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(CINCINNATI, March 3, 2016) – In its third year as a degree program, Xavier University Theatre continues to forge ahead with its most ambitious season to date. Featuring two Broadway musicals, a Cincinnati Fringe favorite, a classic Shakespeare, a haunting small-town tragedy, a hilarious comedy and an edgy contemporary drama, Xavier Theatre’s 2016-17 season continues to be an exciting place for educational and professional collaboration.

“We’ve had an incredible year, ending next month with our production of RENT,” says Xavier Theatre Director Stephen Skiles. “Next year should prove to be even more dynamic. We will continue to work with some of the best directors in the region and put on the stage a diverse set of shows, engaging our community with challenging, fun and thought-provoking productions. I honestly cannot wait to see the work our students will do with next year’s season.”

The season opens with the Artists’ Pick of the 2014 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, SLUT SHAMING. Lauren Lucas, time traveler, views her attack, the trial, the aftermath and her life-at-large simultaneously. She sees the woman she will become and the undamaged girl she once was. She learns how far into the future this event will consume her. And then she wakes up in the present, in high school, and she knows the struggles that wait ahead. Written by Trey Tatum and directed by Bridget Leak, SLUT SHAMING explores how small town communities aggravate teenage sexual assault. SLUT SHAMING will run Aug. 24-28, 2016, in Xavier’s onstage space in Gallagher Student Center Theatre.

Xavier Theatre will welcome Dee Anne Bryll and Ed Cohen back to campus to direct Meredith Willson’s THE MUSIC MAN from Oct. 20-22, 2016. Follow fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band he vows to organize — despite the fact that he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef. By turns wicked, funny, warm, romantic and touching, THE MUSIC MAN is family entertainment at its best. With classic songs such as “Ya Got Trouble,” “Seventy Six Trombones” and “Till There Was You,” this six-time, Tony Award-winning musical comedy is a story to be shared with every generation. The New York Times raves, “If you’re a musical comedy buff, THE MUSIC MAN will show you just why.”

From Nov. 11 to 19, 2016, Xavier Theatre will present the small-town drama THE DIVINERS, by Jim Leonard Jr. THE DIVINERS is the story of a mentally disturbed young man and the unlikely, and ultimately life-changing, friendship he develops with a disenchanted preacher in early 1930s Indiana. As the small town of Zion searches to find its way through the economic struggles of the Great Depression, CC Showers seeks to find his redemption through the eyes and trust of Buddy Layman. A story of vulnerability, loss and the redemptive power of faith, THE DIVINERS is a harrowing drama full of humor, heartbreak, hope and love. THE DIVINERS is directed by Stephen Skiles.

In February, Xavier Theatre will continue the repertory format by presenting a Shakespeare classic and a contemporary comedy. Craig Wesley Divino (co-artistic director of Fault Line Theatre in New York City) and Joy Farmer-Clary will co-direct William Shakespeare’s HAMLET, running Feb. 912, 2017. A country on the brink of war. A family torn apart. A son tortured by secrets. What does it mean to live? What does it mean to die? How far will we go to remain true to those we love? Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, HAMLET remains one of the greatest stories of all time. Craig Wesley Divino and Joy Farmer-Clary will also star as Gertrude and Claudius in the Xavier Theatre production.

The following week, Xavier Theatre will present The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED] from Feb. 16-19, 2017. All 37 plays in 97 minutes! An irreverent, fast-paced romp through the Bard’s plays, THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: (ABRIDGED) was London’s longest-running comedy! Join three madcap men in tights as they weave their way through all of Shakespeare’s comedies, histories and tragedies in one wild ride that will leave you breathless and helpless with laughter. THE COMPLETE WORKS will be directed by Stephen Skiles.

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical INTO THE WOODS will round out the mainstage season. What if Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and the Baker and his Wife lived in the same story? All must venture into the woods to seek fulfillment of their deepest wishes, but what they find there is that dreams are rarely simple and wishes are not often granted free of complications. This charming story is at once hilariously funny and deeply moving, a fractured look at the flip side of classic fairy tales as only master storyteller Stephen Sondheim (composer of Sweeney Todd and Company) could imagine. INTO THE WOODS will run April 20-22, 2017. The director is soon to be announced.

Finally, Xavier Theatre will offer a season extra with Annie Baker’s THE ALIENS. Two angry young men sit behind a Vermont coffee shop and discuss music and Bukowski. When a lonely high school student arrives on the scene, they decide to teach him everything they know. From the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Circle Mirror Transformation and The Flick, THE ALIENS is a play about friendship, art, love and death. THE ALIENS is also a new collaborative venture with Xavier’s Center for Innovation. The show will be staged at Xavier’s new XHaus space, located at 1123 Walnut Street in Over-the Rhine, and will run April 4-8, 2017. Limited seating will be available. The show is directed by Stephen Skiles.

Tickets for the 2016-17 season productions will be available starting July 1, 2016, through the Xavier University Theatre Box Office. Tickets are $17 each for adults and $12 each for students, as well as Xavier faculty and staff. Tickets for THE ALIENS are $15. Subscription packages also are available. To purchase tickets, visit www.xavier.edu/theatretickets or call 513-745-3939.