The Royal Drummers and Dancers of Burundi are among the global offerings in the upcoming Hylton season.
The Hylton Performing Arts Center on Mason’s Prince William Campus will continue its winning formula of presenting nationally and internationally known artists, community arts group productions and family-friendly theater during its 2012-13 season, the center’s Executive Director Rick Davis and Director of Artistic Programming Tom Reynolds announced on March 15.
In addition, the Castleton Festival, which presented concerts at the Hylton last summer, will return in summer 2012 for two evenings led by world-renowned conductor Lorin Maazel to present “Gershwin and Company: An All-American Evening” and music from Puccini’s “La Bohème.”
Just a few other highlights of the upcoming season include
- The Capitol Steps musical comedy troupe
- Royal Drummers and Dancer of Burundi
- Shaolin Warriors presenting the art of Kung Fu
- Dailey & Vincent presenting “A Bluegrass Christmas”
- Cuban jazz pianist Chucho Valdés
- The Birdland Big Band from New York’s Birdland Jazz Club
- Arlo Guthrie commemorating his father, Woody Guthrie, with folk favorites
- Popular Irish band Danú
- Mexican-American singer Lila Downs
The community resident arts partners will also present public performances, including
- Manassas Ballet Theatre productions of “Frankenstein,” “The Nutcracker” and “Coppélia”
- Vpstart Crow productions of “Arsenic and Old Lace,” “A Christimas Carol,” and “Much Ado About Nothing”
- Manassas Symphony Orchestra presenting “Bach to the Future” and “Festa Italiana” among other programs
- Prince William Little Theatre presenting three plays
- Manassas Chorale presenting spring and fall concerts
- Youth Orchestras of Prince William concerts
The Black Watch and the Bands of the Scots Guards will bring marches, anthems, bagpipes and brass music to the Hylton.
The modestly priced Hylton Family Series will feature the silly songs of the duo called Trout Fishing in America; the Pushcart Players presenting “Peter and the Wolf”; a one-man show with Michael Cooper and his amazing masks; and a presentation by “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” host Peter Gros, who will introduce audiences to exotic animals and conservation issues.
Mason President Alan Merten joined in the center’s third season announcement, recalling that when he joined the university in 1996, one of the first things then-Prince William County Board of Supervisors chairman Kathleen Seefeldt called to his attention was the need for a performing arts center on the fledgling Prince William Campus.
“The creation of the Hylton Performing Arts Center has been one of our greatest accomplishments,” Merten said, noting its development as a community partnership among the university, the county, the City of Manassas and businesses and individuals in the Prince William area.
Novant Health is the 2012-13 season sponsor, Prince William County is the holiday performances sponsor, and the Cecil & Irene Hylton Foundation is the Castleton Festival sponsor.
Subscriptions to Hylton Presents and the Hylton Family Series, as well tickets to the Castleton Festival, are now available. Single tickets go on sale Sept. 1. See hyltoncenter.org for a complete list of events, to request a season brochure or to order tickets.