McCarter Theatre Announces 2010-2011 Season

McCarter Theatre is thrilled to announce its 2010-2011 Presenting Season, featuring a vast array of established artists, up-and-coming talents, and international performers.

This year's Music Series contains some of the world's most renowned pianists, both in solo recitals and in collaboration with other artists. All the great pianists of our time have appeared at McCarter over the years with one exception: the legendary Maurizio Pollini, who will finally make his historic McCarter debut. Meanwhile, Pierre Laurent-Aimard will return for his second McCarter recital in a program of Scriabin, Berg, Liszt, and Wagner. In one of only five joint recitals next season, Yefim Bronfman performs alongside master violinist/violist Pinchas Zukerman in sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms, while pianist and composer Brad Mehldau will also appear in a joint recital with mezzo soprano Anne Sofie Von Otter, featuring songs from Fauré, Brahms, and Strauss to Tom Waits, Lennon/McCartney, and Mehldau himself. And André Watts marks the 40th anniversary of his McCarter debut with an all-Liszt program to celebrate the Liszt bicentennial, including the great B-minor sonata, one of the great cornerstones of the piano repertoire.

Other musicians performing at McCarter this season include the ensembles Chanticleer and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (with violinist Arabella Steinbacher), as well as violinist Itzhak Perlman in chamber music with members of The Perlman Music Program, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in what has become an annual holiday tradition: Bach's Complete Brandenburgs. Additionally, legendary Irish singer Mary Black will stop at McCarter on her 25th Anniversary Tour, while two unique young musicians make their McCarter debuts: Jake Shimabukuro, who has transformed the ukulele into an instrument of incredible virtuosity, and Cameron Carpenter, the astounding organist whose unorthodox and flamboyant style are guaranteed to break preconceptions of a traditional organ recital. Carpenter will perform on the great Aeolian Skinner organ of the Princeton University Chapel, with seating reserved by section, and with video projection and commentary.

The 2010-2011 Dance Series feature home-grown talent as well as extraordinary companies from around the world. Mainstay Mark Morris Dance Group returns once again to the McCarter stage, while Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet makes its first McCarter appearance in a program including works by Ohad Naharin, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and Crystal Pike; and Ailey II, the second company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, will perform Ailey Highlights as well as his signature work, Revelations. Choreographer Nacho Duato's Compañia Nacional De Danza 2 brings some of Spain's most talented young dancers to McCarter, while Brazil's only professional dance company, Balé Folclórico da Bahia, presents an explosion of Afro-Brazilian rhythms that are its special heritage, and the magnificent State Ballet Theatre of Russia stages another of ballet's full-length classics, Swan Lake, set to the familiar Tchaikovsky score. The season also comprises several other performances of interest to dance audiences, including Argentina's Tango Buenos Aires and two family-friendly events: Mummenschanz, the Swiss mask and mime troupe, in its all-new show 3x11, and the extravagant Quebec-based acrobatic company Cirque Eloize, in its newest production, ID.

For cabaret fans, McCarter once again offers a slate of stars, including Marilyn Maye, Liz Callaway, and Eric Michael Gillett. Max Raabe & Palast Orchester, who took the Cabaret Series by storm in 2008, returns for another incredible representation of the halcyon days of 1920s and 30s Weimar Berlin in all its high style and musical glory. And stage and screen legend Debbie Reynolds appears at McCarter for the first time at age 78. There's also plenty to satisfy those seeking out a comedic performance: best-selling author David Sedaris makes his annual visit to McCarter, while the hilarious Cambridge Footlights Revue takes the stage in Cambridge University's legendary student-written and performed comedy revue, and the "bad boys of abridgement" of the Reduced Shakespeare Company present their latest show, The Complete World of Sports (abridged).

The 2010-2011 Jazz & Blues Series runs the gamut from musical legends and Grammy winners to hot young artists and emerging talents. Superstar trumpeter Chris Botti will open the season with music from his latest smash-hit album In Boston, while the series concludes with a special double bill of jazz piano trios led by young phenoms Vijay Iyer and Eldar Djangirov. Blues at the Crossroads: The Robert Johnson Centennial Concerts, celebrates the legacy and 100th birthday of delta blues pioneer Robert Johnson, with participants including Big Head Todd & The Monsters, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, the Wood Brothers, Hubert Sumlin, and the duo of Cedric Burnside and Lightnin' Malcolm. Next up, trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard and his quintet will play from his latest CD Choices (featuring spoken word segments by Princeton's own Cornel West) and will be joined by special guests from Princeton University in his Grammy-winning suite A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina), written for Spike Lee's epic documentary When the Levees Broke. Finally, Hot Tuna Blues encompasses an all-star evening of blues featuring Hot Tuna members Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady along with Charlie Musselwhite and Jim Lauderdale.

All programs and dates are subject to change.

Subscribing is the easiest and most affordable way to guarantee seats for McCarter Theatre Center's upcoming season. Subscribers also receive advance notice of special events and discounts at Princeton-area restaurants and shops. To order tickets or for more information, call the Ticket Office at (609) 258-2787 or visit www.mccarter.org. McCarter Theatre Center is located at 91 University Place, Princeton, NJ.

