From classic Rock ’n Roll, to the best in Country music, and legendary Soul sounds, the Lancaster Performing Arts Center has introduced a 2014-15 lineup for practically all modern music tastes. There will also be performances by Cirque Zuma Zuma, Cedar Street Theatre, the Antelope Valley Ballet and a late-season show by animal expert Jack Hanna.
Orquesta De Baja California
The new season will start with a 3 p.m. matinee on Sept. 21 with Orquesta De Baja California. Conductor and world renowned guitarist Angel Romero, who made his debut at age 16 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, leads this 100-year-old orchestra hailing from Guadalajara, Mexico. The orchestra performs a wide-ranging style of classical music from baroque to modern.
Romero has been compared with some of the most prolific and iconic guitarists such as Andres Segovia, Carlos Montoya and Charo. He wrote the score for the popular 1989 film “The Milagro Beanfield War” and has been a featured soloist with the New York Philharmonic, the New World Symphony and through the years has conducted the Royal Philharmonic, the Berlin Symphoniker and the Beijing Philharmonic. Tickets are $34 and $24.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
One of the most popular acts of the 1980s, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will perform at 8 p.m., Sept. 27. Their first hit, “I Love Rock ’n Roll” reached No. 1 on the 1982 Billboard Hot 100 list and launched the group’s success. Another hit from that groundbreaking year was a remake of Tommy James and the Shondell’s “Crimson and Clover.” Other hits include “I Hate Myself For Loving You,” Do You Wanna Touch Me,” “Light of Day” and ‘Love Is All Around.” Three of the group’s albums have been certified platinum or gold.
Jett began playing guitar at age 14, around the time her family moved from Rockville, Md. to West Covina. Early on she was a founding member of The Runaways, a group that featured fellow Rock goddess Lita Ford. A 2010 film was made about The Runaways starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. Tickets are $69 and $59.
Cirque Zuma Zuma
Cirque Zuma Zuma brings its high-energy spectacular to town for a 3 p.m. matinee on Oct. 19. Often described as an African version of Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Zuma Zuma combines the mysticism of their various homelands in a non-stop, action-packed performance featuring some of the world’s most talented singers, musicians and acrobats.
Although most of the performers were trained in Kenya and Tanzania, the show features South African vocalists, gumboot dancers (boots worn by mine workers in South Africa), contortionists, Zimbabwean percussionists, Egyptian limbo dancers, Gabonese tumblers and amazing pole acts. Cirque Zuma Zuma captured the attention of the American audience with an appearance last year on “America’s Got Talent.” The 20-member troupe has performed in Australia and in a number of European countries. Tickets are $29, $19 and $12.
Lonestar
Appearing at 7 p.m. on Nov. 2, this Country music quartet has amassed RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) certified sales in excess of 10 million units since its debut in 1995. Since then, Lonestar has garnered 10 No. 1 Country hits including “No News,” “Come Crying to Me” and their 1999 crossover smash “Amazed” which received the 1999 Academy of Country Music “Song of the Year” award.
Lonestar was also the 2001 Country Music Association “Vocal Group of the Year.” Formed in 1992 in Nashville, Tenn., Lonestar played about 500 shows (mostly one-nighters) before signing a recording contract. Their self-titled debut album from 1995 featured the popular “Tequila Talkin’” single which rose to the Top Ten on the Country charts; the follow-up album, “No News,” went to No. 1 on the Country charts. “Twenty years ago, when we put this little band together to play in some bars and make a little money, I dreamed it pretty good,” said keyboardist Dean Sams. “But I never dreamed it quite this good.” Tickets are $57 and $52.
Irwin Mayfield and New Orleans Jazz Orchestra
This orchestra pays homage to New Orleans and all of the music associated with the “Big Easy.” See them at 8 p.m., Nov. 21. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra became a beacon for the troubled city that has a rich cultural spirit. Jazz from native son, Louis Armstrong, will be featured. The orchestra is a swinging, 18-piece ensemble led by trumpet prodigy and Wynton Marsalis protégé Irwin Mayfield who carries on the traditions of Jazz, Blues, Swing and Negro Spirituals. The orchestra will perform some of Mayfield’s original big band arrangements and also cover memorable tunes by Duke Ellington. Mayfield has been working the past decade to fortify Jazz through worldwide performances as well as educating a new generation about the history of New Orleans Jazz. Tickets are $35 and $24.
