JMU Theatre /Dance Production History

HELP! This is a work in progress. There are lots of holes in the data and there are likely a few mistakes as well. If you are a part of the JMU Theatre/Dance Family and in a position to add further information, do send your notes to Richard Finkelstein - rfinkels@msn.com

• Bold Listing = Mainstage, Masterpiece Season Production
• Other Listings denote student-produced work, or summer shows, etc.
• * denotes Childrens Playshop Production
• DT - denotes Dinner Theatre Production
• Dates given are for first performance

2011-2012

• Our Country’s Good
•  Dead Man’s Cell Phone
• Sweeney Todd
• The Servant of Two Masters
• Contemporary Dance Ensemble in Concert 
• New Dance Festival 
• VA Repertory Dance Concert 
• Macbeth
• Lucky Stiff
• A Girl Called Vincent
• The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds

2010-2011

This marks our move to and first season in the
new Forbes Center

• Arcadia
• Metamorphoses
• Letters to Sala
• Kiss Me Kate
• Contemporary Dance Ensemble in Concert 
• New Dance Festival 
• VA Repertory Dance Concert 
• Defiance
• Bright Lights, Big City
• Jewelers Shop
• Reckless
• I Love You Because
• Two Masters
• Songs for a New World (Faculty directed studio musical)
• True West
• Our Town
• Dog Sees God
• Miss Nelson is Missing * (8/5/2010) (Playshop)
  

2009-2010

• The Diviners 9/29/20
• Picasso at the Lapin Agile 11/3/09
• Oklahoma 2/23/2010
• bobrauchenbergamerica 4/27/2010
• Contemporary Dance Ensemble in Concert 3/25/2010
• New Dance Festival 9/4/2009
• VA Repertory Dance Concert 12/3/2009
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 9/8/2009
• The Woman Who Always Got What She Wanted 9/22/2009
• Originals 10/6/2009
• "49" 10/27/2009
• An Oak Tree 1/26/2010
• Red Light Winter 2/16/2010
• Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls 3/16/2010
• Nine 4/6/2010
• Senior Dance Concert 2/12/2010
• DanceShare 10/9/2009
• Student Dance Concert 11/12/2009
• Student Dance Concert 4/22/2010

2008-2009

• Seventy Scenes of Halloween 9/30/2008
• The Rover 11/4/2008
• City of Angels 2/24/2009
• Blood Wedding 4/28/2009
• The New Dance Festival 9/5/2008
• Virginia Repertory Dance Company in Concert 12/4/2008
• Contemporary Dance Concert 4/2/2009
• Tomatoes at a Funeral 9/9/2008
• Chess 10/7/2008
• Closer 10/28/2008
• Anyone Can Whistle 11/14/2008
• The Chairs 1/27/2009
• Ubu Roi 2/17/2009
• The Little Beautifuls 3/17/2009
• columbinus 4/7/2009
• All the Things I Want to Say 4/21/2009
• Alumni Dance Concert 1/23/2009
• Senior Dance Concert 2/13/2009
• Student Dance Concert 4/22/2009

LeVonne Lindsay Joins the Faculty
John Burgess Joins the Faculty as Director of Technical Production
Jacob Josef Joins the staff as Scene Shop Supervisor

2007-2008

• What the Butler Saw 10/2/2007
• Jane Eyre 11/6/2007
• Urinetown 2/19/2008
• Twelfth Night 4/22/2008
• The New Dance Festival 9/7/2007
• Virginia Repertory Dance Company in Concert 12/6/2007
• Contemporary Dance Concert 3/27/2008
• Danceshare  10/12/2007
• Student Dance Concert 11/5/2007
• Senior Dance Concert 2/15/2008
• Student Dance Concert4/17/2008
• The Merchant of Venice 9/18/2007
• Side Show  10/9/2007
• Everyman 10/30/2007
• Julius Caesar 11/15/2007
• Woyzeck / Agamemnon 1/23/2008
• Suddenly Last Summer 2/12/2008
• The Pillowman 3/11/2008
• Edges 4/15/2008
• Wind in the Willows * 5/22/2008
• Rumpelstiltskin * 6/12/2008
• The Near-Sighted Knight and the Far-Sighted Dragon * 7/10/2008

Kevin (Wolf) Sherrill  joins the faculty

2006-2007

• Sweetest Swing in Baseball
• The Laramie Project
• Thoroughly Modern Millie
• All My Sons
• Better Don’t Talk (Guest Performance)
• Proof
• Frat Boys, Mean Girls, and 586 Other Reasons to Boycott Women’s Magazines 2/20/2007
• Fat Pig 10/10/2006
• The Real Inspector Hound 1/23/2007
• Eleemosynary 2/6/2007
• The Goat 3/13/2007
• See What I Wanna See 4/3/2007
• Prometheus 4/24/2007
• Wild Party (Lippa) 9/26/06
• Wild Party (La Chiusa) 11/18/06
• Emperor Jones 10/24/06

