Theater | Music | Exhibits | Lectures | Dance

Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
A nostalgic send-up of teenage life in the 1950s, Grease fondly recalls guys in pompa-dours and gals in poodle skirts. Book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Kelly Ward, who played in the movie, directs the USC production. (213-740-7111)
Feb. 25-March 5, Bing Theater, $10 general, $6 seniors and students.

Emma by Sandra Fenichel-Asher
Author Sandra Fenichel-Asher has adap-ted Jane Austen’s enchanting comedy of errors, Emma. Stephanie Shroyer directs the USC production. (213-740-7111)
March 2-5, Bing Theater, $7 general, $5 seniors and students.

John Siciliano’s Siciliano
An original production developed at the National Theater Workshop of the Handicapped, Siciliano started as a project in a USC School of Theatre class. The 28-year-old author – who lost his leg in a car accident and attended USC on a Swim With Mike scholarship – stars in this now full-length autobiographical drama. (213-740-1285)
March 25, 8 p.m., Bing Theater, $15 general.

Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Love of the Nightingale
A warrior wins his choice of brides and the choice leads to tragedy. A dramatization of the Greek myth of Procne and Philomel, The Love of the Nightingale becomes, in Wertenbaker’s hands, a disturbing allegory about nations who rely on women’s silence. (213-740-7111)
March 30-April 2, Bing Theater, $7 general, $5 seniors and students.

Music

President’s Distinguished Artist Series: The Romeros and USC’s Thornton Chamber Orchestra
Spain’s “Royal Family of the Guitar” has its antecedents in a family quartet created nearly 40 years ago by the legendary Celedonio Romero. At USC, the group – comprised of Celedonio’s sons and grandsons – play their patriarch’s Guitar Con-certo and Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Concierto Andaluz. The Romeros’ only concert in Southern California concludes with the group’s formal induction into the Order of Isabel La Catolica knighthood, bestowed by King Juan Carlos I of Spain. (213-740-2167)
Feb. 11, 8 p.m., Bovard Auditorium, $20 general, $10 seniors.

Music Masters Series: USC Thornton Faculty and Friends in Recital
Composer, pianist and Thornton professor Alan Smith presents the world premiere of his Vignettes: Ellis Island, with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe. (213-740-2584)
Feb. 24, 8 p.m., Alfred Newman Recital Hall, $7 general, $4 seniors and students.

Thornton Choral Artists
Vocal groups perform John Corigliano’s Fern Hill, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Bene-dicite and Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms. (626-796-0157)
Feb. 25, 8 p.m., Pasadena First United Methodist Church, 500 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, $10 general, $5 seniors and students.

Music Masters Series: USC Thornton Faculty and Friends in Recital
Violist Donald McInnes and pianist Norman Krieger perform Shostakovich’s Sonata for Viola and Piano, Bloch’s Suite for Viola and Piano and Beethoven’s “Bei Männern, Welche Liebe Fühlen” variations from Mozart’s The Magic Flute. (213-740-2584)
Feb. 29, 8 p.m., Alfred Newman Recital Hall, $7 general, $4 seniors and students.

Thornton Symphony and USC Oriana Choir
Featuring pianist Sarkis Baltaian, a concert of Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, Gustav Holst’s The Planets and George Gershwin’s Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra. Sergiu Comissiona and David Wilson, conductors. (213-740-2584)
March 3, 8 p.m., Bovard Auditorium, $10 general, $5 seniors and students.

USC Friends of Armenian Music
Featuring violinist Movses Pogossian, cellist Suren Pagraduni and pianist Armen Guzelimian in piano trios by Haydn, Beethoven, Shostakovich and Babajanian. (213-740-2584)
March 5, 2 p.m., Bovard Auditorium, call for admission.

Thornton Wind, Percussion and Brass Ensembles
Directed, respectively, by Douglas Lowry, Erik Forrester and Boyde Hoode. On the program: Stravinsky’s Octet for Winds, Varese’s Ionisation and some big brass choir favorites. (213-740-2584)
March 8, 8 p.m., Alfred Newman Recital Hall, free.

