UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Monday, June 3)—The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State’s 2013–14 line-up of 28 music, theater and dance presentations from around the world includes the touring Broadway musicals Memphis, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Bring it On: The Musical, West Side Story and Rock of Ages; singer-songwriters Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin together for an acoustic evening; and the third season of the Classical Music Project.
Tickets for the Center for the Performing Arts presentations — on stage September 2013 through April 2014 at Eisenhower and Schwab auditoriums and Pasquerilla Spiritual Center — go on sale June 10 to Center for the Performing Arts members, June 17 to last-season Choice series buyers, June 24 to new Choice (four or more center presentations purchased together) buyers plus groups of 15 or more and Aug. 12 to the general public. Tickets also go on sale for two Penn State School of Music featured concerts. Eligible patrons may purchase tickets by phone at 814-863-0255 or 1-800-ARTS-TIX, in person at Eisenhower or the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, or by mail-in order form. Visit www.cpa.psu.edu for complete details about the events or to download an order form.
The season opens Sept. 12 with Momix performing "Botanica," a 90-minute dance-theater work including more than 20 pieces that follow the cycle of seasons. Compagnie Käfig makes its Penn State debut Feb. 4 performing two works, "Correria" and "Agwa," which blend hip-hop and Brazilian influences. Moscow Festival Ballet performs "Swan Lake" March 20.
“We are thrilled to bring dance from all over the globe, representing many dance genres, to our stage,” said Amy Dupain Vashaw, audience and program development director of the Center for the Performing Arts.
The Classical Music Project features seven concerts plus free related activities. From the final parts (St. Lawrence String Quartet Oct. 9 and Brentano String Quartet Feb. 21) of a three-season presentation of the complete Beethoven string quartets and a dramatic rendering of five of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos ("Apollo’s Fire," The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, Nov. 7) to the American debut tour of a heralded Austrian ensemble (Vienna Concert-Verein Orchestra with German pianist Sebastian Knauer Feb. 6) and the sublime singing of a male vocal ensemble (Cantus April 1), the project brings a diverse roster of artists to central Pennsylvania audiences.
“I am very excited by our plans for the Classical Music Project in 2013 and 2014,” said George Trudeau, director of the Center for the Performing Arts. “The project will include a rich array of presentations that will include an interdisciplinary lecture series, classical coffeehouse programs with artists, master classes, lecture-demonstrations and an array of interactions with Penn State students. We’re very pleased to be expanding our partnership with Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts at Penn State Altoona to bring the American Brass Quintet and Cantus to our sister campus next season. The Classical Music Project website (www.cmp.psu.edu) will be continually updated with information on project events as they are confirmed.”
Three touring Broadway musicals make their Center for the Performing Arts premieres. Disney’s Beauty and Beast is on stage for two performances Feb. 25 and 26, the Tony Award-winning best musical Memphis arrives March 27 and Bring it On: The Musical comes April 17. A new adaptation of West Side Story, based on the recent Tony-winning Broadway revival, launches the musical theater offerings Nov. 19, and Rock of Ages returns Jan. 22.
Sutton Foster, one of Broadway’s brightest young stars, makes her Penn State debut in a Feb. 15 concert with her trio. Foster, who won Tonys for outstanding actress in the musicals Anything Goes and Thoroughly Modern Millie, has performed in 10 Broadway shows and stars in the ABC Family series Bunheads.
An Acoustic Evening with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin, on stage Oct. 19, features the friends performing material spanning their vast catalogues as well as some of their favorite songs by others.
Cirkopolis, the newest creation from Montreal’s Cirque Éloize, dives into a vibrant imaginary world and pushes the boundaries of visual and audio innovation Sept. 27. Dance, circus, music and theater meet in a scenic universe. The 12 performers shift between dream and reality in an uninterrupted stream of acrobatics, music and images.
Lovers of big band swing, jazz and pop are in for a pair of treats. Trumpeter Doc Severinsen, leader of The Tonight Show Band for a quarter century, brings his own orchestra Oct. 22. The Count Basie Orchestra, directed by Bill Hughes, returns April 3 in a concert featuring the Grammy Award-winning vocal group New York Voices.
The Center for the Performing Arts presents family entertainment, too. Yamato, a group of mixed-gender Japanese drummers, combine the energy of a rock ’n’ roll concert with samurai-serious percussion playing in a Nov. 12 concert. "Dinosaur Train Live!," a stage production based on a Jim Henson Company-produced PBS Kids program, embraces the fascination preschoolers have with both trains and dinosaurs. "ERTH’s Dinosaur Zoo," a performance featuring a cast of large-scale dinosaur puppets brought to “life” by sophisticated design, electronics and theatrical presentation, revives prehistoric times April 6.
For more information about becoming a Center for the Performing Arts member, contact Dave Shaffer, assistant director for special programs, at 814-863-1167 or DaveShaffer@psu.edu.