UCO Announces 2007-2008 Performing Arts Season

September 11 , 2007

An original drama, a Tony Award-winning play that takes place on a water-filled stage and two music theatre premieres mark the range of offerings in UCO’s College of Arts, Media & Design 2007-2008 performing arts season.
“This is our most diverse season to date,” said John Clinton, dean of the College of Arts, Media & Design.

The season begins with two dramas, “Pillowman,” Martin McDonagh’s chilling drama about the extremes of human experience, and “Conviction,” an original play about illegal immigration written exclusively for UCO theatre students.

“One of our faculty’s families was engaged in an incident that brought together many of the border dispute issues,” said Bob McGill, chair of the UCO Department of Theatre, Dance & Media Arts.

“Our playwright traveled to Texas to interview those involved. His play tells the story of an assistant sheriff who, in doing his duty to prevent illegal crossings, is himself convicted for infringing on the civil rights of the immigrants. We feel this play is a riveting drama that will challenge all our predispositions regarding this issue.”
A third drama, “Metamorphoses,” will be staged in the spring. This Tony Award-winning play brings Ovid’s tales to stunning visual life, with water playing a major role in the production.

“The actors bathe, wade and play in the water, no easy task for the set designers, but an element that should be of great delight to the audience,” said McGill.

Music Theatre fans will be treated to two premiers at UCO this season, “Steel Pier,” and “The Fix.”

“’The Fix’ is a black comedy about politics with great music similar to the pop rock sound of the Broadway musical ‘Rent’, and ‘Steel Pier’ comes from the wonderful songwriting team of Kander and Ebb and should be a treat for the whole family,” said Greg White, UCO’s director of music theatre.

UCO’s dancers will show off their talents with four concerts throughout the year. Legendary dance educator, Bill Evans, choreographed two works for the UCO dancers this past summer; "Dances for the Inner Child," and "Planetary Secrets of the Universe," which will premiere in November.

Finally, ensembles and faculty members from the UCO School of Music will perform more than 35 concerts this season.

Not to be missed is “A Centennial Salute to Oklahoma,” a concert featuring Actress/Singer Shirley Jones and the UCO Symphony Orchestra performing the music from “Oklahoma,” “The Music Man,” and “West Side Story.”

This concert, which partners the UCO School of Music with the university’s Broadway Tonight series, will be held at the Rose State Performing Arts Theater.

For detailed descriptions of each of these events, including dates, times and ticket prices, call the Mitchell Hall box office at (405) 974-3375,

or visit www. camd.ucok.edu/events.

Page updated 9/11/07