Brahms on the program Feb. 6 at BU

The Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico will perform Brahms' First Symphony in C minor Friday, Feb. 6, at 8 pm at Bloomsburg University's Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for children and BU students.

Performing for more than 40 years, Orquesta Sinfonica del Estada has moved audiences around the globe with classical and contemporary music from Mexico and Spain. Led by conductor Enrique Batiz, the orchestra has been recognized for having the broadest repertoire of any philharmonic in Mexico.

Their performance at BU is part of their second U.S. tour and will feature the symphonies of Brahms and include piano soloist, Irina Chistiakova, playing Manuel Ponce’s piano concerto, “Romantic.” The orchestra will also perform Alexander Borodin's Polovtsian Dances.

Upcoming BU Celebrity Artist Series productions include:

• Tango Buenos Aires, a journey through dance and music from Argentina – Saturday, Feb. 21, 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets $30. 
• “Jekyll & Hyde,” the dazzling and dark national Broadway tour – Sunday, March 29, 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $45. 
• Take 6, six voices combine to form the most awarded a cappella group in history – Thursday, April 2, 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $30. 
• Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem, American Spiritual, 150 years of American music in one event – Friday, April 17, 7:30 p.m. in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. Tickets $25. 

For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/cas or www.cas.buzz or call the box office at 570-389-4409.

American Idiot coming to BU

American Idiot, The National Broadway Tour will come to Bloomsburg University on Friday, March 7, at 8 p.m. Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts. Tickets are $45 for adults, $22 child/BU student. The show is part of Bloomsburg's Celebrity Artist Series.

Green Day’s multi-platinum album “American Idiot,” exploded on the punk rock music scene in 2004 selling over 12 million copies to become one of the best-selling albums of all time and winning the Grammy for Rock Album of the Year.

In 2010 one of Broadway’s most accomplished creative teams, led by Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), two-time Tony Award-winning composer and orchestrator Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) and Olivier Award-winning choreographer Steven Hoggett (Black Watch), brought the rock opera to the Broadway stage in this tale of three lifelong friends: one who will fight for his dreams, one who will fight for his country and one who will stay behind frozen in the safety of suburbia. The show has been described as “FLAT OUT ELECTRIFYING” by the Boston Globe and “UNBRIDLED ROCK ENERGY” by the San Francisco Chronicle. American Idiot Contains Adult Content and Strong Language Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong never thought he would end up producing a Broadway musical. It is a long way from mosh pits and singing to thousands of punk rock fans in stadiums around the world. So when Tony Award winning director, Michael Mayer, suggested turning Green Day’s multi-platinum selling album, “American Idiot,” into a staged musical, something magical was bound to happen.

 American Idiot Contains Adult Content and Strong Language

See a making of American Idiot movie

In support of the March 7 presentation of American Idiot as part of the next Celebrity Artist Series, a documentary — the making of Broadway’s American Idiot — will be shown at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, at 7 pm,  in the newly renovated Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. The film, which is open free to the public, chronicles the momentous collaboration between rock and roll icons, Green Day and the “Great White Way” to turn the mega hit, Platinum selling album, American Idiot into a staged Broadway musical. 

Miscellanea: See the movie, meet the writer ...

Being Flynn, a film based on writer Nick Flynn's memoir, "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City,” will be shown Monday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 pm in BU’s McCormick Center, room 2303. The event is free and open to public. Flynn will visit campus on Wednesday, March 5, as part of the Big Dog Reading Series. The film stars Robert DeNiro, Paul Dano and Julianne Moore. The screening is open to the public free of charge, sponsored by BU’s English department.

 *** 

Sue O’Donnell, associate professor of digital art at BU, will explore the tangible nature of memory in her lecture, “Collective Memory,” on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 4:30 p.m. in the Warren Student Services Center, room 004. The lecture is based on O’Donnell’s book, “Collective Memory: Recollections from 203 West Main Street Bloomsburg, PA: a Workbook,” published in 2012. The book centers on the Moose Exchange, a well-known community center in downtown Bloomsburg that received heavy damage from a fire on Jan. 30. When O’Donnell rented studio space in the Moose Exchange, she heard people reminiscing over their times in the building for proms, weddings and holiday parties. O’Donnell collaborated with various community members to get those memories published.

 *** 

The Sundance Film Festival award-winning documentary Inequality for All Thursday, Feb. 20, from 5 to 6:30 pm in the McCormick Center for the Humanities, room 1303. A panel of university faculty will discuss the problems of economic inequality at 4 p.m. in McCormick Center, room 1316. The event is free and open to the public.

