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Written by Michael Muckian
Jun 16, 2011
The Broadway cast of “The Addams Family”
Steven Brinberg as Barbra Streisand
Chicago’s Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
From blue men to gay men, from Streisand impersonations and Sedaka tributes to “Billy Elliot” and “Beauty and the Beast,” Madison’s Overture Center for Arts has set its 2011-12 season at sizzle, with a wealth of both mainstream and out-of-the-box entertainment options. After several light seasons due to a soft economy, Overture Hall, The Capitol Theater and The Playhouse will once again sing, dance and just get silly again.
“This season has been booked with an eye toward both artistic diversity and affordability,” says Tom Carto, Overture Center’s CEO. “We worked hard to keep ticket prices reasonable, and the addition of our new ‘Out of the Box’ series allowed us to bring in intriguing artists who don’t fit into other categories.”
The series includes “Simply Barbra,” Overture’s first drag show, featuring Steven Brinberg as Streisand. Faux Barbra takes the Capitol Theater stage on March 30. Also on the bill are The Intergalactic Nemesis (Nov. 3), defined as a live-action graphic novel, NPR storyteller Ira Glass (Feb. 18) and Luma (April 15), a light show that got its start on Madison’s east side.
Out author and personality David Sedaris returns to Madison on Oct. 28 for an evening of wry and catty observations. Milwaukee’s favorite gay son John McGivern brings his one-man show “The Wonderbread Years” to the Overture on Jan. 28.
The comedy continues with Chicago’s Second City (March 24), actor Frank Ferrante in “The Groucho Years” (April 21) and “Whose Live Anyway” (May 19), the stage version of the popular improv TV show “Whose Line is It Anyway?”
Overture’s Broadway season gets underway on Sept. 21 with a 12-day run of “Billy Elliot the Musical,” the musical about a young Irish boy who’d rather dance than box. Following on Billy’s heels is Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” (Dec. 6-11), Blue Man Group (Jan. 24-29), “Fiddler on the Roof” (Feb. 24-26) and “Cats” (March 16-19).
The Broadway season closes with “The Addams Family” (May 1-6), which makes a stop in Madison on its first national tour.
Broadway spills over into the Overture’s Celebrity Series when Tony Award winner Idina Menzel lends her vocal talents on Nov. 15. Legendary jazz keyboard player Herbie Hancock performs on March 15 and world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman joins the series on April 19.
Dancing kicks off at the Overture with Slovenia’s Ballet Maribor performance of “Radio and Juliet” on Oct. 25. The performance is a unique retelling of the star-crossed lovers’ tale set to the music of Radiohead.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago returns by popular demand on Feb. 3, as does Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on March 27, in its first season under new artistic director Robert Battle.
Overture’s increasingly popular Cabaret series expands with three rather than two performances next season. Female jazz vocalist Spider Saloff, known for her Cole Porter interpretations, opens the season on Nov. 10. The Sedaka Show, performer Jim Van Slyke’s tribute to Neil Sedaka, arrives Feb. 9. The season closes on May 3 with “Chanteur,” Lee Lessack’s French-inspired performance that delivers what Billboard magazine called “cabaret romanticism of a high order.”
All of the cabaret concerts take place on the Capitol Theater stage and include meals catered by Fresco, the Food Fight Inc. restaurant perched high atop Overture Center. (Warning: these performances sell out quickly.)
Overture will offer a wealth of special programs as well, including a family series, world culture series, the Christmas music of Mannheim Steamroller, pianist Jim Brickman, a cappela sensation Straight No Chaser, and “Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles.”
