Orange County Performing Arts Center Presents 2010 – 2011 Cabaret and Jazz Series

The Orange County Performing Arts Center's 2010-2011 Cabaret and Jazz Series are star-studded celebrations of award-winning singers, musicians and artists from Broadway to the Metropolitan Opera, from television to motion pictures and from concert stage to the top clubs in the
country.

In the Cabaret Series, versatile actress, comedienne and singer Megan Mullally returns to the Center with Supreme Music Program, making her Samueli Theater debut. Center favorites Jason Graae and Lillias White are back with David Zippel in a special tribute, Broadway Up Close and Personal: A Tribute to Cy Coleman, to the late great Broadway composer. One of Broadway's most-loved leading ladies, Tony® Award winner Sutton Foster, makes her Center debut in the series. Nathan Gunn, who possesses one of the opera world's greatest voices with movie star looks, showcases a different side to his artistry with songs and ballads. And Wicked's Tony winner Idina Menzel, together with a full symphony orchestra, performs a one-night-only concert in Segerstrom Hall.

The Center's Jazz Series is renowned for bringing the best, the brightest and the hottest jazz artists to Samueli Theater, one of the greatest little night spots around, as well as to the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. The 2010-2011 Jazz Series pairs award-winning artists for a mega season of great music. Audiences are in for another discovery - two of the top new artists on the jazz scene, Sara Gazarek and Sachal Vasandani, will open the season. Legends and masters make up the balance of the year, with Renaud Garcia-Fons' La Línea del Sur Quartet, Blues at the Crossroads: Robert Johnson Centennial assembles an all-star line-up to celebrate the great Mississippi master, Chick Corea and Gary Burton together in one evening, the Branford Marsalis Quartet sharing the same evening with the Terence Blanchard Quintet, and the Bill Charlap Trio featuring Special Guest Vocalist Freddie Cole in a class act to close out the season.

Megan Mullally and Supreme Music Program
October 7 - 10, 2010 in Samueli Theater
One of Hollywood's most versatile talents, Megan Mullally is an actress and
singer who has appeared on Broadway, in concert halls, in films and on television.
She is best known for her Emmy®-winning performances as Karen Walker on
NBC's Will and Grace, the role that she will reprise in Karen: The Musical,
currently in development. She can be seen now in the Starz hit cable series Party
Down and is the Chief on the new Adult Swim comedy, Children's Hospital.
Mullally's appeared on NBC's Parks and Recreation, in the 2009 remake of FAME
and was Beverly Wilkins in the critically acclaimed West Coast debut of The
Receptionist at the Odyssey Theatre in LA.
Idina Menzel | Center Debut
November 7, 2010 at 3 p.m. in Segerstrom Hall
Broadway powerhouse Idina Menzel - the Tony award-winning "Elphaba" from
internationAl Blockbuster Wicked - performs in Segerstrom Hall with a full
symphony orchestra. With a diverse repertoire of classic pop, musical theater
favorites (including hits from Wicked and Rent) as well as songs from her album
"I Stand," Menzel demonstrates why she is one of the great vocal performers of
our time. Catch her this spring on the popular FOX television series "Glee."

