KU Theatre & Dance unveils 2026-27 season
LAWRENCE — From contemporary musical theatre and Restoration comedy to innovative dance and a reimagined Greek classic, the University of Kansas Department of Theatre & Dance will present a five-show season exploring community, resilience and connection. The season also highlights faculty, graduate student and guest-artist research through new adaptations, original choreography, interdisciplinary and cross-institutional collaboration, and nationally recognized creative partners.
The lineup begins Oct. 2 with “Songs for a New World.” Presented as vignettes, Jason Robert Brown’s breakthrough off-Broadway hit follows characters standing at pivotal moments in their lives, confronting choices that will reshape their futures. It will be directed by KU lecturer Michelle Miller.
A farce and spectacle of a love story by Restoration playwright Aphra Behn, “The Emperor of the Moon” opens Oct. 30. The play is based on Italian commedia dell’arte with scenography taking inspiration from midcentury modern architecture and a science fiction (à la “The Jetsons”) aesthetic. The script was edited by doctoral student Gillian Genardo, who is also directing.
The University Dance Company Fall Concert will feature ballet, modern contemporary, and free, improvised dance styles. Choreographic fellow Junichi Fukuda, a professor of dance at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, will set a contemporary work for a large ensemble of students. He was selected by the dance faculty for the department’s highly competitive Choreographic Fellowship. KU professor Jane Barnette and Ariel Nereson, associate professor of dance at the University at Buffalo, will debut a piece with ecological overlaps, working with graduate and undergraduate student dancers and collaborators from both schools. KU faculty members Ashley Brittingham and Maya Tillman-Rayton, as well as doctoral student Christian Boudreaux, will also choreograph for the evening-length repertoire concert Nov. 20-22.
The department will also perform Sarah Ruhl’s reimagining of the classic myth “Eurydice” as told through the heroine’s eyes. This visually inventive play shows acts of love both grand and quiet and asks what remains when memory slips away. “Eurydice” opens March 5 under the direction of doctoral candidate Tiffani Brooks Hagan.
The University Theatre’s season finale, “The SpongeBob Musical,” written by Kyle Jarrow and conceived by Tina Landau, features first-rate dance numbers performed to hits by contemporary artists. SpongeBob and his friends race to save their community from a looming volcanic explosion in this musical for all ages. Opening April 10, “The SpongeBob Musical” will be directed by Khalia Davis, a multifaceted theatre artist and freelance director who has worked on both coasts and now is producing artistic director of the Coterie Theater.
The KU Theatre & Dance season is produced under the University Theatre and University Dance Company flagships. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the KU Theatre website and the UDC website. Ticket sales will be announced later this summer online. “Songs for a New World,” the UDC Fall Concert and the two smaller Dance Showcases also will be livestreamed.
The season will be complemented by student-led productions, dance showcases and special events throughout the academic year.
“We are excited to showcase the work of so many distinguished guest artists alongside our faculty, staff and students,” said Henry Bial, professor and chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance. “These collaborations offer hands-on learning experiences that prepare our students to enter the performing arts industry with confidence.”
Markus Potter, KU professor and artistic director, said the season reflects the breadth of what theatre and dance can do.
“From intimate personal stories to large-scale spectacles, each production invites audiences to gather, imagine, laugh, reflect and connect with one another,” Potter said. “At a moment when genuine human connection can feel increasingly rare, live performance continues to offer something irreplaceable.”
Performance Calendar
“Songs For a New World”
Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Oct. 2, 4*, 9, 10 and 11*
Crafton-Preyer Theatre, Murphy Hall
“The Emperor of the Moon: A Farce”
By Aphra Behn
Oct. 30, 31, Nov. 1*, 3, 4 and 5
William Inge Memorial Theatre, Murphy Hall
University Dance Company Fall Concert
Featuring Choreographic Fellow Junichi Fukuda
Nov. 20, 21 and 22*
Crafton-Preyer Theatre, Murphy Hall
“Eurydice”
By Sarah Ruhl
March 5, 6, 7*, 9, 10 and 11, 2027
William Inge Memorial Theatre, Murphy Hall
“The SpongeBob Musical”
Based on the series by Stephen Hillenburg
Book by Kyle Jarrow
Original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I. And Songs by David Bowie, and Tom Kenny & Andy Paley. Additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton. Additional music by Tom Kitt. Conceived by Tina Landau.
April 10, 11*, 16, 17 and 18*, 2027
Crafton-Preyer Theatre, Murphy Hall
Showtimes: 7 p.m., *2 p.m.
All dates/times are subject to change.
The University Theatre and University Dance Company are production wings of the Department of Theatre & Dance, offering public productions during the academic year. University Theatre and UDC productions are funded in part by Student Senate fees. Additional support is provided by Truity Credit Union.
The department is one of three departments in the School of the Arts. As part of the KU College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the School of the Arts offers fresh possibilities for collaboration between the arts and the humanities, sciences, social sciences, international and interdisciplinary studies.