WELCOME TO THE CENTER! There’s an old saying about the month of March and how it evolves, first arriving as a ferocious beast but later departing as docile livestock. It’s a weather metaphor, as you probably know. Here at the Center for the Performing Arts, however, March tends to be a busy month from start to finish, and so it is again. In sharp contrast to March 2020, when unforeseen circumstances brought the live arts and entertainment business to a standstill, March 2022 comes in like a lion and stays ferociously entertaining, with nearly a dozen performances in our Center Presents Season sponsored by Allied Solutions. This month’s schedule is a wonderful example of the variety we try to provide to the community as a nonprofit performing arts center. Feeling nostalgic for classic pop, rock and soul? We have tributes to George Michael, the Beatles, Jim Croce (featuring son A.J. Croce) and Ray Charles, which is the subject of this issue’s cover story on Page 6. If you like all-American vocal harmonies and acoustic string instruments, you’ll love the Nashville-based country trio Farewell Angelina, the family-oriented folk of the Okee Dokee Bros, and the State Department-approved bluegrass ambassadors known as the Henhouse Prowlers. For a more international flavor, Socks in the Frying Pan will deliver acoustic folk from an Irish perspective, and Gilberto Santa Rosa, Puerto Rico’s “Caballero de Salsa,” will bring his 14-piece band to show us how it’s done. And we haven’t forgotten you classical and jazz fans. The Sphinx Virtuosi are some of the nation’s top Black and Latinx chamber music soloists, and vocalist Stacey Kent will be joined by her husband and musical partner, saxophonistcomposer Jim Tomlinson, for an evening of her cosmopolitan stylings. Read on to learn more about these events – and how you can help support our mission to engage and inspire the Central Indiana community through enriching arts experiences. Thank you!
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Jeffrey C. McDermott President/CEO
Michael Feinstein Artistic Director
