Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa announced its 2023-2024 season on July 12, featuring a new list of performances and a previously announced Broadway subscription series and fall festival. It will be the auditorium’s 51st season.
The season takes place from August 2023 through June 2024 at Hancher and other venues across the university’s campus and surrounding community.
Tickets for the new events and single tickets for Broadway performances and the Infinite Dream fall festival go on sale to the general public on July 31 at 10 a.m.
The Hancher Box Office is open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on weekdays for in-person and phone purchases. Tickets are always available online at hancher.uiowa.edu.
“This season’s announcement embodies so many threads,” André Perry, executive director of Hancher Auditorium and the Office of Performing Arts and Engagement, said in a statement. “More than anything, our work centers the vision of building a first-choice, destination performing arts campus at the University of Iowa. Specifically, we ask ourselves, ‘How do we shape a culture that nurtures creative exploration for the students, faculty, and staff on our academic campus; for our surrounding communities, the state of Iowa, and Hawkeyes across the world; and for the ever-shifting field of performing artists?’”
Many big performers will play back to back
The Hancher season kicks off on August 25, with a free outdoor concert on the Hancher Green. The UI’s Fall Welcome Concert will feature Iowan Elizabeth Moen, headliner Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes fame, and the soul-inflected electronic music of Dawn Richard. The audience is invited to gather starting at 5 p.m. with performances starting at 6 p.m.
In early September, Hancher will present three superstars in quick succession. Beloved singer and songwriter Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit will perform on Sept. 8. Jazz luminary Herbie Hancock takes to the stage on Sept. 9. Newly minted Pulitzer Prize-winner Rhiannon Giddens will perform on Sept. 13.
Broadway performances, Infinite Dream tickets are still available
Broadway fans can still take advantage of subscription pricing for To Kill a Mockingbird, Hairspray, Chicago, and Come From Away.
Beginning on July 31, there will also be an option to pick and choose among the performances rather than purchasing the full package. Tickets for individual events that are part of October’s Infinite Dream festival — which explores myriad ways to engage with the idea of the American Dream — will also go on sale July 31; full festival passes are also still available.
Broadening Hancher’s reach
As the season progresses, Hancher will present artists in new configurations inside the facility — and will present several artists in other venues on and off campus. The goal is to present artists in spaces that serve them and the audience well.
“Our team has thought carefully and creatively about ways to enhance the connection between artists and audiences,” Aaron Greenwald, Hancher’s programming and engagement director, said in a statement. “Intimacy and immediacy can be such powerful parts of an experience, and for each of the exceptional artists we are presenting, we worked to find the best ways to highlight them and their work.”
Examples of artists performing in these additional venues and configurations include acclaimed tap dancer Ayodele Casel performing on Hancher’s Hadley Stage with the audience seated on stage as well; serpentwithfeet performing the Hancher-commissioned work Heart of Brick at The Englert Theatre; and the Elias String Quartet performing in the round in Hancher’s Strauss Hall.
Collaborations planned
Other key aspects of the season include collaborations with the Mic Check Poetry Fest and Feed Me Weird Things’ FEaST festival; a season-long collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw; and a performance by Department of Dance students in collaboration with the Martha Graham Dance Company, which is celebrating its centennial season.
While in Iowa City, most scheduled artists will participate in educational engagements with UI students, faculty and staff and in the wider community.
The regular season culminates with a major performance and Iowa debut of the contemporary opera Fierce. This is a co-production between the UI School of Music, Performing Arts Production Unit and Hancher Auditorium.
William Menefield, assistant professor of jazz studies at the UI, composed the music for Fierce, which first debuted as a commission project of the Cincinnati Opera in July 2022. The co-production at Hancher will feature university students onstage, in the orchestra pit, and behind the scenes working production with the UI’s exceptional technical staff.
“This is what it’s all about: Collaboration across our performing arts campus, celebrating the work of our students and faculty, and welcoming our whole community to join in,” School of Music director Tammie Walker said in a statement.
Full season details can be found at the Hancher website, hancher.uiowa.edu. Additional performances may be added to the season as well.