Broadway Up Close and Personal: A Tribute to Cy Coleman
December 9 - 12, 2010 in Samueli Theater
This loving tribute to the great Cy Coleman, composer of such shows as
City of Angels, Sweet Charity and The Will Rogers Follies, and songs
such as "Witchcraft" and "The Best is Yet to Come," has been created
by Michael A. Kerker, ASCAP Director of Musical Theater and producer
of Sunday Night ASCAP Songwriters' Series at the Firebird Café in New
York. The ensemble includes lyricist David Zippel, who collaborated with
Coleman on City of Angels. Jason Graae, a Center favorite, returns. Graae's special way around a song
has taken him to Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera, the Hollywood Bowl, Birdland and the Rainbow
Room in New York, and The Plush Room in San Francisco. Lillias White, who has starred on Broadway
and in numerous national tours and at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall, joins the group. The
formidable chanteuse won a Tony for her star turn in Coleman's The Life. Additional casting to be
announced at a later date.
2010-11 Cabaret and Jazz Series NEWS 3/6
April 8, 2010
600 Town Center Drive Costa Mesa, CA 92626 T 714.556.2121 F 714.556.8984 OCPAC.org
Sutton Foster | Center Debut
January 6 - 9, 2011 in Samueli Theater
Tony Award winner Sutton Foster is one of the brightest stars Broadway
has seen in a long time. She received her Tony for Thoroughly Modern
Millie and Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award
nominations for her performances in such shows as Mel Brooks' Young
Frankenstein, The Drowsy Chaperone and Little Women: The Musical.
Foster has also appeared in Lincoln Center's American Songbook series, with the Philly Pops and New
York Pops at Carnegie Hall as well as at Feinstein's and Joe's Pub in New York. Her debut solo CD,
Wish, was recently released to critical acclaim.
Nathan Gunn | Center Debut
March 24 - 27, 2011 in Samueli Theater
Nathan Gunn is one of the most exciting and in-demand baritones in the world, appearing at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Royal Opera House and the Paris Opera to name just a few. He is also a distinguished concert performer and recitalist. But Gunn brings another side of his star power and passion for music to Samueli Theater, performing ballads and romantic tunes that he has featured on his CD, Just Before Sunrise. He has selected songs ranging from favorites in the Great American Songbook and contemporary composers.

Season tickets for the Cabaret Series are $335, which is a savings of $45 over the cost of regular tickets. Priority renewal information is being sent to current subscribers, who will have the opportunity to renew their subscriptions before new subscribers and the chance to renew in their current seats or upgrade to better seating locations. A variety of flexible payment options are available with season ticket packages.

Season tickets may be purchased online now at OCPAC.org/cabaret. Single tickets for all performances will go on sale Sunday, August 22. Tickets and additional information may also be obtained by contacting the Center's Box Office at 714.556.2787 or visiting 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, 92626.

2010 - 2011 Jazz Series

Sara Gazarek and Sachal Vasandani | Center Debuts
September 24 & 25, 2010 at 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. in Samueli Theater
Two of today's brightest young artists combine their formidable talents
for what promises to be spectacular Center debut performances. Sara
Gazarek seamlessly combines the intimacy of singer/songwriter stylings
with the musical and improvisational elements of jazz. George Harris in
All About Jazz raved, "Clear in enunciation, reassuring in tone and
guileless delivery, Gazarek is a voice that will follow you for hours after
Return to You [her second album] is over." Sachal Vasandani is one of the hottest young jazz
vocalists/songwriters/bandleaders on the scene today. Jazz at Lincoln Center called him, "Red-hot...the
finest young talent on the scene." A must-see for jazz fans.

Renaud Garcia-Fons' La Línea del Sur Quartet
November 19 & 20, 2010 at 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. in Samueli Theater Renaud Garcia-Fons uses the double bass to explore classical, jazz, Persian, Indian, Mediterranean and South American music. His sound is an amalgam of double bass, cello, violin, guitar, lute, oud and more. Garcia-Fons returns to the Center with his new quartet, whose repertoire brings his musical inspirations together into a single journey, a line through an imaginary South (Sur) where songs come forth from the depths of the souls that live in his musical world. The accordion, guitar, percussion and double bass become the voices that sing these songs, from the intimate to the daring. The Gazette (Montréal) wrote: "But his impressive speed and acuity is not just an outlet to flaunt his virtuosity. Rather, he uses his skill to produce unimaginably beautiful melodies, always maintaining a smooth, lyrical tone."

