2019-2020 Newman Center Presents Performance Season Announced

April 4, 2019 at 7:30 pm—Denver, Colorado

The Robert and Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver announces its 2019- 2020 season of Newman Center Presents, the venue’s multidisciplinary professional artist series. The season includes more than 20 captivating, internationally diverse, and inventive performances to engage audiences throughout the Denver community. Details on the 2019-2020 season were announced during a subscriber and patron Season Reveal event at the University of Denver on April 4, offering the ability for both renewing and new subscribers to begin securing the best seats at the lowest prices of the season.

Jazz Series

This year’s Jazz series offers a diverse mix of award winners and new performers. Grammy and Tony Award- winning vocal artist Dee Dee Bridgewater plays at Newman Center following her international tour. Bridgewater has performed on Broadway and is a recent NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship Award recipient. The four-performance Jazz series also includes guitarist Kevin Eubanks, well-known as music director of The Tonight Show Band, Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, and Ranky Tanky, a South Carolina- based quintet that performs music from South Carolina’s Gullah tradition complete the series.

Dance Series

The 2019-2020 Dance Series highlights include the modern dance company, Pilobolus, in their multi-sensory performance, Come to Your Senses! Known for their extreme strength, creativity and athleticism, Pilobolus has appeared in TED talks, toured in over 64 countries, performed on Broadway, and at the Oscars. The series will also welcome contemporary dance company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, performing works by some of today’s top choreographers including Crystal Pite and Ohad Naharin. Two innovative dance companies will make their Newman Center Presents debut: dance duo Jon Boogz and Lil Buck and their company Movement Art Is will use dance and movement to address social issues such as police brutality and mass incarceration andGuangdong Modern Dance Company from China’s Guangzhou Province morphs dance with calligraphy by illustrating Chinese scripts with their bodies.

National Geographic Live

Following the success of its opening year at the Newman Center, the National Geographic Live series returns with three talks and an exclusive live screening of JANE—In Concert (available as an add-on to subscriptions). The University of Denver’s Lamont Symphony Orchestra will perform the musical score live to accompany the documentary film on Jane Goodall, the woman whose chimpanzee research challenged the male-dominated scientific consensus of her time.

Additional Nat Geo Live events are sure to captivate audiences of all ages, including Extreme Cave Diving withKenny Broad. Filipe DeAndrade, host of Nat Geo’s Untamed, will preview his documentary The River and The Wall, which focuses on wildlife along the US—Mexico border. Finally, Mireya Mayor, hailed as a “female Indiana Jones,” will inspire young people with a behind-the-scenes look at surviving in the fields of science and exploration. A former NFL cheerleader, Mayor went on to earn her Ph.D. and has contributed significantly to the fields of primatology, exploration, and conservation.

Family-Friendly Concerts

Newman Center Family Concerts are great way to introduce young audiences to the performing arts. Specially programmed for audiences under age 12, family concerts include a pre-show KidZone with family activities, face-painting and more. Two family concerts will be presented for the 2019-2020 season. In conjunction with the Denver Biennial of the Americas, Ozomatli performs their lively family show called OzoKidz. Grammy Award-winning children’s music performer, Justin Roberts and The Not Ready for Naptime Players, take the stage at the Newman Center in March.

Holiday Concerts and Special Events

Subscribers can be first in line for seats to several special performances throughout the season. Newman Center partners again with Denver’s Biennial of the Americas Festival to open the season on September 27 with the popular Los Angeles-based band Ozomatli, playing a fusion of Latin, hip-hop, and rock beats. Singer- songwriter Martin Sexton brings his critically acclaimed solo acoustic performance to the Newman Center in October. With a cast of more than 25 dancers and musicians, Ballet Folclórico Nacional de México de Silvia Lozano celebrates the preservation and promotion of Mexican culture through song and dance. CIRQUE Flip Fabrique's production of Blizzard brings a circus winter wonderland to the Newman Center in February with breathtaking circus performers. The Office! A Musical Parody takes the stage in March for a hilarious musical parody of the hit TV show.

Holiday season brings two concerts to the Newman Center in December. A quintet of piano-playing siblings known as The 5 Browns will perform beloved classical and popular holiday music such as The Nutcracker and Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride, arranged for an ensemble of five concert grand pianos. The music of Vince Guaraldi’s classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas, is showcased in a performance with Grammy-nominated jazz pianist David Benoit.