Professor Tom Arthur Retires at the end of the season

2005-2006

• Blur
• Noises Off
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Oedipus Variations
• Ripen Our Darkness
• New Dance Festival
• Virginia Rep
• Contemporary Dance Ensemble
• Wit
• Brighton Beach Memoirs
• Alice in Wonderland
• Bug
• Best Supporting
• How to Fall Apart
• Boy Gets Girl
• I Never Sang for my Father
• Hanah and Gretel *
• The Mouse and the Motorcycle *
• The Velveteen Rabbit *
• Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp *

2004-2005

• Shakespeare’s R&J
• Chaucer in Rome
• Mystery of Edwin Drood, The
• Our Town
• Bash
• Angels in America, Part I
• Angels in America, Part II
• The Last Five Years
• 1776
• 36 Views
• Nocturne
• Lilith is Dead (Original Student Production)
• Pinocchio *
• Androcles and the Lion *
• The Princess and the Pea *

Dr. Dennis Beck Joins the Faculty in the Fall of 2004

2003-2004

• Keeping Up With the Joneses
• Medea
• Anything Goes
• Hamlet Variations
• Bat Boy the Musical
• Pieces (Original Student Play)
• Stitching
• References To Salvador Dali Make Me Hot
• Caucasian Chalk Circle
• Betty’s Summer Vacation3/23/2004
• Strictly Experimental4/20/2004

Tom King Retires in Spring of 2004

2002-2003

• A Flea in Her Ear
• The Glass Menagerie
• Pippin
• The Misanthrope
• Thousand Clowns
• The Flip Side
• Sexual Perversity in Chicago
• The Laramie Project
• This is Our Youth
• Fall Student Dance Concert
• Of Mice and Men
• Trust
• The Shape of Things
• Cabaret
• Polaroid Stories
• Grooming
• Mineola Twins
• One Hundred
• Magic and Mischief (Original Student Play)
• Five Women Wearing the Same Dress
• Cinderella *
• Puss 'n Boots *
• Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse *

Richard Finkelstein joins the faculty

2001-2002

• A Fair Country (10/9/2001)
• The English Teachers (11/6/2001)
• Carnival
• The Bridegroom of Blowing Rock (2/16/2002)
• In this Valley (A Dance piece) 3/21/2002

2000-2001

• Cripple of Inishmaan 10/3/2000
• Macbett 11/7/2000
• Into The Woods
• The Twin Menaechmi
• As Bees in Honey Drown
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Valpraiso
• Oleanna
• Three Dead Bodies Lying on the Ground
• The Vagina Monologues
• Equus

1999-2000

• Good Woman of Setzuan (10/5/1999)
• Moon for the Misbegotten (11/9/1999)
• 110 in the Shade (2/22/2000)
• The Foreigner(4/18/2000)
• Fences (12/10/1999 [or 1998?] )

1998-1999

• The Shadowlands 10/10/1998  ????
• The Tempest 10/10/1998 (verified)
• The Robber Bridegroom 2/23/1999
• Three Sisters 4/20/1999
• Orpheus Descending
• True West
• Looking for it - one acts including...
• Andre’s Mother by Terrence McNally
• Yesterday’s Window by Chiori Miyagawa
• American Saint by Adam LeFevre
• Sure Thing by David Ives
• Death and the Maiden
• Endgame
• Rumpelstiltskin 5/27/1999 *
• The Bremen Town Musicians 6/17/1999 *

1997-1998  

• Sylvia 9/30/1997
• Carriage 11/4/1997
• The Mikado 2/24/1997
• The Importance of Being Earnest 4/28/1998
• Sunday, Monday, and Albert Drew 11/19/1997
• The Betrayal
• July ‘74
• Goodnight Desdemona
• Mother, Father, Man 9/10/1997
• Static 9/10/1997
• Blenders With Guns 10/1/1997
• Blood Brothers 10/22/1997
• Fool for Love
• Arcadia 2/1998
• Raised in Captivity 11/4/1997
• Charlotte’s Web5/28/1998 *
• Rapunzel6/18/1998 *

John Bell joins the faculty

1996-1997

• Filumena 10/8/1996
• Agnes of God
• Kiss Me Kate
• The Professional4/15/1997
• Little Shop of Horrors 4/8/1997
• Christopher Durang's one-act play, "Titanic"

