Hett Center at McKendree Announces Its 2013-2014 Season
Lebanon, Ill. — An eclectic season of entertainment will bring some famous musical
names, as well as dinosaurs, dance and comedy, to the Hettenhausen Center for the
Arts at McKendree University in 2013 and 2014.
Reserved seats for all programs will be available to the public starting on Aug. 29.
Buy tickets online at theHett.com, the box office, or by calling (618) 537-6863 (1-800-BEARCAT, ext. 6863). All events are open to the public and held at the 488-seat performing
arts center on campus. Ticket prices range from $5 for children to $26 for adults,
with discounts for seniors and students. Many programs are free, including the speaker
series, films, and several concerts.
Preview the new season online by clicking on the video at www.thehett.com.
The new entertainment season features the following:
Sept. 1, 3 p.m.; Dec. 9 & 10, 7:30 p.m.: Air Force Band of Mid-America kicks off the season in September and returns in December for two nights of holiday
concerts.
Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m.: MOMIX: Botanica explores the music of nature as dancer-illusionists astonish the audience using only
light, shadow, props and spectacular costumes.
Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m.: Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway is a show-stopping musical journey through a century of celebrated hits performed
by Broadway veterans.
Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m.: The Wonder Bread Years is former “Seinfeld” writer Pat Hazell’s salute to the Baby Boomer generation in
a cross between stand-up comedy and theater.
Nov. 17, 3 p.m.: Doc Severinsen and His Big Band deliver a night of jazz and pop standards, ballads and big band classics from the
trumpet virtuoso and former “Tonight Show” bandleader.
Nov. 24, 3 p.m.: Saint Louis Wind Symphony is a versatile ensemble of St. Louis area music educators whose woodwind repertoire
ranges from classical to contemporary.
Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m.: “The Sound of Christmas,” starring Elisabeth Von Trapp and the
Carolian Brass, features the beloved music of the von Trapp family (“The Sound of Music”) performed
by Maria’s granddaughter and an exceptional brass quintet.
Jan. 30, 2014, 7:30 p.m.: Thodos Dance Chicago perform “The White City,”a one-act story ballet of dramatic events from the 1893
Chicago World’s Fair, and “Fosse Trilogy,” a mix of Bob Fosse pieces choreographed
by Tony Award winner Ann Reinking.
Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m.: The Official Blues Brothers Revue celebrates Chicago’s rhythm and blues history in the only show sanctioned by Dan
Aykroyd and the late John Belushi’s family.
Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m.: The John Pizzarelli Quartet reinvigorates the Great American Songbook with cool jazz, brilliant guitar playing
and vocals.
March 5, 7:30 p.m.: Valentina Igoshina is an acclaimed Russian pianist who has performed on many of the world’s grand concert
stages.
March 8, 3 p.m.: Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo uses giant puppets, stilt-walkers and inflatables in a unique, interactive show in
which children accompany the lifelike creatures on a journey to prehistoric Australia.
April 3, 7:30 p.m.: The Intergalactic Nemesis - Book One: Target Earth is a 21st century mash-up of comic books, sci-fi and radio adventure drama for the kid in everyone.
Nov. 11 & March 31, 7:30 p.m.: Saint Louis Symphony Mondays feature chamber ensembles of Symphony musicians.
May 4, 3 p.m.: Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra presents the region’s finest young musicians, from 35 schools throughout greater
St. Louis and beyond.
Admission is free for the Distinguished Speaker Series:
Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m.: Jeannette Walls is a former MSNBC.com celebrity gossip columnist who became a bestselling author
in 2005 with “The Glass Castle,”a memoir of her extremely poor, nomadic and unconventional
childhood.
Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m.: Kal Penn (Discovery Channel’s “The Big Brain Theory,” “House,” the “Harold and Kumar” comedies)
once put his successful acting career on hold to serve in the White House’s Office
of Public Engagement.
Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.: Temple Grandin is a remarkable author, advocate and educator who channeled her experience as a person
with autism to revolutionize the way livestock are treated at packing facilities.
April 21, 7:30 p.m.: David J.R. Frakt, an expert in the field of international war crimes and military law, is an attorney,
law professor and lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s
Corps Reserve.
The Met at The Hett presents theNew York Metropolitan Opera’s “Live in HD” series simulcast in high-definition:
“Eugene Onegin,” Oct. 6; “The Nose,” Oct. 26; “Tosca,” Nov. 9; “Falstaff,” Dec. 14;
“Rusalka,” Feb. 8; “Prince Igor,” March 2; “Werther,” March 15; “La Bohème,” April
5; “Così fan tutte,” April 26; and “La Cenerentola,” May 11. All performances begin
at midday. Tickets for each opera are $18 adults, $15 seniors, and $10 for full-time
students.
The Hett’s free Film Art Series explores two themes: Vengeance is Mine, and Standard Deviation: Diversity in Film.
Start time is 7 p.m. The “Vengeance” theme presents “Munich,” Sept. 26; “Jean de Florette,”
Oct. 14; “Django Unchained,” Nov. 4; “Titus,” March 20; and “Manon of the Spring,”
April 16. The “Diversity” theme films are “The Elephant Man,” Oct. 29; “Invictus,”
Nov. 20; “My Left Foot,” Jan. 21; “Temple Grandin,” Feb. 12; and “The Crying Game,”
March 4.
