The LTAC, in conjunction with Starkey Productions, is also expanding its theatrical offerings to include a winter play. Rounding out the season will be two new community series focused on jazz and chamber music featuring local professional musicians. Season tickets for the 2012-13 season will go on sale to the public on May 15th.
With this second season announcement, Executive Director Lisa Rigsby Peterson states, “The City of Lone Tree’s goal is to establish the Lone Tree Arts Center as an indispensable and vibrant addition to Denver’s arts and entertainment landscape. Our success in our first season tells me that audiences are hungry for the programming we offer, that they especially appreciate our convenient location and welcoming atmosphere, and that they have enjoyed a variety of entertainment options in our beautiful theater. With our second season, we’re looking forward to welcoming patrons to another slate of first-rate professional productions in an intimate and friendly setting.”
The cornerstones of the 2012-13 season are LTAC’s extended-run theatrical productions. Lone Tree is proud to continue its collaborations with the Arvada Center, Creede Repertory Theatre, and Starkey Productions. The series will kick off in October with the Arvada Center’s production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, followed in early November by Creede’s world premiere production of Harry the Great. In February 2013, the timeless comedy Noises Off will hit the main stage, to be followed in April by a production of Hank Williams: Lost Highway.
To celebrate the holidays in December, LTAC will host the regional premiere of A John Denver Holiday Concert, which teams Tony Award nominees director Randal Myler (Love,Janis, It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues, Almost Heaven: Songs and Stories of John Denver) with musician Dan Wheetman (Appalachian Strings, Fire on the Mountain, member of John Denver’s band) for a holiday concert featuring songs from the classic John Denver Rocky Mountain Christmas album as well as other Denver hits and holiday songs. Following the John Denver concert, the LTAC has commissioned an original production, Home for the Holidays, created by Paul Dwyer, Kitty Skillman Hilsabeck and Starkey Productions. This production uses the nostalgic variety-show format to showcase Denver talent as they come home for the holidays.
The 2012-13 season will mark the beginning of an ongoing collaboration with The Colorado Symphony. Starting with an encore presentation of the symphony’s popular Inside the Score: Mozart concert in late July, the LTAC will partner with the CSO throughout the season. Three additional concerts, focusing on the works of American, classical and Baroque composers, will take place in the outstanding acoustics of LTAC’s Main Stage Theater. Each concert will feature a large complement of the symphony’s musicians (between 45 and 60 for most concerts). The LTAC-CSO collaboration is a key element of the symphony’s new operating model, which calls for greater community involvement and broader performing opportunities for the CSO.
Also on the schedule are a number of notable national touring performers in a wide range of genres. Jazz will be well represented by New York-based smooth jazz vocalist and musician Allan Harris in August; March brings the regional debut of nationally-acclaimed ensemble SFJAZZ Collective, featuring some of the country’s finest jazz musicians performing The Music of Chick Corea. Folk favorites Aztec Two-Step bring their popular Simon and Garfunkel Songbook concert to Lone Tree in early September. Also in early September, Minneapolis-based contemporary tap dance sensations Rhythmic Circus will present their infectious, music-propelled show Feet Don’t Fail Me Now just prior to their off-Broadway debut. Back by popular demand after last season’s sold-out hit One Man Star Wars, actor Charles Ross will hit the stage for 70 minutes of hilarity with his One Man Lord of the Rings.
Season offerings in 2013 include a live radio broadcast from award-winner Denver director, filmmaker and radio producer donnie l. betts, who will bring his noted Destination Freedom: Black Radio Days to Lone Tree in late February. This live radio drama will feature exceptional stories, music, and sound effects, all broadcast in real-time on KGNU radio. In March, veteran Broadway cast members of Jersey Boys will perform together in The Doo-Wop Project, a concert highlighting the great harmonies and sounds of classic doo-wop as performed by five outstanding vocalists backed by a tight five piece band (this performance is not affiliated with, nor does it feature music of Jersey Boys).
Finally, the 2012-13 Lone Tree Arts Center season will include two brand-new community series designed particularly to highlight local musicians and introduce south metro residents to different genres of music. The series – Essential Jazz and Chamber Music Insights – will serve as a platform for some of Denver’s best musicians and music experts, including jazz man Art Bouton and the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra, viola player Phillip Stevens (Colorado Symphony) and musicologist Betsy Schwarm, and violinist Elizabeth Greenberg (Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra) and the Elizabeth Trio and String Quartet. The two series are also designed to serve a growing need in the metro area for daytime programming accessible to seniors and others who prefer an alternative to night-time performances. Most of the series offerings will take place on Wednesday afternoons, and will be followed by talkbacks and light refreshments with the performers.