1995-1996

• Brigadoon (10/17/1995)
• School for Wives (Moliere) 11/14/1995
• The Wake of Jamie Foster 2/20/1995
• King Lear (4/16/1996)
• Blithe Spirit (summer)

1994-1995

• She Loves Me 10/18/1994
• Talley's Folly ?
• The Bacchae (2/14/1995)
• Rosencranz... 4/18/1995
• American Buffalo
• Wait Until Dark
• Man From Ganymede (original)
• Cloud 9
• Small Domestic Acts
• Penetrator
• Assasins
• The Color Wheel
• The Diviners
• Godspell
• The Libertine

Kathleen Conery joins the staff as Costumer

1993-1994

• Eleemosynary
• Street Scene 11/9/1993
• The Play’s the Thing 2/22/1994
• Night of the Iguana
• Uncommon Women and Others

1992-1993

• Defeat Party by JMU alumnus, William Whalen(10/13/1992)
• Stars in the Morning Sky 11/17/1992
• Working 2/23/1993
• Artist Descending a Staircase by Tom Stoppard 4/14/1993
• Thompson and Trammell Dance Concert 9/11/1992
• VA Rep. Dance Concert 12/3/1992
• Contemporary Dance Ensemble 3/23/1993
• The Ninth Step by Tom Zeigler (summer) 7/22/1993

1991-1992

• A Lie of the Mind (10/8/1991)
• The Lion and the Jewel (11/5/1991)
• Another Antigone
• Tamburlaine the Great (4/12/1992)
• Another Antigone (2/11/1992)
• The Boys Next Door (summer) (7/23/1992)

1990-1991

• Moliere by Bulgakov 2/5/1991
• Sizwe Bonsi is Dead 4/2/1991
• Uncommon Women
• The Memorandum (summer) (7/25/1991 LST) Havel

1989-1990

• George Washington Slept Here 10/3/1989
• The Tempest 10/13/1989 ???
• The Revenger’s Tragedy 11/14/1989
• Little Mary Sunshine 2/15/1990
• The Road to Mecca 4/17/1990
• You're A Good Man Charlie Brown (Gesner) DT
• The Nerd (Shue) DT (14th season)
• Folk Dance Ensemble
• VA Rep
• Contemporary Dance Ensemble

Joining the staff:
Mary K. Hart (Departmental Secretary)
Sharon Ratner (Dance Secretary)
Gary Tremblay (Scene Shop Foreman)
Traci Batchelor  (Costume Shop Asst.)

1988-1989

• All’s Well That Ends Well 10/4/1988
• Red in the Morning by Glyn Jones 11/15/1988
• Uncle Vanya 4/18/1989
• Every Good Boy Deserves Favor, by Tom Stoppard 2/14/2009
• The Matchmaker 7/27/1989 LST
• On the Verge  (Unsure of date)
• Seven Dreams / Awakening & House
• Steel Magnolias (Harling) 6/1 DT
• Little Shop of Horrors 6/22 DT

Leaving at the end of the season:
Julie Drinkard(Dept. Secretary)
Truda Macutt (Dance Secretary)
Mark Totten (Scene Shop Foreman)
Pat Kealy (Costume Shop Asst.).

1987-1988

• Six Characters in Search of an Author (Pirandello) 11/17
• The Imaginary Invalid (Moliere) 2/23
• Orphans (Kessler) 4/19
• Major Barbara (Shaw) 10/6
• The Dining Room (Summer) ?
• The Fantasticks (Schmidt/Jones) DT
• Fools (Simon) DT
• Contemporary Ensemble 3/17
• Repertory Touring Company 12/3
• Folk Ensemble 4/7

1986-1987

• Lysistrata (Aristophanes) 10/14
• Betrayal (Pinter) 11/18
• A Chorus Line 2/17
• A Streetcar Named Desire (Williams) 4/21
• Our Town (Summer) 7/30
• The Nightingale
• The Game of Love (Tom Jones) 6/4 DT
• Not Now Darling (Cooney/Chapman) 6/25 DT
• Contemporary Dance Ensemble 3/19
• Repertory Touring Company (Dance) 12/4
• Folk Dance Ensemble 4/9

1985-1986

(Theatre and Dance  are now listed Together on  the same Season Brochure)

• Holy Ghosts (Linney) 10/8
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare) 11/19
• The Firebugs (Frisch) 2/25
• And a Nightingale Sang (Taylor) 4/22
• Aladdin
• Spoon River Anthology (Summer) 7/31
• Baby 6/19 DT
• The Foreigner (Shue) 6/1 DT
• Contemporary Ensemble 3/20
• Repertory Touring Company 12/5
• Folk Ensemble 4/3
• Requiem for a Heavyweight 2/27/1986

