OPAS officials announced the events coming to the 2016-17 “Expect the Unexpected” season on Thursday, May 19. The lineup of performances to be presented from August 2016 to April 2017 as part of the 44th season includes six events on the Ann Cobb Wiatt Main Stage series, six on the Intimate Gatherings series, four Family Fun events and two Special Events; a concert by Lyle Lovett and His Large Band and a dinner cabaret at Miramont Country Club.
Season and single tickets are available at the MSC Box Office (979) 845-1234 or online at MSCOPAS.org. Season ticket packages offer savings opportunities off single ticket prices. Season ticket package buyers are seated before single ticket buyers. Unless noted otherwise, all events will be performed in the Rudder Theatre Complex at Texas A&M University in College Station.
Of the new season, OPAS Executive Director Anne Black states, “We are coming off of a truly unforgettable season that concluded last month with a sold out concert by Tony Bennett. As OPAS continues to grow and attract new audiences, our Program Advisory Committee worked hard to keep the wishes of our patrons in mind. Most notably, we are very excited about the larger family events coming to Aggieland this season. We put a special emphasis on identifying titles that would resonate with the family audiences that attended last fall’s sold out performances of Beauty And The Beast. We anticipate programs like Elf, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Aluminum Show will help us continue building family audiences and introducing young people to the performing arts. Those young people are our future!”
A team of community and student volunteers worked with Anne Black to select the performances on the 2016-17 season. This year’s Program Advisory Committee included Committee Chair Rod Thornton, Greg Anderson, Zou Cherry, Stacy Dill, Gina Flores, Anna Pendergrass, Taylor Rowland, Michael Wesson, Macy Hicks, Kayla Ray, Lisa Aldrich, Sue James and Melody Thompson.
The 2016-17 OPAS season will open in Rudder Auditorium with a special event concert by Lyle Lovett And His Large Band (August 27).
Matt Kopec (Buddy) in “Elf The Musical.” Photo by Joan Marcus
The Ann Cobb Wiatt Main Stage season will kick-off with the world’s best-selling magic show—The Illusionists: Live from Broadway (October 18 & 19). Fresh off its second run successful run on The Great White Way, The Illusionists will feature some of the most dazzling and inventive illusions ever seen on stage. Holiday hilarity will follow with the story of Buddy the Elf, a human raised by Santa’s elves who must find his way back to his New York family in Elf the Musical (November 9 & 10, sponsored by Aggieland Credit Union). Next up is the world’s top-selling jazz instrumentalist, Chris Botti Live in Concert (November 30, Sponsored by Allstate), who will perform jazz standards and holiday favorites. The next group of performers comes direct from Moscow, Russia. The Russian National Ballet Theatre (February 1), a troupe of over 40 dancers, will perform the full-length ballet Don Quixote. The Broadway mega-hit and multi-Tony Award winner Jersey Boys will play the Brazos Valley for a week of performances (February 22-26, sponsored locally by Tom & Mary Kirk of McGregor). Another Tony Award winning musical, Once (April 11 & 12), will close season. Once is the enchanting tale of a Dublin street musician who’s about to give up on his dream when a beautiful young woman takes a sudden interest in his haunting love songs. Season ticket packages for all six events start at $144. Single tickets to Lyle Lovett start at only $30.
The Intimate Gatherings series begins with a timely performance by political satirists and impersonators The Capitol Steps (October 13). As the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of World War II, L.A. Theatre Works tours one of the great courtroom dramas of the last century: Judgment at Nuremberg (November 15). Following is an equally historic performance event chronicling the uplifting ceasefire at Christmastime between the two warring factions of World War I in All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 (November 28). Next up is a performance by sisters Angella, Maria and Lucia – The Ahn Trio (January 26). The in-demand trio will play a program that celebrates the music of David Bowie, Prince, Pat Metheny, Jimi Hendrix, and more. The next presentation welcomes audiences to the apartment of Paul and Corie as they face the trials and tribulations of being newlyweds in Montana Repertory Theatre’s fiftieth anniversary production of Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park (March 2). The final Intimate Gatherings performance is the return of the hilarious Texas original play Greater Tuna (April 6) directed by Jaston Williams. All Intimate Gatherings events will begin at 7:30pm and will be performed in Rudder Theatre at Texas A&M. Most performances will include a Q&A with the artists following the performance. The Intimate Gatherings series is sponsored by Allstate—Jackie Voss, Exclusive Agent, Sterling Auto Group and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate—Jennifer Fredericks, Broker. Season tickets to all six events start at $215.
Aimee Louisanne and Triceratops at DINOSAUR ZOO LIVE. Photo by C. Waits.
Family members of all ages will enjoy the big events coming to the 2016-17 OPAS season as part of the OPAS Family Fun line-up. Sponsored by OPAS Encore! and Shenandoah Veterinary Clinic, the roster features four unique shows. The legacy of the beloved Mister Rogers lives on in the hit TV series now touring as Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live! (October 15). Blue Man Group meets Stomp in the energetic, futuristic sensory experience known as The Aluminum Show (October 23). The family fun continues with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: the Musical (November 20). The beloved TV classic has been adapted into a stage spectacle featuring all of your favorite characters, including Santa, Hermey the Elf, the Abominable Snow Monster and, of course, Rudolph. Rounding out the series is the ultimate play-date—Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo Live (February 12), a show allowing families to observe, meet and interact with a collection of astonishingly life-like dinosaurs in a theatrical performance that will thrill kids while stimulating their imagination. Regular tickets to OPAS Family Fun start at $25.
In addition to the number of events planned at Rudder Auditorium and Theatre for this season, OPAS will also present a special event at the Miramont Country Club (sponsored by Allstate—Jackie Voss, Exclusive Agent, Sterling Auto Group and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate—Jennifer Fredericks, Broker). Sing in the holidays with Christmas with Rockapella (December 2-4), the originators of the astonishing full-band sound of “contemporary” a cappella. All tickets to this special event include a 3-course meal at Miramont Country Club and are $100 each.
OPAS programs are made possible in part through Hotel Tax Revenue funded from the City of College Station and the City of Bryan through the Arts Council of Brazos Valley.
For more information about all of the events coming to the new OPAS season, please visit www.MSCOPAS.org.
