DECORAH, IA (11/19/2013)(readMedia)-- Elisabeth Athas of Blue Grass, Iowa, will perform as part of the ensemble in the Luther College Department for Visual and Performing Arts production of "Cabaret," an award winning 1966 musical based on the play "I Am a Camera."

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15; 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22; and 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23.

Athas, the daughter of Mark and Vickie Athas of Blue Grass, is majoring in theatre and management at Luther. She is a 2011 graduate of Davenport West High School.

Tickets for the performance are $15 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under; available at the Luther Ticket Office, telephone (563) 387-1357 or boxoffice@luther.edu, open Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9-10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Tuesday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and Thursdays 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

The Luther performance of "Cabaret" will be directed by Jane Hawley, professor of dance, and Bobby Vrtis, assistant professor of theatre.

Upon its premiere, "Cabaret" was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning seven of them, including "Best Musical," "Best Original Score" and "Best Choreography."

"Cabaret" takes place in the 1930's in Berlin as the Nazi party is growing stronger. The plot follows the arrival of a young, American writer named Cliff Bradshaw, who has come to Germany to work on his novel. When visiting the Kit Kat Klub, a seedy cabaret, he meets an English performer, Sally Bowles and the two soon find themselves living together.

Through misadventures in love, work and rapidly changing political landscape of Germany, Cliff and Sally find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy in their hands and watching the struggles of their German landlady and her Jewish suitor at the beginning of the Nazi era.

The story is narrated in part by the omniscient Emcee of the Kit Kat Klub, whose flamboyant and increasingly dark musical numbers serve as a metaphor for the madness and disarray descending upon the world around them.

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DECORAH, IA (06/18/2013)(readMedia)-- Luther College held commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2013 at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 19 in Luther College's Regents Center Main Gym.

Andrew Ambrose of Bettendorf, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in biology and chemistry .

Tyler Brewer of Bettendorf, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in management .

Elisabeth Haager of Bettendorf, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in anthropology and environmental studies .

Alexander Heiselman of Bettendorf, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in management .

Zachary Jipp of Bettendorf, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in physical education and biology magna cum laude.

Paxton Molinari of Bettendorf, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in physical education .

Matthew Rubins of Bettendorf, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in computer science .

Kelsey Weindruch of Bettendorf, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in health .

Reece Rickertsen of Bryant, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in biology .

Charles Banta of Calamus, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in computer science .

Matthew Engelson of Clinton, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in music .

Haley Clark of Davenport, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in history .

Michael Crowe of Davenport, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in English cum laude.

Mitchell DeFauw of Davenport, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in English .

Nicole Woodson of Davenport, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in biology magna cum laude.

Abby Sandry of DeWitt, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in sociology cum laude.

Shari Huber of Eldridge, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in physical education summa cum laude.

Chelsea Weiss of Eldridge, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in biology and political science .

Gregory Daniels of Long Grove, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in biology summa cum laude.

Tyler Hagy of Muscatine, Iowa, received the bachelor of arts degree in music and theatre/dance .

Victoria Serra of Silvis, Ill., received the bachelor of arts degree in English .

Commencement speaker was Arne Sorenson, chairman of the Marriott Global Diversity and Inclusion Council.

Chingwei Mutombu, executive director and founder of First Step Initiative, was presented with the Luther College Young Alumni Award. This award recognizes outstanding achievement of Luther alumni in their vocation or avocation who have graduated in the last 15 years.

Charlie Bruer was awarded the Luther College Jenson Medal. Luther College's Jenson Medal is presented each year to an outstanding senior, selected by the graduating class, who best demonstrates the ideals of the college through service to students and the college community.

A national liberal arts college with an enrollment of 2,500, Luther offers an academic curriculum that leads to the bachelor of arts degree in 60 majors and pre-professional programs.

DECORAH, IA (05/07/2013)(readMedia)-- Forty-nine Luther students were inducted into the Luther chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa national academic honor society at a ceremony held Sunday, April 28 in the Noble Recital Hall on the Luther campus.

