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Westerlies
The Daily Iowan - Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Upbeat, jazzy tunes filled the halls of the University of Iowa School of Music Voxman building Tuesday night as the “accidental brass quartet,” known as the Westerlies, took center stage at their latest musical recital. “I feel grateful every day to get to do what we do, truly. To get to make music is a privilege,” said Andy Clausen, one of the band’s two trombone players.
Hairspray
Both Sarah Hayes and Amy Rodriguez were present at the national Broadway tour stops of “Rent” at Hancher Auditorium — Hayes as an audience member in 1999 and Rodriguez as a student stagehand in 2019. This weekend, the two will return to Hancher. This time, however, they will both be centerstage, costarring in the Tony Award-winning national tour of “Hairspray.” While a theatre arts major at the University of Iowa, Rodriguez spent three years working on touring productions at Hancher. Often, she would envision herself in the spotlight rather than operating it.
Les Ballets De Trockadero
The Gazette - Thursday, February 15, 2024
All-male troupe returning to Iowa City, keeping audiences and dancers on their toes.
Hairspray
The Gazette - Thursday, February 15, 2024
Big hair, big heart, big dreams, big change. That’s “Hairspray” in a nutshell. It’s all that, and so much more — including two cast members with Hancher ties. They’ll be returning to the University of Iowa’s premiere venue in Iowa City for four performances Feb. 23 to 25, 2024.
Jeff Parker
The Gazette - Thursday, January 25, 2024
Jeff Parker is as versatile as he is inventive. The jazz guitarist, who incorporates elements of hip-hop, funk and R&B, consistently challenges his audience whether as a solo artist, playing with avant-garde indie rockers Tortoise or performing with left of center jazz artist Joshua Abrams. Parker, 56, who will perform Saturday, Jan. 27.2024, at Hancher with his eclectic ensemble, The New Breed, always is pushing the envelope. The Berklee College of Music alum was as impacted by his university years as he was by hip-hop from a generation ago
Jeff Parker
The Real Mainstream - Thursday, January 25, 2024
A phrase from the late experimental jazz guru Sun Ra helps shape almost everything that Jeff Parker does as a musician. “Sun Ra said … ‘If you deal with what you know, you’re dealing with what’s finite. And if you deal with what you don’t know, it’s infinite. ” says Parker, who will perform at Iowa City’s Hancher Auditorium Saturday with his band The New Breed, recalling advice passed on to him by one of his mentors.
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Gazette - Saturday, January 20, 2024
“To Kill a Mockingbird” is a masterpiece in any era, in any medium. Aaron Sorkin’s 2018 stage adaptation is a profound indictment of hatred and prejudice, and Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher brilliantly directs that toward the audience, using the youngest player to intone: “All rise.” So many meanings out of two simple words.
The Gazette - Thursday, January 18, 2024
It’s a good thing Isata Kanneh-Mason is a runner, because her fingers are zipping through a 28-minute marathon every time she plays Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto on the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s two-week U.S. tour this month. The London-based ensemble will play a nearly sold-out concert Jan. 24 at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City.
Hairspray
For Iowa - Thursday, January 18, 2024
Amy Rodriguez (21BA) remembers working as a student stagehand at Hancher, walking out on stage and imagining what it would be like to perform in front of an audience there. Rodriguez’s chance to shine comes this February when the touring Broadway production of Hairspray brings the University of Iowa theatre arts alumna back to the Hancher stage as the standby for Tracy Turnblad. Rodriguez will play the musical’s lead character for the 7:30 p.m. show on Saturday, Feb. 24, and the 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Feb. 25. “It’s a very cool, full-circle moment for me,” she says.
Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird
The Gazettte - Thursday, January 11, 2024

On tour for more than two years, [To Kill a Mockingbird] is coming to Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City for five performances Jan. 19 to 21 in an adaptation that gives more of a shared voice for Atticus Finch, played by Emmy-winning actor Richard Thomas