Thornton Early Music Ensemble
James Tyler directs “Bravura Baroque,” a program of virtuoso concertos, chamber works and opera scenes by Handel, Bach, Scarlatti and Stradella. (213-740-2584)
March 10, 8 p.m., Magnin Hall, Skirball Cul-tural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, $12 general, $6 seniors and students.

Paul Anka
The USC Associates celebrate 40 years of support with a concert by 40-year show-business veteran Paul Anka. With over 900 songs to his credit – among them “Diana,” “My Way,” and “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” – Anka performs his Las Vegas multimedia concert at USC. (213-740-8722)
March 11, Bovard Auditorium, call for time and admission.
New Music for Orchestra
Donald Crockett leads the Thornton Sym-phony in a program of works by Thornton student composers. (213-740-2584)
March 24, 8 p.m., Bovard Auditorium, $10 general, $5 seniors and students.

Thornton Percussion Ensemble
Erik Forrester directs “The Pulse of the Universe,” featuring world-renowned hand percussionist Glen Velez in a program of Pulse by Henry Cowell, a new work by Donald Crockett written for the ensemble and two of Velez’s own new pieces. (213-740-2584)
March 27, 7:30 p.m., Alfred Newman Recital Hall, $7 general, $4 seniors and students.

Thornton Chamber Choir
William Dehning conducts “Double Your Pleasure”: Bach’s motet Komm, Jesu, Komm, Josef Rheinberger’s Cantus Missae, William Harris’ Faire is the Heaven, David Conte’s Cantate Domino and works by Janequin and Walton. (213-740-2584)
April 1, 8 p.m., Alfred Newman Recital Hall, $7 general, $4 seniors and students.

Monk Fellows Recital
Featuring the students of the Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz Performance at USC. (213-821-1500)
April 3, 8 p.m., Alfred Newman Recital Hall, free.

Thornton Young Artists in Chamber Music
Peter Marsh directs. (213-740-2584)
April 4, 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., Alfred Newman Recital Hall, $7 general, $4 seniors and students.

USC Thornton Horn Ensemble
Richard Todd directs a program honoring James Decker, with works by David Raksin, George Hyde, Clare Fischer and others. (213-740-2584)
April 5, 8 p.m., Alfred Newman Recital Hall, $7 general, $4 seniors and students.

Music Masters Series: USC Thornton Faculty and Friends in Recital
Violinist Peter Marsh, pianist Alan Smith and soprano Kathleen Rolland in Mozart’s arias for soprano, violin and piano, Villa-Lobos’ Suite for Soprano and Violin and Korngold’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. (213-740-2584)
April 9, 4 p.m., Alfred Newman Recital Hall, $7 general, $4 seniors and students.

Thornton Opera: The Turn of the Screw
One of the world’s most famous ghost stories, Henry James’ tale told by a governess, as interpreted by the leading British composer of the mid-20th century: The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten. (213-740-2584)
April 14-16, 8 p.m.. Bing Theater, $10 general, $5 seniors and students.

Music Masters Series: USC Thornton Faculty and Friends in Recital
Pianist Kevin Fitz-Gerald, cellist Ronald Leonard, violinist Michelle Kim and violist Donald McInnes in Beethoven’s Piano Trio in E Flat Major, Brahms’ Piano Quartet in C minor and Dvorák’s Piano Quartet in E Flat Major. (213-740-2584)
April 16, 3 p.m., Alfred Newman Recital Hall, $7 general, $4 seniors and students.

USC University Chorus and USC Community Orchestra
On the program: Nänie by Brahms, Piano Concerto by Mozart and various American folk songs. Rodger Guerrero and graduate student Sharon Lavery conduct. (213-740-2584)
April 16, 4 p.m., United University Church, call for admission.

