Patti LuPone, Alan Menken, Tour de Force III and More to Mark Segerstrom Center's 30th Anniversary

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is celebrating its 30th Anniversary with an array of performances that represent the range of music, dance and theater that have been seen and heard on its stages since opening night of September 29, 1986.

Tour de Force III, a dance spectacular, starts things off with performances by Diana Vishneva, Joaquin De Luz, Marcelo Gomes, Denis Matvienko, Marcelino Sambé, Friedemann Vogel, Edward Watson and others. They are followed by opera star Kathleen Battle, Broadway legend Patti LuPone, LA's Boogaloo Assassins in a free concert on the Arts Plaza, Academy Award-winning composer Alan Menken in the world premiere of his first ever one- man show, and a jazz greats Jazz Weekend.

Two superstars appear on a single evening, September 9. Broadway's Patti LuPone returns to the Center in her one-woman show COULDA, WOULDA, SHOULDA....played that part in Segerstrom Hall. Kathleen Battle will perform her powerful and moving Underground Railroad - A Spiritual Journey in Rene?e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall that same evening. Battle will be joined by the California State University, Fullerton Singers directed by Dr. Robert Istad.

On September 17, LA-based Latin music sensation Boogaloo Assassins Will Power up (and get down) on the Arts Plaza for a FREE concert. This is likely to be the final public event on the plaza before it begins its dramatic redesign.

Disney aficionados, film buffs and musical theater lovers can expect an evening like no other when eight- time Oscar-winner Alan Menken performs his own music and shares entertaining anecdotes about his unrivaled career in front of a live audience at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. His songs and music have thrilled audiences around the world, and now they will thrill Orange County audiences during the world premiere of his exciting new one-man-show, A Whole New World of Alan Menken, on Friday, September 30, 2016 at 8 p.m. in the Rene?e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

Jazz Weekend 2016 kicks off on October 7 with a special double bill concert featuring the SFJAZZ Collective performing a tribute to MiLes Davis along with the band's own compositions and the evening continues with JAZZ 100 marking the 2017 centennial celebration for four visionary talents all born in the same glorious year: Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Mongo Santamaria and Thelonious Monk. On October 8, Los Angeles tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington makes his Segerstrom Center debut with performances from his latest album, The Epic, featuring his 10-piece band The Next Step and on October 9, Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis return to the Center for an unforgettable afternoon of music that will include the opening act of drummer and vocalist Jamison Ross.

Tickets to paid performances are available online at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office located at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket discounts for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236. The Center offers many services for patrons with disabilities including removable wheelchair locations, binoculars and assistive listening devices. To learn more visit SCFTA.org/accessibilityinformation.

Tour de Force III, a one-night-only star-studded dance event to celebrate 30 years of presenting the greatest ballet companies and the world's most celebrated dancers. Tour de Force III will be on Saturday, August 27 in Segerstrom Hall. Produced in collaboration with Ardani Artists, the program will include four Center premieres: Clay by Vladimir Varnava, Zeitgeist by Alastair Marriott, Tristesse by Marcelo Gomes and Le Divertissement du Roi by Maxim Petrov. The international cast includes Diana Vishneva, Joaquin De Luz, Marcelo Gomes, Denis Matvienko, Marcelino Sambe?, Friedemann Vogel and Edward Watson, as well as members of the The Royal Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada.

Patti LuPone is the ideal artist to represent the Center's 30-year history of presenting Broadway's top shows. San Francisco Chronicle's Octavio Roca called LuPone "the American musical theater's greatest living star." The two-time Tony Award® winner has portrayed many of Broadway's most memorable leading ladies, including Mama Rose in Gypsy, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd and Eva Pero?n in Evita. In COULDA, WOULDA, SHOULDA....played that part, she performs songs from musicals which she could have played, should have played, did play and will play. The list of shows includes Hair, Bye, Bye, Birdie, Funny Girl, West Side Story and Peter Pan as well as selections from her own Tony Award-winning performances in Evita and Gypsy. Nelson Pressley of The Washington Post praised LuPone's performance in COULDA, WOULDA, SHOULDA....played that part, "a celebration of the singular stage force she is." The program was conceived and directed by Scott Wittman with musical arrangements by Dick Gallagher.

