Country singer Carlene Carter to kick off eclectic 2017-18 Hoover Library Theatre season
Donny and Marie Osmond would fit right in with the 2017-18 season lineup for the Hoover Library Theatre, which was announced at Tuesday night’s Hoover Library Board meeting.
No, the Osmond siblings are not part of the season, but this year’s lineup at the Library Theatre does include a little bit of country and a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll. It also has a little bit of R&B, a little bit of jazz, a little bit of folk rock, a little bit of traditional Irish music and three doses of dramatic or physical theater.
“I think we have a wide mix of just about everything that will appeal to everybody,” said Matina Johnson, the fine arts director at the Hoover Public Library. “We’re excited to kick off the 26th season.”
The season begins in September with Grammy-nominated country singer Carlene Carter and also includes Grammy-nominated R&B singer Oleta Adams, jazz violinist and singer and Regina Carter, The Roosevelts and three-part harmony group The Sweet Remains.
The Rhythm of the Dance troupe, often compared to Riverdance, will share a two-hour show with traditional Irish music in March, to be followed by a PUSH Physical Theatre performance in April.
The 2017-18 season also includes two national touring plays: the Aquila Theatre’s presentation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” and a new twist on “A Christmas Carol.”
Tickets go on sale Aug. 15 for last year’s full-season subscribers, Aug. 17 for new full-season subscribers and Aug. 18 for anyone. Ticket prices increased $2.50 this year to $27.50 per show. A $2.50 processing fee bumps the total cost up to $30 per ticket.
While last year’s 25th annual season featured a reunion of acts that had performed at the Library Theatre in years past, this year’s lineup features all first-timers at the Hoover Public Library.
Johnson said she thinks it’s a good mix of genres and a combination of iconic musicians and up-and-coming performers.
Here’s a bit more about each of the acts and their performance dates:
Carlene Carter — Sept. 20-22
She’s the daughter of country music legends June Carter Cash and Carl Smith and the stepdaughter of Johnny Cash, but she has made a name for herself in country music as well.
Carter began singing with the Carter family at age 17 and launched her solo career in 1978. She was nominated for the Academy of Country Music’s top new female vocalist award and later nominated for a Grammy for the best female country vocal performance in 1991.
She surged back on the music scene in 2008 with her “Stronger” album and received much praise for “Carter Girl,” the 2014 tribute to her family. She also has been the host of her own TV shows on VH1 and TNN.
In April of this year, Carter released a joint album with John Mellencamp called “Sad Clowns and Hillbillies.” She is currently touring with Mellencamp, but he will not be performing with her at the Hoover Library Theatre.
Oleta Adams — Oct. 12-13
Adams has roots in gospel, soul, R&B, urban and popular music.
Her 1990 debut album, “Circle of One,” went platinum, and her hit single, “Get Here,” made the top five on the Billboard 100 hit list and became the unofficial anthem of the 1991 Gulf War.
She has released eight CDs, including secular, gospel and Christmas albums, and has sold more than 2.5 million albums. Adams has been nominated for a Grammy four times and toured with Tears for Fears, Phil Collins, Michael Bolton and Luther Vandross.
Her latest album, “Let’s Stay Here,” was released in April and has a soulful jazz influence.
Sense & Sensibility — Nov. 17-18
This romantic comedy play is put on by the Aquila Theatre national tour.
It is based on the famous Jane Austen novel of the same title and tells the story of two upper middle-class English sisters in the late 1700s or early 1800s who drift through a life of leisure only to find they are forced to leave their comfortable lives when their half-brother and his wife inherit the family estate.
One of the sisters, Elinor, is levelheaded, but the other, Marianne, is a hopeless romantic. The sisters find their only hope is to land in a profitable marriage, and their stories includes tales of seduction, courtship, love, heartbreak and surprise.
The play should be at least two hours, and fans of Austen’s work should really enjoy the show, Johnson said.
