We are almost there! After two years of living with construction workers and equipment right next door, University Square is nearing completion! I can’t thank you, our patrons, enough for braving the “barricades” to make your way to our stages in Vilas Hall. Soon this East Campus Arts Mall will be alive with people and not trucks; beautiful flowers and landscaping will take the place of chain-link fences; new lighting, pedestrian enhancements, colorful new shops, additional parking and restaurants will transform our campus neighborhood. All these changes will make coming to a show at UT just that much better.

University Square isn’t the only big thing to hit the East Campus Arts Mall next year. As you take in the sights and sounds of your new destination to Madison’s arts scene, I want to give you a glimpse of what’s coming to our University Theatres stages this next season. We will be featuring the direction of one of UW-Madison’s celebrated Broadway stars Andre De Shields as he takes his tribe of actors on the rock musical ride of their lives in HAIR. Mr. De Shields starred in this ground-breaking show when it broke all of the rules on Broadway forty years ago. We will partner with Madison Repertory Theatre in the fall in a co-production that will feature 14 of our MFA candidates, both actors and designers, from the Department of Theatre and Drama in THE GREEKS by John Barton on the Playhouse Stage at the Overture Center. Along with this ambitious production we will tackle another classical tale in The Love of a Nightingale by Timberlake Wertenbaker. We are partnering with University Opera for The Merry Widow and will squeeze in Shakespeare’s classic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream during the cold nights of winter, 2009.

There are even more surprises to come but why don’t you look for our season program in the mail in August or just call at UT box office to see what’s playing? We’re one of the best bargains in town for exciting quality theatre by our future professional artist. So make UT your theatre night out as you take in the new Arts Mall on campus.

See you soon – all my best,


Tony Simotes
Director of University Theatre