WINONA, Minn. — The 27th season of the Saint Mary’s University Page Series is once again filled with music, dance, theatre and family-friendly offerings from around the world! You don’t have to travel far for world-class entertainment. Season subscriptions go on sale June 19. Individual tickets go on sale Aug. 20.
Purchase tickets to three or more events to receive a 10 percent discount for new subscribers; returning 2012-13 subscribers receive 25 percent off the total order. Subscribers also have exchange privileges and guaranteed seating choice.
To order after June 19, go online to
www.pagetheatre.org or call the box office, (507) 457-1715, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The 2013-2014 Page Series
• Thursday, Sept. 5, 7:30 p.m.
Second City Comedy: On Tour
Improv from America’s best
Tickets: $27 for adults, $24 for seniors and students
America’s famed comedy troupe, The Second City, is coming to town with "Happily Ever Laughter." From the company that launched the careers of Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray and more, comes the next generation of the comedy world’s best and brightest in an evening of hilarious sketch comedy and Second City’s trademark improvisation.
The Second City celebrates more than 50 years of cutting edge satiric revues and continues to deliver the leading voices in comedy while touring the globe. With scripted and improvisational elements, audiences always enjoy being part of the show and playing along with the next generation of comic legends. Whether it's ripped from the morning headlines or a classic gem from their 50-year archives, The Second City is always a laugh out loud hit.
• Tuesday, Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m.
Christopher O’Riley
NPR’s most famous pianist
Tickets: $24 for adults, $22 for seniors and students
From his groundbreaking transcriptions of Radiohead, Elliott Smith and Nick Drake to his unforgettably sublime interpretations of the classical canon, pianist Christopher O’Riley has stretched the piano beyond conventional boundaries. For his visit to Winona he will interpret contemporary popular music including the Cocteau Twins, R.E.M. and Pink Floyd.
O’Riley has taken his unique vision to both traditional classical music venues and symphonic settings, as well as to entirely new audiences on the radio, at universities and even clubs. As host of the popular classical music radio show, National Public Radio’s From The Top, O’Riley works and performs with the next generation of brilliant young musicians, demonstrating to audiences that these young artists are as interesting and diverse in their personal lives as they are in their music-making.
O’Riley has toured the U.S. with the world-famous Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared with the philharmonic orchestras of Los Angeles, New York, Moscow and the Royal Philharmonic in London, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the symphonies of Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
• Thursday, Oct. 3, 6:30 p.m.
Stinky Cheese Man and Other Stories
A fun twist on family favorites
Tickets: $14 for adults, $6 for seniors and students
Jack has a problem. He’s successfully grown an enormous beanstalk, scaled to the top, and stolen a golden harp and gold-laying goose from the sleeping giant. However, the giant has now awoken and Jack has scurried back down the beanstalk in the hopes of chopping it down before the giant can catch him. Jack could possibly even make a clean escape if only the Little Red Hen would quit harping on and on about all the lazy animals who refuse to help her with her wheat. He devises a method to keep the giant somewhat diverted, by offering to tell him stories. The stories are all based upon other classic fairy tales with some fairly “stupid” twists.
Over the past 22 years the Griffin Theatre Company of Chicago has provided a wide range of work including world and mid-west premieres of acclaimed scripts, critically lauded productions of Shakespeare and original adaptations of novels. Each year the main-stage offers three full-length productions and one children’s production. Many of the Griffin’s 100-plus productions have appeared on Chicago area critics “Best of the Year” lists.
Last seen on the Page stage with the moving Letters Home production in 2011, the Page Series is pleased to present the Griffin Theatre Company in an entirely different light this time around.
• Wednesday, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m.
Susan Werner
Folksinger’s Hayseed Project
Tickets: $24 for adults, $22 for seniors and students
Born in Manchester, Iowa, Werner grew up on her family’s hog farm, but she took to singing rather than farming. When she was 3, she grabbed attention at a family party with her rendition of a beer commercial jingle. “That was it. My life direction was fixed,” Werner told Paul McKay of the Ottawa Citizen. She began making a name for herself in the folk scene of the early 1990s in Philadelphia, New York and Boston. She recorded five albums from 1993 to 2001 in the folk genre. Her next recording in 2004, I Can't Be New, was a departure encompassing Tin Pan Alley, early torch, and jazz standards. Now based in Chicago, Warner's most recent music is infused with the rustic roots of American folk, blues and country music. Her 11th recording, Kicking the Beehive, includes guest appearances by Vince Gill, Mo'Keb, Paul Franklin.
Werner’s newest project Hayseed, contains 12 songs on the subject matter of farming, rural America, locavores, food safety, and the comic potential of herbicides. Werner grew up on a family farm in eastern Iowa, where her parents still farm—and in Hayseed, she returns to the language and characters she knows best. Supporting three organizations she believes in this tour will help out Practical Farmers of Iowa, Ames, Iowa, Midwest Organic and Sustainability Education Service (M.O.S.E.S.), Spring Valley, Wis., and The Land Institute, Salina, Kan.
• Thursday, Nov. 14, 6:30 p.m.
Peter Pan by Theatreworks USA
Neverland by our favorite company
Tickets: $14 for adults, $6 for seniors and students
This version of Peter Pan is an adapted version of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale created by John Caird and Trevor Nunn. This touring production by Theatreworks USA explores the journey of a group of children in turn-of-the-century London who use their imaginations to reenact the story of Peter Pan. This story empowers children to create their own world of make-believe. As the children fly to Neverland and escape the evil Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, they recognize the importance of friendship as well as the value of being part of a family.
Theatreworks USA often visits the Page stage; last season they performed Bunnicula. Since their founding in 1961, they have presented to more than 90 million children and their families, with opportunities to enjoy their theatrical productions in 49 states and Canada.
