by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
FCCJ is gearing up once again for their Broadway Artist Series. The program has been through a lot of changes since its inception in the late 60s. Executive Director Dr. Milton Russos has helped organize the series since the beginning. The first show that he recalls was The Lettermen, a harmony group that’s still around today.
“It was more concerts [in the beginning]. We also had a celebrity lecture series. I remember Vincent Price…Dr. Joyce Brothers,” says Russos.
As the program built up, they started introducing more Broadway-style shows, although they still have a substantial amount of concert-type shows on the docket.
They brought the Broadway shows in because musical groups tended to be only as popular as their last album, and they were often booked before it was clear what kind of crowd they were going to bring in. So, for financial stability, they started bringing in sure-fire Broadway shows. The first show they brought in was Grease.
“And they sold out. It was only one night, but it was the first one that we had done. The second year we brought another one in that was called Godspell.”
Before long they were doing four Broadway shows in the series, keeping them in town for five performances.
“In ’86 we did our first week-long engagement and that was Cats and that was…a real milestone for us. Twenty-five thousand people came to see that show…The show sold out and we said ‘Wow! This is what we can really do here.’”
Cats will once again be part of the FCCJ Artist Series, though this season it will only be around for three days in June of ’08. This season, as in recent seasons, they’ve selected a blend of old favorites including Cats and newer shows like The Wedding Singer, which is a stage/musical adaptation of the Adam Sandler movie of the same name. The season will also include Bill Cosby on stage, the Monty Python vehicle Spamalot, the more serious Camelot (featuring Lou Diamond Phillips), a new Cirque Du Soleil show called Dreams Jungle Fantasy and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a hit comedic musical about adolescents in a spelling bee.
The Jacksonville audience, as far as Russos is concerned, has become more sophisticated over the years.
“I’ve watched this evolution over some forty years now and the audiences today are much, much more knowledgeable…”
Jacksonville has also sustained shows over a longer period of time than many thought the market would be able to handle.
“People had their doubts about The Lion King [asking]—‘Could it do six weeks?’ We felt pretty confident…but there were a lot of Doubting Thomases…Even Phantom, the first time we did it, that was a four week engagement, the concern was could Jacksonville sustain a show for that long? But we discovered, yes…we could.”
Subscriber benefits include: premium seat location, no waiting in line or on the phone for tickets, exclusive exchange privileges, priority ticket purchases, discounts to other Artist Series events and lost ticket insurance. Season ticket holders from the ’07-’08 season will be first in line to guarantee seats to Wicked, when they renew their seats for the 08-09 season. Since Wicked is sure to sell out, this is a great way to get your seats early!
Not all tickets to individual shows in the 2007-2008 season are available for purchase at this time. The only way to ensure that you get the exact seat you want, right now, is to buy a season ticket.
Season Tickets to 2007-2008 FCCJ Artist Series are on sale now with prices ranging from $110.50 to $297.70. Ticket prices vary according to the show time, day of the week and seating location. Single-show tickets typically go on sale to the general public 6-8 weeks prior to opening night, season ticket holders can buy additional tickets earlier than the general public.
Current subscribers should already have a renewal order form for this season, sent by mail. New subscriptions may be ordered over the phone by calling (904) 632-3373 or 1-888-860-BWAY Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm, by fax at 1-800-535-2929 or online at artistseries.fccj.org .
In addition to purchasing Season Tickets, Broadway subscribers will have the opportunity to purchase other Artist Series events including dance, opera, off-Broadway, concerts and family entertainment at the “Test Drive Your Seats” event. At this event, you can come to the actual theater and sit in the seats that are available for sale, in order to “test drive” the seat personally. It also gives current subscribers the opportunity to pick up their ticket packets and try out their seats to make sure they are satisfied with the exact location. The event will be held at the Times Union Center’s Moran Theatre on Wednesday, Sept. 12th from 10 am to 6 pm. Register for a chance to win a pair of Season Tickets to the Broadway Series as well as gift certificates for Publix and Morton’s Steakhouse and other prizes. Lite 96.1 will also be on location with music and prizes from 11:30 am – 1 pm.
THE WEDDING SINGER
November 6-11, 2007
THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
December 21-23, 2007
CIRQUE DREAMS JUNGLE FANTASY
January 15-20, 2008
MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT
February 19-24, 2008
Lou Diamond Phillips Starring in
LERNER AND LOEWE’S CAMELOT
April 22-27, 2008
Subscriber Special
BILL COSBY
April 12, 2008
CATS
June 27-29, 2008
|
EU Critic’s Choice Awards