Opera star and five-time Grammy® Award winner Kathleen Battle is a legend in the opera world and has received equal praise for her performances of jazz and spirituals. Her voice has been called one of the most beautiful in the world. For her return to the Center, Battle will perform her moving program, Underground Railroad - A Spiritual Journey. It will be an evening of glorious songs, spirituals and hymns inspired by the one of American history's boldest examples of solidarity on behalf of freedom and equality. The Underground Railroad was the 19th century network of safe houses that allowed African- Americans to escape from slavery in the South to the Northern free states and Canada. Throughout the performance, there will be narration and readings from period accounts and works by abolishionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Patrick MCoy of The Washington Post wrote, "Ms. Battle took us not only on a musical journey, but a spiritual one, as the songs she sang captured the plight, faith, fervor and perseverance of a people on a journey to freedom."

Formed in Los Angeles from the ashes of the rock-steady machine Ocean ii, Latin-funk pioneers Five Degrees of Soul, ska stalwarts See Spot, Chris Murray Combo and roots reggae monsters the Expanders, the Boogaloo Assassins are bringing get-down Spanish-Harlem style for a FREE performance on the Arts Plaza on Saturday, September 17. Heavily indebted to the classic sounds of New York's late 60s/early70s Latin music explosion, the 'Asesinos' serve up traditional Latin son/son- montuno/guaguanco/cha-cha-cha/Latin boogaloo/Latin soul, blues and descargas to for listening and dancing pleasure.

A Whole New World of Alan Menken has its world premiere during the Center's 30th Anniversary celebrations. His music and lyrics have become an integral part of the fabric of our lives since his first works were produced nearly 40 years ago. Menken has garnered 19 Academy Award® nominations, 10 Grammy® Awards, seven Golden Globes and a Tony Award®. He has been credited for introducing a whole new generation to musicals through such box office hits as Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid , Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Enchanted and Tangled as well as such Broadway shows as Little Shop of Horrors, Sister Act and Newsies and television's Galavant. His chart topping songs have included "Beauty and the Beast," "A Whole New World," "Colors of the Wind" and "Go the Distance." Winner of the 2012 Tony and Drama Desk awards for his score for Newsies, he has won more Academy Awards than any other living individual, including eight Oscars with four for Best Score and four for Best Song; 11 Grammy® Awards (including Song of the Year for "A Whole New World"); seven Golden Globes; London's Evening Standard Award; the Olivier Award; the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award.

The Jazz Weekend kicks off on October 7 with a special double bill concert featuring the SFJAZZ Collective performing a tribute to MiLes Davis along with the band's own compositions and the evening continues with JAZZ 100 marking the 2017 centennial celebration for four visionary talents all born in the same glorious year: Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Mongo Santamaria and Thelonious Monk. On October 8, Los Angeles tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington makes his Segerstrom Center debut with performances from his latest album, The Epic, featuring his 10-piece band The Next Step and on October 9, Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis return to the Center for an unforgettable afternoon of music that will include the opening act of drummer and vocalist Jamison Ross.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution and as well as a beautiful multi- disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and to engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.

Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County's largest non-profit arts organization. In addition to its six performance venues, Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School, where students ages 3 - 14 are taught by acclaimed teachers utilizing the renowned ABT National Training Curriculum in studios utilized by the world's greatest dancers and choreographers.

The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family- friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events.

The Center's arts-in-education programs are designed to inspire young people through the arts and reach hundreds of thousands of students each year. In addition to the presenting and producing institution Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 14-acre campus also embraces the facilities of two independent acclaimed organizations: Tony Award®-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.