A look at Hancher's 2007-08 season

Tango Buenos Aires, The Four Seasons
Thursday, Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m.

Is it hot in here? The fiery, sensual tango tradition will be raising temperatures as Tango Buenos Aires traces the dance’s path from the mean streets of Argentina to the glitz of theaters around the globe. The powerful band, alluring costumes, and erotic overtones of the tango will threaten to set the stage ablaze as the story unfolds of two young dancers determined to elevate the dance—and their lives—from humble origins. Grab your lover and hold on tight!

Lewis Black
Saturday, Sept. 22, 7:30 p.m.

Lewis Black, “America’s foremost commentator on everything,” comes to Hancher just as caucus season is heating up. The wickedly acerbic humor that has made his “Back in Black” segments on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show a must-see is given full rein in his stand-up performances. Exasperated with just about

everyone and everything, Black never pulls a punch as he takes on stupidity in all its many guises—making his the perfect voice for skewering politicos of all stripes. He’s happy to offend, sure to entertain, and ready to rant.

Rinde Eckert, Horizon
Thursday, Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m.

Iowa City native, UI alum, and internationally renowned theater artist Rinde Eckert returns to Hancher with an exploration of faith, doubt, and service. Eckert is incapable of being anything less than mesmerizing, inhabiting characters with palpable passion. His many talents—acting, singing, composing—are all on display in Horizon, in which he plays Reinhart Poole, a man of faith whose life has reached a pivotal moment. The play is poignant, powerful, and wholly original. With intellectual bite, humor, and music, Horizon beckons.

Orion String Quartet and David Krakauer
Tuesday, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m., Clapp Recital Hall

Though Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici refuses to be pigeonholed, he is most often associated with song cycles. His new work—co-commissioned by Hancher and premiering in Iowa City—is a songlike composition that will be given voice by the Orion String Quartet (last heard at Hancher in performance with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company) and clarinetist David Krakauer (who infected the auditorium with Klezmer Madness!). Experience a major musical moment featuring a quartet that “seem(s) to have been born to be together” (Los Angeles Times) and a man who “plays the clarinet miraculously” (The Clarinet). Also on the program: a Haydn string quartet, Beethoven’s Quartet No. 9 in C Major, op. 59, no. 3, and Osvaldo Golijov’s "K’vakart," a Rosh Hashanah prayer originally written for cantor and quartet.

Pat Metheny Trio
Wednesday, Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m.

It was no surprise when Cedar Rapids jazz station 88.3 KCCK recently named Pat Metheny one of the five most influential jazz musicians of the last three decades. A winner of 16 Grammy Awards and perennial poll winner as “Best Jazz Guitarist,” Metheny is a legend of the music, due in part to his amazing versatility. His distinctive sound has earned him legions of fans across the many genres of jazz and beyond. This intimate trio performance features Antonio Sanchez on drums and Christian McBride—an in-demand headliner in his own right—on bass.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Friday, Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m.

Hubbard Street artistic director Jim Vincent is committed to the development of young choreographers from within the company. Hancher has been a proud partner in those efforts, helping to create a sensation with the commissioning of Lucas Crandall’s Gimme in 2004. The tradition continues as Hancher commissions a new work by troupe member Alejandro Cerrudo. A veteran of Nederlands Dans Theater II, Cerrudo combines the cutting-edge influences of leading companies on two continents. The resulting elixir will no doubt support New York Times critic Jennifer Dunning’s contention that “Hubbard Street Dance Chicago ought to bottle itself as a cure for the ills of the era.”

Birdhouse Factory
Friday and Saturday, Oct. 19 and 20, 7:30 p.m.

Acrobatics and contraptions are conjoined in Birdhouse Factory, an amazing circus experience created by veterans of Cirque du Soleil. In a factory in which Rube Goldberg devices power the trappings for supple and athletic feats of fancy, the flight of a single bird transforms everything. Thrill to a story of love and laughter replete with a host of astonishments. From the beauty and inventiveness of the set to the power and expressiveness of the performers, Birdhouse Factory provides a place to experience the magic of human inventiveness—a place for the imagination to take flight.

