Centre College’s Norton Center for the Arts has announced its 2022-23 Performing Arts Season.

Broadway, diversity highlight Norton Center for the Arts’ 49th Season

The Norton Center for the Arts recently held a “Reveal Bash” to announce its 49th season.

Internationally renowned artists will hit the stage this season—along with blockbuster Broadway performances like Hairspray and Chicago—and genre-bending maestros like Béla Fleck and The Guess Who. The increasingly popular TasteMAKER Series is back, along with other creative ways for the community to enjoy world-class performing arts here in Danville, Kentucky.

Centre College faculty, staff and students can enjoy the premium entertainment, access to artists and scholars with added benefit: faculty and staff enjoy deep discounts and perks like payroll deduction, while students receive free tickets to performances.

Norton Center Executive Director Steve Hoffman said the Norton Center prides itself on bringing great stories to the local community/campus in unique and creative ways.

“This is the place where you can share the stage with professional performers, engage in thoughtful community conversations and make personal connections through our own diverse stories,” Hoffman said. “The series is filled with inspiring stories that invite audiences to enjoy, appreciate and be transformed.”

“Bold” just barely describes the opening performance of the season: Tami Neilson, a mix of Patsy Cline and Peggy Lee, will kick off the season Sept. 11 in Weisiger Theatre. She’s followed by Symbio (Sept. 30), a contemporary music duo from Sweden that infuses folk, world and infectious beats into its compositions.

“Our Weisiger Theatre performances consistently bring unique arts experiences that you won’t find anywhere else,” Hoffman said. “Our TasteMAKER Series was born from these unique experiences, and I invite anyone with a passion for adventure to try out these performances.”

Neilson and Symbio are joined on the TasteMAKER Series by Step Afrika! (Nov. 13), Dominic Cheli (Feb. 24), Kathy Mattea and Suzy Boggus (Mar. 10), and Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer (April 27).

Mattea and Boggus, two country music legends, hit the stage for their “Together at Last” tour, which will pair two careers worth of heartwarming stories and their biggest hits on the Newlin Hall stage. Fleck, Hussain and Meyer, who will join special guest Rakesh Chaurasia, have together been nominated for 47 Grammy Awards, with 21 combined Grammys, including one for the trio’s own recording.

The Broadway performances begin Oct. 11 with Chicago, followed by Hairspray on Nov. 1. In the spring, CATS will visit the Norton Center on Feb. 27 and The Pirates of Penzance come ashore March 24.

“Our Broadway performances this year are truly ‘can’t miss,’” Hoffman said. “These are some of the most iconic stories that musical theatre can offer, and you’ll have the chance to see them right here in Danville, Kentucky, in one of the nation’s premier performing arts venues.”

Harry Potter fans will not want to miss the hilarious “unauthorized Harry experience” of Potted Potter on Dec. 1. From there, Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy will perform with their children in A Celtic Family Christmas on Dec. 9. Fun and festive programs highlight this year’s Norton Center schedule, including the a capella social media sensations Voctave performing Feb. 17.

Legendary rock group The Guess Who, best known for 14 Top-40 charted hits including “American Woman,” will rock out April 14. Circus DuBois, as featured in the smash hit film, The Greatest Showman, will perform May 4. The season concludes with The Galvin Cello Quartet in Weisiger Theatre on May 12.

Buying a season subscription package is the best way to experience the Norton Center: buy tickets to three or more performances and unlock access to the best seats prior to tickets going on sale to the public, exclusive benefits and savings up to 25 percent off—and as a special Centre perk, faculty and staff receive double the subscription discount.

“Don’t wait—you can purchase a subscription right now,” Hoffman said. “That’s the best way to save money, beat the line and enjoy everything the Norton Center has to offer. Our staff does a fantastic job helping people through the buying process and is ready to help you with exactly what you need.”

2022-23 Norton Center Performing Arts Season

The We Were Here Project Art Exhibition — August through December 2022

Highlights from the Norton Center Permanent Collection Art Exhibition — Spring 2023

Sept. 11: Tami Neilson

Sept. 30: Symbio

Oct. 4: Makin’ Cake and Other Stories, featuring Dasha Kelly Hamilton, Crystal Wilkinson and Frank X Walker

Oct. 11: Chicago

Nov. 1: Hairspray

Nov. 13: Step Afrika!

Nov. 19: Eric Owens and singers from The Curtis Opera Theatre

Dec. 1: Potted Potter

Dec. 9: A Celtic Family Christmas

Feb. 17: Voctave

Feb. 24: Dominic Cheli: The Sound of Paintings

Feb. 27: CATS

Mar. 10: Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss: Together at Last

Mar. 24: The Pirates of Penzance

April 14: The Guess Who

April 27: Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer with special guest Rakesh Chaurasia

May 4: Circus DuBois

May 12: The Galvin Cello Quartet