The MAC Kicks Off 2014 Grand Opening Season Performance Series Today

The McAninch Arts Center (MAC), located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, is pleased to announce its 2014 Grand Opening Season's Performance Series. The series is part of the MAC's 2014 Grand Opening season, marking the opening of the venue after a 14-month, $35 million renovation. The MAC's 2014 Grand Opening Season's Performance Series officially opens today, Feb. 8 with a performance by Grammy Award-winner 'Keb Mo'. Additional programming for the MAC, including the MAC's new Patio Stage summer season and the MAC's 2014-15 season, the first complete season in the newly renovated venue, will be announced in spring 2014.

The MAC will hold its Grand Opening Celebration and MAC Madness Benefit, Saturday, March 8 at 6 p.m. The event, headlined by College of DuPage and Second City alum Jim Belushi and The Chicago Board of Comedy, will be an exciting evening of improvisational comedy with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and more.

The MAC's 2014 Grand Opening Season's Performance Series features an exciting mix of engagements including blues singer/songwriter Keb' Mo', pre-eminent humor writer and master of satire David Sedaris, the magical Pilobolus Dance Theatre and the politically irreverent Capitol Steps. Additional highlights include MAC debuts of internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Madeleine Peyroux, the Los Angeles-based noir-pop quartet Leftover Cuties, Orbert Davis' Chicago Jazz Philharmonic and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson. A chronological schedule of the MAC's 2014 Grand Opening Season's Performance Series with ticket prices is attached.

"This is an exciting time for lovers of the performing arts," says MAC Interim Executive Director DiAna Martinez. "The MAC has always had a strong reputation, but with updated performance spaces and public areas, and a new art gallery, the MAC promises to be 'the' destination to experience the visual and performing arts in the western suburbs. We are thrilled to get the center open and launch the start of the new season and assure you that even more exciting programming is coming soon ... inside and out! Once summer arrives we'll add a whole new experience for our patrons with outdoor programming on our new Patio Stage. With all of these great additions, there has never been a better time to enjoy great entertainment at the MAC."

The exciting selection of music, literary, comedy and dance events for the MAC's 2014 Grand Opening Season's Performance Series is as follows. All events take place in the Performance Hall unless otherwise noted.

Music

The MAC's 2014 Grand Opening Season's Performance Series opens Saturday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. with three-time Grammy Award-winning musician Keb' Mo', known for his genre-blending artfulness, intuitive lyrics, unique guitar style, and magnetic onstage charisma. Orbert Davis' Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, renowned for their rich, accessible, multi-cultural music experiences share their uniquely Chicago jazz vibes at the MAC on Saturday, March 22 at 8 p.m. The explosively entertaining Celtic ensemble Cherish the Ladies brings their enchanting wit and music back to the MAC stage on Friday, March 28 at 8 p.m. In April, Classic Albums Live, who performed their crowd-pleasing version of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" this past summer at Ravinia Festival, performs music from The Beatles' "Abbey Road" note for note - cut for cut, Saturday, April 5 at 8 p.m. French-American jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux wraps up that weekend with her intensely distinctive renditions of old classics and modern tunes by Leonard Cohen and The Beatles, among others, Sunday, April 6, at 7 p.m.

The popular Club MAC series returns with two must-see events in March 2014. Hot off the heels of their new full-length album, "The Spark & The Fire," the LA-based, critically acclaimed indie pop quartet Leftover Cuties opens Club MAC with their irresistible combination of sultry vocals, pop-perfect songwriting and old-school musicianship in two MAC debut concerts Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22 at 8 p.m. Then, by popular demand, the Austin-based western swing band Hot Club of Cowtown returns to Club MAC with performances Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29 at 8 p.m. In addition to theater seating in the Playhouse Theatre, Club MAC performances offer limited seating onstage at cabaret tables.

Literature

David Sedaris, known for his sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, performs readings of his newest work in "An Evening with David Sedaris," Sunday, March 16 at 7 p.m. "Sedaris' droll assessment of the mundane and the eccentrics who inhabit the world's crevices make him one of the greatest humorists writing today," says the Chicago Tribune.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson comes to the MAC's Performance Hall for a talk, Q&A and book signing Tuesday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. Wilkerson is the author of "The Warmth of Other Suns," one of the New York Times "Top Ten Book of the Year" and also chosen as the 2013-2014 "One Book, One Chicago" selection.

Comedy

College of DuPage and Second City alum Jim Belushi and the Chicago Board of Comedy headline the MAC's Grand Opening Celebration and MAC Madness Benefit Saturday, March 8 at 6 p.m. Funds raised from the MAC Madness Benefit will go to support the College of DuPage Foundation and the MAC Fund. The event will feature a reception, a special performance by Belushi and more.

The evening of non-stop improv continues with a second show, "Late Night with Jim Belushi," Saturday, March 8 at 9:30 p.m.

The indomitable Capitol Steps bring their nationally renowned brand of gut-busting, funny political satire to the MAC's Performance Hall for one evening only, Saturday, May 3 at 8 p.m. "I cannot remember the last time I laughed so hard or have been so wonderfully entertained during a live show," says Splash Magazine.

Dance

The internationally acclaimed Pilobolus Dance Theatre returns to the MAC for an evening of mixed repertoire, Thursday, April 17 at 8 p.m. NYC Newsday hails Pilobolus as "a mind-blowing troupe of wildly creative and physically daring dancers who leap, fly, intertwine and break all the rules... Audiences should expect the unexpected."

To order tickets or for more information, call 630-942-4000 or visit AtTheMAC.org.

McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at college of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355, houses three performance spaces (the 800-seat proscenium Performance Hall, formerly known as the Mainstage; the 195-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre, formerly known as Theatre 2; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), plus the Cleve Carney Art Gallery, classrooms for the college's academic programming and the Patio Stage outdoor amphitheater. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 75,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.

The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, including renovation updates, visit www.AtTheMAC.org.

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