Mr. Spock as well as Joshua Bell: Carpenter Performing Arts Center offers an eclectic 2010-2011 lineup
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The musings of Leonard Nimoy, the music of Pink Floyd, a Broadway cabaret act and Chinese ‘thunder drums’ are among the eclectic offerings of the 2010-2011 season announced by the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach.
The center will present four subscription series and nine special events, including its first classical-music concert, which will feature violinist Joshua Bell.
Humorist Garrison Keillor will open the Wit & Wisdom Series on Sept. 22, followed by David Birney’s stage adaptation of stories by Mark Twain, ‘The Diaries of Adam & Eve,’ on Jan. 29 and a reading by Billy Collins, the former U.S. poet laureate, on May 21.
The Cabaret Series will begin with performances on Sept. 29-30 by Broadway singer-actress Susan Egan. Next will come jazz singer Allan Harris in ‘A Nat King Cole Christmas’ on Dec. 15-16, the a capella doo wop group the Mighty Echoes, on Jan. 26-27 and singer-songwriter Susan Werner on April 20-21.
Kicking off the Dance Series on Oct. 2 will be Pilobolus, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a mix of new and classic works. ‘Remember Me,’ a hybrid of contemporary American dance, opera and rock by Parsons Dance with the East Village Opera Company is set for March 5, and David Dorfman Dance’s ‘Prophets of Funk’ -- driven by the sounds of Sly and the Family Stone -- for April 23.
The Spectacle Series will present Jigu! Thunder Drums of China on Oct. 16, the Flying Karamazov Brothers on Jan. 15 and ‘The Aluminum Show,’ a fanciful blend of acrobatics, puppetry and illusion -- all awash in reclaimed aluminum -- on March 12.
In the first of the Carpenter Center’s non-subscription events, Leonard Nimoy will reminisce about his entertainment career, including his experiences as ‘Star Trek’s’ Mr. Spock, on Oct. 23. An adaptation of Tomie dePaola’s children’s book ‘Strega Nona’ will take the stage Dec. 5. Holiday offerings will include the Troubadour Theater Company’s ‘Frosty the Snow Manilow’ on Dec. 11 and a show by the Glenn Miller Orchestra on Dec. 18.
Violinist Bell will appear on Feb. 14, followed by classical pianist Alpin Hong on March 11, the Canadian folk-rock band Great Big Sea on March 19 and the ‘Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular’ on May 14.
Ending the season on July 2 will be ‘First Person: Seeing America,’ in which images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s photography collection will be accompanied by prose and poetry read by NPR host Neal Conan and actress Lily Knight and pieces performed by the Celtic early-music group Ensemble Galilei.
-- Karen Wada
‘The Aluminum Show,’ a blend of puppetry, acrobatics, illusion and lots of aluminum, will play the Carpenter Center on March 12. Credit: The Aluminum Show