Spotlight Series
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The Spotlight series this season offers a variety of entertainment you won’t want to miss, including family and childrens’ shows, dance, entertainers and comedians. And, as always, we’ll continue to add to our lineup, even as we get into the season, so become a subscriber and get first choice for the best seats in the house.
Simply Sinatra
Sunday, Oct. 24 @ 3 p.m. | Pricing
Step into the magical life of one of the world’s greatest entertainers. The incomparable Frank Sinatra interpreter Steve Lippia pays homage to this great icon, joined by a 16-piece Big Band live on stage. Lippia has performed with dozens of major symphonies to sold-out audiences across the country, and gained national recognition for his warm and engaging stage presence. And when Lippia begins to sing, you’ll think you’re listening to “The Chairman of the Board” himself. “So stop what you’re doing and head to the [theater]..., because he’s that good.”—New York Daily News.
ABBA MANIA
Friday, Nov. 5 @ 8 p.m. | Pricing
ABBA MANIA’ has been delighting audiences and selling out UK theatres since its formation in 1999. In 2010 the show continues to conquer the world touring New Zealand, Denmark, Spain, South Africa, Singapore, South Korea and Australia. If you’re looking for an excuse to party, reminisce or simply be entertained by the best music there has ever been, then ABBA MANIA is for you! Including: ‘Mamma Mia,’ ‘Voulez Vous,’ ‘Dancing Queen,’ ‘Winner Takes It All,’ ‘Super Trouper’ and many more.
Jazz Masters at Miller
With special guest Kurt Elling
Thursday, Nov. 11 @ 7:30 p.m. | Pricing
Kurt Elling is a multi-GRAMMY® award-winning Jazz artist. He has spent the past nine consecutive years at the top of the DownBeat Critics poll and the last four consecutive years winning the Jazz Times Readers’ poll. He has won five Jazz Journalists Association Awards for Best Male Vocalist and the Prix Billie Holliday from the Academie du Jazz in Paris. He will be performing with Western Michigan University’s Award-winning University Jazz Orchestra. The 17-member ensemble has received international acclaim for its high performance standards and creative approach to Big Band Jazz. Western Michigan University’s Gold Company will make a special appearance.
Last Comic Standing Live Tour
Saturday, Jan. 22 @ 8 p.m.| Pricing
Season 7 of Last Comic Standing premieres June 7 on NBC. The Emmy-nominated laugh-fest returns with an all new group of the world’s funniest comics. Watch the series this summer on NBC, then see the finalists perform live as the Last Comic Standing Live Tour appears at Miller Auditorium on January 22.
Russian National Ballet Theatre:
Chopiniana and
Romeo & Juliet
Sunday, Jan. 23 @ 3 p.m | Pricing
Artistic Director: Elena Radchenko The Russian National Ballet Theatre was founded in Moscow during the transitional period of Perestroika in the late 1980s, when many of the great dancers and choreographers of the Soviet Union’s ballet institutions were exercising their new-found creative freedom by starting new, vibrant companies. Today, the Russian National Ballet Theatre is its own institution, with over 50 dancers of singular instruction and vast experience, many of whom have been with the company since its inception. The Russian National Ballet Theatre will present the shorter piece, Chopiniana, prior to their performance of Romeo and Juliet.
DRUMLine Live
Friday, Feb. 4 @ 8 p.m. | Pricing
DRUMLine Live, a show-stopping attraction created by the music team behind 20th Century Fox’s hit movie DRUMLine, brings show-style marching bands to the theatrical stage. DRUMLine Live’s energetic cast has honed its precision and energy with years of training in marching band programs across the southern United States. This versatile group of musicians and dancers brings an explosive energy and athleticism to an eclectic mix of sounds. Equally at home with the hottest contemporary hip hop, R&B, classic Motown tunes, and the rousing sounds of the great brass tradition, DRUMLine Live is thrilled to share the American Marching Band experience with a wider audience
Gold Company
Rockin’ through the Years
Saturday, Feb. 12 | Times & Pricing
Director: Dr. Steve Zegree
Get ready to rock with the vocal superstars of Gold Company as they take on your favorite rock n’ roll hits! Fun for kids of all ages, this special performance features the comedy, choreography and showmanship that make this vocal group a hit with audiences. Widely recognized as one of the most successful and prestigious collegiate vocal groups in the world, they have appeared throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Join Gold Company and Dr. Steve Zegree as they return to the Miller stage for their 33rd annual show.
