Greenwood-Lander Performing Arts has finalized the schedule for its 2012-2013 season, an entertainment lineup ranging from bluegrass to Gilbert and Sullivan.
The curtain will go up on Monday evening, Oct. 8, when bluegrass sensations Dailey & Vincent take the stage at Lander University's Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center Auditorium. Since 2008, the group has been named Entertainers of the Year and Vocal Group of the Year a total of eight times by two bluegrass music associations.
Jamie Dailey was a vocalist and guitar player with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, while Darrin Vincent formerly appeared with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. He is the brother of Rhonda Vincent, the award-winning bluegrass singer and songwriter, and he and Dailey have performed as back-up singers on several of her recordings.
Ball in the House will perform on Monday, Nov. 19, presenting a variety of music from rhythm and blues to pop to gospel. They are a five-member classic harmony group that performs a cappella. A reviewer in their hometown newspaper, The Boston Globe, wrote, "Ball in the House has everything you would expect to find in a successful pop/rock band. The one thing it doesn't have is instruments."
Executive director Cecily Ferguson said, "We're extremely fortunate that Ball in the House is including Lander in its extensive road tour, which averages 250 dates a year."
GLPA will welcome the new year with an exclusive performance by the China National Symphony Orchestra (CNSO), on Friday, Jan. 18, 2013, the orchestra's only appearance in South Carolina. CNSO is composed of an outstanding collection of musicians, many of whom have won prizes in national and international competition. For nearly half a century, the China National Symphony has introduced Chinese audiences to a vast repertoire of classical, romantic, modern and contemporary orchestral works by Asian and Western composers.
Thursday, Feb. 7, will mark a performance by singer Franc D'Ambrosio, the longest-running star of the Broadway hit, "Phantom of the Opera." D'Ambrosio appeared in the title role 2,300 times over a 10-year period. He also appeared as Anthony, the opera-star son of Al Pacino in the 1990 motion picture "Godfather III," and recorded the film's Academy Award-winning theme song, "Speak Softly Love."
Ferguson said on Feb. 6, D'Ambrosio will host a competition among singers of high school-age and older in Greenwood and the surrounding area and select two individuals to play the roles of "Phantom of the Opera" characters Christine and Raoul. The winners will appear with him on stage at Lander during his evening performance the following evening.
More information about the auditions will be made available closer to the date of D'Ambrosio's appearance.
GLPA will conclude the season on Tuesday, March 5, with Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance." The spirited comic opera will be performed by the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players (NYGASP), complete with a full orchestra. Founded nearly 40 years ago as street theatre, NYGASP has grown to become America's pre-eminent professional Gilbert and Sullivan repertory ensemble. Since its founding, the company has presented over 2,000 performances throughout the eastern United States and Canada, building new audiences for the 13 Gilbert and Sullivan productions in its repertoire.
Ferguson said opportunities are available to businesses and organizations to sponsor shows in the 2012-2013 season. "Sponsors help underwrite the costs of each production so that we can continue to offer tickets at affordable prices," she added.
Season passes to all five shows are on sale and will entitle bearers to priority seating and a 16 oz. insulated Tervis Tumbler. Passes are priced at $165 each; $150 for seniors and $140 for youth 18 and younger.
Season passes and tickets to individual shows may be obtained by calling Greenwood-Lander Performing Arts at 864-388-8326.