Dreams and relationships are rekindled in “The Spitfire Grill.” The season opens with James Valcq and Fred Alley’s musical adaptation of the hit 1996 film. Following Percy — a woman with a shadowy past who shows up at Gilead, Wisconsin’s lone diner looking for a job — the show’s folk-inflected songs weave a heartwarming and inspirational tale of redemption, perseverance, and family.

In the beginning...there was chaos. Just when you thought you could escape, the future that is devised theatre drags you back. Beware, and prepare yourself for round 2 of confrontational, existential, and stupidly funny student-created scenes.

When reputation is everything, how do you follow your heart? Kate Hamill’s rollicking, ingeniously-staged 2017 adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” follows the fortunes (and misfortunes) of the Dashwood sisters — sensible Elinor and hypersensitive Marianne — after their father’s sudden death leaves them financially destitute and socially vulnerable. Set in gossipy late 18th-century England, the play is full of humor, emotional depth, and bold theatricality.

A combination folk musical and contemporary play, a teen discovers what it is to find his meaning, and how two things can be true at once.

Every year, faculty, students, and guest choreographers offer a wide range of dance styles and interpretations around a chosen theme. Join us again for another showcase of the incredible talent of UMD’s dance community.

This story explores themes of loneliness and the inability to let go of the past, showing that communication is the crux of relationships with others and with ourselves.