Thornton Wind Symphony
Douglas Lowry conducts a concert –
featuring Nino Ruzevic on cello – of Dougherty’s Desi, Harbison’s Three City Blocks and Gulda’s Concerto for Cello and Winds. (213-740-2584)
April 19, 8 p.m., Bovard Auditorium, free.

Men’s Chorus
Ethan Sperry conducts a concert featuring mezzo-soprano Eudora Brown and the USC Thornton School’s string orchestra. On the program are Monteverdi’s Lamento della Ninfa, Schubert’s Ständehen, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody and motets by Zarlino and Willaert. (213-740-2584)
April 25, 7:30 p.m., United University Church, free.

Thornton Early Music Ensemble
Thornton Early Music Ensemble director James Tyler leads “Time Stands Still”: early and contemporary works featuring vocal and instrumental music by some of Britain’s most celebrated 17th- and 18th-century poets and composers, as well as new music for voices and early instruments by John Joubert and the American composer Till Meyn.
April 26, 8 p.m., Alfred Newman Recital Hall, $7 general, $4 seniors and students.

USC Oriana Choir
David Wilson, director. (213-740-2584)
April 28, 7:30 p.m., Alfred Newman Recital Hall, free.

Liudmila Ivanova
“Myriad Thoughts, Myriad Desires: Liudmila Ivanova (1904-77), A Woman Artist in Soviet Russia” is the first-ever exhibition of this artist’s work. Curated by USC slavic language professor John Bowlt and the USC Museum Studies Class of 2001. (213-740-4561)
March 15-April 22, USC Fisher Gallery, free.

Julian Bond
A leader in the U.S. civil rights movement for more than three decades, Julian Bond is chairman of the NAAC, a 20-year veteran of Georgia’s General Assembly and a professor at American University and the University of Virginia. Co-sponsored by the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. (213-740-7111)
Feb. 22, 7 p.m., Bovard Auditorium, $15 general, $7 seniors.

Green and Selvin
Ceramists Phyllis Green and Nancy Selvin discuss the state of ceramic art in California, with a discussion led by Karen Koblitz, USC ceramics instructor. (213-740-2787)
Feb. 24, noon, Watt Hall, Rm. 105, free.

Paula Vogel
Winner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize, dramatist Paula Vogel heads the playwriting program at Boston University. As part of her appearance at USC, theatre students perform scenes from Vogel’s plays. (213-740-7111)
March 9, 7 p.m., Bing Theater, $15 general, $7 seniors.

Sissela Bok
Besides writing several important works on ethics, Harvard fellow Sissela Bok is noted for being the daughter of two Nobel Prize winners – Gunnar and Alva Myrdal – and the wife of former Harvard president Derek C. Bok. (213-740-7111)
March 21, 7 p.m., Bovard Auditorium, $15 general, $7 seniors.

Ken Gonzalez-Day
Controversial artist Ken Gonzalez-Day presents his digital photographic work and discusses the condition of contemporary art in Los Angeles. (213-740-2787)
March 22, noon, Watt Hall, Rm. 105, free.

President’s Distinguished Lecture Series: President George Bush
As part of the ongoing USC President’s Distinguished Lecture Series, former U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush comes to campus for a talk on contemporary politics. (213-740-72167)
March 30, 7 p.m., Bovard Auditorium, $20 general, $10 seniors.

American Ballet Theater Studio Company
Created in part to prepare young talented dancers (ages 16 to 21) to enter professional dance companies, the American Ballet Theater Studio Company makes educational outreach one of its primary missions. The dancers, most of whom train in the program for two years, perform in schools and communities throughout the U.S. (213-740-7111)
March 28, 7 p.m., Bovard Auditorium, $15 general, $7 seniors.

Dance With Me
Margo Apostolos, director of dance at the USC School of Theatre, presents a dancing travelogue of Southern California with the aid of multimedia. (213-740-7111)
April 28, 7 p.m., Bovard Auditorium, $7 general.

February – May 2000