McCARTER THEATRE CENTER 2010-2011 PRESENTING SERIES SCHEDULE (By Series)

MUSIC SERIES A
Subscriptions range from $172 to $220

Pinchas Zukerman, violin & viola and Yefim Bronfman, piano
Monday, November 15, 2010 - 8pm
Program: includes sonatas for both violin and viola by Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms.

Maurizio Pollini, piano
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 8pm

Chanticleer
Tuesday, April 5, 2011 - 8pm

Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
Tuesday, May 3, 2011 - 8pm
Program: includes works by Scriabin, Berg, Liszt, and Wagner.

MUSIC SERIES B
Subscriptions range from $172 to $220

André Watts, piano
Monday, October 25, 2010 - 8pm
Program: All-Liszt, including the great B-minor sonata.

Anne-Sofie Von Otter, mezzo-soprano and Brad Mehldau, piano
Thursday, February 17, 2011 - 8pm
Program: includes songs ranging from Fauré, Brahms, and Strauss to Tom Waits, Lennon/McCartney, and Brad Mehldau himself.

Itzhak Perlman, violin
Chamber Music with members of The Perlman Music Program
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 - 8pm

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
with Arabella Steinbacher, violin
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 - 8pm
Program: includes Strauss' Serenade in E-flat for Thirteen Winds and Haydn's Symphony No. 104 ("London"), plus works for violin by Hartman and Schubert with soloist Arabella Steinbacher.

DANCE SERIES 1
Subscriptions range from $130 to $172

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 - 8pm
Program: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Orbo Novo, Crystal Pike's Ten Duets, and Ohad Naharin's Decadance.

State Ballet Theatre of Russia - Swan Lake
Sunday, January 23, 2011 - 3pm

Mark Morris Dance Group
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 - 8pm

DANCE SERIES 2
Subscriptions range from $130 to $172

Balé Folclórico da Bahia
Saturday, February 5, 2011 - 7:30pm

Nacho Duato's Compañia Nacional De Danza 2
Tuesday, April 12, 2011 - 8pm

Ailey II
Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - 8pm
Program: includes Ailey Highlights (excerpts of classic Ailey works) plus a complete performance of his signature work, Revelations.

JAZZ & BLUES SERIES
Subscriptions range from $174 to $230

Chris Botti
Monday, November 8, 2010 - 8pm

Blues at the Crossroads: The Robert Johnson Centennial Concerts
with Big Head Todd & The Monsters, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, & others
Thursday, February 24, 2011 - 8pm

Terence Blanchard Quintet
with special guests from Princeton University
Friday, April 8, 2011 - 8pm
(Presented with support from the Princeton University Music Department and The Lewis Center for the Arts.)

Vijay Iyer Trio
Eldar Djangirov Trio
Friday, May 13, 2011 - 7:30pm

CABARET SERIES
All subscriptions $192

Marilyn Maye
Saturday, October 23, 2010 - 7:30pm (Berlind Theatre)

Liz Callaway
Saturday, December 18, 2010 - 8pm (Berlind Theatre)

Eric Michael Gillett
Saturday, March 12, 2011 - 7:30pm (Berlind Theatre)

Max Raabe & Palast Orchester
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 - 8pm

WORLD PASSPORT SERIES
Subscriptions for 3 events range from $120 to $153

David Sedaris
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 - 8pm

The Cambridge Footlights Revue
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - 8pm
(Presented in cooperation with The Princeton Triangle Club.)

Reduced Shakespeare Company - The Complete World of Sports (abridged)
Saturday, October 9, 2010 - 7:30pm

Jake Shimabukuro - The Ukulele-Reimagined
Friday, October 22, 2010 - 7:30pm (Berlind Theatre)

Mary Black
Tuesday, November 9, 2010 - 8pm

Bach's Complete Brandenburgs
All Six Brandenburg Concerti with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Monday, December 20, 2010 - 7:30pm
(This concert will take place at Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall on the Princeton campus, not at McCarter Theatre.)

Mummenschanz - 3X11
Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 2pm & 7:30pm

Balé Folclórico da Bahia
(Also in Dance Series.)
Saturday, February 5, 2011 - 7:30pm

Hot Tuna Blues - Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady
with Charlie Musselwhite & Jim Lauderdale
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 - 8pm

Cirque Eloize - ID
Thursday, February 10, 2011 - 7pm
Friday, February 11, 2011 - 7:30pm

Tango Buenos Aires
Monday, February 21, 2011 - 8pm

Blues at the Crossroads: The Robert Johnson Centennial Concerts
with Big Head Todd & The Monsters, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, & others
(Also in Jazz & Blues Series.)
Thursday, February 24, 2011 - 8pm

Max Raabe & Palast Orchester
(Also in Cabaret Series.)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 - 8pm

Debbie Reynolds
Saturday, May 21, 2011 - 7:30pm

BONUS EVENT

Cameron Carpenter, organ
Saturday, April 9, 2011 - 8pm
(This concert will be performed on the great Aeolian Skinner organ of the Princeton University Chapel, with seating reserved by section, and with video projection and commentary by the artist.)
Program: ranges from Bach and Chopin to The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and John Williams.