RCC ANNOUNCES 2019 – 2020 PROFESSIONAL TOURING ARTIST SERIES (PDF)

RESTON, VA — Reston Community Center (RCC) proudly announces the 2019 – 2020 Professional Touring Artist Series (PTAS) at the CenterStage. The season offers an exciting mix of new artists and those Reston has come to know and love. Tickets will be available to Reston residents and employees on August 1 and to the general public on August 8.

“The Reston Community Center thrives at 40 because the arts have been at the center of building this special community,” said Paul Douglas Michnewicz, RCC’s Director of Arts and Events. “We know the season ahead will only deepen Reston’s love of the arts and the power they have to bring us together.”

The 2019 – 2020 PTAS season includes:

Peter Kageyama, author

Saturday, September 7, 8:00 p.m., $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston

Peter Kageyama, author of For the Love of Cities: The Love Affair Between People and Their Places and Love Where You Live: Creating Emotionally Engaging Places, will bring his expertise to an exploration of how Reston exemplifies his ideals.

Jeffrey C. Stewart, author

The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke

Sunday, September 15, 7:00 p.m., $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston

In partnership with the Fall for the Book Festival

Author Jeffrey C. Stewart sits down with Dr. Jane Censer, Professor Emeritus of History at George Mason University, to discuss his Pulitzer Prize-winning book The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke, a panoramic view of the personal trials and artistic triumphs of the father of the Harlem Renaissance.

A Conversation with Fran Lebowitz, author, journalist and social observer

Saturday, September 21, 8:00 p.m., $25 Reston/$35 Non-Reston

In a cultural landscape filled with endless pundits and talking heads, Fran Lebowitz stands out as one of our funniest and most insightful social commentators. 

National Heritage Award Fellows at the Reston Multicultural Festival

Michael and David Doucet, Cajun fiddlers

Linda Goss, African American storyteller

Saturday, September 28, 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (Performance times vary), free and open to the public

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) National Heritage Fellowships are the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts. This year’s fellows include Cajun musicians Michael and David Doucet and African American storyteller Linda Goss.

An Evening with Beverly Cosham

Timeless

Saturday, October 5, 8:00 p.m., $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston

Reston’s own Beverly Cosham has been entertaining audiences for years with her intensely personal and moving interpretations of the Great American Songbook. This evening of stunning selections will remind you that music can fill your soul.

Iberi Choir

Wednesday, October 23, 8:00 p.m., $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston

The Iberi Choir performs Georgian polyphonic a cappella music featuring gorgeously rich, shifting blocks of improvised harmony, that will enchant with complex combinations of wild, crowing falsetto soaring over growling basses and clarion tenors.

The Sarajevo Haggadah: Music of the Book, composed and performed by Merima Ključo

Inspired by People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Wednesday, October 30, 8:00 p.m., $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston

The Sarajevo Haggadah: Music of the Book creatively interprets this miraculous age-old Jewish text as a universal symbol of exile, return and co-existence. Composer-performer Merima Ključo’s stunning multimedia work for accordion, piano and video traces its harrowing journey. Author Geraldine Brooks will lead a discussion afterward.

Dr. Azar Nafisi, Iranian American Best-Selling Author

Wednesday, November 6, 8:00 p.m., $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston

The Iranian American best-selling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi has electrified readers with a compassionate and often harrowing portrait of the Islamic revolution in Iran and how it affected one university professor and her students.  

The Klezmatics present Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah

Sunday, December 1, 7:00 p.m., $20 Reston/$30 Non-Reston

Woody Guthrie, father of American folk music and creator of This Land Is Your Land, also wrote Hanukkah songs. These were discovered by his daughter in 1998 and are reinterpreted by the Klezmatics.

Liner Notes: Music of The Movement

A Live Musical Journey Through the Music of the Civil Rights Era

Sunday, January 19, 2:00 p.m., $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston

Exploring music inspired by the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s, this show features inspiring songs of change.   

