From North Iowa Area Community College, www.niacc.edu

Performing Arts Series
2008-2009 NIACC Performing Arts and Leadership Series Announced
Apr 17, 2008

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2008-2009 NIACC Performing Arts and Leadership Series Announced
Whether experiencing Sweeney Todd or enjoying Vince Gill, this season will prove unforgettable as North Iowa Area Community College proudly announces the 2008-2009 Performing Arts and Leadership Series. The entertainment lineup offers something for everyone including Grammy winning artists, comedy, Tony award-winning musicals and holiday events for the entire family. 

The 2008-2009 NIACC Performing Arts Series will feature Simply Sinatra: A Tribute Starring Steve Lippia and a 16 Piece Band on September 6; A Special Acoustic Evening with Vince Gill on September 20; Sweeney Todd on October 3; Organ Concert featuring Donna Parker on October 12; Magic Tree House®: The Musical on October 21; An Evening with David Crosby and Graham Nash on November 1; Lorie Line on November 14 and 15; Candlelight Christmas Festival on December 4 and 5; Spirit of Christmas on December 19 and 20; Tap Kids on January 8; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on January 27; To Kill A Mockingbird on February 21; Movin’ Out on March 5; Rain – The Beatles Experience on March 12; Quartet San Francisco on March 21; The Drowsy Chaperone on April 5; and Bebe Neuwirth – Stories with Piano on April 18.

The Leadership Series will feature John Bul Dau, author of A Memoir: God Grew Tired of Us on October 15 (a FREE documentary showing of God Grew Tired of Us, narrated by Nicole Kidman on October 8) and “Redesigning Our Future: The Great Ocean Adventure” with Jean-Michel Cousteau on April 14.

All events will be held at the North Iowa Community Auditorium on the NIACC campus. Platinum sponsors for the 2008-2009 series include NIACC, Globe Gazette Elizabeth Muse Norris Charitable Fund; the Globe Gazette; Alliant Energy; Community National Bank; Henkel Construction; and Principal Financial Group.  Gold sponsors include Diamond Jo Casino; First Citizens National Bank; First State Bank of Belmond; Kraft; Mercy Medical Center – North Iowa; Raymond James; and Sukup Manufacturing.  In kind sponsors include Country Inn and Suites; KIMT; and Pepsi.

Performing Arts season tickets, which can be built according to the buyer, will go on sale for renewals from May 19 to June 6. New season tickets will be sold from June 16 to July 25.  Single event tickets go on sale August 4. Performing Arts and Leadership Series program books will be available to the general public the week of June 16.  All previous ticket buyers will receive a copy of the book in the mail.  Call the NIACC Box Office at 422-4188 or 1-888-GO NIACC, ext. 4188 for details.

Season Tickets Events:
Simply Sinatra: A Tribute Starring Steve Lippia and a 16 Piece Band
September 6th
Simply Sinatra is simply incredible!  Steve Lippia is a singer’s singer. He has quickly become one of the country’s most prominent vocalists and interpreters of classic pop music. Steve’s show, Simply Sinatra, is a rich, powerful celebration of some of the greatest music this country has known with a hot, driving 16 piece band behind him.  Steve possesses great stage presence – a charm and ease that immediately endears him to audiences.  His natural sound and style is a remarkable combination of his own honest musical interpretation and influences from some of the best singers of this era. It is immediately apparent that Steve’s sound is reminiscent of the young Frank Sinatra, combined with that of Harry Connick, Jr. and Bobby Darin.  Steve brings to life the music and lyrics of our greatest composers like Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen, and Rodgers and Hart. His repertoire includes such great standards as: “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “The Lady is a Tramp,” “Mack the Knife,” “Just the Way You Are,” and “That’s Life.”  To learn more about this artist visit www.stevelippia.com.  This event is sponsored by Community National Bank.  Call 422-4188 for tickets and Overture Dinner reservations.

