1. art and entertainment

EMBARGOED
MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015
Contact: Kim Reiner
Tel: (402) 661-8442; (402) 290-3283
Email: kreiner@omahaperformingarts.org
Download season photos: http://we.tl/1luC7XIeMt
The cast of the Broadway production, KINKY BOOTS.
Photo by Matthew Murphy
***NOT TO BE RELEASED UNTIL 8:30 PM MARCH 23, 2015
OMAHA PERFORMING ARTS ANNOUNCES 15/16 SEASON AND
CELEBRATE 10 FESTIVITIES
10th Anniversary Gala With Kristen Chenoweth, KINKY BOOTS Kick Off Season
THE BOOK OF MORMON Returns By Popular Demand And An All-New PHANTOM OF THE
OPERA Is Back And ‘Bigger And Better Than Before’
Omaha, Neb., (March 23, 2015) – Omaha Performing Arts’ 2015/2016 Season will include a celebration of the
organization’s 10th anniversary, Celebrate 10. Details on the festivities as well as the 15/16 Season were announced
during a subscriber and patron event at the Holland Performing Arts Center on March 23. Special performances by
cast members of Disney’s NEWSIES and Celia Hottenstein and Eric Ruiz, who star as Christina and Raoul in THE
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, were part of the announcement. The dance troupe BANDALOOP opened the event
with an awe-inspiring aerial performance.
Highlights of the 2015/2016 Season include the Celebrate 10 Gala starring Kristin Chenoweth on Friday,
October 16; exciting Omaha premieres of Broadway national touring productions of KINKY BOOTS and Disney’s
NEWSIES as well as an all-new production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA; and performances by Dance
Theatre of Harlem, comedian and singer Jane Lynch, and Ramsey Lewis Electric Band with special guest Philip
Bailey of Earth, Wind and Fire.
“We look forward to welcoming the community to our 10th anniversary celebration that includes an amazing
array of wonderful artists and productions,” said Joan Squires, president of Omaha Performing Arts. “Kristen
Chenoweth’s performance at the Celebrate 10 Gala commemorates a decade of events at the Holland Center, and
will be a highlight of this milestone season.”
Season ticket packages to the six series are available for purchase now. Single tickets to performances go on
sale at a later date.
10th Anniversary Festivities
October 15, 2015 marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Holland Performing Arts Center and the 10th
anniversary of Omaha Performing Arts presenting a full season of performances. A weekend of events has been
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planned to commemorate the anniversaries, starting with the Celebrate 10 Gala starring Kristin Chenoweth on
Friday, October 16, 2015. Holland Stages Festival will be Saturday, October 17, 2015 featuring free performances
by local and national touring artists, including BANDALOOP.
2015/2016 Broadway Series
The Omaha Performing Arts 2015/2016 Broadway Series presented with Broadway Across America has five
productions, opening with KINKY BOOTS October 20-25, 2015. Winning the Tony Award® for Best Musical in 2013,
this uplifting production features a joyous, Tony®-winning score by Cyndi Lauper, direction and Tony®-winning
choreography by Jerry Mitchell and a hilarious book by four-time Tony® winner Harvey Fierstein.
The adaptation of the iconic love story DIRTY DANCING runs November 17-22, 2015. Disney’s NEWSIES
opens 2016 with an extra, extra special production. The 2012 Tony®-winning musical runs February 16-21, 2016. The
Tony Award®-winning musical RODGERS + HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA will delight audiences March 15-20,
2016. Cameron Mackintosh’s spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE
OPERA will be staged April 20 through May 1, 2016. Critics have called this new production as “bigger and better
than ever before.”
There are two special Broadway performances available to Season Ticket holders outside of the Broadway
Series package. THE WIZARD OF OZ will run December 8-13, 2015. THE BOOK OF MORMON returns to Omaha
by popular demand May 31 through June 5, 2016.
Broadway Series subscribers are automatically entered for a chance to win a trip for two to New York City July
16-19, 2015. Two winners receive a Broadway show-seeing spree, with expenses paid for airfare, lodging and show
tickets. For more information, go online to omaha.broadway.com/sweepstakes.
2015/2016 Jazz Series
The 2015/2016 Jazz Series features jazz legends and a rising star vocalist. Ramsey Lewis Electric Band and
special guest vocalist and percussionist Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire perform a collection of jazz and R&B
hits including “September” and “Sun Goddess” on November 13, 2015. NPR Music’s “next great jazz singer” Gregory
Porter, winner of the 2014 Grammy Award ® for Best Jazz Vocal Album, will perform February 4, 2016. Legendary
singer Dee Dee Bridgewater teams up with Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra on March 12,
2016 for a 10th anniversary concert paying tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
2015/2016 Dance Series
The 2015/2016 Dance Series begins November 5, 2015 with Shaping Sound: Dance Reimagined, a mash-up
of dance styles and musical genres brought to life by contemporary dancers. The Moscow Festival Ballet returns to
Omaha to perform Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty on January 23, 2016. Dance Theatre of Harlem brings their
innovative and bold new forms of artistic expression to Omaha on February 25, 2016.
2015/2016 Family Series
Omaha Performing Arts’ 2015/2016 Family Series begins with Cirque Mechanics Pedal Punk – a steampunkinspired American circus show featuring bikes – on November 12, 2015. The ordinary becomes extraordinary in
Mummenschanz: The Musicians of Silence on February 27, 2016. The third show in the season will be announced
soon!
