Clark State PAC stage to come alive in new season

With 25 years of entertaining the community, the Clark State Performing Arts Center invites its audience to “Watch the stage come alive” in the 2019-2020 season with some color, a Choir, pets, a little mystery and Broadway served up by a “Waitress” among the 11 events.

Tickets will go on sale at 9 a.m. Monday, June 10.

Among the new season’s highlights will be one of the biggest shows ever to grace the Kuss Auditorium, one that has PAC executive director Adele Adkins feeling blue in a good way. Blue Man Group, the hybrid show that blends music, comedy, art, technology and other surprises too numerous to mention will be here March 10.

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“I have to say a feather in our 25-year cap is the production of the Blue Man Group,” she said. “I fought for over a year to bring this show to Springfield. There have been countless exciting years in our 25-year history, but this show will truly be the biggest production we have had here.”

This is a new era for Blue Man Group, which is now owned by Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group. This means six 18-wheel trucks will bring the “Speechless” tour that will mark fresh take with new and original compositions and unexpected situations.

The season will open Oct. 19 with multiple Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriters Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin, performing songs from their latest albums and classics. Adkins said she was able to work out a date into the artists’ incredibly busy schedules.

“The Greatest Love of All: A Tribute to Whitney Houston” is another production Adkins knew she wanted, booking it for Feb. 15, saying it was eerie how much singer Belinda Davids sounded like Houston. The production is full-blown with dancers, back-up singers and a band.

Other new shows include the comedy fun of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live (Nov. 14), Popovich Comedy Pet Theater (Jan. 31) and award-winning Irish quintet Goitse (March 14).

No season would be complete without a national Broadway tour and the menu has the Tony-nominated musical “Waitress” on April 2.

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Two popular acts return including Choir of Man on Feb. 29, the group of nine performers from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales who turn their concerts into a party. Adkins said the reception to the 2018 performance went beyond expectations.

“I brought back Choir of Man because in my 22 years of booking shows, I have never received so much positive feedback after a performance. We have a Clark State trustee who shared with me that Choir of Man was the best show he’s seen in the 25 years of the Performing Arts Center,” said Adkins. “It’s a truly special show you have to experience for yourself.”

Playing a fifth consecutive season at the Kuss will be The Illusionists on Nov. 26, this time with a seasonal theme, “The Magic of the Holidays.”

The season will be rounded out with “The Nature of Forgetting,” a theatrical production with original music on dealing with dementia on Nov. 1 and conclude on May 1 with the Celebration of the Performing Arts Center.

Adkins teased she has at least two other big shows including one with a major headliner to be announced this fall.

For tickets or for more information, go to http://pac.clarkstate.edu/ or call 937-328-3874.

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