Russian Patriarchate Choir
Thursday, Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m., Clapp Recital Hall

Hear a handful of notes—deep, chant-like notes—and it’s immediately clear: this is no ordinary church choir. Since 1983, the Russian Patriarchate Choir has been illuminating Russian Orthodox church music, first by decoding ancient manuscripts and then by performing works that had been lost in the mists of time and politics for centuries. The richly resonant, worshipful sound created by these men reveals a musical ritual distinct from Western tradition, but powerfully universal nonetheless. Performing both secular and sacred music, this choir communicates directly with the soul.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Blind Date
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m.

“Movement has a power that no other medium can bring to the stage.” So says Bill T. Jones, perhaps today’s most thought-provoking choreographer, and Blind Date proves his point. An investigation into “what it means to be a world citizen,” this acclaimed work exploits the bold physicality of Jones’ movement vocabulary while asking audiences “to maybe do a quick check of your own understanding of what makes you a free person.” Blind Date features music by J. S. Bach and Daniel Bernard Roumain, performing live just days prior to his own performance at Hancher on Nov. 9.

St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Thursday, Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m.

The Guardian hedged its bet, asserting that the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra is “probably the world’s greatest orchestra.” Come decide for yourself if that “probably” is necessary. The orchestra’s storied past—including its role as the premiering ensemble of many of Shostakovich’s works—is impressive; its performances are simply stunning. Performing music by Prokofiev and other masters, the orchestra will imbue the auditorium with glorious sound reverberant with the ensemble’s long history.

DBR and The Mission
Friday, Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m.

Daniel Bernard Roumain’s mission is clear: Combine musical influences from hip-hop to classical to create something new. His efforts have earned him heaps of praise and hosts of fans as he charts a unique musical course. Backed by his nine-piece electro-acoustic band (featuring, among others, an amplified string quartet, a drummer, a DJ, and a laptop artist), the violinist and composer will perform 24 Bits: Hip Hop Studies and Etudes. Roumain’s dead-on musical sensibility sparks much more than a night of innovative music. “Daniel Bernard Roumain,” says The New York Times, “is creating a miracle.”

A Rockapella Holiday
Wednesday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m.

You’ve helped them chase Carmen Sandiego around the globe and partied at the “Zombie Jamboree.” Now celebrate the holidays with Rockapella, the group founding member Scott Leonard describes as “four world-class voices and one freak of nature.” The latter would be vocal percussionist Jeff Thacher, who lays down the beat for contemporary a cappella’s best-loved blend. From holiday favorites to sparkling originals, Rockapella brings humor, warmth, and straight-up talent to the stage, all wrapped up in a vocal package that will delight your entire family.

Sweet Honey in the Rock
Saturday, Dec. 8, 7:30 p.m.

Sweet Honey in the Rock, seven African American women committed to pursuing social justice through the power of music, is a treasure. Lifting their voices in celebration of the diverse holidays celebrated worldwide, the members of this exceptional a cappella group will inspire you to imagine—and to pursue—a better world. The music flows from spirituals, hymns, and gospel to jazz and blues as each song is beautifully rendered in American Sign Language by group member Shirley Childress Saxton. Everyone is invited to taste the layered flavors of Sweet Honey in the Rock.

My Fair Lady
Wednesday–Saturday, Dec. 12–15,

Lerner & Loewe’s legendary musical premieres in the United States direct from its 50th Anniversary London production and U.K. national tour. Starring are acclaimed British theatre actors Christopher Cazenove and Lisa O’Hare, who earned rave reviews for their dynamic performances as Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle. This glorious, new production features one of Broadway’s most beloved scores, including “The Rain in Spain,” “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “Get Me to the Church on Time.”

Turtle Island String Quartet and Stefon Harris, The Divine Duke
Saturday, Jan. 26, 7:30 p.m.

Explore a lesser-known, but no less magnificent, portion of Duke Ellington’s remarkable body of music, as major jazz talents combine to present The Divine Duke. The Turtle Island String Quartet is renowned for its innovative jazz approach to the string quartet while vibraphonist Stefon Harris—already an Iowa City favorite—is one of the brightest lights among young jazz artists. Together, they explore the sacred music of a man whose genius is unquestioned. This concert is the perfect companion to the Feb. 12 performance by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra featuring The Love Songs of Duke Ellington.

L.A. Theatre Works, Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers
Wednesday, Jan. 30, 7:30 p.m.

