KU theatre alumni to return for 'Alums Come Home IV' April 24-26

LAWRENCE -- More than 60 former theatre and film students will return to the University of Kansas April 24 through 26 for the fourth edition of "Alums Come Home," sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Film and University Theatre.

"Alums Come Home IV" is a benefit for the endowed scholarship funds in memory of LeWan Alexander, Lewin Goff and Tom P. Rea, and to add to the Glenn Bickle Fund, which honors excellence in technical theatre.

In conjunction with the theatre reunion, the department's Professional Advisory Board will meet Thursday, April 24, at the SpringHill Suites in Lawrence.

Among the notable alumni attending "Alums Come Home IV" are:

 • Gigi Gibson Bolt, head of the Theatre Program for the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C.
 • Jay Karnes, one of the stars of the UPN-TV series "The Shield"
 • Neil LaBute, noted stage and screen playwright, director and writer
 • Michael Nash, dean of the Boston Conservatory in Massachusetts
 • Bill Russell, Tony Award-nominated writer and lyricist of the Broadway hit "Side Show" and "Pageant" and "Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens"

LaBute's film, "The Shape of Things," which opens nationally May 9 and stars Paul Rudd, another KU alumnus, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 25, at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, this winter. Immediately following the film, former and current students will perform in a variety show format for "Open Mic Night."

Alumni attending the reunion will attend Saturday's opening performance of Mozart's "The Magic Flute," presented by the University Theatre and KU's Department of Music and Dance. In conjunction with the opera, Thomas Trabitsch, a former Fulbright scholar at KU who is head of the Austrian Theater Museum in Vienna, will present a public lecture on "'The Magic Flute': Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Realizations" at noon April 25 in 235 Murphy Hall. He also will exhibit more than 20 pieces about early productions of Mozart's opera.

General admission tickets for "The Shape of Things" are available at the University Theatre ticket office or at Liberty Hall. All seats are $10. Reserved seat tickets for "The Magic Flute" are available through the KU ticket offices: University Theatre, (785) 864-3982; Lied Center, (785) 864-ARTS; SUA, (785) 864-7469; and online at www.kutheatre.com. Tickets are $16 and $14 for the public, $10 for all students, and $15 and $13 for senior citizens.

For a complete schedule of events and a list of alumni participating in "Alums Come Home IV," visit http://www.kutheatre.com/alumscomehome.html.