August 21, 2007

Tracy Cultural Arts Announces Season of Entertainment

Music, Dance, Family Shows at the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts

Tracy, Calif. - City of Tracy Cultural Arts Division announces its 2007-2008 season of entertainment to be presented at the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts, 715 Central Avenue in downtown Tracy, Calif.

The shows will be performed on the Grand Theatre's ETK Theatre stage, which was named for founding benefactor Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis. They will include professional musical theater, music series featuring jazz, classical and contemporary artists, variety shows of music, dance and comedy and an array of family-friendly productions.

The Jazz and World Music series will include performances by Grammy nominee Perla Batalla on October 6, 2007, popular emerging jazz vocalist Rachael Price on November 7, Hot Club of San Francisco in "Silent Surrealism" on December 7, hand and foot percussionists Rhapsody in Taps on January 19, 2008, saxophonist Anton Schwartz on February 2 and jazz artists SFJazz Collective on March 19.

The Broadway Hits series will feature three musical productions: Beehive, The 60's Musical, a tribute to the female artists of the era, the first weekend in October; Trailer Park Musical, a carefree musical comedy, in late January, 2008; and I Love a Piano, a tribute to Irving Berlin, in mid-May.

Showtime! brings variety shows back to The Grand Theatre. The series opens with Franc "the Phantom" D'Ambrosio's Broadway on February 23, 2008 and continues with comedic musicians, Alley Cats, on March 22, the nostalgic An Evening with Groucho on April 13 and Ballet Folklorico by Quetzalli on April 19 and 20.

Family Treasures presents four shows for youth and their parents. The award-winning Pushcart Players will perform Stone Soup on February 8, 2008 and "Little Red Riding Hood" & other favorites on February 9. The acrobatic Tweaksters will dance and juggle on February 29 and March 1 and Tales and Scales will combine music, theatre and dance in Just Beyond the Junkyard on March 14.

The Classical Music series will showcase four diverse performances by accomplished artists: the Brazilian Guitar Quartet on January 20, 2008, pianist Robin Spielberg on February 10, the Berlin Piano Quartet on March 9, and classical guitarist Paul Galbraith on April 16.

"We have put together a calendar that, we think, has something for every entertainment taste and we hope to see all segments of our community at the Grand this season," says Cultural Arts Program Director Theresa Yvonne. "In addition to single tickets purchases, we offer patrons discounts if they purchase tickets to several shows at one time, 10 percent for six shows and 15 percent for nine shows. We also offer at 10 percent discount for groups of 15 or more. We hope audiences will take advantage of these offers and we hope they will tell us how they like the shows, so we can consider their input when scheduling for next season."

Tickets to all shows will be available beginning August 27, 2007 at the Grand Theatre Box Office, 715 Central Avenue, Tracy, Calif., from 10 a.m.- 6 p.m., Monday-Friday and for one hour prior to each performance. Tickets are also available online at www.atthegrand.org and by phone at 209-831-6TKT (6858).

Beehive – The 60’s Musical and Grammy Nominee Perla Batalla will open the Grand Theatre’s season of entertainment October 5, 6 and 7, 2007.