Community Calendar

MR. MARMALADE

Noah Haidle’s "Mr. Marmalade" is a darkly comic and wildly imaginative play that explores the grown-up world through the eyes of a four-year-old girl named Lucy. Her imaginary friend, Mr. Marmalade, is anything but innocent; complete with an abusive streak, a cocaine habit, and a very busy schedule. Blending satire with surrealism, this bold and twisted tale offers a sharp look at childhood, loneliness, and the things we learn too soon.

Directed by Tanner Efinger

- Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, Feb. 27, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, March 1, 2026 at 2 p.m.

Location: Dowd Fine Arts, Lab Theater

PICNIC
By William Inge | Directed by Ralph Zito | Feb 20 - Mar 1 | Opening Night: Feb 21

An elegant drama from an American master.

“I've always had the feeling, if I just had the chance, I could set the whole world on fire.” As a small Kansas town prepares for the annual Labor Day picnic, handsome young drifter Hal stirs up long dormant feelings amongst a group of repressed women, including Madge, a beauty queen who yearns for another life whenever she hears the train whistle blow. Disappointments, resentments, and rivalries simmer with the late summer swelter in William Inge’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic about the power of attraction and the perils of unfulfilled desire.

MR. MARMALADE

Noah Haidle’s "Mr. Marmalade" is a darkly comic and wildly imaginative play that explores the grown-up world through the eyes of a four-year-old girl named Lucy. Her imaginary friend, Mr. Marmalade, is anything but innocent; complete with an abusive streak, a cocaine habit, and a very busy schedule. Blending satire with surrealism, this bold and twisted tale offers a sharp look at childhood, loneliness, and the things we learn too soon.

Directed by Tanner Efinger

- Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, Feb. 27, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, March 1, 2026 at 2 p.m.

Location: Dowd Fine Arts, Lab Theater

PICNIC
By William Inge | Directed by Ralph Zito | Feb 20 - Mar 1 | Opening Night: Feb 21

An elegant drama from an American master.

“I've always had the feeling, if I just had the chance, I could set the whole world on fire.” As a small Kansas town prepares for the annual Labor Day picnic, handsome young drifter Hal stirs up long dormant feelings amongst a group of repressed women, including Madge, a beauty queen who yearns for another life whenever she hears the train whistle blow. Disappointments, resentments, and rivalries simmer with the late summer swelter in William Inge’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic about the power of attraction and the perils of unfulfilled desire.

A REBEL PRAYER
ACADEMIC WORLD PREMIERE

Book and Lyrics by Eloise T. Govedare | Music by Aleksandra M. Weil | Directed by Kathleen Wrinn | Music Direction by Brian Cimmet | Choreography by Bradley Stone | Mar 27 - Apr 5 | Opening Night: Mar 28

A searing new musical about protest, loss, and the power of art.

“Look the beast in the eyes, and stare. Say a rebel prayer.” When a politically provocative play costs her father his life, 16-year-old Nikita and her mother are forced to flee Moscow for Domikov, a remote Russian town where tyrannical headmistress Ludmilla Mukhina rules the local school with an iron fist. Mired in grief and desperate to return home, Nikita is visited by the spirits of Pussy Riot, the real-life punk-protest collective imprisoned for their art. But when they offer Nikita one of their masks to carry on her father’s legacy, Nikita is faced with a dangerous choice: submit, or rebel?

A REBEL PRAYER
ACADEMIC WORLD PREMIERE

Book and Lyrics by Eloise T. Govedare | Music by Aleksandra M. Weil | Directed by Kathleen Wrinn | Music Direction by Brian Cimmet | Choreography by Bradley Stone | Mar 27 - Apr 5 | Opening Night: Mar 28

A searing new musical about protest, loss, and the power of art.

