UCA Public Appearances will present its 2010-2011 season of 20 events, divided into four series and one special event, in Reynolds Performance Hall on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas.
The season offerings are divided into the Broadway Series, the Nostalgia Series, A Night Out at Reynolds Series, the UCA Distinguished Lectures and a special event concert by LeAnn Rimes.
The Broadway Series includes The Three Phantoms with the Conway Symphony on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m., Forever Plaid on Monday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m., Cats on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m., Bus Stop on Monday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Legally Blonde on Thursday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m.
The Nostalgia Series features 1964 ~ The Tribute on Friday, Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m., Glen Campbell on Sunday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m., Rich Little on Friday, Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. and a performance by Blood, Sweat and Tears joined by The Buckinghams on Friday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m.
A Night Out at Reynolds Series opens with Cirque Shanghai: Bai Xi on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields orchestra with Jonathan Biss as piano soloist on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m., the Capella Russian Chorus on Friday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m., the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis on Monday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m., an Evening with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood on Saturday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. and the Russian National Ballet Theatre in Cinderella on Thursday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m.
The four speakers who will present the UCA Distinguished Lectures are Deborah Norville on Friday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m., Dave Barry on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m., Spike Lee on Monday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and Nicholas Sparks on Tuesday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m.
As a Special Event, country star LeAnn Rimes will present an acoustic concert on Sunday, Sept. 26, at 4 p.m. in support of her new, soon-to-be-released acoustic CD.
In 1977, at the age of 14, Rimes won a Grammy for Best New Artist and had a number one hit with “One Way Ticket.” Now, with 16 CDs, two Grammys and Academy of Country Music awards for Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Top New Female Vocalist, she is one of the hottest country artists in the world. At Reynolds, she will perform songs from her new acoustic CD.
Between them, Craig Schulman, Brad Little and Gary Mauer have logged a total of more than 8,000 performances, including more than 3,000 performances of Phantom of the Opera and 2,000 performances of Les Miz. Performing with the Conway Symphony Orchestra, the concert will feature songs from Les Misérables, Miss Saigon and The Phantom of the Opera, as well as duets and trios, all from the Broadway male repertoire.
Forever Plaid, the heavenly hit musical, has been delighting audiences for more than 20 years. Singing in delicious four-part harmony, the boys will serenade you with some of the 1950s greatest hits such as “Three Coins in the Fountain,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Chain Gang,” “Heart and Soul” and “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.”
One of the longest running shows in Broadway’s history, Cats has won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and features Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit song, “Memory.” This national tour production is sanctioned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, has toured five continents and 26 countries and been seen by more than eight and a half million audience members.
William Inge’s Bus Stop explores the perils of modern romance, showing that our lives are truly intertwined. Inge is one of the few playwrights are able to make the everyday universal and the commonplace the stuff of great theatre. Bus Stop was also adapted as a movie which starred Marilyn Monroe.
The hilarious MGM film Legally Blond, now a Broadway hit musical, follows sorority star Elle Woods, an underestimated blonde who doesn’t take “no” for an answer. The touring production has won âBest New Touring Musical,â âBest Design of a Touring Productionâ and âBest Choreography of a Touring Production.â
Since the early 1980s, 1964 ~ The Tribute has been thrilling audiences around the globe. Named the âBest Beatles Tribute on Earthâ by Rolling Stone, 1964 recreates an early â60s live Beatle concert with period instruments, clothing, hairstyles, and onstage banter with an accuracy that is unmatched.
A true living legend, Glen Campbell is best known for songs such as âBy The Time I Get To Phoenix,â âWichita Linemanâ and of course âRhinestone Cowboy.â He has recorded 51 studio albums, six live albums and three soundtracks, appeared in seven movies, had nine No. 1 singles, and is in the Country Music Hall of Fame. He will be joined by his daughter, Debbie Campbell.
Rich Little, singer, entertainer, comedian and impressionist, will bring us glimpses of everyone from Kermit the Frog to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jack Nicholson, and Clint Eastwood. He has recorded nine comedy albums and three HBO comedy specials, and Rich Little’s Christmas Carol won an Emmy.