Nicole Woodson, a Luther senior of Davenport, Iowa, was one of the 49. Woodson is the daughter of Judy Woodson of Davenport. She is majoring in biology at Luther, and is a graduate of North High School.

Shari Huber, a Luther senior of Eldridge, Iowa, was one of the 49. Huber is the daughter of Barry and Lisa Huber of Eldridge. She is majoring in exercise science at Luther, and is a graduate of North Scott High School.

Greg Daniels, a Luther senior of Long Grove, Iowa, was one of the 49. Daniels is the son of Scott and Julie Daniels of Long Grove. He is majoring in biology at Luther, and is a graduate of North Scott High School.

Randa Duvick, department chair and professor of French at Valparaiso University, was introduced as an alumna member and delivered the Ruth A. Davis Memorial Lecture, titled "Truth, Metaphor and War Stories: Valuing the Liberal Arts and Sciences."

Duvick graduated from Luther in 1978 with majors in French and linguistics. She spent a year studying in Switzerland on a Fulbright Fellowship and then earned a master's and doctorate degree in French literature at the University of Chicago.

Duvick has been a faculty member at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind., since 1986 and just completed 12 years as chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature.

Her research has focused on 19th century French authors Arthur Rimbaud and Guy de Maupassant. Most recently, Duvick has been working on a project involving the French language account books of a 19th century Quebec fur trader who settled in Porter County, Ind., and has presented and published on the French heritage of the Midwest. Following a trip to Senegal last June, Duvick was inspired to turn more teaching and research on Francophone African topics.

The Memorial Lecture was given in honor of Ruth A. Davis, a member of the mathematics and computer science faculty at Luther until her death in 1983. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa from Illinois College in Jacksonville, Ill., she was instrumental in founding the Luther chapter as a charter member.

Davis held a master's degree in mathematics from George Peabody College and a master's degree in computer science from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. She was particularly interested in the roles of women in scientific fields.

Luther College is one of a select group of private liberal arts colleges in the United States with a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Each year, Luther honors outstanding seniors with selection to Phi Beta Kappa. Members are elected on the basis of broad cultural interests, scholarly achievement and good character.

Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and most respected undergraduate honors organization in the United States. The society has fostered and recognized excellence in the liberal arts and sciences since 1776, and the society's distinctive emblem, a golden key, is widely recognized as a symbol of academic achievement.

DECORAH, IA (02/27/2013)(readMedia)-- Michael Ehrecke of Davenport, Iowa will perform the eight major supporting roles in the Luther College Department for Visual and Performing Arts production of "On the Verge, or--the Geography of Yearning," a comedic tale of three Victorian women's trek through time.

Ehrecke, the son of Mark and Nancy Ehrecke of Davenport, Iowa, is majoring in theatre at Luther. He is a 2011 graduate of Davenport West High School.

Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. March 8, 9, 14 and 16 and at 9:30 p.m. Friday, March 15 with an additional matinee performance at 1:30 p.m. March 9. All performances will be held in the Jewel Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the Luther campus.

Tickets for the performance are $10 or free with a Luther I.D. and are available at the Luther Box Office, telephone (563) 387-1357 or boxoffice@luther.edu, open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9-10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Tuesday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. with extended hours on Thursdays 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

"On the Verge" by Eric Overmyer tells the story of three adventurous Victorian women who begin their journey in 1888, traveling through what seems like an unexplored land deemed "Terra Incognita." Through clues they discover along the way, the women realize Terra Icognita is actually a link to the future that leads them all the way to the strange era of the 1950's, a world filled with distasteful music and women who wear trousers.

The female leads encounter eight quirky characters in their journey, including the gentlemanly Mr. Coffee, the psychic Madame Nhu and a beatnik gorge troll. These eight characters are all played by the same actor to lend to the surrealism of the play.

The production is directed by Robert Larson, Luther professor of theatre.

The production is also made possible by collaboration with Lisa Lantz, Luther assistant professor of theatre, managing costume design and construction; Tom Berger, technical director of the theatre, managing scenic design and construction; and Jeff Dintaman, Luther professor of theatre, managing lighting for the performance.