Paramount Announces Second Season

Media Contact:

Kristen Gleason
Director for Community Relations and Education
434·979·1922 ext. 103
kristen@theparamount.net

For Immediate Release

June 24, 2005

PARAMOUNT THEATER ANNOUNCES STAR-STUDDED SECOND SEASON

PERFORMANCES BY YO YO MA, BILL COSBY, DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES VINCE GILL,
SIR JAMES GALWAY, AND ARLO GUTHRIE AMONG HIGHLIGHTS OF 46-SHOW SCHEDULE

The Paramount Theater has announced a star-studded encore to last year's overwhelmingly successful Grand Reopening Season.

In a special media event held at the theater, Paramount Executive Director Chad Hershner unveiled the theater's 2005-2006 lineup, which includes performances by such international stars as cellist Yo-Yo Ma with the Silk Road Ensemble, record-breaking chart toppers Daryl Hall & John Oates, country crooner Vince Gill, legendary flutist Sir James Galway, and folk great Arlo Guthrie.

"Given the excitement of last year's reopening and the extraordinary success of our first season, we knew that the pressure was on to create a fitting encore," Hershner said. "And that is exactly what we have done. We are thrilled to have the chance to bring the Charlottesville community some of the most legendary artists of our time, and also introduce them to companies and performers that represent the very best in the worlds of music, theater, dance, opera, and beyond."

Tickets for all the events in The Paramount's 2005-2005 Season will go on sale in July. Members of the theater have the first opportunity to buy tickets on July 25, with sales for the general public starting on August 15. Anyone who is not currently a Member of the theater, but wishes to take advantage of the early purchasing period, may join when placing an order. Tickets will be available here on the theater's website, www.theparamount.net, and through The Paramount Box Office (434.979.1333).

The season kicks off on September 10 with a performance by rock and soul icons Daryl Hall & John Oates. The Philly natives have ridden their unique brand of soul to decades of superstardom, becoming the most successful performing duo in rock history in the process. The pair has sold a staggering 60 million records, and launched such Top-40 hits as "Rich Girl," "Kiss on My List," "Maneater," "Private Eyes," and "Sara Smile."

Yo-Yo Ma, one of the world's premier classical musicians, comes to The Paramount for a special benefit with the Silk Road Ensemble on February 24, 2006. The Ensemble, which Ma founded, explores connections between East and West, and reflects a multicultural reality of transnational voices belonging to one global community. The Ensemble mirrors his unending desire to connect with audiences while stretching musical boundaries.

Vince Gill has been an unstoppable force since he burst on the country music scene in 1990 with "When I Call Your Name." Since then, he has compiled an unending string of chart-topping hits and earned himself a record-setting 18 Country Music Awards as well as 15 Grammy© Awards. Gill brings his trademark high and pure tenor vocals to The Paramount for two special shows on November 17.

Bill Cosby will take The Paramount stage for two performances on Saturday, April 29, 2006. With his inimitable takes on families, children, relationships and more, Cosby is one of our nation's all-time-greatest humorists. His generation-spanning appeal has kept him in our living rooms for decades, and his ability to find the humor and reality in our daily lives will keep him in our hearts forever.

Sir James Galway's musical brilliance makes him one of the supreme interpreters of the classical flute. His legendary showmanship makes him a consummate entertainer with a musical appeal that crosses all boundaries. Galway and his wife Lady Jeanne Galway, also a flutist, will perform with the renowned Polish Chamber Orchestra in a special St. Patrick's Day performance.

Folk music royalty will be in the house on September 30 when Arlo Guthrie takes the stage as part of his "Alice's Restaurant 40th Anniversary Massacree Tour." Guthrie will appear with son Abe Guthrie, veteran musician Gordon Titcomb, and roots-influenced string band The Mammals. The tour honors the song that helped foster the social consciousness and activism that defined not just a decade, but an entire generation.

Broadway star power will be on full display when Michael Feinstein and Linda Eder join forces for a special gala performance on Sunday, October 9. Feinstein has been a household name since his acclaimed 1988 one-man-show Isn't It Romantic. Eder's dynamic and versatile voice has garnered comparisons to Garland and Streisand, and made her one of the hottest stars of the Great White Way.

