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2022-2023 Season

Lights Up 2022

Lights Up Graphic

Directed by
Adam Hester

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid Graphic

Directed by
Dawne Swearingen-Meeks

Guide

The Coast Starlight

The Coast Starlight Graphic

Directed by
Adam Hester

Playbill Guide

One Night Only

One Night Only Graphic

Directed by
Mark Gold

Playbill

Little Women

Little Women Graphic

Directed by
Dawne Swearingen Meeks

Playbill Guide

Almost Maine

Almost Maine Graphic

Student-Directed by
Chloe Munson and Juan Rivera

Playbill Guide

Godspell

Godspell Graphic

Directed by
Joey Banks

Playbill

Abilene Shakespeare Festival 2023

Abilene Shakespeare Festival 2023 Graphic

Taming of the Shrew
& Love’s Labour’s Lost

PLAYBILL

2021-2022 Season

Tied

Tied-graphic

Directed by
Ren Jackson

The Light in the Piazza

Light-in-the-Piazza-graphic

Directed by
Adam Hester

Study Guide

Highlights

Joseph and the amazing
technicolor dreamcoat

Joseph-...-Dreamcoat-graphic

Directed by
Gary Varner
Musical Direction by
Dr. Chris Hollingsworth

God’s Favorite

ods-Favorite-grasphic

Directed by
Adam Hester

More About the Show

Dances of Courage

Dance-of-Hope--graphic

Directed by
Lily Balogh

the Bus Stop

Bus-Stop-graphic

Directed by
Gary Varner

2020-2021 Season

american son

 

Directed by
Vincson Green II

Study Guide

beau jest

 

Directed by
Hannah Sanza

Cinderella

A Fairytale Short film

Directed by
Jeff Smith

View the Trailer

Dance of Hope

A Dance Production

Lead Choreography by
Lily Balogh

Songs for a New World

 

Directed by
Dawne Swearingen-Meeks
Musical Direction by
Marc Sanders

2019-2020 Season

Beauty and the Beast

 

Directed by
Dawne Swearingen-Meeks

Study Guide

Watch Trailer

The White Rose

 

Directed by
Adam Hester

Study Guide

Watch Trailer

Pack of Lies

 

Directed by
Adam Hester

Study Guide

Watch Trailer

Freaky Friday

Directed by
Kari Hatfield

Canceled due to COVID-19

2018-2019 Season

Wonderful Town

wonderful-town-graphic

Directed by
Adam Hester

View a Rehearsal

Study Guide

John & Jen

john-jen-graphic

Directed by
Dawne Swearingen-Meeks

More about the Show

One Night Only

One-Night-Only-2021-graphic

Choreographed by
Lily Balogh

December 18, 2018
ACU dance track students

Steel Magnolias

steel-magnolias-graphic

Directed by
Dawne Swearingen-Meeks

Show Information

Bright Star

bright-star-graphic

Directed by
Adam Hester

More about the Show

2017-2018 Season

If the title is underlined, please click on it to watch a trailer or view a study guide.

The-Tempest-news-review

Cats

Homecoming Musical

Performed October 20-22, 2017
Abilene Civic Center

Credits

Director/Choreographer – Jeremy Varner
Assistant Choreographer – Lily Balogh
Vocal Director – Jeannette Lipford
Assistant Vocal Director – Kristin Ward
Lighting Design – Jim Elliott
Costume/Makeup Design – Mariel Ardila
Production Coordinator – Gary Varner
Stage Manager – Courtney Rhodes

Summary

Based on Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot

Broadway’s long-running musical sensation CATS makes its debut as the 2017 ACU Homecoming Musical. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s clever, magical, and glamorous felines will perform Oct. 20-22 in the Abilene Civic Center. Based on T.S. Eliot’s whimsical collection of poems and featuring such celebrated songs as “Memory,” “Old Deuteronomy,” and “Mr. Mistoffelees,” CATS is an international phenomenon running for 21 years in London and 18 years on Broadway, with a recent return to the Great White Way. Don’t miss ACU Theatre’s spectacular Homecoming production!

The-Tempest-news-review

WIT

Cornerstone Play

Performed November 13-18, 2017
Fulks Theatre

Credits

By Margaret Edson
Directed by Kari Hatfield

Summary

“I was dismayed to discover that the play would contain elements of… humor.” So says Dr. Vivian Bearing as she introduces her story to us. Wit is a brilliantly crafted and unflinching look at the last chapter of Ms. Bearing’s life. Armed with a sharp intellect, this professor of 17th century poetry wrestles with the ultimate question of what it means to be alive.

Study Guide

The-Tempest-news-review

Sense and Sensibiltiy

Winter Play

Performed February 9-10, 16-18, 2018
Fulks Theatre

Credits

by‭ ‬Kate Hamill
Adapted from the Novel by‭ ‬Jane Austen
Directed by‭ ‬Adam Hester

Summary

A Gossip-Driven Comedy of Reason and Romance

“Perhaps the greatest stage adaptation of this novel in history‭.‬”‭ ‬—‭ ‬Huffington Post

This isn’t your grandma’s Jane Austen‭! ‬This rollicking‭, ‬ingeniously-theatrical new adaptation follows the Dashwood sisters‭ ‬–‭ ‬sensible Elinor and passionate Marianne‭. ‬When they lose their fortune‭, ‬marriage is their only hope‭. ‬But can love‭, ‬and marriage‭ ‬go together for women without money‭? ‬Surrounding them is a company of shape-shifting actors who transform into characters‭, ‬animals‭, ‬and even scenery to bring Austen’s story to life in this goofy‭, ‬joyous and deeply moving play‭.‬

Audience Study Guide (PDF)

The-Tempest-news-review

Sight Unseen

Studio Premiere

Performed March 1-3, 2018
Culp Theatre

Credits

By Donald Margulies

Summary

In this OBIE award-winning play, Jonathan Waxman is the art scene’s new visionary, with a waiting list to buy paintings he has yet to paint. In London for his first European show, Waxman is under the gun. He could be spurned, causing the American art world to re-evaluate his work, or he could be further lionized, causing more demand and greater expectations. Either way, something is missing. On impulse, he escapes to the country to search for the woman who was his first love and early inspiration and reconnect with those feelings that first made him an artist.

Study Guide (PDF)

The-Tempest-news-review

James and the Giant Peach

Spring Musical

Performed April 20-21, 27-29
Fulks Theatre

Credits

Directed by Dawne Meeks
Words and music by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
Book by Timothy Allen McDonald
Based on the book James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Summary

When James is sent by his conniving aunts to chop down their old fruit tree, he discovers a magic potion which results in a tremendous peach. Suddenly, James finds himself in the center of the gigantic peach on a journey with human-sized insects with equally oversized personalities. Thanks to James’ quick wits and creative thinking, the residents learn to live and work together to be alive.

Study Guide (PDF)

2013-2014

The-Tempest-news-review

Living Letters

ACU Summit Production
Performed September
Fulks Theatre

The-Tempest-news-review

Les Misérables

Homecoming Musical
Performed October 18-20
Abilene Civic Center

The-Tempest-news-review

Next to Normal

Cornerstone Production
Performed November 19-24
Fulks Theatre

The-Tempest-news-review

Is He Dead?

Winter Comedy
Performed February 7-8, 14-15, 21-22
Fulks Theatre

The-Tempest-news-review

100 Saints You Should Know

Studio Premiere
Performed February 27-28, March 1
Culp Theatre

The-Tempest-news-review

The Glass Menagerie

Spring American Classic
Performed April 10-12, 24-26
Fulks Theatre