A Special Acoustic Evening with Vince Gill
September 20th
"Vince Gill is quite simply a living prism refracting all that is good in country music. He uses the crystal planes of his songwriting, his playing, and his singing to give us a musical rainbow that embraces all men and spans all seasons." - Kyle Young/Country Music Foundation on Vince Gill’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame

In August 2007, the Country Music Association inducted Vince Gill into the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame.  Vince Gill has sold more than 26 million albums.  He has earned 18 CMA Awards, including Entertainer of the Year in 1993 and 1994. He ties with George Strait for having won the most (5) CMA Male Vocalist Awards and is currently second only to Brooks and Dunn for accumulating the most CMA Awards in history. Vince Gill is a member of the Grand Ole Opry.  He has received 19 Grammy Awards to date, the most of any male country artist. An avid golfer, he helped create the annual Vince Gill Pro-Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament (“The Vinny”) in 1993 in order to help support junior golf programs throughout Tennessee. Besides being known for his talent as a performer, musician, and songwriter, Vince Gill is regarded as one of country music’s best known humanitarians, participating in hundreds of charitable events throughout his career.  Vince Gill will take the North Iowa Community Auditorium stage for an acoustic performance.  This event is sponsored by Sukup.  Call 422-4188 for tickets and Overture Dinner reservations.

Sweeney Todd
October 3rd
 “The most addictively delicious dish on Broadway in years!” - Time Out New York

Sweeney Todd won Best Direction of a Musical and Best Orchestrations at the 2006 Tony Awards!  Innovative, intimate, and ingenious, this revolutionary new production of Sweeney Todd “is an event theatergoers will be talking about for years,” according to The Wall Street Journal. The legendary demon barber, hell-bent on revenge, takes up with his enterprising neighbor in a delicious plot to slice their way through London’s upper crust. Justice will be served – along with lush melody, audacious humor, and bloody good thrills. Directed by Tony Award-winner John Doyle, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler, this dazzling reinvention of a magnificent musical thriller is set to stun audiences as never before.  This event is sponsored by Martin, Cooney, MacNider & Cooney Financial Consultants of Raymond James & Associates, Inc.  Call 422-4188 for tickets.

Organ Concert featuring Donna Parker
October 12th
Join in on a fun afternoon of music and film with internationally renowned theatre organist, Donna Parker, as she presents a concert of music from classics to pop, including Broadway show tunes, Big Band numbers, the music of the Beatles and Abba, TV and movie themes....something for everyone of every age.  She will also accompany a short comedy silent film--timeless humor that will be sure to leave you smiling!  This event is FREE and open to the public.  No tickets are necessary.

Magic Tree House®: The Musical
October 21st
“Reading and writing are about the magic of the imagination. This musical, in my opinion, multiplies that magic ten times.” —Mary Pope Osborne
The New York Times #1 Best-Selling Children's Book Series is coming to North Iowa Community Auditorium!  Mary Pope Osborne, author of the award-winning Magic Tree House® book series, and her husband Will Osborne, author of the Magic Tree House® Research Guides, share the Broadway-style musical adaptation of the Magic Tree House® series entitled Magic Tree House®: The Musical.  Based on Mary Pope Osborne’s beloved series of children’s books, Magic Tree House®: The Musical transports one of Jack and Annie’s Merlin Missions onto the stage and creates a theatrical event for the entire family. To restore joy and magic to King Arthur’s kingdom, the brother and sister team must travel to Camelot’s dreaded Otherworld and return with water from the mythical Cauldron of Memory and Imagination. If they fail, Camelot will be lost and forgotten forever -- and the Magic Tree House will be destroyed! Rising to each new challenge with courage, humor, and resourcefulness, Jack and Annie eventually discover that memory and imagination are gifts we can all use to fill our lives with magic.  An enchanting blend of song, story, and stagecraft, Magic Tree House®: The Musical is a breathtaking spectacle that will keep kids and grown-ups on the edge of their seats!  The school performance for the event is at 12:30 p.m. with a cost of $6 per student.  To reserve a block of tickets for your school, contact Elizabeth Gales 641-422-4354.  Schools Don’t Forget – use the Big Yellow School Bus Grant to celebrate the arts!  Visit the Iowa Arts Council web site for a quick and easy grant application!  (www.iowaartscouncil.org – follow the links to Funding)  The public performance is at 6:30 p.m.  This event is sponsored by Alliant Energy Foundation.  Call 422-4188 for tickets to the public performance.

