More About the Marshall Artist's Series

Here's more info about the new season of the Marshall Artist's Series, courtesy of writer Dave Lavender:

The 75th anniversary of the Marshall Artists Series has already gotten off to a "crazy" start -- and the season that's stacked and packed with about eight extra shows has yet to even begin.

When Cee Lo Green, who's chalked up such No. 1 songs as "Crazy" and "Forget You," played "The Today Show" last week, word leaked out that one of the world's biggest pop stars and songwriters was also coming to Huntington.

A student's Facebook post and a couple newspaper web posts later and the Artists Series office phones were blowing up all day that Friday, giving the anniversary season more buzz than a beekeepers convention.

Artists Series Marketing Director Angela Jones said she's expecting that kind of reaction to continue as the historic Artists Series -- the second oldest town and gown artist series in the nation -- has cranked up the number of shows from an average of about 10 to a calendar-busting 18 events.

It also has reeled in some rare acts to the historic Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center, the series' home.

The season, which kicks off with a Sept. 8 special event with red-hot Grammy Award winning pop artist Cee Lo Green, features an eclectic mix of top shelf entertainment, including rare performances here by Larry King (on his first stand-up tour), Glen Campbell (on his last tour), Jack Hanna, Michael McDonald, Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Elvis Costello and a new multimedia Andy Warhol film and music show.

Tossed onto that heap is a Mountain Stage-made spring show, two new Broadway shows ("Young Frankenstein" and "In the Heights"), a Comedy Central new comics show, a talk by Pulitzer-Prize writer Lawrence Wright and a talk and screening with Morgan Spurlock, a Beckley native who is one of the top documentary filmmakers of his generation.

Jones said they wanted to kick off the 75th anniversary series with a bang. They have teamed up with the Marshall University Student Government and the MU Student Activities Programming Board to bring in the Grammy-winning Green, who is coming off the hit summer TV show "The Voice."

"The students have been wanting more hip hop, and you can't get more current than Cee Lo Green," Jones said of the concert, which will be in the Harris Riverfront Park field with a capacity of about 5,000. "We're thrilled he is coming and for the students to be excited about it, because it is right when they get back to school and right in time for us to celebrate our 75th anniversary. He's very eclectic, has a great voice, is compelling to watch and kind of appeals to everybody. Even my mom is excited."

That special event show has $40 general admission tickets that went on sale at 10 a.m. today.

New season subscription orders and season ticket orders went on sale Tuesday, and the deadline for season ticket renewal is Monday, Aug. 8. After that day, all orders will be processed in order of date and time received.

Individual tickets go on sale Monday, Aug. 22.

Jones said the breadth and the depth of the 75th anniversary season can be attributed to Artists Series Executive Director Penny Watkins, an area native who came back home in 1997 to run the Artists Series after working in New York City for years as the producer/director of Rockette Operations and Franchise Development at Radio City Music Hall Productions.

"Penny is great, "Jones said. "She's skilled and has a lot of contacts, and she listens and talks to students about what they want to see. And she has no fear. She just puts in an offer."

Speaking of "offers coming over the phone," one of the great gets this season is a Dec. 11 tour stop on "The Rhinestone Cowboy" Glen Campbell's last tour.

After a recent diagnosis of Alzheimer's, the legendary pop and country music singer and performer is saying goodbye to fans with a new album, "Ghosts on the Canvas," and an extensive tour, that heads overseas for two months this fall before swinging back to the States.

Jones said Campbell, who charted 81 songs during his career, will perform one of the series' two matinee shows this season. He will play at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Keith-Albee.

"We're very excited about this because he is such a legend, and we get one of the stops on his goodbye tour," Jones said. "We know a lot of people in the community will want to see him live and see him in the Keith-Albee."

Another rare tour the Artists Series picked up is "Larry King: Standing Up. It is the first tour for the man who has conducted about 50,000 interviews, including every living president since the Nixon administration.

