Shakespeare, Urban Bush Women, Mexican Music Masters lend diversity to Performing Arts Series

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11:00 a.m., Sep. 2, 2003--From Shakespeare to the Urban Bush Women to Masters of Mexican Music the University of Delaware’s 2003-04 Performing Arts Series offers something for everyone.

Shakespeare in American Communities

The series opens Friday, Oct. 3, when the Aquila Theatre Company presents the first of two performances of Shakespeare’s “Othello.” The performances will be the first ones offered in Delaware as part of the Shakespeare in American Communities movement announced earlier this year by the National Endowment for the Arts and endorsed by first lady Laura Bush.

Audience members can see the classic tragedy at 8 p.m., Friday, Oct. 3, and at 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 4, in Mitchell Hall. The company also will hold a master class, free and open to the public, at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3, in Bayard Sharp Hall.

One of the foremost producers of touring classical theatre and known for its vibrant staging and original musical score, the Aquila Theatre Company of London has a well-earned international reputation. The London Times calls the troupe’s Othello, “hugely enjoyable” and The New Yorker has called its productions, “beautifully spoken, dramatically revealing and crystalline in effect.”

The engagement of the Aquila Theatre Company of London is a Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation Tour, funded by the foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program. This presentation is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a national theatre touring initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Performance and master class are being presented in partnership with the University of Delaware Professional Theatre Training Program.

Deanna Witkowski Quartet

The Performing Arts Series continues on Friday, Nov. 14, when the emerging artists of the Deanna Witkowski Jazz Quartet perform at 8 p.m. in Mitchell Hall.

Drawing from diverse musical worlds such as jazz, Afro-Latin and classical music, the quartet performs original compositions and time-honored classics. ”Wide Open Window,” the group’s second release, garnered much acclaim and earned pianist, composer and vocalist Witkowski first place in the Great American Jazz Piano Competition.

Before the concert, patrons can enjoy a buffet dinner at the Blue & Gold Club, featuring prime rib and chicken and sausage gumbo.

The group also will offer a free master class for campus and community musicians and composers at 2:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14, in Bayard Sharp Hall. The class is presented in partnership with the UD Department of Music.

Urban Bush Women

The music, dance and storytelling of African Americans and African people worldwide is fused with spiritual and cultural traditions and history in the popular multimedia work, “Hair Stories,” to be performed by the Urban Bush Women at 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28, in Mitchell Hall.

Blending choreography, music and text the performance examines the concept of nappy hair and its relationship to images of beauty, social position, heritage and self-esteem.

The Hair Party, a campus and community dialogue about women’s hair, heritage and self-esteem, free and open to the public, also is scheduled with the troupe at 4 p.m., Friday, Feb. 27, in Bayard Sharp Hall.

The performance and workshop are presented in partnership with UD’s Center for Black Culture, the Office of Women’s Affairs and the visiting Women Scholars Program.

Masters of Mexican Music

Hispanic heritage is celebrated as master musicians from four distinct regional traditions combine their skills to present a musical experience rich in diversity of style and sound. The Masters of Mexican Music will perform at 3 p.m., Sunday, March 14, in Mitchell Hall. The group combines the sounds of the guitar-infused mariachi of Jalisco, the harp-inspired jarocho of Veracruz, the accordion-based conjunto of the Texas-Mexican border area and the xylophone-founded marimba of southern Mexico.

Through lively music, song and dance, the group gives audiences a rare opportunity to experience the rich diversity of style and sound that is part of the Hispanic musical heritage.

A special Hispanic buffet brunch will be offered at the Blue & Gold Club beginning at noon with a menu that will feature roast pork adoba and enchiladas.

This engagement of the Masters of Mexican Music is a Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Tour, funded by the foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program. The performance is presented in partnership with the UD Office of Hispanic and Latin American Concerns and Multicultural Programs.

Turtle Island String Quartet

The Grammy-nominated Turtle Island String Quartet will present “Art of the Groove,” at 8 p.m., Friday, April 30, in Mitchell Hall. Known for fusing the classical quartet esthetic with 20th-century American popular style, the group presents its own arrangements of classics and original compositions that integrate jazz, classical, rock, rhythm and blues and world music.

The group also will hold a string quartet workshop at 2:30 p.m., Friday, April 30, in Bayard Sharp Hall. It is free and open to the public.

Accompanying the concert, the Blue & Gold Club will offer a buffet dinner beginning at 5 p.m. before the performance. Baked salmon Nantucket and chicken caponade will be featured.

Tickets for all Performing Arts Series events are $17 for the general public, $12 for UD faculty, staff, alumni and senior citizens and $5 for students and children. A discount plan is available for those purchasing tickets to multiple events, and group discounts are available for groups of 20 or more.

Tickets can be purchased by phone or in person at the Hartshorn box office. The phone number is 831-2204, and the box office is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 2.

For more information on the Performing Arts Series visit [www.udel.edu/performingarts], send e-mail to [performingarts@udel.edu] or call 831-8741.

The University of Delaware 2003-04 Performing Arts Series and Family Series is made possible, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency committed to promoting and supporting the arts in Delaware, as well as generous support provided by Barba & Reynolds Insurance Agency, Embassy Suites-Newark/Wilmington South and Arby’s.

Article by Beth Thomas

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