An Evening with David Crosby and Graham Nash
November 1st
As a duo, longtime creative partners David Crosby and Graham Nash bring out the best in each other.  Their distinct yet complementary styles balance an equation that delivers a seamless and inspiring musical whole. Two-thirds and one-half, respectively, of Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, these Rock and Roll Hall of Famers are legendary for their airtight and crystal-clear vocal harmonies, as sublime when delivered by simply these two together as they are from the larger configurations. It is a sound that's one of the true touchstones of the rock and roll era.  To learn more about David Crosby and Graham Nash, visit  www.crosbynash.com.   This event is sponsored by Henkel.  Call 422-4188 for tickets and Overture Dinner reservations.

Lorie Line
November 14th and 15th
This year's holiday theme is Christmas Around The World.  We will be featuring music from the seven continents and discovering how other countries celebrate the wonderful season of Christmas.  Sure to be a great night of world music and fabulous costumes.  Call 422-4188 for tickets and Overture Dinner reservations.

Candlelight Christmas Festival
December 4th and 5th
Come celebrate the return of our Biennial Candlelight Christmas Festival as the River City Chorus, North Iowa Choral Society, and NIACC Choirs join forces.  This year's program will feature the secular and sacred stories of Christmas.  This event is sponsored by First State Bank of Belmond.  Call 422-4188 for tickets.

Spirit of Christmas
December 19th and 20th
The perfect show for all the family!  The Spirit of Christmas is one of the most delightful and enchanting festive season shows ever.  Fabulous Christmas songs, a glittering cast, gorgeous costumes, and the highest-kicking chorus girls this side of the North Pole will take you to a winter wonderland of fun and festive cheer.  Join us on a magical sleigh-ride to enjoy Santa’s festive extravaganza, and start Christmas off in grand style!  All your favorite Christmas songs: “White Christmas,” “Silent Night,” “Deck the Halls,” “Joy to the World,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “The First Noel,” and lots more…This event is sponsored by First Citizens National Bank.  Call 422-4188 for tickets and Overture Dinner reservations.

Tap Kids
January 8th
Eight of the nation's most talented young tap dancers take to the stage in this rousing, joyous celebration of American youth culture. Since its debut at The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in 2002, the show has enjoyed tremendous success across the country and abroad.  The dancers thrill audiences of all ages with their incredible talent and fierce passion.  Tap Kids were featured performers in a star-studded gala for the Queen of Holland at The Royale Theatre Carre in Amsterdam and returned to Europe in November 2007 for a three-week tour of The Netherlands.  In a series of musical vignettes, Tap Kids tells the story of a group of high school kids facing challenges both mundane and momentous as they prepare for the big school dance at the end of the day and, ultimately, for graduation at the end of their senior year. With an original score and dazzling choreography, Tap Kids takes this traditional dance form to new heights in an electrifying performance that is hip, contemporary, and uplifting.  To learn more about this artist visit www.tapkids.com.  The school performance for the event is at 12:30 p.m. with a cost of $5 per student.  To reserve a block of tickets for your school, contact Elizabeth Gales 641-422-4354.  The public performance is at 7:30 p.m.  This event is sponsored by Diamond Jo Casino.  Call 422-4188 for tickets to the public performance.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
January 27th
“Perfect in every possible way – that rarity of rarities, a super-smart musical that is also a bona fide crowd pleaser.” – Wall Street Journal
In the Tony Award-winning new musical comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn’t everything and that losing doesn’t necessarily make you a loser.  This tuneful, offbeat, and at times heartwarming show offers audience members the opportunity (strictly voluntary) to become part of the action as on-stage spellers. The New York Times calls The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, “irresistible, riotously funny, and remarkably ingenious – gold stars all around.”  To learn more about this show visit   www.spellingbeethemusical.com.  Not advised for children.  This event is sponsored by Henkel.  Call 422-4188 for tickets.

To Kill A Mockingbird
February 21st
Winner of the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is unquestionably an American classic. More than 15 million copies of the novel have been printed and it is required reading in high schools across the country. In 1962, the story was brought to the screen in an Academy Award-winning adaptation by Horton Foote.  The story was later adapted for the theatre. Though over 35 years old, this stage adaptation continues to compel and delight viewers worldwide with its warmth, wit, and wisdom.  The story of To Kill a Mockingbird is simple, yet it speaks deeply and eloquently of human nature and of human values. The action is set in the 1930's in a sleepy Southern town where Atticus Finch, an attorney and the widowed father of two young children, stands against his fellow townspeople by defending a young black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. Through every step and with every word, Atticus instills in his children the traditional moral values of respect for others, honesty, courage, integrity, and above all, responsibility for one's actions. Without fanfare or bravado, Atticus Finch assumes prominence as a true American hero. Prejudice, racism, and human values are not issues of a particular time; they are issues of all time. To Kill a Mockingbird places these issues in a context that transcends the story's individuals and their actions. Atticus teaches his children that "you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." Through this live performance, audiences come as close as possible to taking that walk.  This event is sponsored by Community National Bank.  Call 422-4188 for tickets and Overture Dinner reservations.

