Starring Tony DeSare

Smooth and delicious...an apt description of chocolate, champagne, AND Tony DeSare!  Singer, pianist, and songwriter, DeSare has a sound that is romantic, swinging, and senual whether he's performing classic standards or original material.  After starring in "Our Sinatra" off-Broadway, DeSare has been called a Sinatra acolyte and belongs to a group of neo-traditional upstarts stretching from Harry Connick, Jr. to Michael Buble. 

Gabriel Iglesias has been described as unbelievably funny, electrifying, and a gifted performer who has the ability to consistently deliver a quality comedy experience in every venue he performs in. His high-octane show is a hilarious mixture of storytelling, parodies, characters and sound effects that bring all his personal issues to life. Gabe’s clean, animated comedy style has earned national crossover appeal. Ask anyone who has seen him in concert and you will probably hear the same thing, "He was so funny!"

Known as the "fluffy" comic in a Hawaiian shirt, the 33-year old funny man often riffs about his girthy middle - whether it's talking about how little dancing it takes for him to work up a sweat at the nightclub, or how hearing his girlfriend coo the words "chocolate cake" over the telephone works for him like phone sex, he evokes laughter.

Gabriel’s mass appeal opened the door to a rare opportunity to film a second one hour special and DVD. The new special entitled “I’m Not Fat… I’m Fluffy” Live from El Paso premiered on Comedy Central November 8, 2009. The new show is packed with a perfect blend of impeccable voice skills and an uncanny knack for hilarious storytelling that Gabe is known for. His vast imitative skills re-create numerous sound effects from speeding cars to microwave ovens to a plethora of dead-on voices. The new special is destine to top his previous hugely successful Special/DVD “Hot & Fluffy”.

Gabriel’s credits include; “Last Comic Standing”, ABC's "My Wife & Kids," Showtime's "Resurrection Boulevard,” "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Good Morning America," “The Late Late Show,” FOX TV’s “The Family Guy,” "Showtime at the Apollo" and BET's "Comic View."

Rachel Barton Pine, violin
Joel Levine, conductor

Haydn:  Symphony No. 94 ("Surprise")
Prokofiev:  Lieutenant Kije: Suite
Corigliano:  The Red Violin: Chaconne
Ravel:  Tzigane, Concert Rhapsody

In both life and art, violinist Rachel Barton Pine has an extraordinary gift for connecting with her audiences.  Acclaimed worldwide for her virtuosic technical mastery, lustrous tone, and perceptive performances, her work as a performer and philanthropist inspires music lovers of all ages. 

"An exciting, boundary-defying performer...Pine displays a power and confidence that puts her in the top echelon."  -- The Washington Post

 Suggested by memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, GYPSY is the ultimate story about an aggressive stage mother. Join Rose, June and Louise in their trip across the United States during the 1920's, when vaudeville was dying and burlesque was born. Jule Styne's music and Stephen Sondheim's lyrics include  Let Me Entertain You, Some People, You'll Never Get Away from Me, If Momma Was Married, All I Need Is the Girl, Everything's Coming Up Roses, You Gotta Get A Gimmick and Together Wherever We Go. This is a gripping story of one of the most frightening aspects of show business.
Directed by Chad Anderson

STOMP, the international sensation, returns with some new surprises! Sections of the show have been updated and restructured, including the addition of two new full-scale routines using props like tractor tire inner tubes and paint cans. USA Today says, "STOMP finds beautiful noises in the strangest places." STOMP. See what all the noise is about.

Thomas Lauderdale returns with his amazing "little orchestra" of talented musicians.  While drawing inspiration from the romantic Hollywood musicals of the 40s and 50s, Pink Martini adds a global perspective by championing beautiful music from around the world.  Don't miss them! 

"Pink Martini is a rollicking around-the-world musical adventure...if the United Nations had a house band in 1962, hopefully we'd be that band."  -- Thomas Lauderdale, bandleader/pianist

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is a smart, provocative and wickedly funny theatrical adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel about spiritual warfare from a demon’s point of view.

It was a hit in NYC where it played 309 performances at the Westside Theatre in 2010.  Prior to that, The Chicago Tribune described THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS as the "most successful show in the history of Chicago's Mercury Theatre." It, also, had two engagements at The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. where it played for ten sold-out weeks. 