Classical Performances

The iconic classical ensemble Kronos Quartet will perform works from their massive commissioning project,Fifty for the Future; program highlights also include a new work by Oakland-based musician Zachary James Watkins, entitled Peace Be Till, inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech. The all-male vocal ensemble Chanticleer will make its Newman Center debut with a program featuring works inspired by global travel. Newman Center and the Lamont School of Music will also co-present a special appearance byChristine Brewer, recognized as one of the BBC’s Top 20 Sopranos of All Time.

Director’s Choice 9 5 Series

The 2019-20 Director’s Choice Series feature an eclectic mix of music, dance and global performances, with goal of introducing audiences to variety of genres and styles. The Director’s Choice 5 Series includes Martin Sexton, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Holidays with The 5 Browns, Ballet Folclórico Nacional de México de Silvia Lozano, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Director’s Choice 9 includes the shows on the Director’s Choice 5, and adds Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Pilobolus, Kronos Quartet, and Chanticleer.

The Newman Center Presents subscription package options include Director’s Choice 5 and 9, Jazz, Dance, andNational Geographic Live series. Subscribers save up to 20% on tickets. Subscriptions and add-on tickets are available immediately and single tickets go on sale July 8, 2019. Subscriptions start at only $87.

The Newman Center is supported in part by the Antonia and Vladimer Kulaev Cultural Heritage Fund, Bonfils Stanton Foundation, Carson Brierly Giffin Dance Library, Colorado Creative Industries, Hyatt Place, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Western States Arts Federation.

Additional information, including individual show descriptions and subscription order options, can be found at newmancenter.du.edu.

2019-2020 Newman Center Presents Season

Ozomatli Fri Sep 27, 2019 at 7:30pm
OzoKidz Sat Sep 28, 2019 at 2:00pm

Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra Thu Oct 3, 2019 at 7:30pm
Martin Sexton Sat Oct 12, 2019 at 7:30pm
Christine Brewer, Soprano with Craig Terry, Accompanist Sun Oct 13, 2019 at 2:00pm

Dee Dee Bridgewater Sat Nov 9, 2019 at 7:30pm
Jon Boogz and Lil Buck: Movement Art Is Sun Nov 24, 2019 at 2:00pm

David Benoit: A Charlie Brown Christmas Thu Dec 12, 2019 at 7:30pm
Holidays with The 5 Browns Thu Dec 19, 2019 at 7:30pm

Ranky Tanky Thu Jan 23, 2020 at 7:30pm
Guangdong Modern Dance Company Fri Jan 31, 2020 at 7:30pm

Ballet Folclórico Nacional de México de Silvia Lozano Fri Feb 7, 2020 at 7:30pm
Jane—In Concert Tue Feb 11, 2020 at 7:30pm
CIRQUE Flip Fabrique Blizzard Tue Feb 18, 2020 at 7:30pm
Nat Geo Live: Untamed with Filipe DeAndrade Mon Feb 24, 2020 at 7:30pm

Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players Sat Mar 7, 2020 at 2:00pm
Pilobolus Thu Mar 12, 2020 at 7:30pm
Kronos Quartet Tue Mar 17, 2020 at 7:30pm

The Office! A Musical Parody Sat & Sun Mar 21-22, 2020
Nat Geo Live: Extreme Cave Diving with Kenny Broad Mon Mar 23, 2020 at 7:30pm

Kevin Eubanks Thu Apr 2, 2020 at 7:30pm
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Wed Apr 8, 2020 at 7:30pm
Nat Geo Live: Pink Boots and a Machete with Mireya Mayor Mon Apr 27, 2020 at 7:30pm

Chanticleer Fri May 8, 2020 at 7:30pm

Additional inquiries may be directed to Nathan Willers, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications: nathan.willers@du.edu / 303-871-4154 (press inquiries) / 303-871-7720 (tickets) / newmancenter.du.edu

About the Robert and Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts

Opened in 2002, the Robert and Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver is a multi-disciplinary arts venue that provides innovative, diverse, and thought-provoking performance and education opportunities, enabling the Denver and Colorado community to be engaged, inspired, and connected through the performing arts. The Newman Center is home to the Lamont School of Music, DU Theatre Department, the Newman Center Presents series, over 150 hosted events, and approximately 500 performances each year. More information can be found online and on Facebook.

About the University of Denver

Founded in 1864, the University of Denver is committed to engaging with students in advancing scholarly inquiry, cultivating critical and creative thought, and generating knowledge. The University strives to educate the 21st-century citizens and leaders needed in its organizations and communities. For additional information, visit the University’s newsroom or follow the University on Facebook and Twitter.