Park City Institute Announces This Year's Eccles Center Season!

Mixing legendary blues with political commentary, ballet with myth busting genius and big recognizable names with big - less mainstream, but just as brilliant - names... the 20th Season of Park City Institute's brand of performance has arrived. In keeping with its mission to entertain, educate and illuminate, PCI delivers a line-up of world-renowned musicians, actors, dancers, authors, thinkers and doers. There are throwbacks to The Eccles Center's grand opening first season. There are Grammy winners and acclaimed traditional entertainers. And there are pioneers, who would never have fit into the performing arts mold of yesterday.

"Why do we book political commentators and experts on criminal justice reform at a performing arts center? Because thoughtful discourse is an art. And in so doing we broaden the definition of what it means to be stewards of performing arts," says PCI executive director Teri Orr. "We take the 'illuminate' and 'educate' parts of our mission seriously. But we are still here to entertain - and you will find spectacular, moving, purely fun and beautiful performances at our theater all year long."

The 2016-2017 Eccles Center Season begins on December 3 with a leap into the heart of American political critiques. Pulitzer prize-winning New York Times columnist and former White House correspondent Maureen Dowd will be joined by Carl Hulse, a congressional correspondent for the New York Times. Together, they present a kind of Yin and Yang of our nation's political/social landscape - as well as an insider take on politicians and clowns and other creatures indigenous to Washington, D.C.

Adam Savage, perhaps best known as the co-creator and host of the popular television series "Myth Busters" delivers his build-it-your-own ingenuity to the stage on December 10. Savage has built everything from spaceships to buddhas to puppets to rifles to sculptures to toys. He has worked in the special effects industry, both film and commercials as an animator, graphic designer, rigger, scenic painter, carpenter, welder... working with everything from glass and plastics to hydraulics and animatronics. He has delivered a TED talk on the TED stage - and brings that brand of humor and curiosity-inspired-can-do-energy to the stage.

After winning a 2014 Grammy for Best Tropical album (in a category that included Marc Anthony and Carlos Vives), Pacific Mambo Orchestra's profile continues to be a band-on-the-rise. On December 17, PMO brings the classic sounds of the great Latin Big Bands of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s to the stage. That mix of salsa, bachata and cha-cha - with traces of American jazz, R&B, and Afro-Cuban music -also graces their debut album. Band members have performed and/or recorded with the industry's biggest names, including Carlos Santana, Ray DeLa Paz, Jose Lugo Guasabara Orchestra, Los Adolescentes, Isaac Delgado, Gilberto Santarosa, Tito Rojas, La India and Victor Manuelle.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds bring Texas Roadhouse-steeped musicianship and good time, blues-rock to the stage on December 29. Best known for their platinum certified album, "Tuff Enuff," the T-Birds come to Park City hot on the heels of their latest release "Strong Like That." Led by smoky-voiced Kim Wilson, the band continues to keep it real with blues and a whole lotta soul, too.

PCI's traditional New Year's Eve show features the penultimate master of ceremonies Alan Cumming. The Scottish and American actor is perhaps best known for his Tony award-winning role in Broadway's "Cabaret" as well as his portrayal of the shady spin doctor/campaign manager on CBS's "The Good Wife." And he's stormed the silver screen - gracing Bond films along the way. By his own admission, he plans to sing sappy love songs and tell stories.

Three passionate experts on Criminal Justice Reform contribute to an illuminating evening on January 7. CNN contributor, attorney and former White House advisor Van Jones leads a conversation about the broken parts of our criminal justice system and how we might fix them. He will be joined by Mike Farrell (yes, the actor from "MASH"), who has spent this chapter of his life fighting to end the death penalty in America. And, finally, we hear from someone with first-hand knowledge on how the current system does and does not work - Kirk Bloodsworth, the first man released from Death Row based on DNA evidence not presented at trial.

Leading audiences through beautiful and even harsh stories told by incredible movement, Jessica Lang Dance makes a return on January 13 - an encore to the troupe's 2014 performance. The prolific and sought-after choreographer (as well as a former dancer with Twyla Tharp), Ms. Lang branched out on her own in 2011 thanks to a Mellon Foundation grant. Her New York City-based troupe (recruited from the ranks of Julliard, Ailey, MOMIX and White Oak companies) 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." As part of PCI's Outreach program, Lang will also present a powerful workshop about when to lead and when to follow.

Fran Leibowitz, the satirist who has made a career out of being an acerbic observer of life as we know it, delivers a humorous evening of New Yorker-tinged, cut-straight-through-the-B.S. cultural commentary on February 4. Her critiques, books and acting ("Law and Order") have kept her a vibrant - and opinionated - part of the arts scene for decades, ever since she landed her first writing gig with Andy Warhol's Interview magazine back in the day. She is a kind of modern day Dorothy Parker - just tellin' it like it is.

Musician, actor, playwright and author Storm Large - also known as the co-lead singer of the sizzling band Pink Martini - delivers everything from Cole Porter to Black Sabbath with vocal chops and rock solid power. Since bursting onto the scene in 2006, she's performed with everyone from k.d. lang to the New York Pops. Also a true cabaret singer with the talent to work a room while weaving together a spellbinding story, Large and her band Le Bonheur deliver an evening of unbridled entertainment on February 18.

