The Theatre and Interpretation Center (TIC) at Northwestern University, will launch the 2009-10 season this fall with a star-studded classic comedy and a musical exploration of a crisis of faith, as well as a series of solo performances presented by the department of performance studies and the Dance Program’s annual Fall Dance Concert. All events are open to the public and will take place on Northwestern's Evanston campus. Subscriptions for the 2009-10 Mainstage Season are on sale now through the TIC Box Office at (847) 491-7282 or online at www.tic.northwestern.edu.

To open its 79th season, TIC presents Joseph Kesselring's classic comedy "Arsenic and Old Lace" (Oct. 24 through Nov. 8) at the Ethel M. Barber Theater. A macabre farce, "Arsenic" will be directed by Tony Award-winning director Frank Galati. It will feature Northwestern alumnus and Victory Gardens Theatre founder and artistic director Dennis Zacek, Chicago actor John Mohrlein, and award-winning Northwestern acting faculty Cindy Gold and Mary Poole.

The TIC season will continue with five performances of Leonard Bernstein's "Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers" (Nov. 12 to 15), originally commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy for the opening of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Directed by Joseph Jefferson ("Jeff") Award-winning Dominic Missimi, "Mass" will be presented for one weekend only in a richly theatrical staging at Cahn Auditorium. The production will feature new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz in consultation with Jamie Bernstein.

Mid-month, the department of performance studies will present "Emergency" a one-man performance by visiting artist and Obie Award-winning actor Daniel Beaty (Nov. 17) and "Delta Dandy" (Nov. 20 and 21), a solo performance by visiting artist Sharon Bridgforth. The latter is part of the department's "solo/black/woman" performance series. The Dance Program will present the New Movement Dance Project's annual Fall 2009 Dance Concert (Nov. 19 to 22) featuring student choreography.