*** 

Student artwork will be exhibited in BU's Haas Gallery from Feb. 22 to March 6. On Feb. 27, a reception for the Student Art Show will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the gallery. The exhibit and reception are open to the public free of charge. The Haas Gallery of Art is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from noon until 2 p.m. Saturday. The gallery is closed Sundays and university holidays.

 *** 

The Bloomsburg University Players will present The 24 Hour Plays on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 7:30 pm in the Alvina Krause Theater, 226 Center St., Bloomsburg. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for seniors and students from other schools. Advance tickets are available at the Haas Box Office at 570-389-4340.

*** 

BU's Celebrity Artist Series will present Christopher O’Riley, who will perform his solo show, Out of My Hands, Saturday, Feb. 22, at 8 pm in Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium, Carver Hall. O'Riley is the host of the weekly National Public Radio program From the Top and is known for his piano arrangements of songs by alternative artists such as Radiohead and Nick Drake. Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for children and BU students. For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/cas or call the box office at 570-389-4409.

The season for holiday concerts and shows

Students Tyler Knipe and Alex Link will present a guitar recital Monday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 pm at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 123 N. Market St. The event is free and open to the public.

***

Though not strictly holiday-related — An evening of 10-minute plays, projects directed by Bloomsburg University students, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, in the Theatre Lab, Bookstore Annex. The event is free and open to the public.

***

The fall concert by Bloomsburg University’s Jazz Ensemble will be held Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 7 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information about the Jazz Ensemble, contact Stephen Clickard, chair of music, theatre and dance, at sclickar@bloomu.edu.

***

Bloomsburg University’s Guitar Ensemble will perform Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 7 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Admission is free.

***

The Carols by Candlelight Concert featuring Bloomsburg University’s Concert Choir, Husky Singers and Women’s Choral Ensemble will be presented Thursday, Dec. 5, and Friday, Dec. 6,at 7:30 pm at the First Presbyterian Church, 345 Market St., Bloomsburg. Admission is free but tickets are required, and available at Bloomsburg University’s Mitrani Hall box office, 570-389-4409.

***

An evening of one-act plays directed by Bloomsburg University students, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, in the Theatre Lab, Bookstore Annex. The event is free and open to the public.

***

BU’s Celebrity Artist Series kicks off the holiday season with a jazz performance, Christmas with Sara Gazarek, Friday, Dec. 6, at 8 pm in Bloomsburg University’s Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets for the Celebrity Artist Series show are $30 for regular admission and $15 for BU students and children. For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/cas or call the box office at 570-389-4409.

***

The Jubilate Choir and Orchestra will hold a holiday concert Saturday, Dec. 7, at 7 pm and Sunday, Dec. 8, at 3 pm at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 123 N. Market St. The concerts by the 70-member choir and 30-member orchestra are free and open to the public.

***

A Tuba Christmas will be presented Saturday, Dec. 7, at 3 pm in Bloomsburg University’s Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Musicians who wish to perform may pre-register by calling 570-389-4284. Open registration will begin at noon, with rehearsal at 1 p.m.

The Graduate comes to Haas Center

The play is called "The Graduate" ... though in my mind I always think Mrs. Robinson after the Simon and Garfunkel song. This Friday, Nov. 15, L.A. Theatre Works brings cult favorite “The Graduate” to life at 8 p.m. at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania’s Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

Tickets for the Celebrity Artist Series show are $35 for general admission and $17 for BU students and children.

Reviewer Caroline Sposto of Broadway World praises the new production for “the skillful use of an innovative genre bolstered by deft direction, peerless performances and spellbinding sound design. “Their reprisal of this classic is a fascinating hybrid — radio production meets stage production — that unfailingly delivers the best of both. The actors appear in costume and are physically suited to their roles, but they perform with minimal staging. Live manual sound effects replace props and there are no sets per se. As a result, vocal nuances, full-on facial expressions and solid literary writing carry the fast-paced performance.”

 From novel to big screen, the film received multiple Academy Award nominations and remains one of the top-grossing films. L.A. Theatre Works, known for the spontaneity of its live performances, takes “The Graduate” to stage embodying character favorites Mrs. Robinson, Benjamin, Elaine and other. Based on Charles Webb’s novel, this production coincides with the 50th anniversary of its publication. 