The return of Montreal-based Cirque Éloize on February 21 and 22 means classic cirque arts magic: theatrics, dance, acrobatics, live music and a little clowning. But this time it's coupled with ten-gallon hats and quick-on-the-draw, gen-u-ine humor. The troupe's newest show "Saloon" delivers a head-turning spin on just how wild the west really was - with fiery fiddle bows and somersaulting gunslingers along for the ride. This company pushes the physics of the human body and the stage space while putting on a show for The Kid in everyone.

"Second to none," according to Dance magazine, Ailey II has been pushing the limits of contemporary modern dance since 1974. The younger company in the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater family, this extraordinary troupe continues in the groundbreaking tradition of its namesake with a return to The Eccles stage on Feb 24 and 25. The late Alvin Ailey himself called his work, "Revelations"... "blood history." And, as PCI executive director Teri Orr puts it, "You cannot watch that powerful, exhausting, beautiful piece filled with gospel music and not feel like you have been both schooled and churched." The company, known as "America's Dance Company" was a critical part of the Eccles opening season in 1998 and has continued to evolve and return to the Park City stage with new works and exquisite soul-touching movement over the past two decades.

Self-proclaimed misfit, teacher and award-winning author Lidia Yuknavitch (Dora: A Headcase, The Chronology of Water, The Small Backs of Children) comes to the stage with her plain-speak, Oregon-style delivery on March 4. Yuknavitch got her big break in the writing world at the age of 30 - after an abusive childhood, failed marriages, a stint or two in jail and rehab, flunking out of college and losing a child. As she explains it, she had to first to learn to tell her own story before she could tell others. And this, she does well. Her clear fluid writing takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery, though it appears that is the job also of the main characters. Her 2016 TED talk, addressing the "misfit" in us all, received a standing ovation and already has more than1 million views.

Celebrity wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin - best known for his Emmy Award-winning shows on Animal Planet and Discovery - combines humor and adventure in a wildly fun and conservation-themed show on March 11. Corwin's encore appearance includes live animals, but focuses on protection of wild creatures (and even some rather tame ones). This scientist and adventurer shows off Mother Nature's glories and weaknesses while thoroughly captivating his audiences - and reminding us how we are all connected.

Since 2007, Ballet West has been under the brilliant and bold leadership of artistic director, Adam Sklute. He has shaped the dancers and stood the 53 year-old company on its head as well as its toes. He has re-created pieces with fresh costumes and set designs and reminded us that no performance so completely transcends us as dance. Ballet West first performed on the Eccles Center stage in 1998 for the theater's grand opening. Nineteen seasons hence, the company delivers a striking encore on March 18 - works that will otherwise not be performed as a part of the Salt Lake City troupe's season.

Genuine legend Taj Mahal lets his gravelly voice pour out the blues on March 25. He plays guitar, piano, banjo and harmonica in genres that simply soaked into the Harlem Renaissance of his youth, ranging from jazz to calypso. He's played with everyone from Angelique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley to Los Lobos and Ben Harper, serving as both preservationist and visionary. A blues man's bluesman, he's as real as they come. Not only does he deliver a good song, he spins a good tale, too.

Peabody award-winning podcast pioneers Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder, the creators of NPR's "Serial," take audiences behind-the-scenes on April 1 to banter about the phenomenon they unleashed. The fastest podcast to reach five million downloads in iTunes history (and now at more than 100 million downloads), "Serial" reflects Koenig-Snyder's brand new form of journalism - an investigative, free-wheeling approach that takes just one story, which is then drilled down further and further until a more curious story is revealed. Season Two is now underway.

String wizard - and a longtime member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - John McKuen brings his blend of folk, bluegrass and country to the stage on April 8. He delivers that oh-so-American sound via banjo, mandolin, guitar, piano, lap steel and fiddle. The Grammy and CMA award-winning singer has shared the stage and recording studio with the likes of Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash as well as Phish and Steve Martin. And he's making acoustic music relevant for today's generation.

Actress, singer, songwriter, musician and satirist, Nellie McKay wraps up the 2016-2017 season by melding her talents into a uniquely entertaining and poignant, cabaret-indie-pop performance on April 15. McKay and her piano and ukulele have graced the Eccles stage twice in the past - always to standing ovations. Her newest work, "A Girl Named Billy," is the story of musician Billy Tipton who, upon his death, was discovered to be a woman. A clever lyricist, clear-voiced singer and enchanting actress, McKay expertly walks the tightrope between humor and tragedy with wit and compassion.

PCI will also host TEDx events and Curiosities Evenings during the 2016-2017 Season.

Providing free outreach to students and members of the community has been a key part of PCI's mission since the organization's inception. This season's highlights will include student workshops, master classes and lecture-demonstrations. Ongoing student programs will also run through the season. PCI opens the free, after-school tutoring side of the Mega-Genius Supply Store and IQ HQ on Oct. 10 through the school year. The Alan Tucker After-School Technical Theater Program continues to groom back-stage theater technicians from the Park City High School ranks.

More details on student outreach and programs will be included in show-specific press releases.

Tickets (and Season Punch Cards**) go on sale to Park City Institute members on Sept. 15. The general public may purchase tickets starting on Sept. 22. Tickets may be purchased by calling 435-655-3114, online at www.parkcity.institute 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., Monday through Friday; the Box Office is open from noon through show time on the day of a performance.

Individual tickets range from $29 to $79 for regular season performances (New Year's Eve, children's shows and benefits have different pricing). 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) are available for $240 (sapphire) $410 (ruby) and $690 (amethyst). Punch cards available for purchase to PCI members.

Show time: The majority of PCI Main Stage performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

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