Wirtz Center Announces Stage on Screen Fall/Winter Season

EVANSTON, Ill. --- The best of Broadway and the United Kingdom is brought to the Northwestern University Evanston campus through the Stage on Screen series by the University’s Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts.

Featuring both innovative staging of classic works and premieres of new productions, Stage on Screen allows audiences to enjoy the popular National Theatre Live (NT Live) broadcasts for the fourth consecutive year on the North Shore campus.

NT Live is the National Theatre’s groundbreaking project to broadcast the best of British theatre live from the London stage to cinemas across the United Kingdom and around the world.

This season, Stage on Screen also will feature broadcasts from the internationally renowned Bolshoi Ballet, as well as the filmed performance of Broadway’s “Of Mice and Men,” directed by Anna D. Shapiro, chair of Northwestern’s department of theatre.

Broadcasts on the Evanston campus will take place at the Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive, and the Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, as noted. Single tickets are $20 for the general public; $16 for Northwestern faculty/staff (in-person or phone order only) or $10 full-time student with valid IDs. For more information on the Stage on Screen Series, visit wirtz.northwestern.edu.

Fall/Winter 2014-15 Stage on Screen Series

• National Theatre Live, Euripdes’ “Medea,” newly-adapted by Ben Power, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, Josephine Louis Theater. The Stage on Screen series begins with NT Live’s production of “Medea,” a new adaptation of the Euripides play by Ben Power. Medea is a wife and a mother. For the sake of her husband, Jason, she has left her home and borne two sons in exile. But when her husband abandons his family for a new life, Medea faces banishment and separation from her children. Cornered, she begs for one day’s grace to exact an appalling revenge and destroy everything she holds dear. The production is directed by Carrie Cracknell and stars Helen McCrory.

• National Theatre Live, “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, Ethel M. Barber Theater. Known as the fastest-selling production in the Young Vic’s history, Tennessee Williams’ timeless masterpiece, “A Streetcar Named Desire,” stars Gillian Anderson as Blanche DuBois. As Blanche’s fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella for solace -- but her downward spiral brings her face-to-face with the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski. Visionary director Benedict Andrews returns to the Young Vic following his Critics’ Circle Award-winning “Three Sisters.”

• National Theatre Live, “Skylight” by David Hare, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, Ethel M. Barber Theater. Past lovers reflect on their changed lives in “Skylight,” starring Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan and directed by Stephen Daldry. On a bitterly cold London evening, schoolteacher Kyra Hollis receives an unexpected visit from Tom Sergeant, a successful and charismatic restaurateur whose wife has recently died. As the evening progresses, the two attempt to rekindle their once passionate relationship only to find themselves locked in a dangerous battle of opposing ideologies and mutual desires.

• “Of Mice and Men,” by John Steinbeck, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, Ethel M. Barber Theater. Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee James Franco (“127 Hours,” \"Milk\") and Tony Award nominee Chris O’Dowd (“Bridesmaids,” “Girls”) star in the hit Broadway production “Of Mice and Men,” captured live on stage by National Theatre Live.  Friends George and Lennie are migrant ranch workers, both striving towards the dream of owning their own land. However, the path to their success is threatened as Lennie’s aggressive stature yet simple mind cause George to make a heartbreaking decision. This testament to friendship is directed by Tony Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circles award winner Anna D. Shapiro.

• Bolshoi Ballet’s “La Bayadere,” 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9, Josephine Louis Theater. Moscow's internationally renowned Bolshoi Ballet company presents Marius Petipa's seminal work “La Bayadere,” the ballet featuring the famous scene known as The Kingdom of the Shades, one of the celebrated excerpts in all of classical ballet. This enchanting live performance begins with the warrior Solar sending a fakir (religious ascetic) to tell the temple dancer Nikiya that he will meet her later that night. When Nikiya and Solor meet in secret they swear eternal mutual fidelity -- unaware that the High Brahmin, who also is in love with Nikiya, overhears them and decides to take revenge.

• National Theatre Live, “JOHN,” conceived and directed by Lloyd Newson, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13, Ethel M. Barber Theater. NT Live has partnered with critically-acclaimed DV8 Physical Theatre in the broadcast of “JOHN.” The company’s new production authentically depicts real-life stories, combining movement and spoken word to create an intense and moving theatrical experience. Lloyd Newson, DV8’s artistic director, interviewed more than 50 men asking them frank questions, initially about love and sex. John was one of those men. The emerging story is both extraordinary and touching. Years of crime, drug use and struggling to survive lead John on a search in which his life converges with others, in an unexpected place, unknown by most. Note: “JOHN” contains adult themes, strong language and nudity. The production is suitable for audiences 18 years of age and older.

• Bolshoi Ballet’s “Swan Lake,” 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, Josephine Louis Theater. A time-honored classic is re-staged in the Bolshoi Ballet production of “Swan Lake.” Prince Siegfried's 21st birthday is a cause for great celebration. During a majestic ceremony at the palace, young girls compete for his attention. They know that this newly knighted prince must choose a wife during the opulent ball. Daunted by his responsibility, Siegfried flees into the night. At an enchanted lake, he encounters a strange flock of swans, one of whom transforms into the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Cursed by a sorcerer, Odette is a white swan by day and human by night. Only a pledge of true love can break the spell.

• National Theatre Live, “Treasure Island,” by Bryony Lavery and based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, Josephine Louis Theater. Robert Louis Stevenson’s story of murder, money and mutiny, “Treasure Island” is brought to life in a new stage adaptation by Bryony Lavery. On a dark, stormy night Jim, the innkeeper’s granddaughter, opens the door to a terrifying stranger. At the old sailor’s feet sits a huge sea chest full of secrets. Jim invites him in and thus begins her dangerous voyage. The production is suitable for audiences 10 years of age and older.

• Bolshoi Ballet’s “Romeo and Juliet,” 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, Josephine Louis Theater. The winter season of Stage on Screen will close with the Shakepearean love story “Romeo and Juliet,” presented by the Bolshoi Ballet. In Verona, the rivalry between the Capulets and the Montagues brings bloodshed to the city. When the Capulets organize a masked ball in honor of their daughter Juliet, Romeo Montague and his friend Mercutio attend incognito because of the hatred that tears the two houses apart. Romeo and Juliet fall madly in love, and are distraught when they realize they belong to rival families. Stellar performances by Alexander Volchkov and Anna Nikulina illuminate this masterpiece, making the immortal tale of the lovers of Verona an unforgettable experience.