The “Steppin’ Out” season includes two recent Tony Award® Winning Best Musicals (Kinky Boots, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder), the national tours of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz, Chicago, as well as performances by illusionist Adam Trent, humorist Jeanne Robertson, The SteelDrivers and The Beach Boys!
OPAS officials announced the events coming to the 2017-18 “Steppin’ Out” season on Tuesday, May 30. The lineup of performances to be presented from September 2017 to April 2018 as part of the 45th season includes seven events on the Ann Cobb Wiatt Main Stage series, six events on the Intimate Gatherings series, and two Special Events.
Season and priority single tickets are available now at the MSC Box Office (979)-845-1234 or online at MSCOPAS.org. Season ticket packages offer savings opportunities ranging from 10-15% off single ticket prices. Tickets to The Beach Boys concert on Oct. 13 are available for Main Stage package buyers. Single tickets for that concert will go on sale on Thursday, Aug. 3 at 7pm. Season ticket package buyers are seated before single ticket buyers. All events will be performed in the Rudder Theatre Complex at Texas A&M University in College Station.
A team of community and Texas A&M University student volunteers worked with Anne Black to select the performances on the 2017-18 season. This year’s Program Advisory Committee included Committee Chair Zou Cherry, Aricka Anderson, Bonnie Denny, Jay Granberry, Emily Hall, Jeanie House, Sue James, Jerome Rektorik, Brie Snider, Shelby Sarradet, Jaime Grunlan and Kerry Beck.
The Ann Cobb Wiatt Main Stage will open with Broadway’s huge-hearted, high-heeled Tony Award-winning best musical hit featuring songs by pop icon Cyndi Lauper—Kinky Boots (Sept. 26 & 27). Family audiences are invited to an immersive entertainment extravaganza of magic, comedy and music when The Illusionists present: Adam Trent (Nov. 7 & 8). Holiday family fun and high-kicking chorus girls follow with one of the most delightful and enchanting Christmas shows ever Christmas Wonderland Holiday Spectacular (Nov. 28 & 29, sponsored by Tom & Mary Kirk of McGregor, Texas). Audiences of all ages can expect jaw-dropping transformations and incredible orchestrations with another family favorite, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Jan. 23 & 24, sponsored by Aggieland Credit Union). Getting away with murder can be so much fun…and there’s no better proof than the hilarious hit show that won the 2014 Tony Award for best musical—A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder (Feb. 6 & 7). Put on your ruby slippers and follow the yellow brick road to the next family musical on the Main Stage season in The Wizard of Oz (Feb. 20 & 21, sponsored by Elms Orthodontics and Shenandoah Veterinary Clinic). The final program on the 2017-18 Main Stage season is Broadway’s razzle-dazzle smash Chicago (April 17-19). The longest-running American musical in Broadway history will be in Rudder Auditorium for three performances. All Main Stage events will begin at 7:30pm and will be performed in Rudder Auditorium at TAMU. Main Stage season ticket packages for all seven events start at $194. Pick five Main Stage events for as little as $155.
The very popular Intimate Gatherings series begins with a celebration of one of the most distinct voices of our generation with Lennon: Through a Glass Onion (Oct. 12). Bluegrass is always a favorite with OPAS audiences. The second performance on this series features the 2016 Grammy® winner for Best Bluegrass Album The SteelDrivers (Nov. 15). The Montana Repertory Theatre returns to Rudder Theatre to perform Ernest Thompson’s American treasure of a play, On Golden Pond (March 8). Next up on the series is an artist who has been praised as “the soul of Spanish guitar”—Pablo Sáinz Villegas (March 26). Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s death, L.A. Theatre Works’ The Mountaintop (April 3) is an award-winning play by Katori Hall. The final performance on the Intimate Gatherings series features the hilarious musings of 73-years-young humorist Jeanne Robertson (April 26). All Intimate Gatherings events will begin at 7:30pm and will be performed in Rudder Theatre at TAMU. Some performances will include a Q&A with the artists following the performance. The Intimate Gatherings series is sponsored by Allstate—Jackie Voss, Exclusive Agent and Sterling Auto Group. Season tickets to all six events start at $224.
The new OPAS season includes two Special Events. Promising “Good Vibrations,” The Beach Boys will be in Rudder Auditorium for one-night-only onFriday, Oct. 13 (sponsored by Hoelscher, Lipsey, Elmore, and Poole). Main Stage season ticket buyers may add tickets to this concert to their order now. All other tickets will go on sale on Aug. 3. The second special event is also another one-night-only engagement in Rudder Auditorium. It’s a new Broadway musical based on the true story behind the world’s most beloved song, Amazing Grace (April 7). Tickets to the new musical start at only $20 and may be ordered now.
OPAS programs are made possible in part through Hotel Tax Revenue funded from the City of College Station 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.
ABOUT MSC OPAS: Founded in 1972, OPAS at Texas A&M University – a organization of the Memorial Student Center – presents professional productions of theatre, music and dance programs that enlighten, entertain and inspire audiences of the Brazos Valley. OPAS programs are funded by revenue generated from ticket sales, sponsorships, and contributions.
