Weidner Center to announce 2012-13 Performing Arts Season lineup May 22
The Weidner Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will announce its 2012-13 Performing Arts Season lineup during a special event for patrons and friends who participated in the planning process at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 22 on the Weidner Center main stage.
The 16-show, 18-performance season is described as offering an eclectic selection of titles designed to appeal to a wide variety of audiences. Those responsible for programming the series — which includes Broadway, comedy, dance and more — say they expect the lineup to appeal to Weidner enthusiasts and curious newcomers alike. Potential audiences learned of the season’s first performance last week, when comedian Lewis Black’s “Running on Empty” tour announced the acerbic comedian will play the Weidner at 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16.
“We are tremendously excited to announce the Weidner Center’s new schedule of events for the coming year,” said Weidner Center General Manager Kate Green. “A great deal of thought, planning and input from the community have gone into programming the season. The lineup of shows reflects the quality of performance, variety of entertainment and accessible pricing many individuals indicated as being important.”
The lineup announcement event marks a critical milestone in the inaugural season of UW-Green Bay’s five-year Strategic Plan to reinvigorate its signature performing arts venue. UW-Green Bay Chancellor Tom Harden in late 2011 outlined tentative budgetary and staffing structures for the Weidner Center, part of a comprehensive plan for the venue’s future. That plan has four primary goals: enhancing the Weidner’s Performing Arts Series (traditionally referred to as “mainstage” programming); increasing access to the venue for faculty, staff and students; providing more opportunities for various community groups; and continuing an emphasis on K-12 educational programming. The Weidner on May 10 announced its 2012-13 Stage Doors Education Series, an 11-show, 21-performance lineup that will provide entertaining, curriculum-enhancing learning opportunities for students throughout Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.
UW-Green Bay worked with an outside consultant and numerous stakeholder groups to establish a sustainable plan for the Weidner Center’s future. Individuals from those groups will be among those in attendance during the May 22 season lineup announcement, for which invitations were sent earlier this spring. Members of the news media are invited to attend and cover the event. A news embargo on the lineup will be lifted as soon as it is announced during the event, and the full schedule will be posted online at www.WeidnerCenter.com by 7:30 p.m.
“The lineup announcement is the critical next step in our five-year plan to reinvigorate this one-of-a-kind venue,” Harden said. “We are pleased to be sharing this performance schedule — first with those who helped shape its creation, and then, at roughly the same time, with the greater Green Bay community.”
The Weidner’s vision for the future took a significant step forward in April 2012, when UW-Green Bay Theatre and Music presented the groundbreaking musical Cabaret on the Weidner Center main stage. It was the first time in more than a decade Theatre had staged a performance there, and the production’s success — including back-to-back near sellout crowds and rave reviews — served as an unofficial kickoff for the venue’s revitalization efforts. The Weidner Center will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2013, marking the milestone with a fresh outlook and plan for the future.
For more information on the Weidner Center, visit www.WeidnerCenter.com, call 800-895-0071 or 920-465-2726, or follow the venue on Facebook (www.facebook.com/pages/Weidner-Center-for-the-Performing-Arts/15015305278) and Twitter (@WeidnerCenter).
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