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2015/2016 Showcase Series
The Showcase Series for 2015/2016 begins with A Celtic Tenors Christmas on December 2, 2015. The
charming trio will sing traditional Christmas favorites, beautiful Celtic songs, and exhilarating operatic classics. Jane
Lynch will flex her comic skills and musical prowess with the cabaret performance See Jane Sing on February 28,
2016. Recent cast members of Jersey Boys will deliver an electrifying evening of doo-wop, Motown and rock ’n’ roll as
Under the Streetlamp, a modern day Rat Pack who will perform at the Holland Center on May 19, 2016.
2015/2016 National Geographic Live Series
The 2015/2016 National Geographic Live Series features three exciting speakers and many stunning images.
The first in the series is an explorer who comes face-to-face with tigers, cougars and other wild animals. On The Trail
of Big Cats with Steve Winter is on February 2, 2016. One of the world’s leading adventurers and expedition
photographers is next in the series: Untamed Wild with Cory Richards is on March 8, 2016. The Search for Life
Beyond Earth with Kevin Hand, an astrobiologist, is on April 12, 2016.
2015/2016 1200 Club Series
The intimate performances in the 1200 Club Series begin December 2, 2015 with a night of jazzy Christmas
music in Cyrus Chestnut Trio: A Jazzy Christmas. The soul-drenched powerhouse vocalist Shemekia Copeland
performs January 30, 2016. French jazz singer Cyrille Aimée is at the club on March 5, 2016. Ester Rada brings her
cross-cultural sound that blends Ethio-jazz and urban funk on April 29, 2016. James Tormé Celebrates The Greats
features the charismatic son of jazz legend Mel Tormé on May 6, 2016. Kevin Eubanks plays his infectious groove
tracks and soulful blues jams on May 20, 2016.
The 1200 Club transforms the Holland Performing Arts Center’s most intimate venue, the Suzanne and Walter
Scott Recital Hall, into a relaxed nightclub setting where patrons can experience performances by nationally and
internationally known artists in jazz, blues and comedy. While enjoying the evening’s entertainment, audience
members may enjoy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails served right to their candle-lit table.
2015/2016 Special Performances
Omaha Performing Arts’ 2015/2016 Special performances can be added to any Season Ticket package with
most performances offering a savings of up to 15%. The first of the Special performances One Man Breaking Bad:
The Unauthorized Parody on October 22 and 23, 2015. It’s one man, one hour, all seasons in a hilarious parody of
the hit TV show, Breaking Bad. Vienna Boys Choir: Christmas in Vienna on November 19, 2015 will feature
Austrian folk songs, classical masterpieces, popular songs and holiday favorites. Featuring the hottest names in the
street dance scene, the international dance spectacular Blaze will be at the Orpheum Theater March 3, 2016. The
one-man evening of Americana, Mark Twain Tonight! with Hal Holbrook will be April 8, 2016. The PBS Kids
favorite Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood LIVE! will be live on stage Wednesday, April 13, 2016. Ballet Folklorico
“Quetzalli” de Veracruz will bring traditional Mexican folkloric dance to Omaha on April 14, 2016.
For more information about Omaha Performing Arts’ Season Tickets, visit
OmahaPerformingArts.org/SeasonTickets or call 402.345.0606 or toll-free at 866.434.8587. Groups of 10 or more
may also purchase tickets to the 2015/2016 season; groups can save up to 25% on select shows. For more
information on Group Sales, visit OmahaPerformingArts.org/Groups or call 402.661.8516. Single tickets for the
2015/2016 Omaha Performing Arts season will go on sale at a later date. Due to the nature of live entertainment, all
programs, performers, prices, dates and times are subject to change.
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Download 2015-16 season photos: http://we.tl/1luC7XIeMt
2015/2016 Season Package Prices
Price Level 4
Price Level 3
Price Level 2
Price Level 1
$165-$175
$240-$259
$324-$347
$451-$477
Jazz
$61
$79
$100
$121
Dance
$72
$83
$104
$127
Family
$56
$71
$88
$105
National
$37
$49
$61
$73
$65
$91
$115
$142
Broadway
Geographic
LIVE!
Showcase
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ABOUT OMAHA PERFORMING ARTS
Omaha Performing Arts is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to enriching the lives of the citizens of Omaha and surrounding communities. In
its two venues: the Orpheum Theater and Holland Performing Arts Center, the organization presents the best of Broadway, jazz, blues, dance,
comedy, family and popular entertainment. Omaha Performing Arts also offers a range of educational programs and free community events that
support, enhance and expand appreciation for the arts. In addition, the organization provides comprehensive ticketing services through Ticket
Omaha, the official ticket retailer for the Orpheum and Holland.
Omaha Performing Arts’ performances are supported in part by the Nebraska
Arts Council, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Omaha and the Douglas
County Visitor Improvement Fund, as well as corporate sponsors, private donors and foundations. For more information, visit
OmahaPerformingArts.org.
ABOUT BROADWAY ACROSS AMERICA
BROADWAY ACROSS AMERICA is part of the Key Brand Entertainment family of companies which includes Broadway.com and is
operated by John Gore (Owner & CEO). BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring musicals and plays in North America, operating in 40
markets. As a leading Broadway producer, BAA is dedicated to the development and production of new and diverse theatre. Current/upcoming
productions include Beautiful, Million Dollar Quartet and Pippin. Past productions include Hairspray, How to Succeed in Business Without Really
Trying, Memphis, Promises, Promises, The Producers, Betrayal and War Horse. Broadway.com is the premier theater website for news, exclusive
content and ticket sales. For more information please visit BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com and Broadway.com.
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