Reston Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration

Community Lunch and Keynote Address with Bakari Sellers

Monday, January 20, 11:00 a.m., $5 Reston/$10 Non-Reston

Bakari Sellers, formerly the youngest member of the South Carolina state legislature and the youngest African American elected official in the nation, is widely considered a rising and leading voice for his generation. The Keynote Address is followed by a community luncheon.

Gustafer Yellowgold

Sunday, February 9, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., $10 Reston/$20 Non-Reston

With pancake lunch!

Since his creation by Morgan Taylor, Gustafer Yellowgold has become an international phenomenon. Take a ride with Yellowgold, who is living an explorer’s life in a slightly psychedelic version of the Minnesota woods. Tickets include a “build your own” pancake lunch from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Boys Don’t Cry, choreographed by Hervé Koubi

In partnership with Dance Place

Tuesday, March 3, 8:00 p.m., $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston 

Boys Don’t Cry is inspired by text from Chantal Thomas and is a funny and tender reflection on what it means to dance when you are a boy from North Africa and the Arab world. 

Reduced Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet’s Big Adventure (a prequel)

Written and Directed by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor

Saturday, March 21, 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., $25 Reston/$35 Non-Reston

In this hilarious (and completely fictional) prequel to Hamlet, nothing is rotten in the state of Denmark. There’s laughter and joy and music and more laughter as teenage Hamlet leaps into action in this Washington, DC-area, premiere.

Lúnasa with special guest MALINDA

Sunday, March 29, 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., $25 Reston/$35 Non-Reston

Lúnasa represents a gathering of some of the top musical talents in Ireland. Joining this Reston favorite is rising star MALINDA, a singer, songwriter and actress.

Lulu Fall, jazz and blues singer/songwriter

Between Two Worlds,

Saturday, April 4, 8:00 p.m., $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston

A product of Senegalese and Cameroonian parentage, Fall creates music that reflects her global perspective by way of her American sensibilities.  

An Evening with Marilyn Nelson

African American History in Verse

Saturday, April 11, 8:00 p.m., $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston

Truth and beauty are intertwined when landmark events of our collective history are explored in exquisite verse by Nelson, a three-time finalist for the National Book Award and a former Poet Laureate of Connecticut.

Native Intelligence/Innate Intelligence

Choreographed by Christopher K. Morgan in partnership with Dance Place

Wednesday, May 6, 8:00 p.m., $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston

Native Intelligence/Innate Intelligence is a two-part dance performance incorporating contemporary dance, hula, Hawaiian chant and original live music to beautifully illustrate the complexities of indigenous culture surviving within a modern society.  

Mr. Vaudeville and Friends present The Phantom of the Vaudeville House

Sunday, May 17, 2:00 p.m., $5 Reston/$10 Non-Reston

It’s magic, mayhem and laughter when Buddy “Mr. Vaudeville” Silver is faced with yet another hilarious dilemma. Is the CenterStage Motion Picture and Vaudeville House haunted?  Come cheer the good guys, boo the bad guys and keep the phantom from stealing the show!

Red Molly

Saturday, May 30, 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., $20 Reston/$30 Non-Reston

Red Molly combines the creative forces of three songwriters with unique character and style, creating a show that weaves together threads of American music – from country and blues to folk and bluegrass.  

Unless otherwise noted, all performances take place at the CenterStage, located at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods. Additional information about each of the performances is available online at www.restoncommunitycenter.com.

Tickets will be available for purchase as follows:

August 1: Sales Open to Reston Residents and Employees
Residents and employees within Small District 5 can purchase tickets. Proof of residence or employment status may be required.

August 8: Sales Open to the General Public; Online Sales Begin
The general public, as well as Reston residents and employees, can purchase tickets.

Box Office Business Hours are as follows:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 4:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Saturday: 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Two Hours Prior to Curtain Time for Each Performance