King will be here March 1 doing his story- and comedy-filled show, which will include a question and answer session.

"'Who is this person that everyone let into their living rooms for all of these years?' " Jones said. "We get to see him outside of asking other people questions and putting himself in the hot seat."

While the Artists Series has become known over the years for hosting a stream of great touring Broadway productions, this season will feature a fresh mix of new shows, including two 2008 award winners.

Coming Nov. 10 and kicking off the five-show Baxter Series is "Young Frankenstein," the new Mel Brooks musical put together by the campy three-time Tony winner and his team that produced his record-breaking show "The Producers."

Other theater productions on the Baxter Series include a new edgy multimedia show, "13 Most Beautiful ... Songs For Andy Warhol's Screen Tests," at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29. In its first commissioned piece, the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh has sifted through 500 of the famed artist's black and white screen tests of such famous folks as Lou Reed shot in the 1960s in NYC and chosen the 13 "most beautiful" screen tests. They teamed up with indie music darlings Dean Wareham and Britta Philips, who composed the music.

Another Broadway production is at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29. "100 Years of Broadway" is a cast of Broadway stars singing songs from the smash hit shows they starred in, such as "The Phantom of the Opera," "Les Miserables," "Chicago," "CATS," "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Jekyll & Hyde."

As part of the Mount Series, the Keith will host the 2008 Tony Award-winning musical, "In the Heights," which not only won Best Musical but also a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

That dance-filled show (which also won the Tony for choreography in 2008) will be here Feb. 21.

Appropriately, the Mount Series, has a true mountain of music.

Grammy Award-winning host and artistic director Larry Groce, who has for years often brought live tapings of the radio show Mountain Stage to the Artists Series, is putting together a special show that will salute the series' legacy at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 29.

"It's truly an honor for Mountain Stage to be a part of the Marshall Artists Series 75th Season," Groce said. "When I look at the quality and variety of this year's line-up, I am seriously impressed. This outstanding series has been, and continues to be, a cultural touchstone in West Virginia and Penny Watkins has done a fantastic job of producing and promoting a yearly schedule of world class offerings. In a time of cutbacks and financial challenges at every turn, the opportunity to experience high quality arts entertainment should not be taken for granted. In today's world, cultural offerings like this are barometers of community desirability and a real part of economic development. We salute the long and distinguished history of the Marshall Artist Series and applaud Penny and everyone else who helps that tradition continue."

Also on the Mount Series is Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame member and singer-songwriter Elvis Costello on Oct. 8 and the five-time Grammy winning singer Michael McDonald on Nov. 17.

The first Mount Series show, which takes place Sept. 29, will be a talk and multimedia presentation by Pulitzer Prize winning writer and journalist Lawrence Wright, whose bestseller "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11" has been translated into 25 languages.

Wright, who co-wrote the film "The Siege" starring Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis and Annette Bening, sold out six weeks Off Broadway of his one-man play, "My Trip to Al-Qaeda," which is being made into a documentary film.

In a letter addressing the Artists Series patrons, Watkins said bringing in such thought-provoking presentations as Wright's continues that educational component of the Series, which began Sept. 15, 1936, when rear admiral Richard Byrd, the explorer of Antarctica, spoke and showed a film at city hall.

"I think this year there is a lot of diversity, and there is a lot of history, and people did not just always go to the Artists Series to be entertained but came to be educated as well," Jones said.

Marshall University President Stephen Kopp said the university could not be prouder of its Artists Series and this special anniversary season.

"The Marshall Artists Series is one of the nation's premiere and longest running university-affiliated programs of its kind. It has been a showcase for the performing arts that continues to enrich our community and region each season. Memorable performances from world-renowned entertainers have defined the Artists Series' rich history over the last 75 years. The university's affiliation with and annual support for the Artist Series has been instrumental in its longevity and success. So, too, has been the Keith-Albee Theater, which has served as an timeless performing arts venue and an icon of the cultural landscape of our state and region."