From Broadway to Hollywood and from the opera hall to the streaming screen, Oklahoma City University performing arts has a history of producing the stars of entertainment. But before those stars get their big break, they make their name as part of the dance, music and theatre programs at OCU! Now, Oklahoma City University’s Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment, School of Theatre, and Wanda L. Bass School of Music are joining forces like never before to bring you OCU Performs! Our new collaborative performing arts schedule brings you the most exceptional dance, music and theatre and gives you an opportunity to enjoy the best performances that OCU has to offer. With OCU Performs, you can see tomorrow’s stars of stage and screen today!
NEW FOR 2026-27 SEASON:
THE OCU Performs PICK FOUR
Mix-and-match your favorite four shows to form your personalized season ticket bundle. Choose from Dance, Musical Theater, Vespers, or Theatre. Pick the dates and shows that you can’t wait to attend!
NEXT SHOW HIGHLIGHT
PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL (2025)
OCTOBER 2–4, 2026
Composer: Arthur Sullivan / Librettist: W.S. Gilbert Director: David Herendeen / Music Director: Matt Mailman
This spirited and creative adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s beloved operetta moves the swashbuckling comedy from Penzance to New Orleans! Featuring jazz inflections and fresh orchestrations, a hapless band of pirates, tongue-twisted modern Major-General, and the heartfelt pursuit of forbidden love, the 2025 Tony Award nominee for Best Revival of a Musical reimagines the British classic for a new generation.
MAINSTAGE PRODUCTIONS
Performances part of the OCU Performs Pick Four season ticket bundle
OCTOBER 2–4, 2026
Composer: Arthur Sullivan / Librettist: W.S. Gilbert Director: David Herendeen / Music Director: Matt Mailman
This spirited and creative adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s beloved operetta moves the swashbuckling comedy from Penzance to New Orleans! Featuring jazz inflections and fresh orchestrations, a hapless band of pirates, tongue-twisted modern Major-General, and the heartfelt pursuit of forbidden love, the 2025 Tony Award nominee for Best Revival of a Musical reimagines the British classic for a new generation.
NOVEMBER 20–22, 2026
Director: David Herendeen
Celebrate our Oklahoma Opera and Music Theater Company’s 75th anniversary year with a gala highlighting favorite scenes from Verdi’s La Traviata, Puccini’s Le Rondine, and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Presented without intermission and featuring an opera chorus and soloists supported by full orchestra, this production promises an effervescent evening of some of the most treasured music ever written for the stage.
DECEMBER 10–13, 2026
Author: Ken Ludwig
Sherwood is a hilarious, action-packed adventure that the whole family will love. Experience Robin Hood’s origin story as created by Ken Ludwig, arguably America’s preeminent comic playwright. Packed with thrills, romance, and laughter, The Adventures of Robin Hood brings Little John, Friar Tuck, and Maid Marian, to life in an evening of swashbuckling fun not to be missed!
DECEMBER 11–12, 2026
Ring in the season with our 47th Annual Christmas Vespers! Featuring orchestral, chamber, and choral ensembles from the Bass School of Music, the event features more than 200 student musicians celebrating the holiday through poetry, Scripture readings, classic carols, new works, and congregational singing in First Presbyterian’s stunning Neo-Gothic sanctuary, culminating in the traditional candlelight finale.
DECEMBER 10–13, 2026
Introducing vibrant new dances, the Star Dance Company Holiday Spectacular honors the legacy of the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment while embracing dance for the world of entertainment! More than 120 dynamic performers will spread yuletide magic with high-energy holiday favorites, vivid costumes, and a graceful reminder of the reason for the Christmas season.
FEBRUARY 4–7, 2027
Author: Kate Hamill
Kate Hamill’s delightfully witty adaptation of the classic romance has become a smash hit that has touched the hearts and funny bones of audiences around the world. Sensible Elinor and hypersensitive Marianne Dashwood navigate the gossip and societal pressures of 18th century England in a production that illustrates that before Bridgerton, there was Jane Austen.
FEBRUARY 26–28, 2027
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Librettist: Lorenzo Da Ponte
During what should be a joyous wedding celebration for the clever Figaro and quick-witted Susanna, hilarity, scheming, and comedic miscues take center stage. Considered one of the greatest operas ever written, Figaro showcases Mozart’s brilliant humor, wit, charm, and compassion with a tour de force of human experiences in a story that takes place on a single crazy day.