Get ready to see some dance and song

Bloomsburg University's Celebrity Artist Series is bringing "Dancing with the Stars," "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance?" finalists to campus on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 8 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets are $45 for adults and $22 for children and BU students.

The show "Ballroom With A Twist" is an evening of entertainment for the entire family highlighted by stunning costumes, fantastic music and breathtaking performances, directed and choreographed by international world champion, Emmy nominated, “Dancing With the Stars” Louis van Amstel. This show will feature dancers Chelsie Hightower and Dmitry Chaplin.

And several of favorite “American Idol” finalists will join the bill with their powerhouse hit songs. If you love watching the cha-cha rattle on the television screen, getting up close and live beneath the fringe and sequins is a whole other ballgame you will want to experience.

Upcoming shows include:

• Nov .15 — The Graduate 
• Dec. 6 — Sara Gazarek 
• Feb. 7 — Project Trio Feb. 22 — Christopher O’Riley 
• March 7 — American Idiot 
• March 29 — Swan Lake 
• April 13 — Pedrito Martinez

A parade, a merchant and Motown

Bloomsburg School District and Bloomsburg University will celebrate Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 12. The parade begins at 11 a.m. parade on Lightstreet, then on to Main and Market streets to Town Park. This year’s homecoming theme is Nashville music City, U.S.A.

*** 

The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble is staging Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice through Oct. 20. Director Andrew Hubatsek sets the play in a kind of gangster milieu.

***

A reception for artist Sage Dawson will be held from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, in Bloomsburg University’s Haas Gallery of Art. Dawson will lecture at 3 p.m. For information, contact Scott Roper, sroper@bloomu.edu.

***

Motown and More, featuring Souled Out, will perform Friday, Oct. 11, at  8 p.m. in Bloomsburg University’s Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall as part of the Celebrity Artist Series. Reproducing the classic sounds of the ’70s soul era, the group will perform hits from Motown and soul legends including Earth, Wind & Fire, the Commodores and Tower of Power. Tickets are $35 for regular admission and $17 for BU students and children. For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/CAS or call the box office at 570-389-4409.

Music? Dance? Both. Nai-Ni Chen and the Ahn Trio

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and the Ahn Trio will a dynamic collaboration of music and dance in “The Temptation of the Muses"on on Saturday, May 11, at 8 p.m. in BU's Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.   Tickets cost $34.50 for adults, $19.50 for children and $17 for BU students.

Nai-Ni Chen is an established Asian-American choreographer who melds the freedom of modern American dance with the discipline of Chinese classical arts. She has taught master classes throughout the U.S. and at dance festivals in Poland, Taiwan, China and Russia.

The Ahn sisters have performed at BU several times. Angela, Maria and Lucia Ahn were born in Korea. Educated at the Julliard School, the Ahns reflect both cultures – U.S. and Korean. Unlike most musicians in the pit of the theatre, the Ahn Trio interacts with the dancers on stage for a partnership of dance and music.

The selections planned for the BU performance will include compositions by Kenji Bunch, David Balakrishnan, Pat Metheny, Ronn Yedidia and an arrangement of The Door's "Riders on the Storm."

“They’re used to practicing to recorded music and expect the same tempos and cadences,” said Angela Ahn. “As we get to know each other more, the dancers can be more free and we can, too.

For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/cas or call the box office at (570) 389-4409.

The performance, the final program in BU’s 2012-13 Celebrity Artist Series, is supported Barbara and Michael Hudock, Hudock Moyer Wealth Management, and the Woodcock Foundation for the Appreciation of the Arts.

Grammy winner Kathy Mattea to perform at BU Friday

This is a treat for country music fans. 

Triple Grammy Award winner Kathy Mattea will perform Friday, April 26, at 8 pm in BU's Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.  Tickets cost $34.50 for adults, $19.50 for children and $17 for BU students.

At about 1,700 seats, Haas is a pretty intimate setting to see a show by a major performer for $35 a ticket.

Mattea will play songs from her most recent album, “Calling Me Home,” and her hits, including “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses” and Grammy Award-winning “Where’ve You Been.”

More info about the Friday evening show at www.bloomu.edu/CAS or call the Haas Center Box Office, (570) 389-4409.

Mattea also will deliver the keynote address for BU’s 22nd annual Health Sciences Symposium and Wellness Fair, The Healing Power of the Arts, at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 25, in Mitrani Hall, followed by a workshop, The Positive Effects of Music in the Health Field, at 9 a.m. Friday, April 26, in Kehr Union, Ballroom. Both Mattea’s Thursday evening keynote address and Friday workshop are free and open to the public.