Does national security ever trump the public’s right to know what its government is up to? L.A. Theatre Works—producers of what the Los Angeles Times calls “consistently superb work”—explores the collision of interests in Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers. Enter the fray that found The New York Times and The Washington Post clashing with the Nixon White House over the publication of the Pentagon’s study of United States involvement in Vietnam. The implications are still in play—and this play is powerful drama, indeed.

Gil and Orli Shaham
Sunday, Feb. 10, 2 p.m., Clapp Recital Hall

They may be brother and sister, but the Shahams haven’t always been a sibling act. In fact, violinist Gil Shaham—whom Hancher audiences fell in love with when he conducted and performed with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields—was embarking on his sparkling career while his younger sister was still playing in the backyard. Since then, however, Orli has forged her own path as a stirring concert pianist. In recent years, the Shahams have proven to be an extraordinary duo, delivering performances alive with the rivalry and connection all siblings share.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, The Love Songs of Duke Ellington
Tuesday, Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m.

Celebrate romance with Wynton Marsalis and the orchestra that sets the standard as today’s top jazz emissary. Marsalis and company plumb the love songs of the great Duke Ellington, perhaps the music’s greatest traveling ambassador. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra combines technical brilliance with fervent swing—characteristics Duke prized in his own ensembles—and will set the perfect tone for the week of Valentine’s Day with love songs that are essential Ellington. The concert is a perfect follow-up to The Divine Duke performance by the Turtle Island String Quartet and Stefon Harris on Jan. 26.

Pablo Ziegler and Claudia Acuña
Saturday, Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m.

Pablo Ziegler, a native of tango-spiced Argentina and a key member and arranger for Astor Piazzolla’s New Tango Quintet, continues and expands on the legacy of his mentor with an irresistible fusion of tango and jazz. Sultry rhythms and arresting improvisations are the hallmarks of the groups Ziegler has led for over 15 years. Rising vocal star Claudia Acuña brings her Chilean alto to the mix, turning the heat just a bit higher as she “love(s) her audience with” what the Des Moines Register calls “a quiet passion shared through her clear, true, expressive voice.”

Axis Theatre Company, The Number 14
Sunday, Feb. 24, 2 p.m.

A ride on The Number 14 left the New York Daily News breathless: “Delightful...dazzling...brilliant...astounding! This bus ride is so exhilarating that you don’t really care where you get off.” When you jump on this bus, you enter a silly and satirical slice of urban life filled with the quirkiest of quirky characters. Witty banter and song, wacky costumes and masks, and walloping physical comedy—as sidesplitting as it is astonishing—drive this tour-de-force adventure. You’ll want to be along for every swerve as you and your family laugh your way to the end of the line.

Simon Shaheen and Qantara
Friday, Feb. 29, 7:30 p.m.

The blending is beautiful. Simon Shaheen is an essential keeper of the flame of Arabic music, but this native of Palestine is far from content with a single tradition. A virtuoso on the violin and the oud—a stringed instrument central to Middle Eastern music—Shaheen leads Qantara (“Arch” in Arabic) as the band fuses jazz, Western classical, and Latin American music with the sounds of the Arab world. “I want to create a world music exceptionally satisfying to the ear and for the soul,” says Shaheen. With Qantara, he’s done just that.

Angélique Kidjo
Thursday, March 6, 7:30 p.m.

“I’m proud to be an African artist because I come from Africa and African music has been the biggest influence on me. But I’m also a world musician in the true sense of the term.” That’s Angélique Kidjo, the funky, spunky, outspoken, ecstatic diva whose music and personality have captivated fans from her native Benin to the Brooklyn streets she strolls today and all around the globe. A great humanitarian as well as a great artist, Kidjo believes in the interconnectedness of the world’s music—and the world’s people. Hers is a music of hope and joy.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8, 7:30 p.m.

Set on the glorious, glamorous Riviera, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a delicious comedy that follows two con artists as they take on the lifestyles of the rich and shameless—and end up with a lot more than they bargain for. The show has been touted as “one of the liveliest, funniest, best-performed musicals in years!” (New York Post)

State Ballet of Georgia, Giselle
Tuesday, March 11, 7:30 p.m.