Other highlights of the Paramount's second season include:

• A Broadway series highlighted by classics Mame and Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue.
• Also on tap for theater lovers are the acclaimed Shakespeare send-up Bomb-itty of Errors, a concert-performance of the hit show Jekyll & Hyde, and revue-style performances including Broadway Love Stories and Broadway -- The Star-Spangled Celebration. Finally, for the young and young-at-heart, theater mixes with madcap hilarity in visits from the famed Flying Karamazov Brothers, The Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Co., and juggler and entertainer extraordinaire Mark Nizer.
• Jazz and Blues will be heard loud and clear this season ... including a series featuring legends Pat Metheny (performing with The Pat Metheny Trio, featuring Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez) and Chick Corea & Touchstone, in addition to one of the hottest young singers in jazz, Jane Monheit. Blues guitar icons John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers, Robben Ford and Eric Bibb will join forces for the first time in a special Rockin' Blues Revue.
• "Get Ready, 'Cause Here They Come ..." -- The Temptations are bringing their classic sound, style, and moves to The Paramount!
• Bluegrass and Southern gospel will come together on the Paramount stage with An Evening with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Grammy nominees and four-time-winners of the International Bluegrass Music Association Vocal Group of the Year.
• Classic and cutting-edge dance performances will be on the boards with the Miami City Ballet (directed by Edward Villella), The Russian National Ballet in Swan Lake, The Parsons Dance Company, and Liz Lerman Dance Exchange.
• Looking for a night at the opera? The Paramount is offering a pair of classics. Helikon Opera will perform Strauss' Die Fledermaus, and Opera Roanoke and The Roanoke Symphony will perform Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.
• Fans of vocal music can hear the "orchestra of voices" that is Chanticleer, as well as a special holiday performance by the Moscow Boys Choir.
• Comedy will have audiences in stitches, from the classic humor of the irrepressible Smothers Brothers to glimpses at the top names of tomorrow with the return of the LAF (Laughter Arts Festival) and Nobodies of Comedy tours.
• Nostalgia is the name of the game for music fans thanks to a pair of re-creation shows highlighting two of the biggest bands in pop history. The Fab Four, a tribute to the Beatles, is a multimedia extravaganza tracing the roots of the Liverpool lads from their basement pub beginnings to the heights of Beatlemania and then some. The Pink Floyd Experience captures all of the psychedelic sights and sounds of the classic rock band's live performances, complete with 270,000 watts of light and 20 tons of quadraphonic sound to back up six outstanding musicians.
• Nostalgia lovers can take a step back even further in time with Sing! Sing! Sing!, a special show celebrating Benny Goodman's seminal 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, featuring clarinet virtuoso Ken Peplowski and The Kingdom of Swing Big Band. Swing fans can also journey to that era with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra & The Pied Pipers in America's Hits on Parade. Finally, "Pops" goes the season when former Tonight Show bandleader and trumpet virtuoso Doc Severinsen comes to town for a special performance with The Richmond Symphony.
• Youth will be served up heaping helpings of smiles and fun thanks to a series that includes The Berenstain Bears On Stage!, The Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration® on Tour's performance of Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka, and A Christmas Carol.
• Gospel fans will enjoy two unforgettable evenings, courtesy of star CeCe Winans and the soul-stirring sounds of the Soweto Gospel Choir, direct from South Africa.
• The sweet strains of acoustic music will fill The Paramount in a double bill with pianist Liz Story and harpist Lisa Lynne, and in the return of Windham Hill's Winter Solstice, featuring Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, and Tuck & Patti.

Once again this season, The Paramount will complement these live performances with a return to its movie house heritage. Season opening events will once again feature "A Day at The Movies" with screenings of favorites National Velvet and My Fair Lady. The cinematic fun lasts throughout the season with a series featuring classic and so-to-be-classic films ranging from Gone With The Wind, White Christmas, and The Magnificent Seven to Rocky, It Happened One Night, and Sleepless in Seattle.

The Paramount will also continue to serve as "Charlottesville's Largest Classroom for the Performing Arts" through its educational programs ArtsReach and InterACT. These programs, designed for students and the general public alike, are designed to benefit theatergoers of all ages and interests by increasing understanding and appreciation of the performing arts. Programs for the season will include the Fuller-McBride Premier Performing Artists Program of schooltime performances, as well as workshops, an open rehearsal, pre-performance talks, and master classes.