Staller Center for the Arts Announces Spring 2022 Season

A lively and excitable audience flocked back to the Staller Center this past fall to experience live art, theater, and music, and this spring, the Staller Center for the Arts returns with a jam-packed season! Spring 2022 features performances from the best of the best, including RENT, the RUSSIAN NATIONAL BALLET, VIVA MOMIX, David Sedaris, and many more!

With transfixing and innovative dance companies from around the globe to the superstars of classical music, the Center promises an engaging and lively spring season, with continued safety measures in place.

The Staller Center's renowned Quartet-in-Residence for nearly 20 years, THE EMERSON STRING QUARTET opens the spring season on January 26 and returns on April 13. The Quartet, which has maintained its status as one of the world's premier chamber music ensembles for more than four decades, recently announced that they will retire in 2023. Always a sold-out concert at Staller Center, the Emerson String Quartet is a fitting concert to start with this spring.

Love dance? Don't miss February at the Staller Center. On February 5, COMPLEXIONS Dance Company returns to the Staller Stage with a singular approach to reinventing dance through a groundbreaking mix of methods, styles, and cultures, and represents one of the most recognized, diverse, inclusive, and respected performing arts brands in the world. Having presented an entirely new and exciting vision of human movement on 5-continents, over 20-countries, to millions, they are poised to continue their mission to bring unity to the world one dance at a time. This program includes a collection of company favorites, and features LOVE ROCKS, set to the music of Lenny Kravitz. On February 26, back by popular demand, THE RUSSIAN NATIONAL BALLET returns with CINDERELLA. The Russian National Ballet has a deep knowledge of classical ballet and character dance, and their combined vast performance experience shines through every movement and position. Come see this lavish and humorous family-friendly production of this all-time favorite, with an early 7:00 pm curtain for all ages.

March springs forward with a Broadway production of RENT, a Gala trio featuring the Classical Music world's very own rockstar, Yo-Yo Ma, and one of the most fun and inspiring Jazz groups you may ever experience, The Hot Sardines.

The 25th Anniversary Tour of the Broadway Musical RENT takes the stage on March 3! Jonathan Larson's RENT has inspired us to choose love over fear and live without regret for a quarter of a century. This Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning phenomenon follows a year - or rather, five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes - in the lives of a diverse group of artists and friends struggling to follow their dreams without selling out. Whether you've never seen RENT or you can quote every single line, you can't miss it this time around - the 25th Anniversary "Farewell Season of Love" is your FINAL CHANCE to experience this celebrated touring production.

March continues with an exciting and star-studded lineup, including Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma for the 2022 GALA Performance on March 12. Regular tickets are already SOLD OUT, but consider becoming a Gala Supporter today for VIP tickets.

The following weekend, on March 19, THE HOT SARDINES, mischief-makers of jazz, will perform in the irreverent yet soulful fashion as jazz was played in the era when live music was king... with a bit of glamour, a little grit, and a lot of passion. "Everything in our DNA is about connecting with the audience. That's where we feel most at home," says co-leader Elizabeth Bougerol, about playing live with the eight-piece band that includes one wildly percussive tap dancer. "That's where jazz lives," adds pianist and bandleader Evan Palazzo. "In the playing, in sharing that experience, in coming together to create a moment that won't happen again."

Plus, don't miss world-renowned Cellist Colin Carr in STARRY NIGHTS on March 30, as he brings together world-class musicians from the Stony Brook University Department of Music for a night steeped in classical music that expands to include many genres.

The spring season continues with VIVA MOMIX on April 2. Momix has astonished audiences for 40 years ... with nothing more than light, shadow, props, and the human body. Known internationally for presenting works of astounding inventiveness and physical beauty, MOMIX is a company of dancer-illusionists founded and directed by Moses Pendleton. VIVA MOMIX boasts their greatest hits, taking you into a surreal and fantasy world, allowing you to dip your toes into the stream of unconsciousness.

What's your favorite cartoon? Tell them on April 9 at THE QUEEN'S CARTOONISTS, a world of multi-instrumental mayhem and comedy exhibited through virtuosic musicianship. The Queen's Cartoonists play music from both classic cartoons and contemporary animation. Behind the project is to offer a concert for everybody - one that's relatable and fun regardless of age, gender, or familiarity with the concert hall. Expect the unexpected from a repertoire that includes the Golden Age of animation, cult cartoon classics, and modern animation.

On April 21, CAROL WINCENC will delight the audience with her signature charismatic, high virtuosity, and profound, heartfelt musicality.

Returning to the Staller Center, bringing his classic satirical comedy and pre-eminent humor is David Sedaris on April 22. With his sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, Sedaris is like a modern-day Mark Twain, drawing humorous, touching, and universal observations about human nature from his own quirky experiences. A master of satire and beloved for his personal essays and short stories, Sedaris has also been nominated for five Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word and Best Comedy Album.

Closing out the season on May 7, THE DOO WOP PROJECT is back by popular demand! The Doo Wop Project takes the audience on a journey from foundational tunes of groups like the Crests, Belmonts, and Flamingos through their influences on the sounds of Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, and The Four Seasons all the way to DooWopified versions of modern musicians like Michael Jackson, Jason Mraz and Maroon 5. Featuring stars of Broadway's smash hits Jersey Boys and Motown: The Musical, expect the collected talent of The Doo Wop Project to knock your socks off.

Tickets for the spring 2022 season are on sale November 15 with a 10% discount offered on all shows through December 12, after that regular ticket prices are available. Go to stallercenter.com for more information or call (631) 632-ARTS or email boxoffice@stallercenter.com.

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