Folk/pop charmers to play Carver

In the market for some low-key folk/pop? Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther of the group Dala will perform Friday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. at BU's Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium.

The duo has been nominated for a JUNO Canadian Music Award and were winners of the Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year. They're toured North America, performing at the New Orleans Jazz Festival and California’s Strawberry Festival and Mariposa.

Tickets for the Celebrity Artist Series show in the fairly intimate Gross Auditorium are $29.50 for adults, $16.50 for children, and $14 for BU students.

For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/CAS or call the box office at (570) 389-4409.

Upcoming Celebrity Artist Series shows include:

• Kathy Mattea – Friday, April 26, at 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 
• Nai-Ni Chen with the Ahn Trio – Saturday, May 11, at 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 

And now for something completely silly ...

The National Broadway Tour of Monty Python’s “Spamalot” will appear Friday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania’s Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

Tickets for the Celebrity Artist Series presentation cost $34.50 for adults, $19.50 for children and $17 for BU students. Based on the work of Eric Idle, Mike Nichols and John Du Prez, the theater production won a Tony Award for Best Musical in 2005. With a plot ripped from the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table encounter dozens of bizarre obstacles, including the taunting Frenchmen and an over-zealous dead body removal service.

Between the outrageous antics and absurd-yet-catchy songs, the Sunday Times says the show “[raised] silliness to an art form.”

Upcoming productions for BU’s Celebrity Artist Series’ 2012-13 season include:

• Luciana Souza – Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. Tickets: $29.50 
• DALA – Friday, April 5, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. Tickets: $29.50
• Kathy Mattea – Friday, April 26, 2013, at 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 
• Nai-Ni Chen with the Ahn Trio – Saturday, May 11, 2013, at 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 

 For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/cas or call the box office at (570) 389-4409.

What I want to know is how they'll handle the "Black Knight" scene on a stage. — EGF

A Grammy nominee in Carver this spring

Upcoming Celebrity Artist Series performer Luciana Souza has been nominated for two Grammys —for best Jazz Vocal Album for The Book of Chet  and for best Latin Jazz Album for Brazillian Duos III.

Souza — who performed with Herbie Hancock on his Grammy winning record, River – The Joni Letters — will play BU on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. Tickets are  $29.50 for adults, $16.50 for children and $14 for BU students. At Bloomsburg she will perform with longstanding collaborator, Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo.

Souza, a studio vet by 16, earned a BA in jazz composition from Boston’s Berklee College of Music, where she also spent four years on the faculty; an MA in jazz studies from the New England Conservatory of Music; and had a four-year teaching stint at the Manhattan School of Music.

The video below catches her in a distinctly mellow mood.

Get the '60s feeling

The Midtown Men, four stars from the original Broadway cast of Jersey Boys, will perform at Bloomsburg University on Sunday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hal. The show is part of the Celebrity Artist Series.
 
Tickets cost $34.50 for adults, $19.50 for children and $17 for BU students. The quartet — Tony Award-winner Christian Hoff, Tony Award-nominee J. Robert Spencer, Michael Longoria and Daniel Reichard — have given more than a thousand performances together on stage and on TV programs, including “The Today Show,” “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve.” 

Upcoming Celebrity Artist Series’ shows are:

• Monty Python’s “Spamalot,” Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, 8 p.m., Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 
• Luciana Souza, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013, 7:30 p.m., in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. Tickets: $29.50 
• DALA, Friday, April 5, 2013, 7:30 p.m., Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. Tickets: $29.50 
• Kathy Mattea, Friday, April 26, 2013, 8 p.m., Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 
• Nai-Ni Chen (Dance) with the Ahn Trio, Saturday, May 11, 2013, 8 p.m., Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 

For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/cas or call the box office at (570) 389-4409. This production is not a performance of or associated with Jersey Boys.

Koresh Dance Company coming to BU Saturday

The Koresh Dance Company will perform at Bloomsburg University on Saturday, Oct. 20, at 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

This production is part of the 27th season of BU’s Celebrity Artist Series. Tickets cost $34.50 for adults, $19.50 for children and $17 for BU students.