Blues at the Crossroads: Robert Johnson Centennial with Big Head
Todd & The Monsters, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Hubert Sumlin and Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm
January 29, 2011 at 8 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
The legend lives on: rumor has it Johnson, one of the most famous Mississippi blues musicians, made a deal with the devil - giving up his soul to write the baddest blues the world had ever heard. This centennial celebration of his birth features Big Head Todd & The Monsters, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Hubert Sumlin and Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm. "Robert Johnson [was the one] to whom we all owed our existence, in some way," said Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant. It's blues straight from the heart of the back country and an evening that picks up the thread of Johnson's legacy in Mississippi to be enjoyed and savored by fans of great Delta blues today.
Chick Corea and Gary Burton: Duets
March 4, 2011 at 8 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
"There's a kind of logic and magic that happens with Chick Corea and Gary Burton duo," said jazztimes.com. Their duet album, Crystal Silence, was called "one of the seminal recordings of that decade." The two multi- Grammy® Award winners team up again for this Jazz Series engagement,
Corea returning to the Center and Burton in his series debut. Corea is one of the most prolific composers of the second half of the 20th century and has touched an astonishing number of musical bases in his illustrious career. Burton's innovations in jazz, especially his approach to the vibraphone and his mastery of simultaneous four-mallet playing, have been the hallmark of his own remarkable journey in the music world. Branford Marsalis Quartet and Terence Blanchard Quintet
April 3, 2011 at 2 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall Two Grammy Award-winning musicians. Two remarkable ensembles. One incredible night of music. They redefine the state of art with every new release, composition and single performance of their tight-knit
bands. Both veterans of the Jazz Series, Marsalis and Blanchard appear together for the first time at the Center with their bands. Marsalis is a saxophonist, composer, producer and leads "one of the most complete and compelling ensembles in jazz," reported the Washington Examiner. Blanchard is among the most influential jazz musicians and film score masters of his generation, a member of a jazz legacy that has shaped the contours of modern jazz today. NPR said, "His quintet's performance ... was sobering in its power and economy, its spellbinding fineness." Together they make high-charged music.

Bill Charlap Trio Featuring Special Guest Vocalist Freddie
Cole
May 13 & 14, 2011 at 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. in Samueli Theater
Conjuring a musical montage of Manhattan nights, pianist extraordinaire
Bill Charlap joins forces with swinging vocalist Freddy Cole to present an evening of popular song. Charlap's way with the great American songbook "is never less than dazzling," according to the BBC. He has a mantle-full of acclaim for his personal way with standards. With uncanny
instrumental prowess, his playing zeroes in on the heart and soul of the lyrics. Cole, who "has a gorgeous autumnal baritone, expressive phrasing and pitch-perfect feel for jazz standards, pop tunes and love ballads," according to People, returns for his second appearance in the Jazz Series. His vocals are warm, suave and elegant. It will be an evening to sit back and savor music, class and jazz at its best. Season tickets to the Jazz Series are $329, which is a savings of $37 over the cost of regular tickets. Priority renewal information is being sent to current subscribers, who will have the opportunity to renew their subscriptions before new subscribers and the chance to renew in their current seats or upgrade to better seating locations. A variety of flexible payment options are available with season ticket packages.

Season tickets may be purchased online now at OCPAC.org/jazz. Single tickets for all performances will go on sale Sunday, August 22. Tickets and additional information may also be obtained by contacting the Center's Box Office at 714.556.2787 or visiting 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, 92626.

The Center applauds the following media sponsors for their support of the 2010 - 2011 Jazz Series: Long Beach Press-Telegram and KJZZ, "KJAZZ 88.1 FM.

Orange County Performing Arts Center
The Orange County Performing Arts Center presents a wide variety of the most significant national and international productions of music, dance and theater to the people of Southern California. It is
committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages and offering unsurpassed experiences, engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and an array of inspiring programs.

As Orange County's largest non-profit arts organization, the Center owns and operates the 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall and intimate 250-seat Founders Hall, which opened in 1986, and the 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, which opened in 2006 and also houses the 500-seat Samueli Theater, and the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge Education Center's studio performance space and Boeing Education Lab. These state-of-the-art facilities are united by a community arts plaza.

The Center's Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and community plaza, along with facilities of the adjacent Tony® Award-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the new home of the Orange County Museum of Art, are located at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
The Orange County Performing Arts Center presents a broad range of programming each season for
audiences of all ages from throughout Orange County, and beyond, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events.

It offers many education programs designed to inspire young people through the arts. These programs reach hundreds of thousands of students of all ages with vital arts-in-education programs, enhancing their studies and enriching their lives well into the future.

The Orange County Performing Arts Center is proud to serve as the artistic home to the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale.
For more information, visit OCPAC.org. The Center can also be found online at Blogger, YouTube,
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Flickr.