Performing Arts Season

PERFORMING ARTS SEASON

To purchase tickets, visit https://rupa.ludus.com or call the Rockford University Box Office at (815) 226-4100, or email boxoffice@rockford.edu

Season tickets can be found here

Each academic year, our Performing Arts department produces a collection of theater productions open to our campus community and the general public. In addition, Artists’ Ensemble, Rockford’s only professional theater company, is in residence on our campus and performs in our theatres in the Clark Arts Center.

The following list includes this year’s Rockford University productions. Single ticket admission for adults $12, $9 for seniors age 55 and up, and non-RU students is $9 unless otherwise noted.  Groups of 10-49 are $5 each, groups of 50+ are $2 each. RU STUDENTS/FACULY/STAFF are FREE with ID, or by emailing the box office, but free tickets are limited (boxoffice@rockford.edu). There will be a 5% fee for all credit card purchases. All seating in Maddox will be assigned, Cheek is general admission.

Rockford University
Performing Arts Season: 2025-2026

Fall 2025 Performances

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
October 2-5, 2025 (Thursday-Saturday 7:30 pm; Sunday 2 pm)
Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center
Director, Prof. Timm Adams
Josph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is the colorful and comical re-telling of the Old Testament’s Joseph and his eleven jealous brothers who sell him into slavery. Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams sparks a meteoric rise from captivity to a seat at the Pharoah’s right hand. It’s a story of hope, resilience, and forgiveness told entirely through song: a toe-tapping array of 70s rock, country-western, French ballad, Calypso and more. This family-friendly musical will have you on your feet dancing along with the cast by the show’s mega-mix ending! JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of The Really Useful Group. www.concordtheatricals.com

Describe the Night
November 20-23, 2025 (Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 pm; Sunday 2 pm)
Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center
Director, Prof. Deborah Mogford
In 2010 a Polish Air Force Flight plane crashed near the Russian City of Smolensky killing the president of Poland, along with 18 members of the Polish Parliament. There is evidence suggesting this air disaster may have been an act of terrorism. Or is this just a conspiracy theory? The truth behind the incident sparked the mind of Rajiv Joseph to write an intense espionage thriller, Describe the Night. Joseph explores the historical friendship between the writer Isaac Babel and Nikolai Yezhov, the military man who helped create the KGB. How do their lives intertwine with a mysterious Stasi agent?   This epic play traces the lives of seven people connected by history and myth over 90 years while asking the question how often does time, hate, and ruthlessness turn truth into lies and lies into truth. DESCRIBE THE NIGHT is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)

Holiday Magic: A Night at the Movies, Part 2
December 5, 2025 (Friday, 7:30 pm)
Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center
Director, Prof. Timm Adams
Escape to a magical evening of unforgettable songs from Hollywood’s most memorable holiday movies. Rockford University choirs and soloists will take you on a nostalgic journey through the years with music from White Christmas, Meet Me in St. Louis, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Love Actually, Nightmare Before Christmas, and more. And no holiday movie music celebration would be complete without paying tribute to Rudolph, Frosty, and the Grinch!

Spring 2026 Performances

Ride the Cyclone 
February 19-22, 2026, and February 26-March 1 (Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 pm; Sunday 2 pm)
Cheek Theatre, Clark Arts Center
Director, Prof. Marrissa Barnathan
In this hilarious and outlandish musical, the lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each character to tell a story to win a prize like no other — the chance to return to life. With an eclectic score and witty dialogue, Ride the Cyclone is a funny, moving look at what makes a life well-lived. Ride the Cyclone is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC. (www.broadwaylicensing.com)

Rumors
April 23-26, 2026 (Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 pm; Sunday 2 pm)
Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center
Director, Prof. Deborah Mogford
As their tenth wedding anniversary party commences, Charlie Brock, Deputy Mayor of New York City, seems to have just shot himself through the ear. Now he lies bleeding in the master bedroom and his wife Myra is nowhere in sight. The first guests, lawyer Ken Gorman and his wife Chris, scramble to get “the story” straight before the other guests arrive. As the confusions, cover-ups, miscommunications, and rumors mount, the evening spirals into a classic farce.  Neil Simon is the renowned master of American comedy. In Rumors he shows how even the rich and famous can be driven to ridiculous behavior when confronted with a possible scandal or even the “rumor” of a scandal. “Rumors” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

Choir Concert
May 1, 2026 (Friday, 7:30 pm)
Maddox Theatre, Clark Arts Center
Director, Prof. Timm Adams
Join Rockford University choirs and soloists for an enchanting evening of songs.