New Shanghai Circus
Saturday, Feb. 19 @ 8 p.m.| Pricing
Astonishing athletes defy gravity and execute breathtaking feats as they stretch the limits of human ability in this spellbinding show. Fearless performers with boundless energy bring you more than two thousand years of Chinese circus traditions. If it’s humanly possible—and even if it’s not!—Shanghai’s acrobats, jugglers and contortionists do it with spectacular flair.
Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance
Friday, Feb. 25 @ 8 p.m. | Pricing
Described by the New York Post as “fascinating, rewarding and above all, entertaining,” and by the Los Angeles Times as “a showpiece extravaganza,” Lord of the Dance is a mesmerizing blend of traditional and modern Celtic music and dance. The story is based upon mythical Irish folklore as Don Dorcha, Lord of Darkness, challenges the ethereal lord of light, the Lord of the Dance. Battle lines are drawn, passions ignite and a love story fueled by the dramatic leaps and turns of dancers’ bodies begins to build against a backdrop of Celtic rhythm. The action is played out over 21 scenes on a grand scale of precision dancing, dramatic music, colorful costumes and state-of-the-art staging and lighting.
Eileen Ivers—Beyond the Bog Road
Sunday, March 13 @ 3 p.m. | Pricing
An homage to the rich and tireless passage of the native Irish people, Eileen Ivers has created Beyond the Bog Road, an all-star assemblage of Irish and old time musicians, singers, champion step dancers and cloggers. Told through music, story, dance and an exquisite video design by this multimedia stage performance is the celebration of the Irish immigrant’s impact on America and America’s impact on the Irish immigrant. This is Eileen Ivers at her most expansive, a seminal work and a slice of Irish-American musical history told through Eileen’s signature passion and rootsy grace.
3 RedNeck Tenors
Saturday, March 26 @ 8 p.m. | Pricing
3 Redneck Tenors is the new hit show written and directed by opera star Matthew Lord and musical arrangements by award-winning composer Craig Bohmler. Follow the story of three yokels from Paris, Texas: Billy Bob, Billy Joe and Billy Billee who happen to have big-time operatic voices. An enterprising Colonel discovers the boys and guides them on the search for the perfect venue — all the way to the big-time destination of Carnegie Hall. Along the way, you’re treated to an incredible musical adventure packed with unbelievable tunes and of course, lots of laughs. It’s down home laughs, big city music!
David Sedaris
Tuesday, April 5 @ 7:30 p.m. | Pricing
With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today. The best-selling author of Me Talk Pretty One Day and When You are Engulfed in Flames, Sedaris’s original radio pieces can often be heard on This American Life, distributed nationally by Public Radio International and produced by WBEZ.
Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago
Wednesday, Apr. 20 @ 7:30 p.m. | Pricing
Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, the original jazz dance company, captivates audiences worldwide with dynamic performances and the diversity and wide appeal of its repertoire. Continually expanding the boundaries of jazz dance while diversifying the repertoire, GJDC’s new works have received critical and audience acclaim. Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago has a very active outreach and education program, including school performances in the Chicago metropolitan area, a residency with the Chicago Park District, and teaching residencies on many college campuses.
The Aluminum Show
Tuesday, May 3 @ 7 p.m. | Pricing
Aluminum is a new performance combining movement, dance and visual theater unique to the stage. Through the use of special effects, creative mechanisms and acrobatic dance, inanimate objects come to life with energy, emotion and even personality, as silver industrial materials create a luminous and reflective world. The concept for Aluminum had been churning in Ilan Azriel’s mind for a long time. With first-hand experimentation he mastered the avant-garde uses of these various materials. Throughout the process he was aided and assisted by Yuval Kedem, one of the leading experts in Israel for designing accessories and special effects.
Vick Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show
Sunday, May 8 @ 3 p.m. | Pricing
Special Mother’s Day Event
Emmy® Award winning comedienne Vicki Lawrence brings her famous character “Mama” to the stage for an afternoon that you will not soon forget. The hilarious character “Mama” was born from Vicki Lawrence’s successful run on The Carol Burnett Show and was spun off into her own hit series Mama’s Family. This Two-Woman Show is packed full of excitement and entertainment that includes music, comedy and, of course, observations about life through Mama’s eyes. The show explores the comedic side of life with family, friends and everyday events.
