CENTRE COLLEGE

News release

The curtain rises again in 2021 as Centre College’s Norton Center for the Arts announces its upcoming 2021-2022 Performing Arts season.

It is a spectacularly diverse 48th year for the Norton Center, which will celebrate the return of a classical virtuoso, along with two hilarious comedians, a party for princesses, and the world’s most-beloved choir. Add a mix of good-time Broadway musicals and heart-pounding dance, and you’re set for a fantastic return to performances in central Kentucky.

The season will also feature new ways to engage, from entertaining pre-show Pop-up Parties to year-round visual art exhibitions featuring Centre College’s Sheldon Tapley and transcultural artist Siona Benjamin.

“We are thrilled to welcome patrons back for a fantastic performing arts season,” Norton Center Executive Director Steve Hoffman said. “Our lineup this season features a remarkable array of talent from unique backgrounds and features well-known superstars as well as some new faces that I know you’ll enjoy.”

The Norton Center opens its season with a bang on Oct. 9 when Jane Lynch and Kate Flannery take the stage with the Tony Guerreo Quartet in their new cabaret act, “Two Lost Souls.” Lynch, known for her work in “Glee,” NBC’s “Hollywood Game Night,” “Best in Show,” and many more, stars in a night of classic songs and comedy that pairs her with another expert TV funnywoman, Flannery, who played the boozy and blowsy Meredith on “The Office.”

The season heats up in January, when MOMIX hits the Newlin Hall stage for the first performance of 2022. MOMIX is known internationally for its inventiveness, physicality, and beautiful dance illusions.

Matthew Whitaker — a pianist prominently featured on the CBS program “60 Minutes” — takes to Weisiger Theatre in February, launching a packed schedule of events at the Norton Center. The Vienna Boys Choir and Velocity Irish Dance visit from Europe, then Pirates of Penzance drop anchor for a swashbuckling adventure.

“You’ll want to keep an eye out for a potential Christmas-season blockbuster to go with our epic schedule,” Hoffman said. “Our spring is highlighted by superstar Broadway performances and Yo-Yo Ma, who needs no introduction. It’s an incredible time to subscribe to the Norton Center and save on a lineup you can’t see anywhere else.”

Beautiful — The Carole King Musical, Disney Princess: The Concert, and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, will all wow audiences with well-known stories straight from Broadway.

And, for the fourth time in the Norton Center’s history, Yo-Yo Ma returns to Newlin Hall on April 21 with pianist Kathryn Stott to share comfort and joy in a sure-to-sell-out event.

“I have to brag about our world-class venue here in Danville: There’s not a bad seat in the house and the acoustics are incredible. Yo-Yo Ma only makes a limited number of concert appearances each year and he selected Danville for a return engagement,” Hoffman said. “That says a lot! “If we have a theme for this season, as we return to public performances, it is: You won’t want to miss it!”

Season subscription packages with savings up to 25% off of regular-priced tickets are on sale now. Single ticket sales for all shows begin Sept. 6.

The Choose-Your-Own (CYO) Subscription Package grants you the choice of three or more shows with discounts up to 25%, giving subscribers the benefits of early access to shows, no-risk purchasing options, and more. The popular TasteMAKER Subscription Series — six shows carefully curated with post-show socials with the artist — grants you a 25% discount on top of all the perks mentioned above. If you’d like to subscribe or learn more, visit nortoncenter.com or call the box office at 859-236-4692.

2021/2022 Norton Center Performing Arts Season

• Fall visual art exhibition: Sheldon Tapley, Painter and Draftsman

• Saturday, Oct. 9, 21: Jane Lynch & Kate Flannery sponsored by Farmers National Bank

• Friday, Nov. 5, 21: Fifth House Ensemble: Journey LIVE, sponsored by Panasonic

• Friday, Nov. 19, 21: Dirk Powell & Friends featuring Nokosee Fields

• Spring visual art exhibition: Blue Like Me: The Art of Siona Benjamin, in partnership with Centre College’s Religion Program

• Tuesday, Jan. 11, 22: MOMIX sponsored by Sodexo

• Saturday, Feb. 12, 22: Matthew Whitaker

• Saturday, Feb. 19, 22: Vienna Boys Choir sponsored by the Stafford Memorial Fund

• Thursday, Mar. 3, 22: Velocity Irish Dance sponsored by Alltech and Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co.

• Friday, Mar. 11, 22: The Pirates of Penzance, New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players

• Wednesday, Mar. 16, 22: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical sponsored by G&J Pepsi

• Saturday, Mar. 26, 22: Invoke

• Saturday, April 9, 22: Disney Princess: The Concert

• Monday, April 11, 22: Summer: The Donna Summer Musical sponsored by Stuart Powell Ford Lincoln Mazda

• Thursday, April 21, 22: Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott sponsored by the Joe A. and Cecil Dulin Wallace Fund

• Friday, April 29, 22: The Queen’s Cartoonists

• Saturday, May 14, 22: Kat Edmonson