MARCH 11–13, 2027
“MOVE! Dance for the World of Entertainment” is the annual spring performance of the Star Dance Company from the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment. MOVE! honors the legacy of the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment while embracing dance for the world of entertainment! Over 130 performers will illuminate the stage with vivid costumes, dynamic movement, and contagious energy. Get ready to have your spirit revitalized and to be left wanting more!
APRIL 23–25, 2027
Music and Lyrics: Dave Malloy / Director: Karen Miller
An innovative musical adaptation of a 70-page slice of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, this electropop opera is a love story set in Moscow amid war, chaos, and deception. Nominated for 12 Tony Awards after its 2016 Broadway debut, the score blends folk songs, rock, R&B and house music in a show the New York Post praises as “inventive, ravishing and full-on romantic!”
CO-PRODUCTIONS
A popular occurrence in the regional theatre, ‘co-pros’ (cooperative productions) allow professional theatre companies to join forces – with each organization contributing artistically and financially to create better productions that they are able to produce alone. TheatreOCU embraces co-pros, using them as an opportunity for students to learn from and collaborate with some of the region’s best artists and organizations.
OCTOBER 29–NOVEMBER 1, 2026
by Brendan Pelsue
based on the novel by Charles Dickens
Over 50 characters are played by just 14 actors in this engaging and imaginative retelling of the Charles Dickens’ classic novel chronicling ‘the best of times and worst of times’. Paris and London amid the French Revolution serve as the backdrop for this epic tale of spies, lovers, madmen, and unexpected look-alikes remixed for a contemporary audience. This production is in collaboration with Oklahoma Children's Theater.
APRIL 8–11, 2027
Author: William Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s original romantic comedy serves up a surprising evening of sharp tongues and side-splitting laughter! In a season of blossoming new love, bitter old rivals, Beatrice and Benedick, fall victim to a plot to reveal their mutual romantic attraction in a production in collaboration with Oklahoma Shakespeare.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Performing Arts Ticket Office Hours:
Noon-4pm, Mondays through Fridays*
*2026-2027 September 8 – April 30th. Closed during university holidays.
Performing Arts Ticket Office Locations:
Edith Kinney Gaylord Center (Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment), at the intersection of N Blackwelder Avenue and NW 23rd Street. Ticket Office Designated parking is available on Noble Drive parallel to NW 23rd Street.
Performing Arts Ticket Office Contact:
405-208-5227
[email protected]
DAY OF SHOW Performing Arts Ticket Office Hours/Location:
2 hours prior to each performance through intermission
Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center (except for productions taking place at another location)
General Policies:
- No infants.
- Lap seating is not permitted. Each patron must have a ticket.
- No large bags or backpacks.
- Please store all electronic while enjoying productions.
- Recording and photography of productions are prohibited.
- ALL SALES ARE FINAL
Cancellation Refund Policy:
In the rare event a show is cancelled, patrons may
- Subject to availability, exchange the cancelled event ticket for another Oklahoma City University Performing Arts Production within a 6-month period of the cancelled show by emailing OCU’s Performing Arts Ticket Office at [email protected] .
- Request a refund of the ticket price by emailing OCU’s Performing Arts Ticket Office at [email protected].
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
ANN LACY SCHOOL OF DANCE & ENTERTAINMENT
The Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment is not just about teaching performers, managers and teachers – we are here to instill character that will serve graduates in their professional careers and personal lives. Employers seek out OCU graduates because of their professionalism, and graduates live meaningful lives when they embrace a value-driven journey.
BASS SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Rated the "No. 1 Best School of Music in Oklahoma" by College Factual in 2025, the Wanda L. Bass School of Music is a close-knit community of over 350 students. Creativity, excellence, and opportunity converge in over 250 performances each year, ranging from solo recitals to full-scale choral and orchestral works, as well as six opera and music theater productions. OCU music alumni excel across the musical spectrum as performers, educators, and composers
SCHOOL OF THEATRE
The School of Theatre prepares young artists for a sustainable professional life. Our programs are grounded in the philosophy of putting classroom theory into stage and screen practice to produce creative, culturally aware, and highly effective theatrical artists. We are devoted to crafting a student-centered environment that is collaborative, rigorous, and creative. We create an environment that encourages the synthesis of the professional craftsperson with the passionate artist.
