Performance

Beaumont Tower lit with vivid red and white projections depicting skeletal figures climbing up the brick façade against the evening sky.

Beaumont Tower Comes Alive with Animated Projections Created by MSU Students

November 3, 2025

Michigan State University’s Beaumont Tower came alive with light, sound, and animation during this year’s Halloween carillon concert, “The Ringing 2: Shadows Rise.” The event showcased artwork and animations created by students in the Department of Theatre’s Compositing and Special Effects for Stage and Screen (THR 337) class, taught by Alison Dobbins, Professor of Integrated Performance Media Design.

A group of students sit in rows of chairs, turned toward the camera and smiling during a rehearsal presentation.

Arts MSU / News / Performance / Production / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

MSU Department of Theatre Confronts Anger and Fear with ‘Othello’ Production

October 22, 2025

The Michigan State University Department of Theatre presents the William Shakespeare tragedy “Othello” Nov. 7-16, 2025, at the Pasant Theatre in the Wharton Center for Performing Arts. Directed by Ji Won Jeon, Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre, this production asks what happens when fear takes control, not just in one man’s life, but in a divided society.

Four actors in matching flight attendant costumes perform on stage. They wear white button-down shirts, navy skirts, blue caps with gold emblems, and red-and-blue scarves. One actor holds an open green book.

Arts MSU / News / Performance / Production / Student / Student / Theatre

Free Tickets Offered to MSU Students for Department of Theatre Productions

October 16, 2025

Michigan State University students can receive free tickets to the remaining MSU Department of Theatre productions in the 2025-2026 season, "Secrets & Spotlights." To receive a free ticket, students need to show their MSU student ID at the Wharton Center Ticket Office in the days prior to the show or at the ticket booth where the production is being held just prior to the show. One free ticket will be given per student per production.

Stylized illustration of three women in vintage aviation uniforms walking forward with determined expressions. The first two wear matching blue uniforms and hats, while the third, leading the group, wears a red bandana, rolled-up sleeves, and carries a toolbox. A plane flies overhead.

Arts MSU / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Performance / Production / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

New Musical Takes Flight at MSU in Partnership with Department of Theatre and Wharton Center

September 3, 2025

Buckle up for turbulence, tunes, and 1960s hijinks as Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre, in collaboration with Wharton Center, presents “Taking Off!,” a high-flying new musical comedy and this year’s New Musical Laboratory production. Performances are scheduled for Sept. 19-21, 2025, at Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre.

A group of college-aged performers on a theater stage, energetically acting out a scene. One performer stands center stage with arms outstretched, surrounded by others wearing red and green shirts, some crouching and others clapping or laughing in the background.

Arts MSU / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Performance / Student / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

MSU Department of Theatre Looks Forward to 2025-2026 Season

August 21, 2025

The Michigan State University Department of Theatre’s 2025-2026 Season, Secrets & Spotlights, features performances designed to foster empathy by immersing audiences in stories that highlight diverse characters and perspectives. The season opens with “Taking Off!” — a New Musical Laboratory production running Sept. 19-21, 2025 — and concludes with a Storefront Series production April 23-26, 2026. Seven additional shows will be presented throughout the year.

Three women stand side-by-side on stage, each holding a script at a music stand and singing into individual microphones. They wear black attire under stage lighting.

Alumni / Arts MSU / Featured Alumni / News / Performance / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Theatre Alum Comes Full Circle with ‘We Foxes’ Performance in New York City

July 15, 2025

For Isa Rodriguez, stepping onto the stage at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in New York City to perform in “We Foxes” was more than just another role. It was the realization of a dream sparked years earlier by watching a rehearsal of that same play at Michigan State University where it was presented as part of the imáGen collaboration,…

A smiling individual with glasses and a navy jacket holds up a binder labeled 'The Book of Mormon Script & Score, North American Tour.' The background shows a city skyline over water at sunset.

Alumni / Arts MSU / News / Performance / Production / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Theatre Alum Returns to Campus as Part of ‘The Book of Mormon’ North American Tour

June 17, 2025

As a high school student, Kevin T. Mazur sat in the audience at Detroit's Fisher Theatre watching the Broadway tour of “The Book of Mormon” and dreamt of a life on stage, a future in New York, and the possibility of one day joining a company like the one performing that day. Nearly a decade later, he has accomplished all that.

Arts MSU / News / Performance / Production / Student / Student / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

MSU Theatre Presents ‘Inching Towards Yeolha,’ the Final Production of 2024-25 Season

April 4, 2025

“Inching Towards Yeolha,” the final production of the 2024-25 season of the Michigan State University Department of Theatre, offers a thought-provoking look at how one individual’s seemingly small rebellion can unveil the complexities of an entire community's way of life. It is a symbolic exploration of freedom, identity, and the cost of challenging deeply rooted customs. This dark, absurd comedy will be presented April 11-19 at the Pasant Theatre in the Wharton Center for Performing Arts.

Arts MSU / News / Performance / Production / Student / Student / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

MSU Theatre Presents Historical Drama About Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII

March 17, 2025

Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre presents “Decision Height,” a historical drama written by Meredith Dayna Levy about a woman who leaves home to serve her country during World War II as a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP). This period piece, with performances scheduled for April 1-5, 2025, at the Studio 60 Theatre in the MSU Auditorium Building, follows a…

Two women wearing black sit on a theatre stage that is lit in red. One woman is sitting and looking straight ahead. The other woman is more in the background of the left and sitting at an angle. A group of discarded chairs surround both women. Photo by Federico Sigillo.

Arts MSU / English / Faculty / Faculty / Italian / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Lecture Series / Michigan Impact / News / Performance / Theatre / U.S. Impact

U.S. Premier of Italian Play Addressing Themes of Sexual Violence Coming to MSU, Other Universities

February 24, 2025

In the U.S. debut, acclaimed Italian playwright, actor, and director Giuliana Musso will explore the traumatic effects of silence when sexual abuse occurs at home through her play “Dentro (Inside): A True Story, If You Think So.” The play is a dramatized account of real-life conversations, Musso’s research on the topic, and her own attempt to bring awareness to the…