Before stepping on stage Monday at Hancher Auditorium, Leslie Odom Jr. learned the University of Iowa Lecture Committee hosting his appearance had received some calls or letters asking why “that guy” was coming — that guy who was “so mean to Mike Pence.”
Odom — after walking the audience through the journey that landed him a lead role in the Broadway blockbuster “Hamilton” and singing several pieces from the show — shared this information with the full house, to widespread chuckles.
Some sites may require subscription
Hoopla Now - Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Keith Lockhart has been crisscrossing the globe this winter for pleasure and business, but he ties them both together. It’s part of the mission he loves, in bringing the Boston Pops Orchestra to the masses.
“We feel the Boston Pops is America’s orchestra, and that our constituency really stretches across the country,” Lockhart, 57, said by phone from Boston. He’s home, after traveling the past month on a Pops tour to Florida, a jaunt to Iceland to celebrate his wife’s birthday by viewing the Northern Lights, followed by a family trip Florida, then on to his other job with the BBC in London, then home before going back to London and “before I come out and greet the Midwest,” he said.
Iowa Now - Wednesday, March 15, 2017
If you’re playing a word-association game and someone says “dance,” you probably don’t blurt out “architecture!” but an upcoming performance at Hancher Auditorium might change that.
Jessica Lang Dance will perform a concert on March 23 at Hancher, and one piece in particular shares a unique connection with the University of Iowa. The critically-acclaimed Tesseracts of Time was created by choreographer Jessica Lang in collaboration with world-renowned architect Steven Holl, who has made a significant mark on the UI campus.
KCRG - Tuesday, March 14, 2017
The Master Builders of Iowa has awarded Mortenson Construction the 2017 Masters Award for Exemplary Construction for the University of Iowa's Hancher Auditorium.
The $176 million performing arts center opened in September 2016, and includes a large 1,800-seat, proscenium theater, rehearsal room, and administrative offices. The project was completed over a three-year period.
KCRG - Monday, March 6, 2017
Hundreds of works of art done lined the halls of Hancher Auditorium once again at the Hancher Guild Youth Art Show. Nearly 400 works of art were on display from students from kindergarten all they way up to high school. People say they've missed having this annual event in Hancher Auditorium.
Daily Iowan - Friday, March 3, 2017
There are not many classical musicians whose names are accessible in the mainstream media, because they tend to be drowned out by the more “current” acts.
However, certain performers who pride themselves on excellence manage to break with the norm. Yo-Yo Ma is one of those select few.
At 7 p.m. March 5, the famed cellist will return to Hancher after 17 years. This visit will mark his ninth time performing at Hancher and his first in the new facility.
Iowa Now - Friday, March 3, 2017
Some of the great performing artists from around the world already have graced the Hancher Auditorium stage since its grand opening in September. On March 6, however, the new building will become a visual arts gallery filled with works created by the youth of Iowa City, Coralville, Hills, and North Liberty.
The Hancher Guild Youth Art Show, which began in 1983 and was held annually until floodwaters destroyed the original Hancher Auditorium in 2008, is making its return to the University of Iowa campus. Reinstating the longstanding tradition always was part of the plan as the new Hancher was being built.
Iowa City Press Citizen - Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Hancher Auditorium executive director Chuck Swanson knows that Hancher itself is a work of art.
Soon, the 191,977 square-feet auditorium will be welcoming hundreds of more art pieces thanks to the hard work of students throughout the Iowa City area.
The Hancher Guild Youth Art Show will return to Iowa City for the first time in nine years. Starting Monday, hundreds of works of art created by students from kindergarteners to high school seniors throughout the Iowa City area will be displayed inside the auditorium.
Little Village - Thursday, February 9, 2017
Hancher hosts a world premiere this week: the multimedia dance theatre production Soil, directed by University of Iowa Assistant Professor of Dance Michael Sakamoto. The final performance is tonight, Feb. 9 at 7:30 pm in Strauss Hall, an intimate space that is making its debut as a theatre. Tickets are $10-35.
Soil developed over several years to become the hour-long work it is today, adding more dancers and perspectives to the mix. The work, now performed by a trio, is autobiographical, a composite of the dancers’ experiences of immigrating from Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam and bridging the gap between their old and new homes.
Iowa Theatre - Thursday, February 2, 2017
The Sound of Music, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s final collaboration, opened on Broadway in 1959, winning many Tony awards, including Best Musical. It’s the story of would-be nun Maria, who leaves the convent to be a governess for a widower’s seven children. It takes place in Austria, against the backdrop of Nazi incursion into Austria before World War II. But then you probably already know that, since the movie is a classic as well, a movie that many of us have watched year after year, singing the songs together as a family. You know it’s a story of love, and of the power of music. You know it’s a moving, timeless tale of a family’s escape from the evil that is threatening their homeland. The touring company whose production is on Hancher’s stage does not disappoint in any way. Director Jack O’Brien’s version is fun and light when it needs to be and it also expertly delves into the more serious moments.