Many ways exist to give shape to the phenomenon that was Frozen, from the $1,250,000,000 it grossed at the box office to its fast adaptation to a theme park ride and Broadway musical. Perhaps most telling is the sheer volume of folks who can sing the soundtrack with little baiting. As such, our screening will be the sing-along version of Frozen so warm up those pipes for a group karaoke experience. Nothing else is added to the story known well other than the lyrics as subtitles; it's still sisters Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel) trapped in an unending winter with Anna venturing with Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and friends to break the spell keeping them below zero. GET TICKETS!  

Ken Ludwig's The Game's AfootPresented by Notre Dame Film, Television, and Theatre Directed by Carolyn Dell '26 It is December 1936, and Broadway star William Gillette, admired the world over for his leading role in the play Sherlock Holmes, has invited his fellow cast members to his Connecticut castle for a weekend of revelry. But when one of the guests is stabbed to death, the festivities in this isolated house of tricks and mirrors quickly turn dangerous. The danger and hilarity are non-stop in this relentlessly entertaining comedy set during the Christmas holidays. Performance Schedule November 20 - 24, 2024Wednesday - Saturday at 7:30 PMSunday at 2:30 PM Philbin Studio TheatreDeBartolo Performing Arts Center Tickets Tickets for Ken Ludwig’s The Game’s Afoot are $10 for the general public and $5 for Faculty/Staff, Students, and Seniors (65+). If you would like to purchase tickets for the full NDFTT season, a season bundle is currently available. Tickets may be purchased by phone at 574-631-2800, in person at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center ticket office (M-F 12:00 - 6:00 PM), or online at performingarts.nd.edu. BUY TICKETS SEASON BUNDLE Parking Free parking is available daily after 5:00 pm in the Stayer Center parking lot, just north of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. Patrons may now receive free event parking at the Eddy Street Commons Parking Garage by bringing your event tickets and parking ticket to the DPAC Ticket Office to receive a pre-paid parking voucher. An accessible lot for disabled patrons is available immediately adjacent to the center; a valid hangtag or license plate is required. There is a ten-minute parking zone on the north drive of the center for ticket pick-up; during inclement weather you are welcome to drop off guests in this area and proceed to parking.“Ken Ludwig’s The Game’s Afoot” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC. www.concordtheatricals.com Ken Ludwig’s The Game’s Afoot was originally produced by Cleveland Play House; Michael Bloom, Artistic Director; Kevin Moore, Managing Director. Originally published at ftt.nd.edu.

Christopher Holman presents eight centuries of organ music from the Roman Catholic tradition, performed on the tremendous Murdy Family Organ in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in broadly chronological order. From the earliest written keyboard music (Robertsbridge Codex, c. 1360) through British composer Caitlin Harrison's 2022 chorale prelude on the Dominican Order's Salve Regina, the program will feature music by J.S. Bach, Charles-Marie Widor, Dieterich Buxtehude, Sor María Clara de Oaxaca, Elisabeth Lutyens, works from the time of the American Revolution, and more, demonstrating how the organ, as Widor famously said, can truly bring about a "vision of eternity." This event is free to attend and not ticketed.  

Notre Dame Children's Choir performs with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra.Tickets for $13 - $25 are available. Originally published at sma.nd.edu.

Democratic erosion can be stopped. There are good theoretical reasons and first empirical evidence for that. However, stopping democratic erosion is not equivalent to democratic recovery. What possible trajectories are there for the post-erosion phase? How can democratic recovery—as one of them—be captured? These questions have not been found sufficient attention but are highly relevant for developing strategies of post-erosion democratic reconstruction. This lecture presents a framework covering these questions and thus offering an approach for addressing post-erosion developments.Kellogg Lecture by Marianne Kneuer.   More information here

Known as a master of homage and genre, director Peter Strickland has focused on Jess Franco with his The Duke of Burgundy and James Bidgood with his Black Narcissus. What seems to be Strickland's fastball, though, is channeling his love for and appropriating Italian giallo films. As he would later do in In Fabric, which is essentially Suspiria set at a Macy's, Strickland quotes giallos while adding his own notes of camp and extremes. Here, an English foley artist (Toby Jones) is brought to Rome to complete the sound for an Italian horror film in 1970s Rome. Completing the jobs, however, may cost him both his sanity and his life. GET TICKETS!  