Brothers Alon and Ronen Koresh founded the Philadelphia-based company in 1991. Both are still involved in the troupe, with Ronen serving as artistic director and choreographer and Alon acting as executive director. Ronen has been dancing since childhood, when he began training with his mother, a folk dancer. He continued to study dance and work with artists both in Israel and the United States, eventually winning a People’s Choice Award in 1987 for Philadelphia’s Most Outstanding Jazz Dancer. His eclectic background has allowed him to blend several dance styles such as ballet, modern and jazz that the Philadelphia Inquirer described as “liquidly sensual.”

Koresh Dance Company has a repertoire of more than 60 works and has been featured in numerous publications. Ronen has received multi-year choreography fellowships from organizations such as the Pew Charitable Trusts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and Philadelphia College of Performing Arts. In addition to teaching dance classes, the company holds outreach programs for underserved children and public schools in the Philadelphia area. 

Future shows in Celebrity Artist Series’ 2012-13 season include:

• Cirque Chinois – Friday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 
• The Midtown Men – Sunday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 M
• Monty Python’s “Spamalot” – Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, at 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 
• Luciana Souza – Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. Tickets: $29.50 
• DALA – Friday, April 5, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. Tickets: $29.50 Kathy Mattea – Friday, April 26, 2013, at 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 
• Nai-Ni Chen with the Ahn Trio – Saturday, May 11, 2013, at 8 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets: $34.50 

For tickets or more information, visit www.bloomu.edu/cas or call the box office at (570) 389-4409.

Miscellanea: Culture on campus

Painting Exhibit 
Painter Kay Knight will exhibit her work September 14 through October 19 in Bloomsburg University’s Haas Gallery of Art. There will be an artist's reception Thursday, Oct. 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with gallery talks at 11:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Reminder: Vaudeville silliness 
The Handsome Little Devils present “Squirm Burpee" at Bloomsburg University on Saturday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. General admission tickets for the show are $34.50. For information, call (570) 389-4409. The show is part of the Celebrity Artist Series.

Films from afar 
The French film “Sarah’s Key” will be shown Thursday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. in McCormick Center, room 2303, as part of a series sponsored by the Gender Studies Minor, Department of English and College of Liberal Arts. Admission is free.

Get your tickets early. Some of these may sell out.

Bloomsburg University has announced its 2012-2013 Celebrity Artist Series season with a set of shows that range from modern dance to Monty Python.

Some of these shows will likely sell out ... Spamalot, Kathy Mattea in particular. So if you're going to get tickets ... sooner rather than later would be a good idea. A few will likely be near sellouts ... The Midtown Men comes to mind ... the chinese circus too. Fact: almost all of the seats in Haas Auditorium are pretty good ... but if you want the best seats, where you can see the dancers and performers glistening ... get your tickets early.

First show in the series is Squirm Burpee by a troupe that calls itself the Handsome Little Devils.
(In the 8 to 5, I do a lot of the promotional materials for the series, and  initially I had a tough time wrapping my head around what the show was ... the more I looked into it the cooler it seems. I have an 8-year-old and I think she might dig this. — EGF.)  Looks like we should expect comedy, juggling, song, dance and a plot with a Snidely Whiplash type character — Baron Vegan von Hamburger. Satisfyingly silly.

This is set for BU's Parents' Weekend, Saturday, Sept. 15, ... so tickets will get scarce if you wait. Showtime is 7 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets run. $34.50/$19.50 Child/$17 BU student. Details from BU.

The rest of the series.

• Saturday, October 20 — Koresh Dance Company, 8 p.m.
• Friday, November 16 — Cirque Chinois, 8 p.m.
• Sunday, December 9 — The Midtown Men, 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, February 8 — Monty Python’s Spamalot, 8 p.m.
• Sunday, February 17— Luciana Souza, 7:30 p.m. (Carver Hall's Gross Auditorium)
• Friday, April 5 — DALA, 7:30 p.m. (Carver Hall's Gross Auditorium)
• Friday, April 26 — Kathy Mattea, 8 p.m.
• Saturday, May 11 — Nai-Ni Chen with the Ahn Trio, 8 p.m.

Spamalot and Mattea will be big sellers. Luciana Souza is a Brazilian superstar and DALA is a upcoming Canadian folk duo ... the venue for those is Carver Hall's Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. It's a beautiful and intimate setting. I've been told that Koresh is known for the striking athleticism of their work. The Ahn Trio has been to Bloomsburg a number of times. I have some of their discs and they really bring an both a perspective to classical music that's both fresh and approachable ... they have a really elegant take on the Doors (looks like authentic cell-phone video from a show with decent quality). This time, they're performing with a dance troupe ... different. I'm not a Broadway guy so I don't know anything about Midtown Men or the Cirque Chinois at this point. — EFG.

