Old friends, new friends and a first-time partnership with Broadway in Tucson highlight UApresents 2010-11 season.
First the new:
• The legendary vocalist/actress Liza Minnelli is making what appears to be her first-ever Tucson appearance. She was set to perform back in April 1972 but canceled days before the show at Tucson Music Hall.
• Renowned violinist Joshua Bell returns for possibly his first-ever solo recital in Tucson. He's played with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra a couple of times in recent years and fronted The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with UApresents three years ago.
• UApresents is teaming up with Broadway in Tucson to return fully staged Broadway theater to Centennial Hall. The pair will co-present "Wicked" for a three-week run Jan. 5-23. UApresents bowed out of Broadway in the 2005-06 season because it could not compete with Broadway in Tucson.
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But many of UApresents offerings next season might sound familiar: Among its 27 events, nearly half have been here with UApresents in the past, including comedian Paula Poundstone (2008) and Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis (2008).
In fact, every dance company except one - The Trey McIntyre Project - on UApresents 2010-11 dance season has been here at least once in the past several years. But all are returning with new shows, including the emotionally charged Merce Cunningham "Legacy Tour," which is the final act of the iconoclastic dance company before it closes on New Year's Eve 2011. When its namesake died last July, he left instructions for one final tour before the company called it quits.
Many of the returning artists are coming in new settings or with new shows, said UApresents spokesman Mario Di Vetta. Dancer Savion Glover is bringing his new "SoLo in TiME" show in November. The cirque artists return with "Cirque Dreams Illumination" in December, and Broadway sensation Brian Stokes Mitchell is here for a solo gig next March - fans can call it a makeup for having missed UApresents' ensemble Broadway revue show early this month.
Di Vetta said UApresents will likely add a few more shows to next season's lineup to come close to this season's 32 events.
Di Vetta said ticket prices next season are mostly unchanged from this season. The most expensive ticket in 2010-11 is for "Wicked" ($31 to $125); the top-end ticket for many of the events is $55, and student discounted tickets start at $15.
UApresents 2010-11 season
• What: UApresents opens its season with Vikki Carr and the famous Mariachi Sol de México Sept. 24. The season also marks its first collaboration with Broadway in Tucson on the three-week run of "Wicked" Jan. 5-23.
• Tickets: Season subscribers can renew now; new subscriptions and group sales go on sale in mid-April and single tickets are on sale June 14. Single tickets for "Wicked" go on sale in September or October; the date has not been finalized.
• Venue: Centennial Hall and smaller halls on the University of Arizona campus.
• Details or to order online: www.uapresents.org
The season by genre
Special events - Cirque Dreams: "Illumination," Dec. 10-12; Blue Man Group, April 29-30 and May 1, 2011.
Dance: Savion Glover: "SoLo in TiME," Paul Taylor Dance Company, Nov. 20; UA Dance "Carmina Burana," Feb. 10-13; UA Dance "Premium Blend," Feb. 24-27; Merce Cunningham Dance Company "Legacy Tour," March 12, 2011; Trey McIntyre Project, March 26, 2011; Martha Graham Dance Co., April 16, 2011.
Center Stage: Liza MInnelli, Dec. 4; Paula Poundstone, Feb. 19; Brian Stokes Mitchell, March 5.
Classical: Venice Baroque Orchestra "The Seasons Project," Oct. 31; Menahem Pressler and his Orchestra, Nov. 21; Joshua Bell, Feb. 12; The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, Feb. 20; Kronos Quartet, April 3, 2011.
Jazz & Blues: Jimmy Cobb "Kind of Blue at 50," Jan. 29; "American Legacies: The Del McCoury Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band," April 9; Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, Feb. 18; T.S. Monk: "Monk on Monk," March 6.
World: Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca, Jan. 28; Kodo, Feb. 13; The Johnny Clegg Band, May 6, 2011.
Family events: Playhouse Disney's "Choo Choo Soul with Genevieve," Oct. 17
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at 573-4642 or cburch@azstarnet.com