A Christmas Carol — Dec. 6-7
This production of Charles Dickens’ famous tale about Ebenezer Scrooge is the same story first published 174 years ago, but it’s told in a new way by this national tour, Johnson said.
A cast of 16 characters from PerSeverance Productions in Nashua, New Hampshire, tells a story of redemption with lush costumes, special effects, puppetry, dance and 26 traditional Christmas carols woven through the performance.
The show also contains a heavy dose of humor.
“This one will be pretty entertaining for the whole family,” Johnson said.
Regina Carter: Simply Ella — Jan. 11-12
Carter, a jazz violinist from Detroit, in April released an album as a tribute to mark the 100th birthday of Ella Fitzgerald called “Ella: Accentuate the Positive.”
Carter is on tour, showcasing her own interpretations of Fitzgerald’s music through a lens of 1950s and 1960s soul and blues.
Her new album stays away from most of Fitzgerald’s most recognizable hits and instead delves into the famous singer’s deep catalog of songs.
Johnson said Carter is an incredible artist, and this was the first show she booked for this season. “We really love to do jazz in January,” she said. “It’s just a warm time of year to do that type of genre and program.”
The Roosevelts — Feb. 21-22
Jason Kloess and James Mason have a sound described as both folksy and rock ‘n’ roll, but they call it “harmony-driven American rock with a ‘70s sensibility.”
Some of their early childhood heroes include Simon and Garfunkel, Carole King and James Taylor. Their latest release in April, “The Greatest Thing You’ll Ever Learn,” reached No. 5 on iTunes singer/songwriter charts.
The pair came together in Austin, Texas but is now based in Nashville when they are not touring. They’re both Eagle Scouts and have a love for nature. They both sport beards and have a beard oil line with 10 percent of the proceeds going to the National Parks Foundation.
Johnson said this is an up-and-coming duo that’s hip, yet likely to appeal to the sensibilities of the Library Theatre audience.
Rhythm of the Dance — March 1-2
This troupe puts on a show of traditional Irish music and dance that often is compared to Riverdance.
The group, which debuted in Norway in 1999, is produced by the National Dance Company of Ireland and has performed to more than 5 million people in 58 countries.
Their two-hour show relives the journey of the Irish Celts through history and combines traditional Irish music with a modern-day multimedia stage show that has many costume changes.
“It’s one of the largest productions we have ever done and probably ever will do,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be an extravaganza.”
PUSH Physical Theatre — April 19-20
This group of performers combines athleticism, physical illusions, soulful artistry and gravity-defying and dance-infused acrobatics to tell a story in vignettes.
“It’s amazing the way they can take you through all the emotions of a story,” Johnson said. “It’s just a really moving theatrical performance. We haven’t had anything like this before … I have seen it, and I was mesmerized by it.”
The Sweet Remains — May 3-4
Rich Price and Greg Naughton first started writing songs together for Price’s 2004 debut CD that spawned the “I’m On My Way” song featured on the Shrek 2 soundtrack.
They met with Brian Chartrand for an impromptu jam session in a Rhode Island hotel room in 2008 and found a kinship that led them to form a group called The Sweet Remains. Their first album together, “Laurel and Sunset” was released the same year.
All three are singer-songwriters whose work typically appeals to fans of modern folk-rockers such as Ray Lamontagne and John Mayer. However, their three-part harmonies harken back to Crosby, Stills and Nash, Simon & Garfunkel and The Eagles.
Their 2015 release, “Night Song,” spread widely in 2016 and earned them nearly 20 million plays on Spotify, which is rare for an independent band, Johnson said.
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Once tickets go on sale, library officials encourage people to buy their tickets online at www.hooverlibrary.org/thelibrarytheatre. However, tickets also can be purchased by phone or in person from the Hoover Library Theatre box office. For more information, call the box office at 444-7888.
This article was updated on July 19 to indicate that Carlene Carter was still touring with Mellencamp as of that date.