In 2011-12 THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is touring major performing arts venues in cities thorughout the United States including Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas & Atlanta.

ON SALE FRIDAY JAN. 27 at 12:00 pm

In April of 2011, Rounder Records released the eagerly anticipated Alison Krauss and Union Station album, Paper Airplane. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart, Bluegrass Albums Chart and #3 on the Top 200 Album Chart.  A truly breathtaking collection of 11 exquisite songs, Paper Airplane is Krauss’ 14th album and the band’s follow-up to 2004’s triple Grammy® winning Lonely Runs Both Ways (Rounder). It is Krauss’ first release since her 2007 internationally acclaimed, multi-platinum collaboration with Robert Plant, Raising Sand, which won six Grammys including “Record Of The Year” and “Album Of The Year.”
 
Alison Krauss along with Union Station band members Dan Tyminski (guitar, mandolin and lead vocals), Barry Bales (bass and harmony vocals), Ron Block (banjo, guitar and harmony vocals), and Jerry Douglas (Dobro and harmony vocals) are continuing their tour in 2012 after a successful run of critically-acclaimed performances in 2011.

Part of Alison Krauss’ incontestable talent is how effortlessly she bridges the gap between roots music and country, rock and pop. A highly sought-after collaborator, Krauss has worked with some of the biggest names in popular music, including James Taylor, Phish, Dolly Parton, Yo Yo Ma & Bonnie Raitt.   Since signing with Rounder Records at the age of 14 in 1985 Krauss has sold in excess of 12 million albums and garnered 26 Grammy® Awards, the most for any female and the third most of any recording artist in Grammy® history. Her breathtaking live performances should not be missed.

David Kim, violin
Carter Brey, cello
Joel Levine, conductor

Dohnanyi: American Rhapsody
Satie/Debussy: Gymnopedie No. 1
Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings in C Major
Brahms: Concerto for Violin and Cello

Violinist David Kim was named concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1999. Carter Brey was appointed principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic in 1996. These two brilliant musicians join forces for a performance of Brahms "Double Concerto" that promises to be a highlight of the season.

Jerry Van Dyke and Craig T. Nelson, stars of the hit ABC sit-com "Coach" are re-uniting for the first time to tackle the roles of Al Lewis and Willy Clark in Neil Simon's comedy The Sunshine Boys. The duo brings nearly a decade of small screen chemistry to the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre in Oklahoma City for their debut performances on April 6th (8pm) and April 7th (2pm).

The pair's last collaboration resulted in a slew of Emmy nominations for Van Dyke in his role as Luther Van Dam and an Emmy win for Nelson as Hayden Fox. The success of "Coach" is credited in large part to the undeniable charm and onscreen charisma of these two lovable characters. The notable history between the two leading men provides plenty of reason for high-expectations but the on-stage familiarity does not end there. Nelson will be joined by fellow "Parenthood" cast member, Sam Jaeger, in the role of Al Clark's nephew Ben.

This production of The Sunshine Boys will offer theatregoers a rare opportunity to enjoy a live performance from one of TV's most beloved duos in a classic play from the Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Neil Simon. The Sunshine Boys follows the turbulent, but comical relationship of a one-time vaudevillian team known as "Lewis and Clark" who, over the course of forty-odd years of on-stage partnership, developed an ever-increasing level of disdain for one another. The resentment reaches an all-time high for the stubborn Willy Clark (Van Dyke), when the wiser Al Lewis (Nelson) decides to break up the act by opting to leave show business.

It is now 1972 and CBS has invited the team to reunite for a television special on the history of comedy, with the pair representing the vaudeville era at its best. Hilarity ensues when Clark is convinced by his nephew Ben (Jaeger), to revive one of the old routines one last time. Unfortunately, getting these two cantankerous actors in the same room for a rehearsal is easier said than done.

A charming rogue contrives to serve a short sentence in a mental institution (run by a tyrannical nurse) rather than prison and leads others out of introversion, stages a revolt so that they can see the world series on television, and arranges a rollicking midnight party. Winner of the 2001 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Revival.
"Cuckoo is captivating." N.Y. Post "Scarifying and powerful."  N.Y. Times.
By Dale Wasserman
Based on the novel by Ken Kesey
Directed by Rachel Irick

We close our 40^th anniversary season with one of our most popular full length works, The Wizard of Oz. Take the family on this delightful “yellow brick road” trip with ballet master Jacob Sparso’s original telling of L. Frank Baum’s story and an original score from Kermit Poling played by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.

