Spartanburg performing arts groups gearing up for 2017-18 season

The arrival of September means that cooler temperatures and fall foliage are just around the corner. And, in the performing arts world, this month marks the traditional beginning of a new season of entertainment.

With that in mind, here’s a look at what the member organizations of the Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg have in store for the 2017-18 performing arts season.

Spartanburg Little Theatre

First up is Spartanburg Little Theatre, which has been presenting Broadway musicals and plays for more than seven decades.

“Legally Blonde,” based on the 2001 comedy film starring Reese Witherspoon, will usher in the new season with a three-week run that begins Sept. 8 and continues through Sept. 24 at the Chapman Cultural Center Theater, 200 E. St. John St., Spartanburg.

It’ll be followed by “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (Nov. 3-12) and “Hands on a Hardbody” (Jan. 12-21).

“Our 2017-18 season really highlights what we feel exemplifies the 20th century American spirit,” said SLT executive and artistic director Jay Coffman. “Whether it’s a UCLA coed succeeding against all odds at Harvard Law School, a 1960s rebel bucking the system or a group of Texans braving exhaustion and heat to win a Nissan truck, our production season highlights the distinctly American ‘can-do’ attitude and ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”

The SLT season concludes with performances of “Steel Magnolias” (March 9-18) and “Guys and Dolls” (May 4-13).

“As always, the Spartanburg Little Theatre season features an exciting lineup of traditional and contemporary musical theatre and plays that will take audiences from the West to the East Coast and back again — from Los Angeles to the Pacific Northwest, Texas, Louisiana, New York City and back to the Sunset Strip,” Coffman said.

Spartanburg Youth Theatre

SLT’s junior partner is Spartanburg Youth Theatre, which presents a variety of shows produced by children for children.

SYT will kick off its 2017-18 season with “Charlotte’s Web,” which will be presented Oct. 13 and 14 at the Chapman Cultural Center. And for its holiday offering, SYT will present “Rudolph,” based on the story of the famous reindeer (Dec. 1-2).

“These are timeless stories everyone knows,” said SYT director Adam Sanders. “They’ve been around for a long time, but they’re still relevant to modern audiences. … For ‘Rudolph,’ we’ve already added an extra public performance in anticipation of a high demand.”

Other SYT productions are “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Feb. 9-10) and “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” (April 13-14).

“The fun thing about doing entertainment for kids is they’re always going to be magical shows,” Sanders said. “Kids will come up to me and say they still remember a specific moment from a show we did two years ago. It really captures a kid’s imagination.”

Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra

The 2017-18 season marks a transitional phase for the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra as the organization seeks a replacement for Sarah Ioannides, who served as its conductor/music director for 12 years.

The first three concerts of the SPO’s Classics series, which are held at Converse College’s Twichell Auditorium, will serve as auditions for the three finalists seeking to become the next conductor: Stefan Sanders (Sept. 16), Patrick Dupré Quigley (Nov. 4) and Scott Seaton (Jan. 20).

“This is a historic season for us, and we’re really looking for the public to come out and gives us their thoughts on each of the candidates,” said SPO executive director Kathryn Boucher. “We’ll have surveys that they can fill out after each concert, which will give them the opportunity to have a voice in the (selection) process.”

A fourth “Classics” series concert, led by guest conductor John Young Shik Concklin, is titled “From Stars Wars to Harry Potter, the Music of John Williams” and will be held April 14 at Twichell Auditorium.

The SPO is also bringing back its Espresso series concerts, which are held in the more intimate setting of the Chapman Cultural Center Theater. That series kicks off Oct. 6 with “Chaplin au Lait,” which will feature chamber music backing the presentation of the 1921 Charlie Chaplin silent film, “The Kid.”

Other Espresso series concerts are “French Press” (Nov. 17), “Café d’amour” (Feb. 16) and “Saxoccino” (May 18).

“The growth we’ve seen with the Espresso series from the first year to the second has been incredible,” Boucher said. “People are really clamoring to come to those, which are very accessible and span a variety of genres.”

Ballet Spartanburg

Fresh off its 50th anniversary season last year, Ballet Spartanburg will again offer a variety of performances.

