LETTERS HOME, Jessica Lang Dance and More Set for Park City Institute's 2013-14 Season

The name has changed, but the mission remains the same: entertaining, educating and illuminating. As always, Park City Institute (formerly known as Park City Performing Arts Foundation) serves up a smorgasbord of eclectic, electrifying, awe-inspiring and internationally acclaimed dancers, musicians, family entertainers, speakers, actors and full throttle performance troupes. Park City Institute presents its 17th season at The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts from October through May. Tickets and season punch cards are currently on sale.

SEASON LINE-UP:

Griffin Theatre's "Letters Home" - October 26, 2013

Imago Theatre's "ZooZoo" - November 3, 2013

Dawes - November 30, 2013

All-Wheel Sports Productions - December 7, 2013

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - December 28, 2013

Bernadette Peters - December 31, 2013

Nellie McKay and Turtle Island Quartet "A Flower is a LoveSome Thing" - January 4, 2014

Jon Batiste & Stay Human - February 8, 2014

Celtic Nights - February 15, 2014

Boz Scaggs - February 22, 2014

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet - March 1, 2014

Henson Alternative's "Puppet Up! - Uncensored" - March 9, 2014

Trey McIntyre Project - March 29, 2014

Garrison Keillor - April 3, 2014

Jessica Lang Dance - April 5, 2014

DETAILS:

The 2013-2014 Season kicks off October 26 with Griffin Theatre's "Letters Home." A portrait of today's soldier - men and women serving on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan - this "extraordinary... deeply moving" (Chicago Sun Times) play reveals the entire spectrum of human emotion through the intense prism of war. Inspired by the New York Times Op-Ed Article "The Things They Wrote," the subsequent HBO documentary Last Letters Home (and correspondences from Frank Schaeffer's books), Chicago-based Griffin Theatre's "Letters Home" unites diverse voices in a profound, theatrical tour de force. Park City Institute collaborates with Kimball Art Center's exhibit, "Soldier Boy. Soldier Girl." (photography by Lynn Blodgett) and the National Ability Center on related outreach experiences that connect art and performing artists with the NAC's Wounded Warriors program.

Imago Theatre returns to The Eccles with a kid-tastic show on November 3. "Delightful," according to The New York Times, "ZooZoo" blends acrobatics, comedy and happy hi-jinks into an avant-garde romp for all ages, particularly small fries. The endearing antics of Imago Theatre's gorgeously costumed characters deliver a show that causes plenty of giggles - without a single word spoken. Expect everything from musical chair-playing penguins to hippos afflicted with insomnia.

Thanksgiving weekend will prove to be a musical feast as Dawes rocks the house (November 30). Riding the folk-rock revival wave, this Southern Californian band combines fresh lyrics with vintage style. The four 20- and 30-something, band-mates have played at Occupy Wall Street protests, appeared as themselves on the primetime show "Parenthood," performed alongside the likes of Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan and John Fogerty and recently released a third album, which shot to the top of Billboard's independent charts. While Dawes' music speaks to millennials, it also resonates across generations. As the Los Angeles Times writes, "A proudly old-fashioned sensibility permeates the band's music, which eschews the hard sparkle and the compact economy of modern pop..."

An all-out adventure, All-Wheel Sports Productions makes an action-packed showing on December 7. Professional athletes - extreme skaters, skateboarders, and BMX bicycle performers - trick out at center stage with the help of ramps, pumping music and flashing lights. Dancers, trampoline artists, aerialists, pro scooters and spirited cheer stunts round out the high-octane, adrenaline-fueled antics. Founded in 1995 by professional ice skater and former Team Rollerblade member Jill Schulz and her competitive freestyle skier and mountain bike racer husband Aaron Transki, this show has made its mark at theme parks (Universal, Knott's Berry Farm and more) as well as the semi-finals of 2012 "America's Got Talent."

With blasting horns and rollicking rhythm, the ultimate Big Band decks the halls with yuletide swagger on December 28. Tapping into the holiday classics as well as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy originals, the seven-piece group delivers jazz-blues-rock-swing-funk tunes. The catchy and feel-good repertoire ranges from "Jingle Bells" and "We Three Kings" to "Zat You Santa Claus" and "Rock-A-Billy Christmas." The band that launched into the mainstream with the hit indie flick Swingers, has perfected the retro-hepcat cool over 20 years of performing and recording. Zoot-suiting its way through the holidays, BBVD gets everyone into the spirit with ample jumpin' and jivin.'

Broadway's Boticelli-like star, Bernadette Peters, ushers in the New Year with sparkling and unparalleled talent. The three-time Tony award winner has dazzled audiences in everything from Sondheim's "Into the Woods" to NBC's "Smash." She's recorded multiple solo albums, written a couple of best-selling children's books and garnered all manner of acclaim (a Drama Desk, an Outer Critics Circle, Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe... to name a few). The New York Times proclaims, "As an actress, singer, comedienne and all-around warming presence, Bernadette Peters has no peer in the musical theatre right now."

A musical jaunt back in time... Singer, songwriter, ukulele player, pianist, mimic, comedienne, TED favorite and actor Nellie McKay joins forces with two-time Grammy award winning Turtle Island Quartet on January 4. This "bewitching pixie of a performer" (The New York Times) can pull off sweetness and sunshine as well as biting wit with her beguiling stage presence and velvet vocals. Equally versatile and original in its endeavors, Turtle Island fuses the classical quartet esthetic with contemporary American musical styles and evocative and innovative rhythms. Smitten with Turtle Island, a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reviewer raves, "It must have been like this when Beethoven was taking Vienna by storm - the exhilaration of seeing the future of classical music unfold before your eyes and ears." On tap for the evening with McKay: the tunes of Billie Holiday, Billy Strayhorn, and the Weimar cabaret of the 1920s.

