Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State University's annual performing arts series this year features six diverse shows, including an historical drama by the Los Angeles-based Acting Company and "'Forties' feel good" music by Great Britain's Puppini Sisters.
The 2008-09 Lyceum Series begins Oct. 28 with America's Dream Chamber Artists of New York, followed in November by the Rennie Harris Puremovement dance ensemble.
In the new year, the series continues with the Puppini Sisters and Count Basie Orchestra, both in February; and Hot Club of San Francisco in March. The year concludes in April with the Acting Company's production of James Fenimore Cooper's novel, "The Spy."
Reserved-seating season tickets are available for both the Lyceum and separate MSU Faculty Chamber Series. Individual tickets are available at the door prior to each performance.
Details on the Lyceum events in Lee Hall auditorium include:
--America's Dream Chamber Artists, all graduates of the country's top musical institutions, including the Juilliard School, Curtis and Cleveland institutes of music, and New England Conservatory, among others. Muso magazine has praised the group for "breathing new life into chamber music."
--Rennie Harris Puremovement, Nov. 11. Acclaimed by music critics for "pushing hip-hop as far is it can go," the ensemble also combines popping, locking, stepping, break, house, and other styles that have emerged from inner-city African-American and Latino communities.
--Puppini Sisters, Feb. 5. Attired in 1940's glamour and recalling close-harmony stylings of the Andrew Sisters, these "dolls" reinterpret such old favorites as "Mr. Sandman" and "Jeepers Creepers," as well as introducing an original repertoire ranging from feel-good swing tunes to distinctive jazz numbers.
--Count Basie Orchestra, Feb. 19. With more than 17 Grammy Awards, the famous orchestra is one of the longest-thriving big bands performing New Orleans jazz. Enough said.
--Hot Club of San Francisco, March 5. The West Coast ensemble mixes silent, surrealist films with gypsy jazz to carry the audience back to the 1930's and the small, smoky jazz clubs of Paris. The unique program includes several short silent productions, among them Charlie Bowers' "Now You Tell One" and "It's a Bird," as well as works of James Sibley Watson and Harold Shaw.
--The Acting Company's "The Spy," April 14. This theatrical rendition of what is considered the best historical romance of America's first great novelist tightly weaves intrigue, family conflict and love into a spellbinding Revolutionary War tale of the first U.S. espionage agent.
General admission tickets for individual Lyceum programs are $15 for adults; $10 for senior citizens (65 and over, by request) and MSU employees; and $8 for children ages 3-12. MSU students are admitted free with identification cards.
Beginning Oct. 7 (and not before), individual reserved tickets also may be purchased in advance via www.mstateathletics.com.
Reserved-seat season tickets are $60; $50 for MSU employees and senior citizens with proof of employment or age, respectively. Purchases may be made in advance by mailing a check and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: MSU Lyceum Series Season Tickets, P.O. Box HY, Mississippi State, MS 39762.
Presented by teaching and performing professionals in the MSU music department, the Lyceum Faculty Chamber Series features separate musical events throughout the school year. General admission is $5; MSU students, free with proper identification.
For more about the Lyceum series or specific performances, telephone 662-325-4201 or visit www.msstate.edu/dept/lyceum/.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.