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UB Center for the Arts announces 2012-13 season

by jmaloni

Shows include "American Idiot," Bruce Hornsby, Steve Vai, stars of "Modern Family"

Wed, Aug 1st 2012 01:25 pm

Tickets on sale Friday, Aug. 3

Press release

The Center for the Arts, University at Buffalo announces its 2012-13 season. Tickets for most events will go on sale Friday, Aug. 3, at 10 a.m.

The Center for the Arts is proud to announce that this season will feature two Broadway musicals - "American Idiot" and "Shrek The Musical." In its Western New York premiere, "American Idiot," based on the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum selling Green Day album of the same name, tells the story of three lifelong friends forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia. "Shrek The Musical" brings everyone's favorite swamp-dwelling ogre to the stage in a hilarious, irreverent romp. In the spring, the CFA will also present "The Acting Company in Of Mice and Men."

A number of musicians will also be performing at the center this fall. Bona fide living legend Glen Campbell will be stopping at the CFA on his "Goodbye Tour" featuring favorites from his 50-year career. Grammy-winning artist Bruce Hornsby will also be performing a solo set featuring popular favorites, new pieces, choice covers, and audience requests. Other fall concerts include: guitar virtuoso Steve Vai; Irish and world music group Clannad; and the WYRK Acoustic Show. In support of the center's ongoing "Arts in Healthcare Initiative," cellist Stephen Katz will spend two weeks as an artist-in-residence at Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo and Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and will give a special performance at the center.

Spring performances include the ultimate Elvis tribute, "Love Me Tender," as well as two of the world's most celebrated fiddlers, Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy in "Masters of the Fiddle." British a cappella group VOCES8 will perform in March.

This season will not be without its share of laughs. Returning by popular demand, Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood, stars of the Emmy-nominated "Whose Line Is It Anyway?", will team up to bring a night of extraordinary improvisational comedy driven completely by audience participation. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet, stars of ABC's "Modern Family," will perform as part of the University at Buffalo's "Homecoming Weekend."

The CFA is one of Western New York's premier sites for dance. This season's "M&T Bank Dance Series" features Pilobolus, an iconic and imaginative dance company now entering its 41st year, as well as Buffalo's own LehrerDance. Also returning will be "Back to Buffalo 4: UB Dance Alumni All-Star Concert," where noted UB dance alumni will give a benefit performance for the center's dance residency program.

New York City's Dance Theatre of Harlem and jazz-based contemporary dance company River North Dance Chicago will make their first visits to the CFA. The Russian National Ballet Theatre will round out the dance series with its performance of the timeless classic, "Swan Lake." And the holiday season would not be complete without the American Academy of Ballet's presentation of "The Nutcracker."

Buffalo's own Peter McGennis will premiere his latest film, "Queen City," at the center this fall. Shot entirely in Buffalo, "Queen City" celebrates the gritty struggle of two detectives and a jazz singer in the wake of the steel plant closings. The ensemble includes Grammy-winning and nominated talent including Susan Tedeschi, James Cotton, Sharon Jones and many more.

Following the premiere, there will be a performance by soul/funk sensation Jones, blues legends Cotton and Toni Lynn Washington, and surprise guests.

Each season, the Center for the Arts offers a number of unique cultural performances. Fall attractions will include: African percussionists Royal Drummers & Dancers of Burundi; the 72-piece National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba; kung fu masters Shaolin Warriors; and The National Circus of the People's Republic of China in "Cirque Chinois." In the spring, two of Britain's finest military regiments will perform in "Pipes & Drums of the Black Watch/Royal Band of Scots Guards." Surreal Swiss theater troupe Mummenschanz will perform in January 2013.

Tickets will be available at the Center Box Office (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Online and phone orders for events prior to Oct. 1 can be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations, including www.ticketmaster.com, or at 1-800-745-3000. For events Oct. 1 and later, tickets can be purchased at www.tickets.com or at 1-800-223-6000.

For more information, call 716-645-2787. For group sales, call 716-645-6771.

The Center for the Arts 2012-13 season includes:

  • Sept. 8-9: Green Day's "American Idiot"
  • Sept. 22: "Back to Buffalo 4: UB Dance Alumni All-Star Concert"
  • Sept. 22: Steve Vai
  • Sept. 23: Clannad
  • Sept. 26: Bruce Hornsby (solo)
  • Sept. 29: "Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood: Two Man Group"
  • Sept. 30: WYRK Fall Acoustic Concert
  • Oct. 6: LehrerDance
  • Oct. 13: Royal Drummers & Dancers of Burundi
  • Oct. 14: Stephen Katz
  • Oct. 20: Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet of "Modern Family"
  • Oct. 22: National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba
  • Oct. 24: Glen Campbell - "The Goodbye Tour"
  • Nov. 14: "Queen City" - film and music premiere
  • Nov. 15: "Bellydance Superstars: The Magic of Dance"
  • Nov. 17: Pilobolus
  • Nov. 20: The National Circus of the People's Republic of China in "Cirque Chinois"
  • Nov. 29: Shaolin Warriors
  • Dec. 8-9: American Academy of Ballet - "The Nutcracker"*
  • *Tickets on sale in September
  • Dec. 13-14: "Shrek The Musical"
  • Jan. 25, 2013: Mummenschanz
  • Feb. 2: "Pipes & Drums of the Black Watch/Royal Band of Scots Guards"
  • Feb. 6: Dance Theatre of Harlem
  • Feb. 8: "Love Me Tender: The Ultimate Elvis Bash"
  • Feb. 23: Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy - "Masters of the Fiddle"
  • Feb. 24: "The Acting Company in Of Mice and Men"
  • March 6: VOCES8
  • March 22: River North Dance Chicago
  • March 26: Russian National Ballet Theatre in "Swan Lake:

Website: www.ubcfa.org

 

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