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him. Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family and community are challenged and emerge triumphant. (Music Theatre International)

Performances of  Seussical will be April 21-22 at 7:30pm, and April 23 at 2pm and 6pm in the Performing Arts Center Miller Theater. Tickets are available at www.sru.edu/tickets.