Performing Arts at Wharton Center: Variety

KRISTIN CHENOWETH IN CONCERT– FOR THE GIRLS

COBB GREAT HALL; SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2021, 8PM

Emmy and Tony Award ® winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth returns to Wharton Center for what promises to be an amazing night of songs from her latest album, For The Girls. The album is a heartfelt tribute to the great female singers throughout history, and particularly to some of Kristin’s heroes and friends. For fans of musical theatre, film and television, this performance is not to be missed.

Sponsored by The Doctors Company with additional support from B-Dry System of Central & West Michigan, Inc.; BZEMS Group at Merrill Lynch; Brogan, Reed, Van Gorder & Associates/Ohio National Financial Services; and Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Media sponsor: Michigan Radio

BLUE MAN GROUP

COBB GREAT HALL; TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2021, 7:30PM; WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2021, 7:30PM

More than 35 million people around the world have experienced the smash-hit phenomenon that is Blue Man Group … and now it’s your turn! It’s everything you know and love about Blue Man Group – signature drumming, colorful moments of creativity and quirky comedy – the men are still blue, but the rest is all new! Featuring pulsing, original music, custommade instruments, surprise audience interaction and hilarious absurdity, join the Blue Men in a joyful experience that unites audiences of all ages.

Sponsored by The Doctors Company with additional support from Auto-Owners Insurance; The Christman Company; Jackson National Life Insurance Company; and Plante Moran, PLLC. Media sponsor: Michigan Radio

CELTIC WOMAN: THE BEST OF CHRISTMAS

COBB GREAT HALL; TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020, 7:30PM

Multi-platinum international music sensation Celtic Woman celebrates the holiday season. This concert offers an unparalleled live musical experience, with Celtic Woman performing timeless holiday songs, accompanied by a full symphony orchestra. The show will feature music from the all-female ensemble’s much-loved holiday releases from The Magic of Christmas. Celtic Woman Best of Christmas promises an enchanting and festive evening filled with holiday favorites and a few Celtic twists here and there, all with the accompaniment of a fantastic orchestra composed of the area’s finest musicians.

Sponsored by The Doctors Company with additional support from Auto-Owners Insurance and Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Media sponsor: Michigan Radio

BÉLA FLECK & ABIGAIL WASHBURN

COBB GREAT HALL; THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2021, 7:30PM

Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, “the king and queen of the banjo” (Paste magazine), have a musical partnership like no other. Béla Fleck is a fifteen-time Grammy Award ® winner who has taken the instrument across multiple genres, and Abigail Washburn is a singer-songwriter and clawhammer banjo player who re-radicalized it by combining it with Far Eastern culture and sounds. With one eye on using the banjo to showcase America’s rich heritage and the other pulling the noble instrument from its most familiar arena into new and unique realms, Béla and Abigail meet head-on for a night of great music that is both wildly innovative and familiar at the same time.

Sponsored by The Doctors Company. Media sponsor: Michigan Radio

RENÉE ELISE GOLDSBERRY

COBB GREAT HALL; SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 2021, 8PM

Broadway superstar Renée Elise Goldsberry received the Tony Award ® , Grammy Award ® , Drama Desk Award and Lucille Lortel Award as Angelica Schuyler in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s blockbuster, Hamilton. She made her Broadway debut in The Lion King and was the last ‘Mimi’ in Rent. She has appeared in Baz Luhrmann’s The Get Down for Netflix and shot the title role for HBO’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks opposite Oprah Winfrey. Currently starring in the Netflix series Altered Carbon, she continues to captivate audiences with magnetic allure on both stage and screen. A Detroit native, Ms. Goldsberry returns to Michigan to perform Broadway and Hollywood classics in her first appearance at Wharton Center.

Sponsored by The Doctors Company with additional support from Jackson National Life Insurance Company; L.O. Eye Care; Maner Costerisan; and Retailers Insurance Company. Media sponsor: Michigan Radio

SŌ PERCUSSION

COBB GREAT HALL SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021, 3PM

With an expansive sonic imagination and “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam” (The New Yorker), Sō Percussion has redefined the scope of the percussion ensemble. The performance features Steve Reich’s Music for Pieces of Wood and Julia Wolfe’s Forbidden Zone and Amid the Noise. This special performance caps Sō Percussion’s residency with Wharton Center and MSU College of Music. “Through a mix of consummate skill and quirky charm, this mercurial quartet has helped to ignite an explosive new enthusiasm for percussion music old and new.” (The New York Times)

This performance is made possible by the Entrepreneurial Musical Artist in Residence Program. Media sponsor: Michigan Radio

GINA CHAVEZ

PASANT THEATRE; WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2021, 7:30PM

Austin’s 2019 Female Vocalist of the Year, Latin pop sensation Gina Chavez will transport you on a passionate tour of the Americas, gracefully blending the sound and rhythms of the region. With her signature style of Latin folk-pop, Chavez has topped the Amazon and Latin iTunes charts; her album Up.Rooted has earned acclaim from the

Boston Globe, USA Today, Texas Monthly, the Austin Chronicle and more. Her Tiny Desk Concert on NPR has garnered over a million views so far, and her newest album, Lightbeam, has received rave reviews. Along with her band, Chavez performs a collection of songs sure to have you dancing in your seat!

Sponsored by The Doctors Company with additional support from Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Media sponsor: Michigan Radio

'S WONDERFUL: THE MUSIC OF GEORGE GERSHWIN

WITH TEDDY ABRAMS, MORGAN JAMES AND ORCHESTRA

COBB GREAT HALL; WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 2021, 7:30PM

Wowing the audience in their Best of Bernstein performance at Wharton Center in 2019, conductor/ pianist Teddy Abrams and vocal wonder Morgan James join up once more in 2020, this time for a night of best-loved classics by George Gershwin. Featuring a full orchestra composed of the area’s finest musicians, this unforgettable night will showcase tunes from “Embraceable You” and “I Got Rhythm” to “ ‘S Wonderful” and Rhapsody in Blue.

Sponsored by The Doctors Company with additional support from Comprehensive Psychological Services, PC; Foresight Group; and Wolverine Development Corporation. Media sponsor: Michigan Radio

THE MOTH MAINSTAGE

COBB GREAT HALL; THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021, 7:30PM

True stories, told live and without notes. The Moth celebrates the ability of stories to honor both the diversity and commonality of human experience, and to satisfy a vital human need for connection. Hugely popular each week on NPR stations across the country, along with the equally popular Moth podcast, The Moth is a community where entertainment and enlightenment merge. The Moth Mainstage features five tellers who develop and shape their stories with Moth directors. Don’t miss The Moth’s return to Wharton Center!

Sponsored by The Doctors Company with additional support from Grewal Law PLLC and Piper & Gold Public Relations. A co-presentation with Michigan Radio.