• Wednesday, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m.
River North Dance Chicago
One of Chicago’s most physical dance ensembles
Tickets: $27 for adults, $24 for seniors and students
Founded in 1989, the company is recognized as one of Chicago’s leading dance companies, receiving critical acclaim both on a national and international level. Under the direction of Artistic Director Frank Chaves, the jazz-based contemporary company embodies a true flavor of “Americana” in its dynamic repertoire.
They will present a mixed repertoire including “Simply Miles, Simply Us” featuring the music of Miles Davis; “Train,” an abstract ritual in three parts set to a percussive live recording; and “Super Straight Is Coming Down,” a fiercely physical, urban meltdown of epic proportions; as well as other pieces from their 20-year repertoire. A pre-show talk with company manager will be offered as well.
“Not only did the troupe’s bravura dancers pull out all the stops from first move to last, inspiring rapturous applause at every turn, but they demonstrated that River North is one of this city’s most accomplished ensembles.” Chicago Sun Times
• Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, 6:30 p.m.
Doktor Kaboom
Mad science
Tickets: $14 for adults, $6 for seniors and students
Creatively blending theatre arts with the wonders of scientific exploration, Doktor Kaboom keeps his crowds riveted with interest and rolling with laughter. Join him for a sidesplitting journey of increasingly spectacular — and often successful — experiments and demonstrations. Using masterful improvisational skills, the artist takes his audience on a sidesplitting tour of the modern scientific method while demonstrating spectacular applications of the physical sciences.
Doktor Kaboom is the creation of actor/comedian David Epley, who has been fortunate enough to discover two passions in his life. His first, science, took him to studies at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. His second, performing, became his career, and for 20 years he has made his living writing, performing, and directing original interactive comedy across the U.S. and Canada. He now brings his passions together with an explosive style that refuses to allow his audiences time to catch a breath.
• Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
The Travelin’ McCourys
Bluegrass’ legendary sons
Tickets: $24 for adults, $22 for seniors and students
Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Rob McCoury on banjo, Jason Carter on fiddle, and Alan Bartram on bass, comprise the latest incarnation of the most awarded band in the history of bluegrass – The Del McCoury Band. No other band today has the same credentials for playing traditional and progressive acoustic music. As the sons of bluegrass legend Del McCoury, Ronnie and Rob continue their father’s work – a lifelong dedication to the power of bluegrass music to bring joy into people’s lives. Based in tradition, the ensemble is loved and respected by the bluegrass faithful, but they also bring something fresh and rejuvenating to the stage. Recently the McCourys debuted the widely successful festival on wheels called The Bluegrass Ball, bringing spontaneous live collaborations, the hallmark of the McCourys, to clubs across the country. The band has a confidence that comes with having paid their dues with 20 years on the bluegrass road. They are known not only for their individual prowess on their instruments but also the tight rhythm, the soulful material and the confidence in taking bluegrass from the safety of the shore into uncharted waters.
The Travelin’ McCourys are quickly becoming known amongst fans and musical icons alike collaborating with the likes of Vince Gill, The Allman Brothers, Phish, Warren Haynes, Steve Earle, Dierks Bentley, Yonder Mountain String Band and many more.
• Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, 6:30 p.m.
Teacher from the Black Lagoon and Other Stories
Theatreworks USA Production
Tickets: $14 for adults, $6 for seniors and students
This is an exciting new musical revue based on favorite contemporary children’s books including: Teacher From the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler and Jared Lee, Dogzilla by Dav Pilkey, Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard, I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes, Love Splat, Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton, and The Grasshopper and the Ant.
Some of Theatreworks USA’s most famous alumni include actor Henry Winkler, four-time Tony-winning director Jerry Zaks, two time-Tony Award winner Robert Lopez, and well-known actors Jesse Tyler Ferguson, John Glover and many more.
• Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
South African a capella legends
Tickets: $27 for adults, $24 for seniors and students
Nominated 16 times for the Grammy awards, South African a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, led by founder and leader Joseph Shabalala, celebrates more than 50 years of joyous and uplifting music that marries the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music.
Assembled in the early 1960s in South Africa by Shabalala – then a young farmboy turned factory worker – the group took the name Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Ladysmith is the name of Shabalala’s rural hometown; Black is a reference to oxen, the strongest of all farm animals; and Mambazo which is the Zulu word for axe, a symbol of the group’s ability to “chop down” any singing rival who might challenge them.
Paul Simon visited South Africa in the 1980s and incorporated Black Mambazo’s rich tenor/alto/bass harmonies into his Graceland album – a landmark 1986 recording that was considered seminal in introducing world music to mainstream audiences.
Since that time they have maintained a respect and a reverence for their past. The centuries-old story of their homeland – sometimes joyous, sometimes troubled, but always rich and exhilarating – has been at the very foundation of this vocal group since its very beginning. But alongside the South African history witnessed by an entire world, there’s a quieter, more personal past shared by the members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo – a time of youth and innocence, when the world consisted of nothing more than the hills and open fields of their parents’ farms in Zulu country.
The Page Series is pleased to welcome the most widely known a cappella group in the world back to the SMU stage since they first visited Winona in 2006.
Saint Mary’s is a fiscal year 2012 recipient of an Institutional Presenter Support grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is funded, in part, by the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on Nov. 4, 2008.
* PLEASE NOTE: Online orders will incur additional fees.
Student price includes ages 4 and older. $10 student rush tickets may be available for some events 20 minutes before curtain.
A limited number of $6 tickets will be available for 5- to 14-year-olds for the following shows: Christopher O'Riley, Susan Werner, River North Chicago Dance Company, The Travelin' McCourys, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
