KINKY BOOTS, DANCING PROS: LIVE, Itzhak Perlman and More Set for Wharton Center's 2014-15 Season

Wharton Center is proud to give a glimpse of our upcoming 2014- 2015 season. The entire season will be announced the last week of April, when Wharton Center subscribers will receive the season brochure and order form. Just like years past, subscriber orders are processed according to Wharton's priority system, which is based on years of subscription and/or donation level. The actual seating will begin late May.

• MSU FEDERAL CREDIT UNION BROADWAY AT WHARTON CENTER:

The opening show of the MSU Federal Credit Union Broadway at Wharton Center Season is the winner of 8 2012 Tony Awards including Best Musical. ONCE (October 14-19, 2014) is a truly original Broadway experience. Featuring an impressive ensemble of actor/musicians who play their own instruments onstage, ONCE tells the enchanting tale of a Dublin street musician who's about to give up on his dream when a beautiful young woman takes a sudden interest in his haunting love songs. As the chemistry between them grows, his music soars to powerful new heights...but their unlikely connection turns out to be deeper and more complex than your everyday romance. Emotionally captivating and theatrically breathtaking, ONCE draws you in from the very first note and never lets go. It's an unforgettable story about going for your dreams...not living in fear...and the power of music to connect all of us.

Leapin' Lizards! The world's best-loved musical ANNIE returns (December 16-21, 2014)! Directed by original lyricist and director Martin Charnin, this production of ANNIE will be a brand-new incarnation of the iconic original and features unforgettable songs such as "It's The Hard-knock Life," "Easy Street," and the eternal anthem of optimism, "Tomorrow!"

KINKY BOOTS (May 26-31, 2015) is the exhilarating Broadway musical that will lift your spirits to new high-heeled heights! Winner of six Tony Awards® including Best Musical, this inspirational story follows a struggling shoe factory owner who works to turn his business around with help from the most unlikely person. Together, these two become an unstoppable team, and find that they have more in common than they ever dreamed possible... proving that when you change your mind about someone, you can change your whole world.

Inspired by a true story, KINKY BOOTS features a joyous, Tony winning score by Cyndi Lauper, direction and Tony-winning choreography by JERRY MITCHELL and a hilarious, uplifting book by four-time Tony® winner HARVEY FIERSTEIN. Come join the sold-out audiences who've discovered why sometimes, the best way to fit in is to stand out!

Wharton Center continues to focus on diversity in programming with a multitude of performances originating from around the globe and featuring the best performing artists in the world.

• WHARTON CENTER PERFORMING ARTS ATTRACTIONS

The internationally acclaimed Dance Theatre of Harlem (Wednesday, November 12, 2014) is celebrating over 45 years of creating vivid and ingenious forms of expression and bringing a contemporary flair to the ballet repertoire. Arthur Mitchell, the first African-American male principal dancer in a major U.S. ballet company, and the late Karel Shook founded the company as a response to the growing need for more artistic opportunities for children, especially in Harlem. Since then, this multicultural dance ensemble has achieved extraordinary success with powerful messages of self-reliance, artistic relevance, and individual responsibility. This is a rare chance to see a hugely talented ensemble perform works from its lauded repertoire!

DANCING PROS: LIVE (November 15, 2014) The world's finest dancers battle it out, and you pick the winner! For the first time, pros from Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, and international dance champions, all compete against each other. Hosted by Alan Thicke (Growing Pains), this is an unforgettable audience-participation show with a glamorous set, fantastic costumes, group numbers, and amazing dancers. Singers from The Voice and American Idol accompany performances, while celebrity judges like Edyta Sliwinska of DWTS help the audience select the winners.

Julian Sands in: A Celebration of Harold Pinter (Sunday, November 16, 2014) is directed by John Malkovich and brings to life the poems and prose of literary genius, Harold Pinter, the director, actor, political activist, and Nobel Prize winner. Sands has a rare insight into Pinter's personality, life, and works. As noted by Variety, the performance "captures the pugnacity, precision, and a little of the dry humor of an exacting writer." Sands has been seen on stage, on television, in the Academy Award-nominated film, The Killing Fields, as well as Leaving Las Vegas, A Room With A View, and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Don't miss a remarkable evening with an extraordinary actor.

The Hot Sardines (Sunday, February 8) have a unique musical recipe: hot jazz and sultry standards from the '20s, '30s, and '40s, sprinkled with rich New Orleans sounds, a dash of '40s Paris flavor, infused with vibrant musical surprises that captivate audiences. Steeped in salty stride piano and the music Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt and Fats Waller used to make, The Hot Sardines make straight-up, foot-stomping jazz. (Literally! Tap dancer "Fast Eddy" Francisco serves as the band's second percussionist.) They invoke the sound of a near-century ago, yet stay right in step with the current age. Hot jazz has taken New York and other cities by storm, and it's coming to Wharton Center!

The reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman's (Saturday, April 25, 2015) charming presence and profound artistry have elevated him to superstar status! His irrepressible joy in music-making has garnered the appreciation of audiences worldwide. His numerous awards include a Kennedy Center Honor, the Medal of Liberty, a National Medal of the Arts, four Emmy Awards, fifteen Grammy Awards, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His haunting violin is heard in Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-winning film, Schindler's List. Perlman has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, and other great world orchestras. For one night only, Itzhak Perlman brings his extraordinary musicianship to Wharton Center!

The entire 2014-2015 season will be highlighted in the season brochure which arrives in homes beginning Friday, April 25. Individual tickets (non-subscribers; non-group) to most shows will go on sale at a date to be announced in early fall.

Subscriber orders are processed according to our priority system, which is based on years of subscription and/or donation level. The actual seating will begin late May.

Look for the 2014-2015 Season Brochure - Coming Soon!