In a concert featuring two of the 1960s and â70s favorite groups, the Buckinghams will open with some of their greatest hits, such as “Kind of a Drag, “Don’t You Care, “Mercy, Mercy” and “Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song).” Blood, Sweat & Tears’ hits include âSpinning Wheel,” “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” “When I Die” and âGod Bless The Child.â
Cirque Shanghai Bai Xi features awesome displays of physical strength, incredible feats of balance, graceful folkloric pageantry, fast paced contemporary dance, and energetic martial arts. In spectacular costumes, the performers are on the stage and high in the air, featuring state-of-the-art computerized lighting and beautiful orchestrations.
Known for its superlative performances and award-winning recordings, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields’ first-ever Arkansas performance collaborates with pianist Jonathan Biss on an all Mozart program. Since his New York Philharmonic debut in 2001, Biss has appeared with the foremost orchestras of the United States and Europe, and has proved himself an exceptional musician with a flourishing international reputation.
Founded in 1991 by conductor Valeri Polyansky, the State Symphony Capella of Russia chorus is the 50-voice professional chorus of the Russian State Symphony Orchestra. The Capella Chorus is known for its flawless vocal and choral technique, beautiful continuous sound, crystal-clear and precise intonation and unfailing attention to poetic words.
Hailed as “an extraordinarily versatile orchestra” by the Los Angeles Times, and “The finest big band in the world today,” by the Daily Telegraph, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is composed of 15 of jazz music’s leading soloists. Under the leadership of musical director and trumpet soloist Wynton Marsalis, their concerts are internationally critically-acclaimed.
Following the enormous success of ABC’s Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood have teamed up to present an evening of extraordinary improvisational comedy. Using their quick wit, Mochrie and Sherwood take contributions from the audience to create hilarious and original scenes.
The Russian National Ballet Theatre brings a company of 50 dancers, including a large corps de ballet and some of Russia’s finest soloists to present Prokofiev’s Cinderella. Combining some of Prokofiev’s most lyrical music with gorgeous costumes, the beautiful, lyrical dancing of Cinderella and her Prince, and the comedy of the stepmother and her ugly daughters, Cinderella is a delight for the whole family.
“Tough,â “savvy” and “a survivor” are among the words used to describe Deborah Norville, anchor of Inside Edition. Previously, she was with CBS News where she was a correspondent for Street Stories, 48 Hours, and co-anchor for America Tonight. A winner of two Emmys, she has also written three best-selling novels and two books for children.
Syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry was called âThe Funniest Man in Americaâ by the New York Times. His Pulitzer Prize-winning articles appear in more than 500 newspapers in the United States and abroad. Barry has also written 24 books, two of which were used as the basis for the CBS television sitcom Dave’s World.
Spike Lee is a writer, director, actor, producer and author who revolutionized the role of Black talent in cinema. Widely regarded as a premiere African-American filmmaker, he is perhaps best known for his epic drama Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington. Lee is also involved in documentaries, sports programs, and projects for cable and network television. His recent critically acclaimed documentary, When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts received two Emmy Awards.
Nicholas Sparks has written 14 books, has more than 50 million copies of his books in print, and is a New York Times No. 1 bestselling author. In all, six films based on his books have been released, two more are currently in production, and three of them, The Notebook, Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember, have grossed nearly $300 million.
Series tickets for the Broadway, Nostalgia and A Night Out in Reynolds series are now on sale at the UCA Ticket Central Box Office. Individual event tickets, including tickets for LeAnn Rimes and the UCA Distinguished Lectures, will go on sale beginning Aug. 17. For tickets, call (501) 450-3265 or toll free from anywhere in Arkansas, 1-866-810-0012, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. For online tickets, visit www.uca.edu/tickets.
For more information, call UCA Public Appearances at (501) 450-3682 or e-mail jerryb@uca.edu.