The Center for Italian Studies is pleased to host a lecture by Professor Eva Del Soldato (University of Pennsylvania) titled: A Reckless and Scandalous Doctrine: Matthias Ferchius, a Franciscan in the Index  This paper delves into the intriguing journey of a forgotten booklet by the Franciscan Matthias Ferchius (1583-1669), drawing from recently unearthed material. It uncovers a fascinating blend of Biblical exegesis, poison expertise, medical reasoning, and rhetorical balancing acts, all in an audacious attempt by Ferchius to present no less than a revisionist account of the death of Jesus Christ. The paper will engage in the dialectic between Ferchius and the Holy Office censors, shedding light on the aspects of Ferchius’s text that raised particular concerns. It will also demonstrate how the pursuit of “new” outlooks in philosophy and theology always necessitated a firm reliance on tradition, a fact exemplified by other episodes of Ferchius’ intellectual career. Lastly, it will bring to the fore the paradoxical outcomes of this form of “conspiracy” philology.  Eva Del Soldato is associate professor of Italian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where she directs the FIGS Graduate Program and serves as interim director of the Center for Italian Studies. She was trained in philosophy and intellectual history at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. Her research is primarily devoted to Renaissance thought and culture, particularly the Aristotelian and Platonic traditions. Her current project is focused on lovesickness treatises in the Counterreformation period. She is the author of the monographs Simone Porzio (2010) and Early Modern Aristotle. On the Making and Unmaking of Authority (2020). She has also published several articles and editions, including the Italian translation of Bessarion's In calumniatorem Platonis. She has co-edited several volumes (the most recent is Plato in the Italian Universities, 2024). She received— among others — fellowships from the Scuola Normale Superiore, Villa I Tatti, the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbuettel, the Huntington Library in Pasadena, and she has been a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Warwick, UK. She has been a visiting professor at the University of Milan, the University of Bergamo, and the 2022/2023 Charles Speroni Chair at UCLA. She has been the interim director (2019/2020) of the Global Medieval Studies Program at Penn, and she is currently the executive secretary of the American Association for Italian Studies (AAIS).   The lecture is co-sponsored by the Medieval Institute.The Italian Research Seminar, a core event of the Center for Italian Studies, aims to provide a regular forum for faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and colleagues from other universities to present and discuss their current research. The Seminar is vigorously interdisciplinary, and embraces all areas of Italian literature, language, and culture, as well as perceptions of Italy, its achievements and its peoples in other national and international cultures. The Seminar constitutes an important element in the effort by Notre Dame's Center for Italian Studies to promote the study of Italy and to serve as a strategic point of contact for scholarly exchange.Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.

Inspired by the films of Ingmar Bergman and the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal, May December has at its core the details of the teacher-student relationship with a dollop of Natalie Portman bringing Persona into the mix. The film follows Elizabeth (Portman), an actress performing background research for a film about Gracie (Julianne Moore) and Joe (Charles Melton), who are now married after their relationship began when she was 36 and he was 13. As Elizabeth probes the marriage for inspiration for her film, she begins to realize what rests under the surface for both Gracie and Joe is far more complicated than she expected. GET TICKETS  

Join us in the O'Neill Hall of Music for this Fall Fridays at Noon concert, which features short performances by talented Department of Music students.  Originally published at music.nd.edu.

A tradition the world over, including at Notre Dame, Alexander Blachly leads the Notre Dame Chorale, Festival Baroque Orchestra, and student soloists in Handel’s beloved masterpiece. Friday, December 6, and Saturday, December 7. For tickets, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