As spicy and richly textured as his native N'Orleans, jazzman Jon Batiste and his New York City-based band of Julliard contemporaries, Stay Human, dish out a steamy concoction of everything from ragtime to funk on February 8. Baptiste is to piano (and harmonaboard) what Hendrix was to guitar. He and his band don't just play the music; they live it, breathe it and, most importantly, share it... even on the subway (where they created a self-produced album). Licks. Grooves. Stompin' beats. It's a sound described by a Washington Post reviewer as "... pounding rhythms and lively melodies, deceptively finessed and firmly steeped in gospel and the blues."

Six of Ireland's most accomplished dancers join forces with six of the Emerald Isle's finest voices in a gloriously entertaining and genuine Gaelic show, "Celtic Nights," on February 15. Thundering step dancing feet and sweet ballads intertwine in a lively and glorious production - the latest show to come from the creators of the "unmissable" (The Guardian) show, Gaelforce Dance. Traditional favorites, "Danny Boy" and "Whiskey in the Jar," accompany jigs, reels and hornpipes. Joy, a wee bit of melancholy and a compelling story is woven into this colorful and lyrical Celtic tapestry.

The "Boz" arrives on Feb. 22. Known for hits like "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle," Grammy-winning Boz Scaggs boasts "impressively good taste and vocal otherworldliness that's at once startling and arresting," according to Jazz Times. Formerly a member of Steve Miller Band, the singer-songwriter ventured out on his own in the '70s, earning a reputation as a bluesy rocker who does justice to American classics. This iconic musician captivates his audiences with style and grace and some fresh sounds off his newly released album, "Memphis."

Beauty and daring athleticism converge in a company with pure originality at its core. On March 1, the 16 gorgeous and technically exquisite dancers of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet perform evocative pieces from some of the world's most sought-after and emerging choreographers. Founded a decade ago, this edgy company received a little mainstream attention as the featured troupe in the film, "The Adjustment Bureau." But it remains audacious and worldly in its creative leanings. According to The New York Times, "Cedar Lake...has become a New York success story, possibly the country's most innovative contemporary ballet troupe with an A-list repertoire, and an accent on creation that few companies worldwide can match."

Park City Institute serves up some adult-only comedy with Henson Alternative's "Puppet Up! - Uncensored" on March 9. This is not entertainment for the kids. The Jim Henson Company's puppets are unleashed for an evening of outrageous, funny performance with a devilish and most decidedly adult (a.k.a. Rated-R) edge. The motley crew of puppets go rogue with songs and sketches performed by six expert Henson puppeteers. The result is hilarious anarchy and improvisation. As Entertainment Weekly puts it, "It's nearly impossible to do anything but laugh."

"Adventurous and unpredictable" (Chicago Tribune) choreographer Trey McIntyre and his stunning troupe of dancers soar into a contemporary performance that simply dazzles on March 29. The Boise-based, ballet-rooted, technically superb company has a reputation for serving as dance ambassadors, both nationally and internationally. And, according to The Los Angeles Times, "McIntyre rocks, McIntyre rules. Everyone else can just get in line."

For decades, witty Midwesterner, Garrison Keillor, has charmed audiences and listeners with his benign, dry and quirky humor. An extraordinary storyteller, author and, of course, host and creator of NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion," Keillor weaves together anecdotes and song in a classy, Americana-filled April 3 show that speaks to all. Expect a downhome, unhurried evening emceed by a familiar baritone. Yes, by night's end, the theater is highly likely to become a place "where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average."

Cutting edge dance takes the center by storm on April 5. A prolific and sought-after choreographer (as well as a former dancer with Twyla Tharp), Jessica Lang branched out on her own with her eponymous company in 2011. Her New York City-based troupe blends solid ballet technique and point work with more contemporary barefoot dance and gymnastics. The company's repertoire incorporates striking design elements into each piece, leading Dance Magazine to dub the company founder, "a master of visual composition."

In addition to Main Stage performances, many of these world-renowned artists will participate in PCPAF's student and community outreach programs. More information on master classes and outreach events will be available throughout the 2013-2014 Season.

All shows take place at The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts, 1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City, Utah.

Tickets and Season Punch Cards** are currently on sale and may be purchased by calling 435-655-3114, online at www.EcclesCenter.org or at the box office, which is located within The Eccles Center (1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City). Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondaythrough Friday; the Box Office is open from noon through show time on the day of a performance. Individual tickets range from $20 to $69* for regular season performances (children's shows, benefits and New Year's Eve have different pricing); Season punch cards are also available.** Show time: The majority of PCPAF Main Stage performances begin at 7:30 p.m. *Discounts are available for children (16 and under), seniors and Summit County students (K-12). **Season punch cards of 10 (redeemable for all regular season shows, but not eligible for Special Events, including New Year's Eve) a+re available for $290 (bronze) $390 (silver), $490 (gold) and $590 (platinum).

Park City Institute (formerly Park City Performing Arts Foundation) is a non-profit organization, dedicated to bringing world-class performances and new ideas to the community. Founded in 1994, PCI presents internationally renowned and cutting edge musicians, actors, authors, comedians, dancers, speakers and film at The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts (a joint-use facility with the Park City School District). The organization will present its 11th season of headliner concerts at Deer Valley Resort in the summer of 2014. PCI is dedicated to introducing young people to the arts through free student outreach workshops, shows and demonstrations. The institute proudly launched the Mega Genius Supply Store and IQ HQ - a free, after school literacy program and very thinky retail store - in January 2010. And the organization continues to illuminate with TEDx events and Curiosities evenings.

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