Four new shows coming to theater

This month the new Theatre and Drama Center will open its doors and welcome a new season of shows to its stages. \nThe Ruth N. Halls Theatre, with 443 seats, was named for Ruth Norman Halls, a graduate of the class of 1919 who left her $11 million estate to the College of Arts and Sciences. The Wells-Metz Theatre, with 246 seats, was named for Dr. Arthur Metz, a 1909 IU graduate, and former IU president and chancellor Herman B Wells.\nThe first production in the new center will be "Much Ado about Nothing" by William Shakespeare, which will run the first week of February. This will be followed by Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" in late February; "Scapino! A long way off from Moliere" by Frank Dunlop and Jim Dale in late March and the musical "Parade" by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown in April.\n"This is a historic time," George Sullivan, director of audience development, said. "It's the first series of productions in this magnificent new theater facility," \n"Much Ado about Nothing" will be the first show in the Wells-Metz Theatre. \n"'(It) was chosen to open the new building because it is one of Shakespeare's most spectacular celebrations of love, wit, humanity and disguise," director Bruce Burgun said.\nBurgun added that it is a splendid play, rich in language, with unforgettable characters such as Benedick, Beatrice, and Dogberry -- and is one of Shakepeare's most plot driven plays. \n"Death of a Salesman," a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play, will open the Ruth N. Halls Theatre. The play explores how character Willy Loman judges his worth and the meaning of his life.\n"This play was chosen because an American classic was thought the best choice to open the new theater," said Howard Jensen, director of "Death of a Salesman." "I am honored and excited about directing the first production in the Halls (Theatre). We are already working onstage and having a great time."\n"Scapino! A long way off from Moliere" is an adaptation of a play by French playwright Moliere: "Les Fourberies de Scapin," that deals with mistaken identities and parental confusion.\n"Parade," directed by George Pinney, will be the first musical to be performed in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre.\n"'Parade' deals with rough issues of American society such as racism and prejudice," Sullivan said. "It's a very intense production but it's a bell ringer"