Wicked good!  This concert of diva showstoppers from Broadway, opera, and popular music is highlighted by selections from the Tony Award-winning musical "Wicked."  This program features Julia Murney and Stephanie J. Block, singers who have performed in the roles of Elphaba on Broadway or on National Tours.  In addition to favorites from the "untold tale of the witches of Oz," the program also includes favorites from Gypsy, Ragtime, Titanic, and Carmen.

If you showed up on July 6, 1974, at the Janet Wallace Auditorium at Macalester College in Saint Paul and plunked down your $1 admission (50 cents for kids) to attend the very first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion, you were in select company. There were about 12 people in the audience. But those in attendance thought there were worse ways to spend a Saturday afternoon, so Garrison Keillor and the APHC team went on to produce close to 500 live shows in the first 10 years alone. There were broadcasts from this venue and that, until March 4, 1978, when the show moved to The World Theater, a lovely, crumbling building that was one plaster crack away from the wrecking ball. (Now fully renovated and renamed The Fitzgerald, it is the show's home base.)

In June of 1987, APHC ended for a while. Garrison thought it was a good idea at the time, but only two years later, the show was back, based in New York and called American Radio Company of the Air. But there's no place like home. So in 1992, it was back to Minnesota and, soon after, back to the old name: A Prairie Home Companion.

There has been plenty of adventure in the past 30-plus years — broadcasts from Canada, Ireland, Scotland, England, Germany, Iceland and almost every one of the 50 states; wonderful performers, little-known and world-renowned; standing ovations and stares of bewilderment. We've missed planes, coped with lost luggage, dodged swooping bats and hungry mosquitoes, plodded through blizzards, and flown by the seat of our pants.

Today, A Prairie Home Companion is heard by 4 million listeners each week on more than 600 public radio stations, and abroad on America One and the Armed Forces Networks in Europe and the Far East. Garrison recalls, "When the show started, it was something funny to do with my friends, and then it became an achievement that I hoped would be successful, and now it's a good way of life."

A Prairie Home Companion is produced by Prairie Home Productions, and distributed nationwide by American Public Media. The program is underwritten by Allianz and Ford.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Joel Levine, conductor

Ravel:  Alborada del Gracioso
Respighi:  Fountains of Rome
Ravel:  Rapsodie Espagnole
Gershwin:  Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra

Hailed as "one of the best pianists in the world," Jean-Yves Thibaudet continues to captivate audiences around the world with his thrilling performances, profound artistry, poetic musicality and dazzling technical prowess.  A special friend to the OKC PHIL, Thibaudet facilitated the acquisition of our magnificent Steinway concert grand piano. 

"(He) has a way of combining wild virtuosity with an almost relaxed grace that sets him apart..."  -- Chicago Sun-Times

Native American New Play Festival featuring SALVAGE by Diane Glancy

By Dale Wasserman
A two-week celebration of the Native American Playwright, the third annual Native American New Play Festival will feature a two week run of a new play by celebrated Native American poet, novelist, and playwright Diane Glancy entitled SALVAGE and staged readings of 2012 submissions on June 9th. Join us for a one-of-a-kind cultural event in our region.

SALVAGE is set in Cut Bank, Montana; a small town off the Blackfeet reservation near Browning in northwestern Montana, where Blackfeet Salvage Yard lines the north side of Highway 2. When a man is involved in a deadly car accident, his family is immediately forced into a cycle of revenge with the Stover family who were in the other car. Salvage is about the swift and irrevocable change in a family's way of life. The play in one word: collision.
SALVAGE will be directed by Oklahoma City University Assistant Professor of Theatre Sarah dAngelo

JUNE 9th, 2012 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
10:00 am COFFEE & TEA, Meet and Greet the Playwrights outside City Space Theatre
11:00 am FREE Staged Reading, City Space Theatre
1:00 pm LUNCH (provided)
2:00 pm FREE Staged Reading, City Space Theatre
4:00-5:00 pm QUESTION & ANSWER with Playwrights