Next act: CenterStage looks to add to donations
CenterStage is celebrating its fifth birthday as a key player in Spokane’s live music and theater scene – and it’s asking for your help.
The CenterStage board on Monday announced a $225,000 fundraising drive, aimed at keeping this institution financially viable.
The problem: It currently gets only about 11 percent of its $1.2 million annual budget from donations. Most nonprofit arts organizations need far more than that – somewhere between 20 percent and 40 percent. CenterStage’s goal is to get theirs up to at least 20 percent.
New executive director Don Swanson said he wants to bring CenterStage out of the “mom-and-pop” phase of its evolution and bring it to a “grown-up” phase.
It’s certainly grown up from an artistic standpoint. More than 1,000 artists have performed in its various venues, said Leslie Ann Grove, the music director and former interim executive director.
CenterStage consists of three components: a popular restaurant and live jazz club called Ella’s Supper Club; a dinner theater presenting live stage shows and concerts; and a catering and events business that hosts weddings, receptions and other events. The dinner theater has proved to be a particularly hard sell.
Board president John Langenheim announced a restructuring in which “more focus will be placed on the success of Ella’s Supper Club” and the catering business.
Dinner theater will be “curtailed” after the currently scheduled shows. Artistic director Tim Behrens said that “all options will be reviewed over the next six months.”
If you’re interested in donating, call CenterStage at (509) 747-8243.
No Avril at all
That postponed Avril Lavigne concert at the Spokane Arena?
Now it has been just plain canceled. Get your ticket refunds through the point of purchase.
Bowling for Soup
The band Bowling for Soup has been added to the Spokane County Interstate Fair lineup on Sept. 10 at the Grandstand Arena.
The pop-punk group is best known for the songs “1985” and “Almost.”
Tickets go on sale July 7. See www.interstatefair.org for details.
Sandpoint lineup
The Festival at Sandpoint announced its lineup Friday, and the list is worth reprising:
• Smokey Robinson, Motown legend, Aug. 7, $59.95. Includes fireworks and a glass of champagne.
• “Phat Phriday” doubleheader, with Brett Dennen and Donavon Frankenreiter, alternative singer-songwriters, Aug. 8, $34.95.
• “Super Saturday” tripleheader, with Firefall, Poco and Pure Prairie League, country rockers, Aug. 9, $39.95.
• Family Concert, “Puss ‘n Boots,” featuring the Spokane Youth Orchestra and Sandpoint’s Studio One Dancers, Aug. 10, $5.
• The Waifs and the Bodeans, roots rockers, Aug. 14, $32.95. This includes a microbrew tasting before the concert for ticketholders 21 and over.
• Ziggy Marley and Children of the Revolution, reggae/world music, Aug. 15, $55.95.
• “Super Country Saturday,” with Wynonna and Bomshel, country, Aug. 16, $49.95. The duo Bomshel includes Sandpoint’s own Kristy Osmunson on fiddle.
• “Bravo Beethoven!” with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra and the Generations Trio, playing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”) and Triple Concerto, Aug. 17, $29.95 for adults, $9.95 for youth. This includes a wine-tasting before the concert for ticketholders 21 and over.
Ticket prices do not include tax and city park fees. Season passes are already sold out. Tickets to individual shows are on sale by calling the festival at (208) 265-4554 or (888) 265-4554 or TicketsWest outlets (509-325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).
For more information, go to www.FestivalAtSandpoint. com.
‘Putnam County Spelling Bee’
One of the most popular feel-good Broadway musicals of recent years, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” is booked into the INB Performing Arts Center for three shows on Nov. 29-30.
It’s about six kids vying for spelling supremacy. The Wall Street Journal called it “not merely funny, but wise.”
Tickets are on sale through TicketsWest outlets.
Hop on the Monet bus
Want to see the Seattle Art Museum’s upcoming “The Impressionists and the Art of the Past” show?
Want to see it with a bunch of like-minded people? Want somebody else to drive?
Spokane Parks and Recreation is sponsoring a one-day bus tour to the SAM on July 12. You leave at 7:30 a.m., spend the middle of the day gazing at Monet, Degas, Renoir and Cézanne, and arrive back around 9:30 p.m.
The cost is $99. Mary Benham is the group leader. Call (509) 625-6200 to enroll.
The Jazz Orchestra’s lineup
The Spokane Jazz Orchestra has announced its 2008-2009 lineup:
• “Swingin’ at the Fox Theater” with guest vocalist Diane Schuur, Sept. 27, Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox.
• “A Count Basie Christmas” with guest vocalist Carmen Bradford, Dec. 6, Bing Crosby Theater.
• “The Songs of Duke Ellington,” featuring vocalist Charlotte Carruthers, March 7, Bing Crosby Theater.
• “The Songs of Cole Porter and Irving Berlin,” May 9, Bing Crosby Theater.
Tickets go on sale July 1 through TicketsWest outlets.