An America’s Got Talent finalist from Season 8, Catapult is a magical production that features incredible dancers who work behind a screen to create shadow silhouettes of shapes from the world around us. Be amazed as you watch their bodies transform into a mountain, an elephant, a dragon, even a helicopter! You’ll never figure out how they do it, and you won’t know what they will create next – you’ll be surprised and delighted again and again. Packed with hundreds of shape transformations, the show is full of humor, emotion and engaging stories.

Catapult is, technically, a shadow dance company. What it really is: a theatrical art form that is an amazingly imaginative combination of dance, story-telling, and sculpture. Founded in 2009, by Adam Battlestein, the company catapulted to fame on America’s Got Talent, earning their way to the finals of the NBC-TV hit show.

Catapult is all about the human body and its ability to transform. Audiences of all ages love what appear to be effortless transformations and applaud over and over as more and more unbelievable images appear.

Catapult’s “Magic Shadows” contains 8 fully realized stories told through music and shadows and 6 short shadow dance videos which play between the live dances – brief moments of poetry or humor which perfectly cleanse the palate and prepare the audience for their next shadow journey. Audiences leave this show dazed and happy, and they will never look at their own shadow the same way again!

“Knockout…Brimful with feeling…Expansive… the Russian style is elegantly generous, and so the experience is never meager. Kids…were wide-eyed with delight.” ~ New York Times

See the one and only Moscow Ballet Great Russian Nutcracker in the top 20 largest US cities and 100+ more cities from coast to coast this this 25th Anniversary Season! All ages are invited to celebrate the Magic of Christmas with Moscow Ballet’s almost 40 ballerinas and danseurs. Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker is known for its award-winning Principal Dancers, lavish costumes in the style of the Victorian era, many backdrops created by “La La Land’ Concept Designer Carl Sprague, and its Russian focus including life-sized Matryoshka Dolls, Russian folk legends Ded Moroz (Father Christmas) and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) and Troika Sleigh. Adults and children enjoy the special effects of the flapping winged owl on the Grandfather clock, the growing 50 ft tall Christmas Tree, the Dove of Peace with a 20ft wingspan, and of course, the leaps, spins, and extraordinary moves of the company all performed to Tchaikovsky’s complete and incomparable score.

More Information at: www.nutcracker.com

“Knockout…Brimful with feeling…Expansive… the Russian style is elegantly generous, and so the experience is never meager. Kids…were wide-eyed with delight.” ~ New York Times

See the one and only Moscow Ballet Great Russian Nutcracker in the top 20 largest US cities and 100+ more cities from coast to coast this this 25th Anniversary Season! All ages are invited to celebrate the Magic of Christmas with Moscow Ballet’s almost 40 ballerinas and danseurs. Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker is known for its award-winning Principal Dancers, lavish costumes in the style of the Victorian era, many backdrops created by “La La Land’ Concept Designer Carl Sprague, and its Russian focus including life-sized Matryoshka Dolls, Russian folk legends Ded Moroz (Father Christmas) and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) and Troika Sleigh. Adults and children enjoy the special effects of the flapping winged owl on the Grandfather clock, the growing 50 ft tall Christmas Tree, the Dove of Peace with a 20ft wingspan, and of course, the leaps, spins, and extraordinary moves of the company all performed to Tchaikovsky’s complete and incomparable score.

More Information at: www.nutcracker.com

Holiday Cheer with Newberry & Verch
Music of the Season from Canada to the Ozarks

Growing up, musicians Joe Newberry and April Verch absorbed traditions of home and hearth - in his Missouri Ozarks and her Ottawa Valley of Canada. The holidays have always been a special time of year for both, with the lure of family and friends, festive decorations, gifts under the tree, and always.... music. So now, each year the duo sets out in a modern day sleigh (with four-wheel drive) to perform their eagerly anticipated holiday tour. Original songs join timeless hymns. Stories warm the heart and give a twinkle to the eye. Lively fiddle and banjo numbers combine with traditional dance steps to illustrate happy times when people made their own fun at the holidays, and all year long. Make your holiday concert list, and check it twice... Newberry and Verch are coming to town!

Joe Newberry grew up in a family full of singers and dancers. He took up the guitar and banjo as a teenager and learned fiddle tunes from great Missouri fiddlers. April Verch grew up listening to her Dad’s country band play for dances in the Ottawa Valley. She started step dancing at age three and fiddling at age six. Both Newberry & Verch became masters of their traditions and tour the world with their respective bands and projects. Yet they never forget the roots of their music, that connection to the people in the audience, on the dance floor, to the community sparked by a good song.