Movin’ Out
March 5th
“The #1 show of the year!” – Time magazine

Tony Award-winning, 5-time Grammy winner Billy Joel and legendary director/choreographer Twyla Tharp have joined forces to create a spectacular musical.  The New York Times calls Movin’ Out, "a shimmering portrait of an American generation. These tornado driven dancers and rock musicians propel the audience into delirious ovations."  Movin’ Out brings 24 Billy Joel classic songs to electrifying new life as it tells the story of five lifelong friends over two turbulent decades. It all adds up to one unforgettable Broadway musical.  This event is sponsored by Kraft.  Call 422-4188 for tickets.

Rain – The Beatles Experience
March 12th
“The next best thing to seeing The Beatles.” – Denver Post

Experience what Beatlemania was all about from Ed Sullivan to Abbey Road!  They look like them and they sound just like them!  All the music and vocals are performed totally live.  Rain – The Beatles Experience covers the Fab Four from the earliest beginnings through the psychedelic late 1960s and their long-haired hippie, hard-rocking rooftop days. Rain – The Beatles Experience is a multi-media, multi-dimensional experience...a fusion of historical footage and hilarious television commercials from the 1960s lights up video screens and live cameras zoom in for close-ups.  “Uncanny! Rain are a quartet of fine musicians in their own right…as The Beatles, they triumph!” cheers the Boston Herald.  “An adoring Valentine to The Beatles,” declares the Washington Post.  Sing along with your family and friends to such Beatlemaniac favorites as “Let It Be,” “Hey Jude,” “My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Come Together,” and “Can’t Buy Me Love.”  To learn more about this show go to www.rainthebeatlesexperience.com/.  This event is sponsored by the Globe Gazette.  Call 422-4188 for tickets.

Quartet San Francisco
March 21st
“When the music says swing, we swing. When the music says groove, we groove.”

Non-traditional in their delivery, Quartet San Francisco redefines the sound of chamber music. Grammy nominees for their last two releases (2006 and 2007) and International Tango competition winners (New York , 2004), Quartet San Francisco expresses itself in its agility and standout virtuosic playing. Quartet San Francisco is Jeremy Cohen and Kayo Miki, violinists; Keith Lawrence, violist; and Joel Cohen, cellist.  As crossover specialists they excel in multiple styles — from jazz to tango, pop to funk, blues to bluegrass, gypsy swing to big band and beyond.  Call 422-4188 for tickets and Overture Dinner reservations.

The Drowsy Chaperone
April 5th
A totally original new musical within a comedy, The Drowsy Chaperone has "more laughs per minute than any new show on Broadway" (WWCR-TV), the most 2006 Tony Awards® of any musical on Broadway, and the New York Drama Critics' Circle and Drama Desk awards for Best Musical!  A rare combination of unprecedented originality and blinding talent, The Drowsy Chaperone boldly addresses a great unspoken desire in all our hearts: to be entertained.  If you've ever sat in a darkened theatre and thought, "Dear Lord in Heaven, please let it be good," this is the show for you.  It all begins when a die-hard theater fan plays his favorite cast album on his turntable, and the musical literally bursts to life in his living room, telling the rambunctious tale of a brazen Broadway starlet trying to find, and keep, her true love.  This event is sponsored by Alliant Energy Foundation.  Call 422-4188 for tickets.

