By
Maggie Burnett
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Centennial Hall takes a worldly approach to the arts
This season at Centennial Hall, UApresents opens the curtain on a program that aims to take a more global approach to the arts.
More than 40 events, including Broadway shows, contemporary performance, chamber music, dance and jazz, will stop in Tucson. Here are just a few of the main attractions to move through Centennial Hall this season:
The Broadway hit Cabaret hits the main stage Sept. 19-24 to kick off the 2000/2001 season. Directed by Sam Mendes (Academy Award winner for "American Beauty"), and the winner of four 1998 Tony Awards, Cabaret brings the glamour and glitz of the renowned Kit Kat Club to Tucson.
In honor of Louis Armstrong's 100th birthday this year, 27-year-old Nicholas Payton, a Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter out of New Orleans, pays tribute to the great Satchmo in "Louis Armstrong Centennial," Oct. 7. Payton and an accompanying jazz band will perform hits from Armstrong's archives.
Although he has not performed in the area since 1997, classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma returns to Tucson to perform music inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach, his greatest influence. However, tickets will be hard to come by: the Oct. 12 performance is sold out.
On Oct. 20, Philip Glass, along with the Kronos Quartet, provides live accompaniment to the 1931 film classic "Dracula" in honor of the film's 70th anniversary. The music, composed by Glass and performed by Kronos, acts as the new score for a restored version of "Dracula" which will be shown in conjunction with the performance.
The internationally recognized percussion group STOMP returns to Centennial Hall Oct. 27-29. The eight-member percussion group boasts contemporary performance, using everything but traditional percussion instruments to create rhythmic music. Instruments used include anything from matchboxes to garbage cans to Zippo lighters.
In celebration of Brazil's 500th anniversary, Brazilian musician Ivan Lins, along with American musicians Ed Motta and Leila Pinheiro, take center stage in Brazil Night on Oct. 14. The presentation, backed by the Afro-Brazilian samba rhythms of Batacoto, includes sounds representing the country's fruitful heritage, such as samba, bossa nova and romantic pop traditions.
Ragtime, the four-time Tony Award winning musical, comes to Centennial Nov. 28-Dec. 3. Based on a best-selling novel, Ragtime is the story of three American families at the turn of the 20th century in search of freedom and opportunity in America.
Formed in 1968 by Walter J. Turnbull, The Boys Choir of Harlem has offered inner-city children a chance to turn their talent into successful international performance. Although its repertoire includes classical to popular songs, the choir will engage in a selection of music designed to ring in the holiday season in Tucson on Dec. 9 and 10.
After its Tucson debut in 1998, including record-breaking sales at the box office, Rent returns to Centennial Hall Jan. 16-21. Rent details the lives of more than a dozen young adults living in modern day New York. The Jonathan Larson musical has been honored with the Pulitzer Prize as well as multiple Tony Awards and continues to be a giant of Broadway Theater.
Pilobolus is not only the name of a fungus that grows in barnyards and pastures, it's the name of a dance company now in its 30th year of production. Pilobolus, coming to Centennial Jan. 26, is known for its unusual combination of humor and invention in its performance. The dance company, also performing with The Klezmatics on Jan. 27, was co-commissioned through the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.
The energized, rhythmic performance of Riverdance returns to Tucson Feb. 6-11. The internationally recognized dance company incorporates Irish music, song and dance in a two hour-long performance. Although three Riverdance companies tour the world, one company has been completely devoted to touring the United States, allowing the show to appear in thousands of cities nationwide.
Founded in 1989, the Moscow Festival Ballet combines classic ballet along with an independent new dance corps under the direction of Sergei Radchenko. On Feb. 15, the ballet, along with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, performs "Don Quixote," the romantic tale of the "knight" of la Mancha.
March 10 and 11, Moscow's men's a cappella choir Chorovaya Akademia performs various selections from their best-selling recording Ancient Echoes. The choir, directed and conducted by Alexander Sedov, is known for its performance of Russian Orthodox music of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Award-winning lesbian performance artist Lisa Kron brings her solo performance "2.5 Minute Ride" to Tucson March 23 and 24. Kron's performance represents a pilgrimage through time and space involving events such as the story of her brother's Internet marriage and her father's journey through Auschwitz.
The Tony-award winning musical Fosse, at Centennial March 27-April 1, highlights the work of dancer, choreographer and director Bob Fosse. Fosse has been behind such Broadway hits as Sweet Charity, Chicago, Dancin' as well as the films "Cabaret" and "All That Jazz."
For more information on these performances and others coming to Centennial Hall this season, call 621-3341.