Cedar Street Theatre
The not-for-profit local theater group will perform classical productions at 8 p.m., Dec. 5. For more than three decades, Cedar Street Theatre has provided family entertainment and each season the troupe introduces two new musicals and two comedy-dramas. Known for showcasing one-act plays and with an eye on developing new directors and new technical personnel, the group is also noted for recreating famous radio shows harkening back to the “golden age” of radio, and also does children’s monologues. The company membership is composed primarily of a volunteer board of directors, local talent, and benefactors include season subscribers, sponsors and patrons. Through the years, many performers have gone to Broadway and other professional venues. Tickets are $20, $16 and $12.
Antelope Valley Ballet
For 16 years, the Antelope Valley Ballet has provided the finest in classical performances from some of history’s most famous ballets. They’ll take the stage at 2 and 7 p.m., Dec. 13.
Early on the A.V. Ballet sought to provide the region with professional-quality performance opportunities in a company setting, as well as offer high-quality performances locally and regionally and also to stimulate local interest in and an appreciation for dance as a performing art. The group produces two to three shows each year and traditionally has presented morning shows for school children, home schoolers and for disabled youngsters. Productions have included the “Nutcracker,” “Giselle,” “Cinderella,” “ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Fractured Fairy Tales,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Swan Lake” and “Hansel and Gretel.” Tickets are $28, $24 and $14.
Jack Hanna
Jack Hanna may be the most famous animal expert of all time. Hanna has always combined his expert knowledge of the wild with a hint of mirth and can be seen on television weekend mornings on “Jack Hanna’s Wild Countdown.” Hanna and his many animal friends will appear at 7 p.m., Jan. 16, 2015. Hanna is the director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio and served as director of the zoo from 1978 to 1993. Nicknamed “Jungle Jack,” his media appearances, particularly with talk show host David Letterman, have made him a household name and one of the most popular hosts of children’s programming ever.
The Knoxville, Tenn., native has been around domestic and wild animals since childhood—at one time asking his father to zone part of his farm for a zoo—and eventually opened a petting zoo in 1973. In Ohio, Hanna hosted his first TV show, a local production in Columbus called “Hanna’s Ark” from 1981-83, and has gone on to host “Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures” from 1993-2008 and “Jack Hanna Into The Wild” from 2009-10. Tickets are $35, $19 and $12.
Roberta Flack
She’s one of the most popular pianists/vocalists of the Rock/Pop era and will take the stage at 8 p.m., Feb. 7, 2015. The former music teacher from Black Mountain, N.C., is the first and only person to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year for two consecutive years with “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in 1973 and “Killing Me Softly With His Song” in 1974.
Flack is known for several classic No. 1 singles including “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and, with the late Donny Hathaway, “Where Is The Love” and “The Closer I Get To You.” Flack began playing the piano at 9, and by her early teens she had been offered a full scholarship in music by Howard University. She changed her major from piano to voice and became an assistant conductor of the university choir. She graduated from Howard by age 19 and began graduate music studies immediately afterwards. Her first job teaching music and English earned her $2,800 a year in Farmville, N.C. Tickets are $54 and $44.
Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash will bring her Country music stylings to the stage at 8 p.m., March 21, 2015. It was not easy for Cash to step out of the shadow of her legendary father, the late Johnny Cash. Therefore, she decided to broaden her repertories by drawing on many music genres such as Folk, Pop, Rock and Blues. In the 1980s, she had a string of chart-toppng singles, which crossed musical styles and eventually landed her on both the Country and Top 100 Pop charts. Her breakthrough hit from 1981, “Seven Year Ache,” topped the U.S. Country singles charts and reached the Top 30 on the U.S. Pop singles charts. In the past two decades, Cash has released five albums, written two books and edited a collection of short stories. She also won a Grammy Award in 1985 for “I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me” and has received a total of 12 Grammy Award nominations. She has 11 No. 1 Country hit singles and has earned two gold records. Hailey Ann Nelson portrayed her in the 2005 Oscar-winning film about Johnny Cash entitled “Walk the Line.” Tickets are $44 and $34.
Special performances of “Jim Henson’s Dinosaur Train-LIVE” and “Buddy’s Big Adventure” are also on tap this season.
“We’re excited to continue LPAC’s history of excellence by providing our residents with high-quality entertainment right here, in the heart of downtown Lancaster,” said Councilmember Sandra Johnson. “From a legendary Rock icon to America’s favorite zoo keeper, the upcoming LPAC season has a little something for everyone.”
Season subscription packages are on sale and include Pick 6, Pick 10 and season-level subscription options; each of which offers discounts on bulk ticket purchases. Season subscriptions may be ordered by phone at (661) 723-5950 or you can stop by the box office at 750 W. Lancaster Blvd. from noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday. A complete list of performers may be found at lpac.org.
