Krannert Center announces its 50th season

The celebration of 50 years of Krannert Center for the Performing Arts continues into 2019-2020 with their 50th season of “inventive commissioning projects and new works, cherished familiar faces and compelling newcomers, and innovative collaborations between university students and faculty.”

The two season recognition of their important milestone began last September with lively and unique celebration, hit another high point with Come Home to Krannert last month, and will continue the revelry as the biennial Ellnora Guitar Festival kicks off in September. 

The rest of the season hits the notes we’ve come to cherish and appreciate about Krannert, with offerings of music, dance, and theatre, while bringing in notable guests from Wynton Marsalis to Anna Deavere Smith to drag artist Sasha Velour (a former C-U resident). 

Tickets for the season will go on sale July 20th at 10 a.m. In the meantime, here’s your preview of the schedule. More details about the individual artists and performances can be found here.

Krannert Center 2019-20 Marquee Artist Schedule

TH SEP 5-SA SEP 7
ELLNORA | The Guitar Festival

FR SEP 13
David Roussève/REALITY: Halfway to Dawn

SA SEP 14
Sasha Velour’s Smoke & Mirrors
Chris Botti

TU SEP 17
Jupiter String Quartet with Jon Nakamatsu, piano

TH SEP 19-SA SEP 21
Nathan and Julie Gunn: Drytown, A Living Room Vaudeville

FR SEP 20
Bizhiki Culture & Dance Company

TH SEP 26-SA SEP 28
PYGMALION

FR SEP 27-SA SEP 28
HOME by Geoff Sobelle

TU OCT 1
Isango Ensemble: Aesop’s Fables

TH OCT 3
Apollo’s Fire: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons—Rediscovered

SA OCT 12
Chick Corea Trilogy with Christian McBride and Brian Blade

WE OCT 23
The Four Italian Tenors: Viva Italia

SA OCT 26
Chicago Symphony Orchestra

FR NOV 1
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

TU NOV 5
The King’s Singers: Finding Harmony

TH NOV 7-SA NOV 9
Trick of the Light Theatre: The Bookbinder

SU NOV 10
Concert Artists Guild Winner: Yi-Nuo Wang, piano

TU NOV 12
Theatre Re: The Nature of Forgetting

TH NOV 14
Harlem 100—Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance

SU NOV 17
St. Louis Symphony

TH NOV 21
Tere O’Connor Dance: Long Run

TH DEC 5-SU DEC 8
The Nutcracker

FR JAN 24
Brush Theatre: Yao Yao

SU JAN 26
Naumburg International Violin Competition Winner: Grace Park, violin with Joseph Liccardo, piano

TU JAN 28-WE JAN 29
Shanghai Ballet: The Butterfly Lovers

SA FEB 1
Still Dreaming with Joshua Redman, Ron Miles, Scott Colley, and Brian Blade

TU FEB 4
Jupiter String Quartet

TH FEB 6-FR FEB 7
Step Afrika!: Drumfolk

TU FEB 11
St. Olaf Choir

FR FEB 14
Somi

SU FEB 16
Young Concert Artists Winner: Jonathan Swensen, cello

TU FEB 18
Anna Deavere Smith

WE FEB 19
CultureTalk: Anna Deavere Smith

SU FEB 23
Cirque FLIP Fabrique: Blizzard

TU FEB 25
Michael Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble

TH FEB 27
Murray Perahia, piano

SA FEB 29
Siberian State Symphony Orchestra

TH MAR 5
Venice Baroque Orchestra: The Swedish Nightingale

TU MAR 10
Cahoots NI: Penguins

WE MAR 11
TAO: Drum Heart

SA MAR 28
The Song of the Earth—Art, Science, and Humanity

TU MAR 31
Fauré Quartett

FR-SA APR 3-4
Mark Morris Dance Group and Music Ensemble

SA APR 18
Amir ElSaffar’s Rivers of Sound Orchestra

TU APR 21
Takács Quartet with Erika Eckert, viola

SU APR 26
Krannert Center Debut Artist

TU APR 28
Jupiter String Quartet with Tyler Duncan, baritone

TU MAY 5
Mariachi Herencia de México

Photo provided by KCPA

Julie McClure

Staff writer