1984-1985

• Crimes of the Heart (Henley)10/2
• The Country Wife (Wycherly) 11/13
• Jesus Christ Superstar 2/26
• Buried Child (Shepard) 4/23
• The Arkansas Bear ?
• Under Milk Wood 8/1 (Summer)
• The Boy Friend (Sandy Wilson) 6/8 DT
• Children of a Lesser God (Medoff) 6/27 DT

1983-1984

• Wiley and the Hairy Man

1982-1983

• Rabbits (Student Written by Charles Webb) 10/11
• The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare) 11/15
• The Lion in Winter (Goldman) 2/21
• The Diviners
• Macbeth
• Picnic
• The Shadow Box
• In One Box
• Twain by Tale (Summer)

1981-1982

• Servant of Two Masters (Goldoni) 10/13
• Plaza Suite (Simon) 7/29
• Momentum (Sutton) 11/17
• Rhinoceros (Ionesco) 4/20
• Death Trap (Levin) 6/24 DT
• Curley McDimple (Boyland/Dahdah) 6/11 DT

1980-1981

• Vanities (Heifner) 10/7
• Punch Henry’s Jazz Funeral (Wells/Potter) 11/18
• Dr. Faustus (Marlowe) 2/24
• Arms and the Man (Shaw) 4/21
• Wait Until Dark (Knott) 7/30 (Summer Show)
• Golliwhoppers

1979-1980

• Henry IV, pt. 1 (Shakespeare) 10/2
• The Pendragon Institute (Sutton) 11/13
• Man of LaMancha (Wasserman) 2/19
• The Father (Strindberg) 4/15
• Black Comedy (Shaffer) 7/30/80

1978-1979

• Fancies (Ficher) 10/10
• A Man for all Seasons (Bolt) 11/14
• Oklahoma 2/20
• Tartuffe 4/17
• Of Mice and Men 7/26 (summer production)

1977-1978

Season flier announces name change from Madison College Theatre to James Madison University Theatre

• Heracles (Euripides) 10/11
• La Perioche (Offenbach opperetta) 2/21
• The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (Zindel) 11/15
• Loot (Orton) 4/18
• Bus Stop (Inge) (Summer) 7/27
• The Runner Stumbles
• In the Boom Boom Room (directed by student Warner Crocker)

1976-1977

• The importance of Being Earnest (Wilde) 10/7
• Woyzeck (Buchner) 11/11
• A Delicate Balance (Albee) 2/17
• Cinderella (Luter) 2/1
• Twelfth Night (Shakespeare) 4/14
• The Mousetrap (Christie) (Summer) 7/28

1975-1976

(Marks the inaugural year of the Dinner Theatre, which played for 17 seasons)

• Captain Jinks and the Horse Marines (10/9/1975)
• The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail (11/13/1975)
• Death of a Salesman (2/19/1976)
• Guys and Dolls (4/15/1996)
• The Rainmaker (summer) (7/29/1976)
• Children's Show (2/13/1976)

1974-1975

• King Lear (Shakespeare) 10/18
• What the Butler Saw (Orton) 11/14
• Hedda Gabler (Ibsen) 2/20
• Carnival (Merrill/Stewart) 4/17
• Hot L Baltimore

1973-1974

• Summer and Smoke (11/29/1973)
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Rosencranz.. (2/1974)

1972-1973

• Our Town (10/19/1972)

1971-1972

1970-1971

• Lovers and Other Strangers (2/22/1970)

1968-1969

• Three Sisters (2/17/1969)

Orphan shows without years listed on archival materials:
If you know when these shows were presented, do send your information to Richard Finkelstein - rfinkels@msn.com

• Everyman (not the production from recent times)
• Ten Nights in a Barroom - Mainstage August
• The Bacchae Mainstage 2/14 - not the thr 2 prod of 12/9/1994
• Chess (mainstage 2/17)
• Fences - stratford (12/6)
• Red in the Morning (11/15) LST
• Stop the World I Want to Get Off 3/15 LST
• Tally’s Folly 11/15
• The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles - ThII - 10/6
• Three Short Plays by Woody Allen  - LST (LST Summer 198?. Allen Lyndrup directed. Featured play was "Kugelmass Revisited," adapted from "The Kugelmass Episode" (short story published in the collection, "Side Effects)  Specific year still needed.
• Accidental Death of an Anarchist Experimental Theatre with Tom King
• Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Sam Shephard
• Things That Go Bump in the Night
• La Ronde
• Marat/Sade
• Glass Menagerie, Thr II