New Moss Arts Center season celebrates ideas of home and the power of fierce women
Subscriptions will be available at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 29, for the Moss Arts Center’s 2019-20 season, which is filled with a rich range of exceptional performances, special events, and unforgettable experiences.
The center’s new season embraces two special themes that are both personal and universal – the varied ideas of home and a celebration of fierce women.
Artists invite audiences to delve into the idea of home in many ways this season, with a diverse range of performers and experiences, including multiple international artists and programs that will lead explorations of native countries and cultures.
“The term ‘home’ means many different things to each of us at different times,” said Ruth Waalkes, executive director of the Moss Arts Center and associate provost for the arts at Virginia Tech. “Home can mean that physical place where we eat and sleep. Sometimes it conjures memories that we carry with us wherever we are. And home can mean places where we long to be, or to return to, someday. Whether past, present, or future, home always is intertwined with the people we find there – be it a house, a campus, a town, or a country.”
The season opens on Sept. 13 with a mixed program by the Dance Theatre of Harlem that includes a new ballet inspired by major historical events in Virginia. A new series this year, National Geographic Live, features three programs that examine the ultimate home, planet Earth, from its oceans, from space, and from across the landscape with “Coral Kingdoms and Empires of Ice,” “View From Above,” and “Pink Boots and a Machete.”
Theatre artist Geoff Sobelle brings his project, “HOME,” which explores a physical place inhabited by different generations using dance, illusion, live music, home-spun engineering, and an inventive use of audience interaction. Indian Ink Theatre Company also makes the audience part of the show, welcoming them to “Mrs. Krishnan’s Party.” Patrons will be seated on the stage of the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre for a series of intimate, immersive, and wildly engaging performances that bridges cultures and expands boundaries.
The center welcomes a dynamic group of female artists across all genres who are leaders, innovators, and provocateurs, amplifying powerful female voices from around the world.
“We all know and admire fierce women in our lives,” said Waalkes. “The toddler niece who has to climb trees, the single mother who works days and attends night school, the older sister who breaks glass ceilings. With courage and creativity, women bring meaning, contemplation, and vibrant expression to our stages and galleries in our new season.”
One of the world’s most beloved and celebrated singers, Renée Fleming’s boundary-crossing vocal artistry will illuminate the center’s stage this season, while Zimbabwean female a cappella quintet Nobuntu showcases women empowered through song and celebration.
Black bodies in motion tell their stories with choreographer Camille A. Brown and her Bessie Award-winning dance company, whose dazzling performance makes a personal claim on history through the lens of the modern female perspective. L.A. Theatre Works returns to the Moss Arts Center for the third time, bringing the stories of remarkable female heroes from seven countries, written by seven female authors, with the riveting documentary play “SEVEN.”
Latin Grammy-winning all-female, rule-breaking mariachi masters Flor de Toloache will win the hearts of progressive and traditional music fans alike, closing the 2019-20 season with its sophisticated interpretation of traditional mariachi instruments.
Broadway in Blacksburg
The center marks the return of its “Broadway in Blacksburg” series with two touring Broadway productions — “The Color Purple” on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and “Finding Neverland” on March 18 at 7:30 p.m. Season subscribers — at the silver, gold, and premier levels — will have advance access to purchase tickets (prior to public ticket sales) for these events. More information, including ticket sale dates, will be available soon.
Purchase subscriptions
Subscriptions for the 2019-20 season will be available at 10 a.m. May 29 and offer discounted prices and priority seat selection. There are three ways to subscribe: the Premier Subscription includes all performances at a 30 percent discount off adult ticket prices, the Gold Build Your Own Subscription allows for a 25 percent discount off the price of adult tickets for 15 or more performances, and the Silver Build Your Own Subscription offers a 20 percent discount on five to 14 performances. Student and youth tickets are always $10 per performance, including subscriptions.
Subscriptions can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center's box office, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300. Currently, only subscription packages are available for purchase for the 2019-20 season. Beginning Aug. 20, 2019, tickets for individual performances will be available for purchase.
