STG Announces 2017-18 Season of Dance, Jazz, Theater and More

Seattle Theatre Group has announced its 2017-2018 season, featuring exciting performances and engaging performing arts experiences that ensure everyone has access to embrace art that is the best of us. Offering ground-breaking new works, popular national performances, and accessible community-based programs, STG continues its commitment to creating and sustaining a rich cultural environment for the enjoyment of everyone.

STG's 2017-2018 Dance Season blends the classic with the unconventional while highlighting some of the best dance artistry from around the world. First up is the Seattle premiere of Israeli dance ensemble L-E-V, a confluence of movement, music, lighting, fashion, art and technology, in the new creation "OCD LOVE." Next, Mark Morris Dance Group returns with the Seattle premiere of its unique Beatles tribute "Sgt. Pepper at 50: Pepperland." Back by popular demand, Kidd Pivot/Electric Company Theatre's boundary-stretching hybrid of theatre and dance "Betroffenheit" returns to the Moore Theatre, presented in association with On the Boards. Dorrance Dance brings its contemporary take on tap dance to the Moore in a program featuring three Seattle premieres. STG is thrilled to welcome Alvin AileyAmerican Dance Theater back for three performances, and a special 20th Anniversary celebration of DANCE This rounds out the dance season.

STG presents a lineup of must-see jazz performances, many of which are in partnership with Earshot Jazz Festival, featuring acclaimed musicians and groundbreaking projects. Pianist Jason Moran offers his multi-media performance "In My Mind: Monk at Town Hall, 1959," which investigates Thelonious Monk's famous recording Monk at Town Hall. All-star group Hudson brings together drummer Jack DeJohnette, bassist Larry Grenadier, keyboardist John Medeski, and guitarist John Scofield, for an evening of genre bending improvised jazz. Vocalist Gregory Porter returns to the Moore for a performance that once again showcases his burgeoning body of work, and renowned jazz drummer Antonio Sanchez provides live accompaniment for his Grammy Award-winning score to the Oscar-winning film Birdman in "BiRDMAN LiVE." Lastly, the all-star ensemble Miles Electric Band, featuring a number of MiLes Davis alums, revisits the repertoire from Davis' electric period.

STG offers a wide range of world-class musicians throughout the 2017-2018 season, including Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi in a performance showcasing his unique contemporary style that has defied categories and topped the classical charts across the globe. Dubbed the king and queen of the banjo, Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn join forces in a duo performance at the Moore. "Meeting of the Spirits" features pioneering guitarists John McLaughlin & Jimmy Herring as they co-headline with their own bands, eventually merging the goups to perform the music of Mahavishnu Orchestra, McLaughlin's seminal fusion project.

The season also features several performances combining elements of music and theater to create unique, immersive experiences for audiences. In a single-night event presented in association with On the Boards, innovative artist Taylor Mac performs "A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (Abridged)," which uses music to provide a three-hour, highly subjective crash course on the history of American culture. From the mind of award-winning composer, writer, and performer Dave Malloy comes Ghost Quartet, a song cycle spanning seven centuries that centers on aspects of love, death, and whiskey. And the inventive company of Manual Cinema combines shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and music and sound in its production of "ADA/AVA."

Audiences are invited to brush up on their knowledge of culture and food when The Dinner Party Download comes to the Moore as part of KUOW's 65th Anniversary Celebration. Hosts Rico Gagliano and Brendan Francis will be joined by special guests for an hour-long conversation as part of the popular podcast that has been dubbed "public radio's arts & leisure section."

Two festive, family performances come to the Paramount Theatre during the holidays. First is Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis, a new show combining Mannheim Steamroller Christmas classics with a selection of compositions from Davis' Fresh Aire series. In December, Cirque Dreams Holidaze lights up the Paramount with a stage extravaganza that blends cirque spectacle, Broadway musical, and family show all in one.

The season continues the tradition of silent film presentation with the ever-popular Silent Movie Mondays, featuring the series Leading Ladies, as well as a special screening of the 1927 horror classic The Unknown. Other returning STG favorites include the Seattle Rock Orchestra with a special Mother's Day concert featuring the music of The Beatles, Whose Live Anyway?, and annual community programs such as DANCE This, More Music @ The Moore, Global Party, and Starbucks Hot Java Cool Jazz, among others.

For additional information on all performances, visit stgpresents.org.

STG's mission is to make diverse performing arts and education an integral part of the region's cultural identity while keeping three historic venues, The Paramount, Moore and Neptune, alive and vibrant. STG presents a range of performances from Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and jazz, to comedy, concerts of all genres, speakers and family shows - at these three iconic theatres in Seattle and venues throughout the Puget Sound region and in Portland, Oregon.