Marionette artists Phillip Huber bring his "Suspended Animation" to Youngstown State University's Ford Theater on Friday to open the 2022-23 Donald P. Pipino Performing Arts Series. (Submitted photo)

Marionette artist Phillip Huber will make a return appearance to open the 2022-23 Donald P. Pipino Performing Arts Series at Youngstown State University.

Huber was the first performer in the series inaugural year in 2018-19.

His show “Suspended Animation” is described as a series of variety vignettes selected from the Huber Marionettes characters he’s created: The lighting is dramatic, the stage presence is elegant, and every movement is carefully timed and choreographed.

Huber’s work was featured in the movie “Being John Malkovich,” in which John Cusack played an out-of-work street puppeteer, and the film “Oz the Great and Powerful.” He also appeared in the national tour of the musical comedy “Stage Door Charley,” starring Tommy Tune.

He will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bliss Hall’s Ford Theater. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youths, with children 12 and younger admitted free. Tickets are available online at www.tix.com/ticket-sales/ysu/4712 and at the Bliss Hall box office one hour before the performance.

It is the first of six performances planned for the season.

According to Phyllis Paul, dean of YSU’s Cliffe College of Creative Arts, “The Series, which is sponsored by Chris and Ed Muransky, brings to Youngstown the types of cultural opportunities usually found only in large metropolitan areas. YSU believes that the arts are vital to the University, our community and region, and Cliffe College of Creative Arts is proud to host the Donald P. Pipino Performing Arts Series.”

Other attractions include Ailey II, the dance ensemble founded by famed New York choreographer Alvin Ailey, on Oct. 17; Vijay Iyer Trio, led by a MacArthur Fellowship recipient and four-time winner of DownBeat magazine’s jazz artist of the year award, on Nov. 4; Diderot Quartet, which brings a fresh approach to works of the 18th and 19th centuries, on Jan. 29, 2023; jazz singer Kate Reid, whose parents are both Mahoning Valley natives, making her third Pipino appearance on March 3, 2023; and pianist Ann Duhamel, whose latest project is “Prayers for a Feverish Planet,” on April 20, 2023.

2022-23 Donald P. Pipino Performing Arts Series

Friday — Marionette artist Phillip Huber’s “Suspended Animation” at Bliss Hall’s Ford Theater at 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 17 — Ailey II dance company, formerly the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, at Bliss Hall’s Ford Theater at 7 p.m.

Nov. 4 — Jazz group the Vijay Iyer Trio at Kilcawley Center’s Chestnut Room at 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 29, 2023 — Classical ensemble Diderot Quartet at McDonough Museum of Art at 7:30 p.m.

March 3, 2023 — Jazz vocalist Kate Reid at Bliss Hall’s Ford Theater at 7:30 p.m.

April 20, 2023 — Pianist Ann Duhamel at McDonough Museum of Art at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for Pipino series performances are available online at www.tix.com/ticket-sales/ysu/4712.