The 2016-17 season starts with “The Sleeping Beauty,” which runs Oct. 20-22 at the Chapman Cultural Center Theater, and will continue with Ballet Spartanburg’s annual production of the holiday classic “The Nutcracker” at Converse College’s Twichell Auditorium (Dec. 8-10).

“‘Sleeping Beauty’ is really a three-act ballet but we’ll be doing a condensed version of the story that’s closer to an hour because we realize that (the full ballet) might be too long for children,” said Ballet Spartanburg artistic director Carlos Agudelo. “Of all the Tchaikovsky compositions that are used in ballet, ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ score is my favorite. It’s just really beautiful.”

Other Ballet Spartanburg offerings at the Chapman Cultural Center Theater are “Década” (March 23-24) and “The Great Gatsby” (April 20-21).

“‘Década’ is Spanish for decade, so we’re calling it that because this will be the 10th installment of our DanSynergy series,” Agudelo said. “We’ll be looking at the past but also looking at the future. It’s a mix of innovative works and treasured classics.”

Spartanburg Repertory Opera

Spartanburg Repertory Opera, which until last year had been called the Spartanburg Repertory Company, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this season.

The SRO opened its 2017-18 season on Aug. 23 with a choral concert called “Great Opera Choruses II” and will also present two full-scale theatre productions.

The fall offering is “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” which runs Nov. 3 and 4 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 415 South Pine Street, Spartanburg.

“The unique thing about ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown’ is that these are adults playing children,” said SRO director of media marketing Michaeleen Davis. “The cast is six people. You’ve got Charlie Brown, his sister Sally, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy and Schroeder.”

The SRO will stage “Little Red Riding Hood” sometime in March at the Chapman Cultural Center Theater, which will include a special educational program aimed at children.

“This season is very family-friendly and family-oriented while still maintaining the quality that we’ve been known for throughout the past 30 years,” Davis said.

Schedule:

SPARTANBURG LITTLE THEATRE

“Legally Blonde”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 8 p.m. Sept. 8-9, 15-16 and 22-23; 3 p.m. Sept. 10, 16-17 and 24

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 8 p.m. Nov. 3-4 and 10-11; 3 p.m. Nov. 5 and 12

“Hands on a Hardbody”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 8 p.m. Jan. 12-13 and 19-20; 3 p.m. Jan. 14 and 20-21

“Steel Magnolias”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 8 p.m. March 9-10 and 16-17; 3 p.m. March 11 and 17-18

“Guys and Dolls”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 8 p.m. May 4-5 and 11-12; 3 p.m. May 6 and 12-13

SPARTANBURG YOUTH THEATRE

“Charlotte’s Web”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 4:30 & 7 p.m. Oct. 13; 2 p.m. Oct. 14

“Rudolph”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 4:30 & 7 p.m. Dec. 1; 2 & 4:30 p.m. Dec. 2

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 4:30 & 7 p.m. Feb. 9; 2 p.m. Feb. 10

“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 4:30 & 7 p.m. April 13; 2 p.m. April 14

SPARTANBURG PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Classics Series

Guest conductor Stefan Sanders: Twichell Auditorium at Converse College. 7 p.m. Sept. 16

Guest conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley: Twichell Auditorium at Converse College. 7 p.m. Nov. 4

Guest conductor Scott Seaton: Twichell Auditorium at Converse College. 7 p.m. Jan. 20

“From Star Wars to Harry Potter, the Music of John Williams” with guest conductor John Young Shik Concklin. 7 p.m. April 14

Espresso Series

“Chaplin au Lait”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 6:30 p.m. Oct. 6

“French Press”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 6:30 p.m. Nov. 17

“Café d’amour”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16

“Saxoccino”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 6:30 p.m. May 18

BALLET SPARTANBURG

“The Sleeping Beauty”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 7 p.m. Oct. 20; 3 p.m. Oct. 21-22

“The Nutcracker”: Twichell Auditorium at Converse College. 7 p.m. Dec. 8; 3 p.m. Dec. 9-10

“Década”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 8 p.m. March 23-24

“The Great Gatsby”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. 8 p.m. April 20-21

SPARTANBURG REPERTORY OPERA

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”: St. John’s Lutheran Church. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3; 2 & 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4

“Little Red Riding Hood”: Chapman Cultural Center Theater. March (times and dates to be determined)