The Carpenter Performing Arts Center has announced its 15th anniversary season, filled with comedy, dance, intimate talks and music.
The 2009-10 season begins in September with An Evening with Brian Eno. Eno is one of the most prolific and diverse artistic innovators of our time. He is best known as the father of ambient music but came to prominence in the 1970s as the keyboard and synthesizer player for glam rock and art rock band Roxy Music. He has produced tracks for a wide variety of artists including David Bowie, Talking Heads, U2 and Coldplay, and his artistic influence continues to inspire musicians worldwide.
The Carpenter Center will present a Cajun celebration featuring BeauSoliel avec Michael Doucet and special guest Iris DeMent. Grammy winners BeauSoleil have claimed their undisputed role as the most esteemed Cajun group in music. From the Grand Ole Opry to Newport Folk, from concert halls to dance floors, the music of BeauSoleil continues to captivate audiences the world over. Featuring special guest American country/folk singer Iris DeMent.
The Cabaret Series kicks off in October with Allan Harris, three-time winner of New York’s Nightlife Award for “Outstanding Jazz Vocalist,” celebrating Nat King Cole with Long Live the King. The Cabaret Series is the Carpenter Center’s most unique and intimate series, with the audience seated at tables on the stage, and the series offers a pre-show dinner option. The series continues with Kevin Spirtas, of Broadway and Days of Our Lives fame, who offers a tour-de-force performance of Broadway and pop standards. Next up, television, film and Broadway star Christine Ebersole brings a potent combination of sophistication and talent to the stage. Rounding out the series is Hot Club of San Francisco performing Meet Me in Paris. The delicate, swinging rhythms played at breakneck speed by this French gypsy jazz band are joined by the equally compelling voice of Isabelle Fontaine.
The Spectacle Series launches in October with the return of the Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats. These acrobats from Peking combine daring and balance, explosive Kung Fu, brilliant costumes and the beauty of centuries-old tradition while making the impossible look easy. Next up is Aga-Boom clowns who spin circus wizardry. The series closes with Scrap Arts Music, featuring five athletic musicians who play more than 140 invented instruments.
The Wit & Wisdom Series gets underway with actress, author and columnist Joan Collins as she takes an irreverent look at the highs and lows of her rollercoaster career and life— from her early pin-up model days to her infamous you-love-to-hate-her role on television to working with some of the biggest names and movie legends in Hollywood. The series continues with NPR favorite Capitol Steps, a group of former congressional staffers who put the “mock” back in democracy with their up-to-the-minute political satire songs and parodies. They take potshots at the outrageous goings-on in Washington and other political hot spots while targeting Republicans, Democrats and anyone else that deserves it. Last up in the series is Tony- and Olivier Award-winning actor Roger Rees in What You Will. This hysterical (and somewhat historical) exploration of all things Shakespearean is the one-man everything there is “to be or not to be” about William Shakespeare: the greatest soliloquies ever written next to side-splitting accounts of the funniest disasters ever perpetrated on the stage.
October ushers in the Dance Series with Complexions Ballet with Desmond Richardson. Born in New York City and raised on U2, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Muddy Waters, this contemporary dance company literally rocks. From pointe to pop, Complexions ponders the human condition, coupling cutting edge music and choreography with the roots of classical dance. Next up in the series is Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, otherwise known as “The Trocks” — the world’s foremost all-male comic ballet company. These impossibly graceful ballerinas combine highly skilled displays en pointe with some of the funniest sights to see on a ballet stage. Finishing up the dance series is the Trey McIntyre Project. One of the most sought-after choreographers, McIntyre conjures up emotionally charged dances that defy categorization, set to musical scores ranging from Beethoven to The Beatles.
Series subscriptions, which include complimentary parking passes for each series performance, and single tickets are on sale now at the Carpenter Center’s Arts Ticket Office and can be purchased by calling (562) 985-7000 or by visiting www.CarpenterArts.org.
MORE INFORMATION
www.CarpenterArts.org
