CAC reveals 2019-20 season

The Community Arts Center has announced its 26th season.Nearly 1.5 million guests have enjoyed events at the downtown venue since its spectacular reopening in 1993, and millions more are on the way. Making sure that there is something for every taste and every age has become an Arts Center hallmark. The CAC hopes you enjoy this season filled with nationally renowned talent, entertainment, variety and quality shows!

Over the years, the landmark theater has turned into a home not only to touring productions, but also to many community-based organizations such as Uptown Music Collective, Williamsport Symphony Orchestra and Youth Orchestra, Williamsport Community Concert Association, Repasz Band, Williamsport City Jazz Orchestra, Lycoming College Music and Theater Department performances, Collegetown Gallery, and numerous local dance recitals.

Upcoming shows include:

Jim Breuer
7:30 p.m. Oct. 4
The freewheeling, New York-bred comic storyteller – who made the list of Comedy Central’s “100 Greatest Standups of All Time” – is hotter than ever, a global touring sensation and regular presence on radio and television whose rabid audience (he’s thrilled to note) is filled with “lifetimers.” Once folks see him live, they’re hooked. Breuer estimates that 78% of his fans have seen him “five, six, seven” times. It’s becoming a family thing, with parents even bringing young teens to see the family man and father of three daughters, all providing genius “Dad” material for his sets.

Buddy Guy
7:30 p.m. Oct. 16 (tickets available now)
The Community Arts Center is proud to welcome an eight-time Grammy Award winner to its stage! The title of Buddy Guy's latest album says it all: "The Blues Is Alive and Well"  The legendary blues artist's 18th solo LP and follow-up to 2015's "Born to Play Guitar" showcases his raw and unadulterated sound, its 15 tracks a true pleasure for aficionados and genre newcomers alike.

"Once"
7:30 p.m. Oct. 25
Winner of eight 2012 Tony Awards – including Best Musical – and winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, "Once" is a truly original Broadway experience. Featuring an impressive ensemble of actor/musicians who play their own instruments onstage, "Once" tells the enchanting tale of a Dublin street musician who's about to give up on his dream when a beautiful young woman takes a sudden interest in his haunting love songs. As the chemistry between them grows, his music soars to powerful new heights ... but their unlikely connection turns out to be deeper and more complex than your everyday romance. Emotionally captivating and theatrically breathtaking, "Once" draws you in from the very first note and never lets go. It's an unforgettable story about going for your dreams, not living in fear and the power of music to connect all of us.

Arlo Guthrie – Alice’s Restaurant Back by Popular Demand Tour
7:30 p.m. Nov. 20
Guthrie has been known to generations as a prolific songwriter, social commentator, master storyteller, actor and activist. Born in Coney Island, New York, in 1947, Arlo is the eldest son of Marjorie Mazia Guthrie, a professional dancer with the Martha Graham Company and founder of The Committee to Combat Huntington’s Disease, and Woody Guthrie, perhaps America’s most beloved singer/writer/philosopher/artist. Arlo has become an iconic figure in folk music in his own right, with a distinguished and varied career spanning over 50 years.

"The Nutcracker"
7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 and 2 p.m. Dec. 8
The Community Arts Center, Lycoming College, and St. John's School of the Arts have joined forces once again to present this classic holiday tradition. This production of The Nutcracker will feature live music by Lycoming College students and local musicians, as well as completely local intergenerational talent for the entire production, involving over 200 artists of all ages.  The cast will include 120 dancers, age 4 to adult. The production is a great example of how teaching art, music and the performing arts develops talent and self-esteem for our youth. All ages are involved in this structured program, which provides a rare and powerful example of a healthy pursuit that they can carry throughout their lives.

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood LIVE!
6:30 p.m. Jan. 16
“Won’t you be my neighbor?” Daniel Tiger and all of his friends from the beloved PBS KIDS television series are hopping aboard Trolley to Williamsport with "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood LIVE." Along with “O” the Owl, Katerina Kittycat, Prince Wednesday, Mom and Dad Tiger, and many more, Daniel Tiger will take live audiences on an interactive musical adventure to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, sharing stories of friendship, helping others and celebrating new experiences. This live theatrical production filled with music, dancing, laughter and “grr-ific” surprises will warm the hearts of multiple generations.

Viva Momix
7:30 p.m. Feb. 14
Transporting audiences from their everyday lives to a fantasy world through its trademark use of magical lighting and imagery, Momix has thrilled fans in over 22 countries and has been featured on stage, screen and television. In an endless search for another gravity, Artistic Director Moses Pendleton combines athletic dance, riveting music, outrageous costumes, inventive props and pure talent to create an entertaining multimedia experience that will surprise, enchant and astonish. Experience the exceptional … expect the unexpected!

Dallas String Quartet Electric
7:30 p.m. March 19
DSQ Electric is an international music sensation, afusion of classical and contemporary music on both traditional and electric strings.  With the 2016 release of their fourth album, “DSQ,” they continue to expand their passionate following on Pandora, Spotify and Sirius XM radio. DSQ performs as a quartet with the full accompaniment of drums and guitar. Comprised of composer and violinist Ion Zanca, violinists Eleanor Dunbar and Melissa Priller, bassist Young Heo, guitarist Anthony Plant, and percussionist/drummer Efren Guzman, DSQ takes you on a journey to the nexus of classical music and modern pop – where artists like Beethoven and Bono collide.

Béla Fleck & The Flecktones
7:30 p.m. March 24
Groundbreaking, Grammy-winning quartet Béla Fleck & The Flecktones will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a North American tour. Banjoist Béla Fleck, harmonica and keyboardist Howard Levy, bassist Victor Wooten, and percussionist/drumitarist Roy “Future Man” Wooten have created some of the most forward-thinking music during their long, storied career. While all manner of genres come into play – from classical and jazz to bluegrass and African music to electric blues and Eastern European folk dances – the result is an impossible-to-pigeonhole sound all its own, a meeting of musical minds that remains, as ever, utterly indescribable. Simply put, it is The Flecktones: music made only when these four individuals come together.

Steep Canyon Rangers
7:30 p.m. April 30
With "Out in the Open," Steep Canyon Rangers affirm their place as one of the most versatile and idiosyncratic bands in all of contemporary American music. The Grammy Award-winning North Carolina-based sextet has spent nearly two decades bending and shaping the bluegrass aesthetic, wedding it to elements of pop, country, folk rock and more to create something original and all their own. The band has worked with many artists and recently toured and released an album with Steve Martin. "Out in the Open" is perhaps Steep Canyon Rangers’ bravest excursion thus far, transcending bluegrass while in many ways getting closest to the genre’s true form, thanks to producer Joe Henry’s very traditional approach toward recording.

GENTRI
7:30 p.m. May 8
GENTRI: The Gentlemen Trio was established in June 2014 and is comprised of three highly trained tenors: Brad Robins, Casey Elliott and Bradley Quinn Lever. Pioneering a signature sound that can only be described as “Cinematic Pop,” the music of GENTRI is transfused with lush, epic orchestrations and rich, dynamic three-part harmonies all composed by the group’s producer Stephen Nelson. Critics have called GENTRI’s sound “strong, brave, and inspiring,” as well as “anything but boring.”

Once tickets go on public sale (July 15), they may be purchased online, on the CACLive! app, by phone at 570-326-2424 or at the box office.

The Community Arts Center, a wholly owned subsidiary of Penn College, is located at 220 W. Fourth St. in downtown Williamsport (just a few blocks from campus).