Bringing together scholars, activists, and faith leaders with expertise in religion, radicalism, democracy, and depolarization, the 2024 Election Postmortem offers space for interdisciplinary analysis and collaboration at this critical historical moment. All sessions are free and open to the public. Drop-ins are welcome, but advanced registration is appreciated for planning purposes. REGISTER HERE.8:45AM - 9:00AM Opening RemarksLaura Frances Callahan, Asssistant Professor of Philosophy and Co-Director of the Center for Philosophy of Religion, University of Notre DameMichael Rea, Rev. John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy and Co-Director of the Center for Philosophy of Religion, University of Notre Dame9:00AM - 10:45AM What Happened: Reflecting on the 2024 Election and How We Got HerePanelists:David Campbell, Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy and the Director of the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative, University of Notre DameDavid French, Opinion Columnist for The New York TimesRobert P. Jones, President and Founder of the Public Religion Research InstituteChristopher Sebastian Parker, Professor of Political Science, University of California, Santa BarbaraKatherine Stewart, Journalist, Author of The Power Worshippers and Money, Lies, and GodModerator: Michael Rea11:00AM - 12:45PM Remaining Vigilant: What to Watch for in the Days AheadPanelists:Rachel Brown, Founder and Executive Director of Over ZeroKristin Kobes Du Mez, Professor of History and Gender Studies, Calvin UniversityLilliana Mason, SNF Angora Institute Associate Professor of Political Science, Johns Hopkins UniversityElizabeth Neumann, Department of Homeland Security (former)Matthew D. Taylor, Protestant Scholar, Institute for Islamic • Christian • Jewish StudiesModerator: Laura Frances Callahan3:30PM - 5:30PM Strategy Session: Planning, Partnerships, and Practical Steps for the Next Four YearsPanelists:Chris Crawford, Policy Strategist, Free & Fair Elections, at Protect DemocracyAmanda Tyler, Executive Director of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious LibertyJim Wallis, Director of the Center on Faith +Justice, Georgetown UniversityTim Whitaker, Creator + Facilitator, The New EvangelicalsModerator: Joel Day, Managing Director of the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative, University of Notre DameFree visitor parking is available in the Stadium, Joyce, Walsh, and Compton lots on campus, located just south of the football stadium. Campus Map Lodging within walking distance of the conference center include The Morris Inn on campus, and the Embassy Suites by Hilton South Bend at Notre Dame and the Fairfield Inn & Suites South Bend at Notre Dame at Eddy Street Commons. The 2024 Election Postmortem event is hosted by the Center for Philosophy of Religion at the Unversity of Notre Dame. Please contact the Center for Philosophy of Religion with questions.

A favorite holiday tradition, the Met's abridged, English-language version of Julie Taymor's whimsical production returns with conductor James Levine. Tenor Matthew Polenzani stars in the role of Tamino and Pamina is sung by soprano Ying Huang. The cast also features baritone Nathan Gunn as Papageno, soprano Erika Miklósa as the Queen of the Night, and bass René Pape as Sarastro. GET TICKETS  

A tradition the world over, including at Notre Dame, Alexander Blachly leads the Notre Dame Chorale, Festival Baroque Orchestra, and student soloists in Handel’s beloved masterpiece. Friday, December 6, and Saturday, December 7. For tickets, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

The Muppets perform the classic Dickens holiday tale, with Kermit the Frog playing Bob Cratchit, the put-upon clerk of stingy Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine). Other Muppets, like Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and Fozzie Bear, weave in and out of the story, while Scrooge receives visits from spirits from Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future. They show him the error of his self-serving ways with the hope that the miserable old man will embrace the season of the heart and, in that particular time of caring, make his love last all year. GET TICKETS!  

The University Band presents a concert with marches, contemporary concert band pieces, holiday music, and traditional Notre Dame favorites. The University Band is a concert band for current students and staff, faculty, and alumni of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s, and Holy Cross. For tickets, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

The Notre Dame Jazz Band program features two "traditional" jazz ensembles and a New Orleans Brass Band. The bands perform a wide variety of music, ranging from jazz classics and vocal selections, to new works and transcriptions. For tickets, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

Collegium Musicum presents music spanning several generations of the Bach family, including the motet Fürchte dich nicht of J.S. Bach. For tickets, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

Notre Dame Children's Choir perform songs of the season in its annual Lessons and Carols, featuring the younger ensembles: Cherub, Cantabile and Descant Choirs.  Originally published at sma.nd.edu.

The Notre Dame Glee Club and Symphony Orchestra present a festive array of classical and popular music for the season. Concerts on Saturday, December 14, 8:30 PM and Sunday, December 15, 2:30 PM. For tickets, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

Not a hit upon release, It's a Wonderful Life gained its popularity mainly due to a clerical error at the copyright office that made it public domain and led to television stations being able to broadcast it for free during the holiday season, which they did repeatedly thus deepening the film's association with Christmas for generations. A variation on the A Christmas Carol theme, the Christmastime glimpse into the future here belongs to George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) who has so many problems he is considering ending it all. As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashbacks. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he rescues his guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), who then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn't been for all his good deeds over the years. GET TICKETS!