No lack of options for performance art lovers

If students are looking for a way to reunite with their love of theater, drama and dance post-summer, they won’t have to look very far.

IU’s Ballet Theater will start its season by celebrating the 100th anniversary of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes with a Diaghilev Tribute. The season will finish with “The Nutcracker” in December.

“L’Italiana in Algeri,” set in 18th-century Algiers, will be the first IU Opera production this season. The opera will also present one of literature’s greatest love stories,
Shakespeare’s “Romeo et Juliette,” in the fall.

The IU Department of Theatre and Drama is also working with the classic Shakespearean creation “As You Like It,” set for November. Its season, which includes “The Clean House” and “Blood Brothers,” opens Oct. 9.

Bloomington’s Cardinal Stage Company will be working with the College of Arts and Sciences to present not only an entertaining experience for audience members, but also an educational one in its September production of “Inherit the Wind,” performed at the John Waldron Arts Center. The play fictionalizes the 1925 Scopes Trial, which dealt with the controversy between teaching creation and evolution.

“We are working with speakers to hold discussions after the performances along with the actors,” said Katie Becker, Cardinal Stage Company general manager. The discussions will take place at 2 p.m. Sept. 5 and Sept. 13 and at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17. Speakers include IU professors whose teaching areas include religious studies, biology, law and English.

“We are excited to have two huge name actors with very distinguished careers out of Chicago to play the lead roles aside the IU students and locals here in Bloomington,” Becker said.

The Cardinal Stage Company is also preparing for its second show, “Boom,” which Becker said is “an edgier and more contemporary play that will appeal to students.” 

The basic set-up is a nerdy biology graduate who goes on Craigslist to find the perfect mate to save his species after he predicts the world is going to end. The show runs from Oct. 30 to Nov. 15. Tickets are inexpensive for students and can purchased on the company’s Web site.

IU Opera
“L’Italiana in Algeri”
Sept. 25 and 26, Oct. 2 and 3

“Romeo et Juliette”
Oct. 23, 24, 30 and 31

“Die Zauberflote”
Nov. 13, 14, 20 and 21

IU Ballet
Diaghilev Tribute
Oct. 9 and 10

“The Nutcracker”
Dec. 4 to 6

Cardinal Stage Company
“Inherit the Wind”
Sept. 4 to 20

“Boom”
Oct. 30 to Nov. 15