In a mood for jazz

Jazz musicians Grace Kelly and Phil Woods will perform Friday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Bloomsburg University’s Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

Along with the Grace Kelly Quintet, Kelly and Woods will perform selections from their saxophone duet album, “Man with the Hat.” This is Kelly’s sixth release since she was 12 years old. Now 20, she has been praised by jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis as having “intelligence, wit and feeling.” Woods, age 80, is a veteran jazz musician who received the 2011 Jazz Legacy Award from the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF). This performance is supported in part by the Jazz Touring Network, a program of MAAF, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tickets are $34.50 for adults and $19.50 for children. For information or tickets, www.bloomu.edu/CAS or call (570) 389-4409. Kelly and Woods also will take part in BU’s annual jazz festival for middle and high school jazz ensembles. A free public performance will be presented Friday, April 13, at noon in Mitrani Hall.

This concert is the final show in the 2011-12 season of BU’s Celebrity Artist Series.

A final tour for a modern master

In dance circles Desmond Richardson is famous. Very.

And residents of the area will have the opportunity to see him perform in hist last tour as a principal dancer on Saturday.

Richardson and  Complexions Contemporary Ballet will be on stage Bloomsburg University on Saturday, March 31, at 8 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

Tickets are $34.50 for adults and $19.50 for children.

Complexions debuted in 1994 under the direction of Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson. With appearances on “So You Think You Can Dance” in both the United States and Australia, the company works to remove the boundaries of dance by combining many styles and periods of the art, echoing the constant movement of our world.

The Complexions show is part of the university's Celebrity Artist Series. The final show for the 2011-2012 season is a concert featuring jazz artists Grace Kelly and Phil Woods on Friday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. also in Mitrani Hall. General admission tickets are $34.50. The box office number is (570) 389-4409.

If I was into dance (check that box) and free that night (unfortunately no), I would be sure to see this. (I still regret no seeing B.B. King at Penn State when I was a student). — EGF.

The Color Purple

The national Broadway tour of the musical, “The Color Purple,” will be at the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall, Saturday, Feb. 18, at 8 p.m. as part of the Celebrity Artist Series.

The show, which honors Women’s History and Black History months, is part of BU’s Celebrity Artist Series. Tickets are $34.50 for adults and $19.50 for children.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, “The Color Purple” follows the experiences of Celie, a young black girl living in the southern United States during the early 20th century. Celie suffers years of abuse at the hands of her father, who then sends her away to marry a cruel man. By telling her story, Celie shares the struggles of her sister and other strong women close to her. Entrepreneur and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, who played Sofia in the 1985 film adaptation, transformed this tale into a stage musical which opened in 2005. The soundtrack features blues, gospel, jazz and ragtime numbers. The stage performance has received a Tony award and a Grammy nomination.

 Upcoming events are:

• Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Saturday, March 31, at 8 p.m. Tickets: $34.50. 
• Jazz musicians Grace Kelly and Phil Woods, Friday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $34.50. 

For additional information, visit www.bloomu.edu/CAS or call (570) 389-4409.

Classics for Friday

Check out a sampling of classical music from different eras Friday, Feb. 10, when the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra performs at Bloomsburg University. Showtime for the Celebrity Artist Series show is 7:30 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

Tickets are $34.50 for adults and $19.50 for children, a comparative bargain to see a professional orchestra with dozens of players. And maybe not a bad early Valentine's Day gift.

The program includes classical, romantic and modern pieces:

• Symphony No. 78 in C Minor by Joseph Haydn 
• Concerto for Seven Wind Instruments, Timpani, Percussion and Strings, by Frank Martin
• Overture to La Scala di Seta (The Silken Ladder) by Gioacchino Rossini
• Pulcinella Suite for small orchestra by Igor Stravinsky

Founded in 1991, the PVCO is composed of musicians from the East Coast, primarily the Philadelphia area. The performance is supported in part by the Pennsylvania Performing Artists on Tour. PennPAT is a program of the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, which is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Upcoming events in the 2011–2012 season of the Celebrity Artist Series, all in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall, are:

• The National Broadway tour of the musical “The Color Purple,” Saturday, Feb. 18, at 8 p.m. Tickets: $34.50. 
• Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Saturday, March 31, at 8 p.m. Tickets: $34.50. 
• Jazz musicians Grace Kelly and Phil Woods, Friday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $34.50.