The University of Iowa

Past Season Events

Free

Drawing Closer: Celebrating Hancher’s Upcoming Opening

featuring Squonk Opera, Pneumatica

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Drawing Closer: Celebrating Hancher’s Upcoming Opening

featuring Squonk Opera, Pneumatica

Saturday, August 22, 2015
Gather up your friends and family, and join us for a day of chalk art as we look forward to the opening of the new Hancher facility in the fall of 2016. Also on hand: Squonk Opera will perform Pneumatica, an event about air, made of air, and powered by air.

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Free
Music

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Iowa Soul Festival

Friday, August 28, 2015
Music

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Iowa Soul Festival

Friday, August 28, 2015
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings are likely to set the stage on fire with funk, R&B, and soul music. With Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen at 6:45 pm and the Iowa City Carnival Parade and Pandelirium at 5:30 pm.

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Free
Music

The Claudettes

Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Music

The Claudettes

Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Blues Music Magazine says The Claudettes are “like Keith Moon chasing a crazed, punked up Little Richard,” while Caught in the Carousel believes the duo is “like a ragtime White Stripes.” But in the end, you’ve never seen or heard a duo like this.

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Dance | Theater

Lucky Plush Productions

The Queue

Thursday–Friday, September 17–18, 2015
Dance | Theater

Lucky Plush Productions

The Queue

Thursday–Friday, September 17–18, 2015
Lucky Plush transforms the dull and passive act of waiting in an airport into a humorous and dynamic performance featuring dance, theater, and live music. The Queue blends slapstick comedy, Busby Berkeley-esque choreography, and contemporary dance.

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Music

Las Cafeteras

Friday, September 25, 2015
Music

Las Cafeteras

Friday, September 25, 2015
Las Cafeteras brings together traditional Son Jarocho sounds, Afro-Mexican rhythms, the traditional dance zapateado, and inspiring lyrics—in English, Spanish, and Spanglish—to serve up a music both unique to East LA and universal in its appeal.

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Music

Brentano String Quartet

Saturday, October 17, 2015
Music

Brentano String Quartet

Saturday, October 17, 2015
Critic Alex Ross calls the Brentano String Quartet “one of America’s finest, brainiest young quartets.” The program will include fugues by J.S. Bach, Benjamin Britten’s Quartet No. 3, and Johannes Brahms's Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 67.

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Music

Lynne Arriale, Carla Cook, and Grace Kelly

"You Know How I Feel" A Tribute to Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, and Joni Mitchell

Friday, October 30, 2015
Music

Lynne Arriale, Carla Cook, and Grace Kelly

"You Know How I Feel" A Tribute to Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, and Joni Mitchell

Friday, October 30, 2015
Three tremendous musicians pay homage to three legends. Lynne Arriale (piano), Carla Cook (vocals), and Grace Kelly (saxes) bring passion, sensitivity, and soul to their reinterpretations of classic songs by Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, and Joni Mitchell.

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Theater

Out of Bounds

2015 Tour

Monday, November 2, 2015
Theater

Out of Bounds

2015 Tour

Monday, November 2, 2015
Written by Jennifer Fawcett, Out of Bounds is play focused on the topic of cyber bullying. Tailored for grades 7 & 8, the play was developed through interviews with students, administrators, teachers, and parents.

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Music

Chris Thile

Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Music

Chris Thile

Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Chris Thile has been charting new territory for the mandolin since he was eight years old. The Grammy Award-winner and MacArthur Fellow will perform solo violin works by J.S. Bach on the mandolin, as well as his own compositions.

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Theater | Music

Taylor Mac

A 24-Decade History of Popular Music
1846-1856: Whitman vs. Foster
Songs Popular Near the Breaking Point

Thursday, November 5, 2015
Theater | Music

Taylor Mac

A 24-Decade History of Popular Music
1846-1856: Whitman vs. Foster
Songs Popular Near the Breaking Point

Thursday, November 5, 2015
For nearly two decades, Taylor Mac has created internationally award-winning performance events. A 24-Decade History of Popular Music is his most ambitious project to date. His look at 1846-1856 is a showdown between Walt Whitman and Stephen Foster.

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Music

The Ellis Marsalis Quartet

Friday, December 11, 2015
Music

The Ellis Marsalis Quartet

Friday, December 11, 2015
Ellis Marsalis is the patriarch of one of the most famous families in music, and he’s bringing the holiday cheer from New Orleans to Iowa City. This night of holiday music will bring his considerable talents to the fore.

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Music

Vocalosity

The Aca-Perfect Musical Experience

Saturday, January 30, 2016
Music

Vocalosity

The Aca-Perfect Musical Experience

Saturday, January 30, 2016
Deke Sharon—called the “father of contemporary a cappella”—brings together a cast of vocal powerhouses for a musical adventure spanning the ages. The singers of Vocalosity won’t need a single instrument to delight your entire family.

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Music

Bobby McFerrin

Friday, February 12, 2016
Music

Bobby McFerrin

Friday, February 12, 2016
“Bobby McFerrin’s greatest gift to his audience,” says the Los Angeles Times, “may be changing them from spectators into celebrants.” Join us for the special concert marking the end of Hancher’s post-flood journey.

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