GAAC to kick off season with free concert

BY SCOTTIE  BROWN

The Greenville Standard                                                                                                                    

 

The Greenville Area Arts Council concert season will soon be underway, and tickets are already selling out for the four-show lineup.

Nancy Idland with the council said this was a historic year for the organization as it was not only celebrating its anniversary but had seen record ticket sells so far to date.

“We are celebrating 37 years of bringing live, professional shows to The Ritz,” Idland said. “The council was organized at the same time The Ritz Theater was restored 37 years ago. We have membership who has gone above and beyond that has allowed us to bring special shows to the community.”

The council will host four shows at The Ritz this season, and Idland said the council will kick-off its season with a free concert Thursday, Sept. 20 featuring local artists as a way to show the community the importance of the arts.

“We will have Two Lane Highway and vocalists, Vicki Birch, Stacy Edwards, Beth Cooper, Rosie Till and Steve Norman,” Idland said. “We’ve had everything from the North Carolina Ballet, to Macbeth, to Always Patsy Cline,” Idland said. “We’ve had every type of stage show that you can ask for. We used to have a lot of dramatic type productions, musical, but we have changed our format now to where we are bringing in more live music, concerts and such.”

While the council serves the Greenville area, Idland said shows were open for anyone in the surrounding area to attend.

“Art just improves the quality of life for everyone,” Idland said. “We are a better people in our whole world when we fill our world with music, art and drama, and that’s a proven fact in the education field and every walk of life. The Arts Council is just very proud to be able to offer these shows to our area, not just to Greenville, but our area for all people to enjoy. We are proud that we can keep our ticket prices affordable.”

Season ticket holders get guaranteed entrance to the paid shows and the first concert by Shenandoah on Thursday, Oct. 11 is already sold out. Other concerts include ‘Stand by Your Man’, ‘Christmas at the Ritz’ and ‘Black Jacket Symphony with the Eagles Hotel California’.

Stand by Your Man is set for Thursday, Nov. 8. The billing information states, “It’s the Tammy Wynette legend and all of her hits that fills the theatre for Stand by Your Man, but it’s the story that unfolds that has the people leaving knowing they’ve seen a thoroughly moving, as well as entertaining evening of musical theatre.”

Christmas at the Ritz is set for Thursday, Dec. 4. The billing information states, “Once again your favorite local talents perform on the Ritz Stage bringing the sounds of the season through cheerful carols, captivating costumes and community support that is Greenville, Alabama.”

Black Jacket Symphony with the Eagles Hotel California is set for Thursday, Jan. 17. The billing information states, “The BJS offers a unique concert experience through recreating classic albums in a live performance setting with no sonic detail being overlooked-the musicians do whatever it takes to musically reproduce the album.”

“We are thankful for the support of the community,” Idland said. “This has been an unbelievable outpouring of support we’ve received. We’ve never sold out of a show this early. We still have a month to go before the opening show, and it’s a historic thing that we have sold out already.

People can still get tickets for the last two paid shows, but I do encourage they contact us soon. We could possibly sell out the season with the season tickets with how they are going now.”

Those looking to purchase tickets for the upcoming season or seeking more information about the council may contact Nancy Idland on Facebook or at 334-354-2802 or at The Pineapple in downtown Greenville. Tickets may be purchased for $20 per show or season tickets may be purchased for $40.