Bebe Neuwirth – Stories with Piano
April 18th
In addition to playing the haughty Lillith on hit television shows Cheers and Frasier, Bebe Neuwirth possesses an impressive resumè filled with song and dance success.  An unmistakable voice, a dancer’s body, a consummate performer…An arched eyebrow, a subtle shimmy, and a flick of her wrist is all she needs to keep you in the palm of her hand.  With two Tony Awards and two Emmy Awards, she is considered television and Broadway royalty.  With her mesmerizing vocal abilities, Bebe Neuwirth is a true singing actress; an exciting song stylist, captivating audiences across the country with her signature brand of supple sass and sexiness.  Bebe’s current show features an exciting and eclectic selection of songs.  She has become a premiere interpreter of the works of Kurt Weill as well as her Chicago composers, John Kander and Fred Ebb, and their catalogues are well represented.  Bebe also explores such landmark composers as Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, and Tom Waits.  Her stunning interpretations of favorite songs allow you to hear them as if they were new.  Bebe also introduces some lesser known treasures that will captivate the entire audience.  She is a gift to songwriters, approaching each song as a story to share, sometimes filled with steely determination while others are fraught with breathtaking vulnerability.  Hilarious and heartbreaking, her one woman show is, quite simply, stunning and truly unforgettable.  This event is sponsored by Dr. Gary W, Swenson and Dean A. Genth.  Call 422-4188 for tickets and Overture Dinner reservations.

Leadership Series Speakers:
John Bul Dau
Author of A Memoir: God Grew Tired of Us
October 15th
John Bul Dau is one of the featured men in Christopher Quinn's documentary, God Grew Tired of Us, and he has experienced journeys in life that most people never imagine. Born in war-torn Sudan, Dau is one of 27,000 Lost Boys forced to flee their villages when the northern government began attacking the south.  Forced to walk to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, he faced starvation, disease, and violence during trips over hundreds of miles. Finally, in 2001, Dau was one of many Lost Boys sponsored to live in the United States.  In his speech, Dau discusses taking responsibility and leading others to do positive things. He talks about how at age 13 he was thrown into leading 200 smaller boys across Sudan, and how it made him a stronger person. Dau shows audiences that when you start small - changing yourself, your family, and your home - you will grow as a leader and will be able to achieve greater change.   Dau explains the crises in Sudan, from the 1987 troubles that created the Lost Boys generation, to the current genocide in Darfur. He breaks down the conflicts for audiences to understand, and lets people know what they can do to help.  There will also be a FREE documentary showing of God Grew Tired of Us, narrated by Nicole Kidman, on October 8, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. in the North Iowa Community Auditorium.  This event is sponsored by Globe Gazette - Elizabeth Muse Norris Charitable Fund, Mercy Medical Center – North Iowa and Principal Financial Group.  Call 422-4188 for tickets.

Redesigning Our Future: The Great Ocean Adventure with Jean-Michel Cousteau
April 14th
For more than four decades, explorer, environmentalist, educator, and film producer Jean-Michel Cousteau has used his vast experience to communicate to people of all nations and generations his love and concern for our water planet.  The son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, he spent much of his life with his family exploring the world's oceans aboard Calypso and Alcyone. After his mother's death in 1990, and his father's death in 1997, Cousteau founded Ocean Futures Society in 1999 to carry on this pioneering work. Cousteau serves as an impassioned spokesman and diplomat for the environment, reaching out to the public through a variety of media. He has produced over 70 films and been awarded the Emmy, the Peabody Award, the 7 d'Or - the French equivalent of the Emmy, and the Cable ACE Award.  In this talk, Jean-Michel Cousteau explores how the world has become one community through the communication advances of the past few decades, and how what happens on one corner of the world effects another.  He uses this analogy to show how the whole world is also connected through the environment.  What we do in our social and business lives impacts the environment, and what happens to the environment impacts our social and business lives.  He shows how the environment needs to be managed like a corporation – living off the profits and interest, and not off the capital itself.  He discusses the work of his Ocean Futures organization, and how passionate he is about children and our need to cultivate the young minds of tomorrow.  He shares many personal stories, ranging from voyages with his father, to working with Pixar on the film Finding Nemo. All the stories illustrate how the effects of global warming can be curtailed, even by the efforts of just a few individuals.  The presentation centers around three video pieces.  One illustrates the interconnectivity between the oceans and life on land.  The second is footage of his upcoming television series.  The third is a hilarious segment he and Ellen Degeneres did for the DVD release of Finding Nemo.  This event is sponsored by Globe Gazette - Elizabeth Muse Norris Charitable Fund, Mercy Medical Center – North Iowa and Principal Financial Group.  Call 422-4188 for tickets.

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