For these veteran performers who come from distinct traditions and parts of the world, their collaboration is fueled by their kindred passion for bringing people together to celebrate traditional music. Blues and ballads stem into Canadian regional styles and originals. Their voices blend in harmony, their tasteful instrumentals prove that these masters have nothing left to prove, and then their feet kick up the dust in perfect rhythm...and together, they make you remember why this music existed in the first place.

“Acoustic Guitar Music like you’ve never heard before!”

Frank Vignola is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Wynton Marsalis, Tommy Emmanuel, Mark O Connor, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitarists List” for the Wall Street Journal. Vignola’s jaw-dropping technique explains why the New York Times deemed him “one of the brightest…stars of the guitar”.

QUOTES:

“There is little in this world so awe-inspiring as witnessing total mastery of a musical instrument. Like seeing Yo-Yo Ma play the cello or Placido Damingo belt out an aria – sometimes a performer’s perfection can elevate a piece of music to heights beyond the realm of imagination. By all accounts, Frank Vignola conjures just that sort of magic with his acoustic guitar.” – Matt Cauthron – Intermission Magazine

“Vignola, who possesses jaw-dropping technique, wears his influences on the tip of his pick” – Mike Joyce – Washington Post

“A spectacular sold out concert ushered in the 7th year of Jazz at the Powerhouse.” – Mary Johnson – Baltimore Sun

“Listeners including myself were hooting and hollering in reaction to the Vignolas group’s burning set” – Melissa Merli – News Gazette – Krannert Center Guitar Festival

Take Me Home: The Music of John Denver
Starring Jim Curry

The music of the late John Denver is like an old friend, outlasting trends and standing the test of time. Join acclaimed performer Jim Curry for this tribute to the music of one of the most beloved singer-songwriters ever to grace the stage.

Tribute artist Jim Curry, whose voice was heard in the CBS-TV movie Take Me Home: The John Denver Story, has performed Denver’s music in sold out shows throughout the country and has emerged as today’s top performer of Denver’s vast legacy of multi-platinum hits.

Jim’s uncanny ability to mirror John’s voice and clean-cut look takes you back to the time when “Rocky Mountain High” “Sunshine” “Calypso” and “Annie’s Song” topped the charts, and his popular music had the heartfelt message of caring for the earth and caring for each other.

Mandy Harvey is a deaf American singer-songwriter. A Vocal Music Education major at Colorado State University, Mandy lost her residual hearing in 2006-2007 at age eighteen due to a connective tissue disorder, and left the program. She pursued several career options, including education, but returned to music in 2008. Mandy's music attracts the attention of those around the world, adding to her message of hope, dream and believe.

Mandy Harvey has made a tremendous impact by way of America's Got Talent having reached the finals and being Simon Cowell's Golden Buzzer Winner. CNN's Great Big Story captured over 10 million hits on social media. Burt's Bees signed her up for the "Remarkable Women" campaign. Not content to rest on her burgeoing recording career, her live performances, and her inspirational speaking, Mandy just released her first booke title; Sensing The Rhythm, Finding My Voice in a World Without Sound. Though her hearing loss is profound, her timing, pitch and passion are perfect.

Hailed by the original Beatles promoter as ‘THE BEST ON THE SCENE’, The McCartney Years is a period-true, technically stunning and explosive live concert show that performs the music of Paul McCartney spanning two decades from The Beatles to Wings.

Songs include hits like Hey Jude, Jet, Let It Be, Band On The Run, The Long And Winding Road, Live And Let Die, Lady Madonna and many, many more, plus some of the deep cuts that McCartney wrote during the 1960’s and 1970’s; all performed to their original arrangements by a band that has entertained audiences worldwide and even has a personal accolade from former Wings Guitarist Denny Laine.

Guaranteed that you will jump out of your seat to clap, sing and dance to the music by one of the most prolific artists of all time in this authentic, timeless live concert experience!

As young boys, Christopher and Taylor Malpass soaked up the music of their granddad’s phonograph records. Christopher earned his first talent show trophy at age 7, and Taylor was playing mandolin by the time he was 10. Today, they promote the work and music of classic country artists they treasure while creating new music and making their own mark in the lineage of a rich American cultural heritage.

If you like cornbread & hush puppies, you’re gonna love the Malpass Brothers. If you like sweet tea, barbecue & collards, you’re gonna love the Malpass Brothers. This is the real deal, folks. There is no pretense. This is music steeped in the legacy of the Louvin Brothers, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Hank Williams, Sr. & others. Count on classic, real country.

More Information at: www.themalpassbrothers.com