Northwestern Theatre in December

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A critically-praised play based on Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck’s novella, about two displaced migrant ranch workers in the late 1930s, and a Bolshoi Ballet production of “La Bayadere” will be broadcast at Northwestern University in early December.

On Dec. 1 and 2, the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts will present a National Theatre Live (NT Live) broadcast of the Broadway production of Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” starring James Franco and Chris O’Dowd. It was directed by Anna D. Shapiro, a Tony Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circles award-winner and Northwestern School of Communication professor and theatre department chair. (NOTE: the Dec. 2 broadcast is sold out.)

Filmed live on stage, the NT Live broadcast -- the first to originate from Broadway -- is part of Northwestern’s ongoing Stage on Screen series, which brings the best British and Broadway theater to the screen on the University’s Evanston campus and locations around the world. (See details on both NT Live broadcasts below.)

On Dec. 9, the Wirtz Center will host a broadcast the Bolshoi Ballet’s “La Bayadere,” featuring choreography by Marius Petipa.

On Jan. 13, the Wirtz Center will present an NT Live broadcast of “JOHN,” DV8 Physical Theatre’s new dance-theatre production, which combines movement and spoken word to depict the real-life stories of more than 50 men that Lloyd Newson, DV8’s artistic director interviewed about love and sex, including one named John. “JOHN” is recommended for mature audiences 18 years of age and older because it contains adult themes, strong language and nudity.

Single tickets to all STAGE ON SCREEN broadcasts are on sale through the Wirtz Center Box Office at 847-491-7282 or online.

MAINSTAGE SEASON 2014-15

The Wirtz Center’s 2014-15 mainstage season features award-winning directors and playwrights, acclaimed alumnae and faculty, groundbreaking plays and musicals and the annual Waa-Mu Show. The season reflects on the evolving definitions of family and community and invites audiences to embrace the circumstances that unite and strengthen us. For more information and to order tickets to upcoming shows and NT Live broadcasts, visit www.communication.northwestern.edu/wirtz/season.php.

JANUARY 2015 MAINSTAGE PREVIEW

The Wirtz Center’s first winter 2015 production, “Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine,” runs from Jan. 30 through Feb. 8 at the Josephine Louis Theater. It is a social satire, written by Lynn Nottage. It tells the story of a quick-witted and successful businesswomen whose husband disappears with all her money. Pregnant and on the brink of social and financial ruin, she moves back to her childhood home in Brooklyn to cope with reality and transform her setbacks into victories. Talkbacks will follow the Jan. 30, Feb. 1 and Feb. 5 performances. Tickets are $5 to $25. To purchase tickets, visit wirtz.northwestern.edu.

The Wirtz Center’s 2014-15 season productions will be held, as noted, in venues on the University’s Evanston campus, including the Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, and Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive.

Single tickets for all Mainstage productions are on sale now. Where applicable, ticket discounts are available for groups of eight or more. Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased by phone through the Wirtz Center Box Office at 847-491-7282 or online at wirtz.northwestern.edu.

DECEMBER 2014 STAGE ON SCREEN/NT LIVE BROADCASTS

• National Theatre Live, John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1 and 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2 (SOLD OUT), Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University Evanston campus. 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 (James Franco) and Lennie (Chris O’Dowd) 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 Anna D. Shapiro, a Tony Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circles award winner and Northwestern School of Communication professor and theatre department chair. Watch Video Teaser. Tickets are $20 for the general public; $16 for Northwestern faculty and staff (in-person or phone orders only); or $10 for full-time students with valid IDs.

• STAGE ON SCREEN broadcast, Bolshoi Ballet’s “La Bayadere,” libretto by Marius Petipa and Sergei Khudekov and choreography by Marius Petipa, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9, Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive. 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 live performance begins with the warrior Solar sending a fakir to tell the temple dancer Nikiya that he will meet her later at night. When Nikiya and Solor meet, they swear eternal fidelity to each other -- unaware that the High Brahmin, also in love with Nikiya, overhears them and decides to take revenge. Watch Video Teaser. Tickets are $20 for the general public; $16 for Northwestern faculty and staff (in-person or phone orders only); or $10 for full-time students with valid IDs.

CONSTRUCTION ALERT

A three-year construction project underway on the southeast end of the Northwestern University campus has closed Arts Circle Drive to traffic. Free parking for evening and weekend events remains available, but the project impacts handicapped parking and patrons requiring special access to Evanston campus theaters. For the most current information on the construction project and drop-off locations for patrons requiring special access to our theaters, visit wirtz.northwestern.edu.