“Look the beast in the eyes, and stare. Say a rebel prayer.” When a politically provocative play costs her father his life, 16-year-old Nikita and her mother are forced to flee Moscow for Domikov, a remote Russian town where tyrannical headmistress Ludmilla Mukhina rules the local school with an iron fist. Mired in grief and desperate to return home, Nikita is visited by the spirits of Pussy Riot, the real-life punk-protest collective imprisoned for their art. But when they offer Nikita one of their masks to carry on her father’s legacy, Nikita is faced with a dangerous choice: submit, or rebel?

A REBEL PRAYER
ACADEMIC WORLD PREMIERE

Book and Lyrics by Eloise T. Govedare | Music by Aleksandra M. Weil | Directed by Kathleen Wrinn | Music Direction by Brian Cimmet | Choreography by Bradley Stone | Mar 27 - Apr 5 | Opening Night: Mar 28

A searing new musical about protest, loss, and the power of art.

“Look the beast in the eyes, and stare. Say a rebel prayer.” When a politically provocative play costs her father his life, 16-year-old Nikita and her mother are forced to flee Moscow for Domikov, a remote Russian town where tyrannical headmistress Ludmilla Mukhina rules the local school with an iron fist. Mired in grief and desperate to return home, Nikita is visited by the spirits of Pussy Riot, the real-life punk-protest collective imprisoned for their art. But when they offer Nikita one of their masks to carry on her father’s legacy, Nikita is faced with a dangerous choice: submit, or rebel?

A REBEL PRAYER
ACADEMIC WORLD PREMIERE

Book and Lyrics by Eloise T. Govedare | Music by Aleksandra M. Weil | Directed by Kathleen Wrinn | Music Direction by Brian Cimmet | Choreography by Bradley Stone | Mar 27 - Apr 5 | Opening Night: Mar 28

A searing new musical about protest, loss, and the power of art.

“Look the beast in the eyes, and stare. Say a rebel prayer.” When a politically provocative play costs her father his life, 16-year-old Nikita and her mother are forced to flee Moscow for Domikov, a remote Russian town where tyrannical headmistress Ludmilla Mukhina rules the local school with an iron fist. Mired in grief and desperate to return home, Nikita is visited by the spirits of Pussy Riot, the real-life punk-protest collective imprisoned for their art. But when they offer Nikita one of their masks to carry on her father’s legacy, Nikita is faced with a dangerous choice: submit, or rebel?

A REBEL PRAYER
ACADEMIC WORLD PREMIERE

Book and Lyrics by Eloise T. Govedare | Music by Aleksandra M. Weil | Directed by Kathleen Wrinn | Music Direction by Brian Cimmet | Choreography by Bradley Stone | Mar 27 - Apr 5 | Opening Night: Mar 28

A searing new musical about protest, loss, and the power of art.

“Look the beast in the eyes, and stare. Say a rebel prayer.” When a politically provocative play costs her father his life, 16-year-old Nikita and her mother are forced to flee Moscow for Domikov, a remote Russian town where tyrannical headmistress Ludmilla Mukhina rules the local school with an iron fist. Mired in grief and desperate to return home, Nikita is visited by the spirits of Pussy Riot, the real-life punk-protest collective imprisoned for their art. But when they offer Nikita one of their masks to carry on her father’s legacy, Nikita is faced with a dangerous choice: submit, or rebel?

A REBEL PRAYER
ACADEMIC WORLD PREMIERE

Book and Lyrics by Eloise T. Govedare | Music by Aleksandra M. Weil | Directed by Kathleen Wrinn | Music Direction by Brian Cimmet | Choreography by Bradley Stone | Mar 27 - Apr 5 | Opening Night: Mar 28

A searing new musical about protest, loss, and the power of art.

“Look the beast in the eyes, and stare. Say a rebel prayer.” When a politically provocative play costs her father his life, 16-year-old Nikita and her mother are forced to flee Moscow for Domikov, a remote Russian town where tyrannical headmistress Ludmilla Mukhina rules the local school with an iron fist. Mired in grief and desperate to return home, Nikita is visited by the spirits of Pussy Riot, the real-life punk-protest collective imprisoned for their art. But when they offer Nikita one of their masks to carry on her father’s legacy, Nikita is faced with a dangerous choice: submit, or rebel?