It’s nothing less than an audacious cultural uprising in the former Soviet state of Georgia. The challenge: build a world-class ballet company from the ground up. The foundation: Bolshoi and American Ballet Theatre superstar Nina Ananiashvili and former Bolshoi artistic director Alexei Fadeyechev, as well as principal dancers from Bolshoi. The result: A brilliant company performing peerless masterworks. The production of Giselle features reconstructions of scenery and costumes designed by Alexandre Benois, a premier Russian designer in the early twentieth century. The majesty of Russian ballet is renewed by the State Ballet of Georgia.

Ying Quartet and Tod Machover
Saturday, March 29, 7:30 p.m.

Composer and computer geek Tod Machover has made us a promise: “My deepest interest is to make a new piece—and an entire concert—that will captivate, inspire, and move your audience.” Machover is headed to Iowa City to work with the Ying Quartet, sibling musicians with whom Hancher enjoys a longstanding creative relationship. Together, they are going to create something new. And here’s the truth: We’re not sure what it is yet. We know the artists will weave the acoustic and the electronic, we know the audience will interact with the music in innovative ways, and we know the performance will feature both masterpieces of the repertoire and new Machover compositions. Sketchy? Maybe. Exhilarating? We think so. Join us inside the creative process.

Movin’ Out
Friday, April 4, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, April 5, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, April 6, 2 p.m.

Five-time Grammy winner Billy Joel and legendary director/choreographer Twyla Tharp have joined forces to create the spectacular musical Time magazine declared “the No. 1 show of the year!” Movin’ Out brings 24 Joel classics to electrifying new life as it tells the story of five lifelong friends over two turbulent decades. It all adds up to one unforgettable Broadway musical.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Tuesday and Wednesday, April 8 and 9, 7:30 p.m.

The name alone is enough to evoke images of gorgeous dancers dancing spectacularly. Under the direction of former company star Judith Jamison, the ensemble that bears Alvin Ailey’s name continues its commitment to being nothing short of superlative. A favorite of Hancher audiences—and audiences around the world—the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater honors the African American cultural experience while strengthening the country’s modern dance legacy. The program includes Ailey’s masterwork, Revelations, which may very well be the most beloved work in the history of modern dance. Here’s our guarantee: The company will be in motion, and you are sure to be moved.

Robert and Rebecca Bluestone, Woven Harmony
Saturday, April 12, 7:30 p.m., Hancher Loft

Robert is a classical guitarist; Rebecca is a weaver. Their art forms merge in Woven Harmony, an intimate performance that will culminate a week-long residency in University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics’ Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. The husband and wife duo will explore the power of art to impact the lives of both the ill and their caregivers. Rebecca’s own experience with serious illness informs the work, providing the central thread that runs through this tapestry. The final performance will immerse the audience in two distinct but harmonized kinds of beauty.

Emerson String Quartet and Wu Han
Sunday, April 13, 2 p.m., Clapp Recital Hall

Time calls the Emerson String Quartet “America’s greatest quartet.” Newsday puts it this way: “The Emerson has staked its claim to being the one indispensable quartet.” Add fiery pianist Wu Han—who happens to be Emerson cellist David Finckel’s wife—and you have a quintet that makes musical sparks fly. These musicians have earned their acclaim by fully engaging with the music they perform, imparting emotion to the audience with irrepressible vivacity. Be a part of the buzz.

Cyro Baptista and Beat the Donkey
Sunday, May 11, 2 p.m.
Spot—The Hancher Family Arts Adventure

Cyro Baptista is a dazzling percussionist with a wide-eyed approach to a planet full of music. With Beat the Donkey he has put together what The New York Times calls “an assemblage of musicians and dancers in outrageous costumes, banging on drums for all they’re worth...It makes a ruckus, and it’s wild, vivid entertainment.” On Mother’s Day, be a part of Spot—The Hancher Family Arts Adventure with a band that will have you up and dancing with a distinctly Brazilian flavor seasoned with a world of musical ingredients.

Rubberbandance Group
Saturday, June 14, 2 p.m.
Spot—The Hancher Family Arts Adventure

Victor Quijada danced on the street and in clubs growing up in Los Angeles with a style that earned him the nickname “Rubberband.” He discovered ballet and modern dance in high school, eventually finding himself in Twyla Tharp’s company and then in Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Montréal. He’s taken all of those influences—from hip-hop to ballet—and created Rubberbandance Group, an ensemble with moves like no other dance company. The work is electric and, yes, elastic. Your family will be in the perfect “Spot” when Quijada and Rubberbandance Group hit the stage.