WARREN MILLER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Billed as a season of pure, ecstatic, fun, the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center winter performance schedule includes two original theatrical productions featuring top Hollywood and Broadway talent; a comedic musical artist of international renown; one of the nation’s top magicians, and a tap-meets-band percussive dance extravaganza.
Tickets went on sale for WMPAC performances on Thursday, Dec. 1, and Executive Director John Zirkle expects sales to be brisk.
“I really believe we’ve hit the sweet spot this year with our programming,” Zirkle said. “It’s a combination of the innovative, the international and the inspirational with a heavy emphasis on fun, families and artists at the peak of their careers.”
The season begins on Thursday, Dec. 29 with Rhythmic Circus, a tap dance troupe keeping rhythm with a seven-person band (including tuba) providing backup in a combination of dance, comedy, music and artistry. A circus-themed art opening will precede the performance at 6 p.m.
In another nod to family audiences, the WMPAC will present its first ever magician, Mike Super, on Thursday, Feb. 18. Consistently ranked as one of the top magicians in the United States, Super will present an afternoon matinee performance in addition to the 7:30 p.m. show.
On Jan. 7, the Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning octet, Roomful of Teeth, perform their own brand of imaginative vocal gymnastics.
Japan’s famous virtuoso pianist, Hiromi, rounds out the eclectic music season at the WMPAC. Known by only her first name, The New York Times called Hiromi a “pint-sized piano dynamo” with “a penchant for brisk bedazzlement and hyper-articulated drama.” Discover what this means at her March 10 performance.
Broadway comes to Big Sky on Jan. 21 and 22 with an original, debut production of the tragic-comic Shakespeare romance, “The Winter’s Tale.” This is the first of the two theater productions which are being presented exclusively on the WMPAC stage this year. The second is a 90-minute retelling of Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” with a score provided by the bluegrass band Pert Near Sandstone. Called “Ishmael,” the play will have its world premiere in Big Sky on March 25.
On March 3, the much-anticipated Reggie Watts, beat-box musician, comedian and graduate of Montana’s Great Falls High School, comes to WMPAC to present the show that has made him a staple of late night talk shows and a TED Talks star. Given the widespread demand for Watts to appear live, this is the show that Zirkle is most surprised to be able to present.
“I’m still pinching myself thinking that we actually got Reggie Watts to agree to come,” Zirkle said.
In what has now become a tradition, the James Sewell Ballet returns to the WMPAC stage for the eighth time on March 18. The innovative and athletic dance company from Minneapolis has become a season favorite for Big Sky audiences.
“Big Sky residents like thinking of James Sewell [Ballet] as having a second home in Big Sky,” Zirkle said. “They just can’t imagine a WMPAC season without them.”
Tickets for all performances are on sale now at warrenmillerpac.org. Visit the website for more information on each performance including special art events that occur prior to many shows.
