WARREN MILLER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Every fall, the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center announces the eight shows that make up its signature winter season. This year is different for two reasons: first, it’s the Center’s 10th anniversary, which is a milestone worth celebrating. Second, WMPAC is putting on nine shows this winter.
“There were just too many acts that we were excited about, and we figured this milestone year is a perfect excuse to go all out,” said John Zirkle, WMPAC’s executive director.
This season will see a stand-up comedian, taiko drummers and a live taping of an NPR podcast, among others.
The 2023 season kicks off in the last few days of 2022, when mandolin prodigy Sierra Hull takes the stage for a double-header show on Wednesday, Dec. 28. Hull debuted at the Grand Ol’ Opry at just 10 years old, played Carnegie Hall at 12, and the White House at 20. She was the first woman to ever win IBMA’s Mandolin Player of the Year, and has gone on to win it several times since.
She’s followed on Jan. 7 by another double-header show, this time by stand-up comedian Chad Daniels, who riffs on parenthood, aging and what it feels like to be an American these days. He’s garnered almost a billion streams of his six albums so far, making him one of the most listened to comics of all time.
WMPAC often hosts dancers on its stage, and this year two groups from different sides of the dance world will perform. The perennial favorite James Sewell Ballet returns for their 10th winter, this year pairing again with classical musicians the Ahn Trio for a collaborative performance of music and movement on Mar. 11. WMPAC will also welcome a troupe of movement artists on Feb. 25 for a night of Memphis Jookin’, a distinctly American form of street dance that’s become an international phenomenon.
On Jan. 21, Mexican jazz singer and sensation Magos Herrera will be joined by modern string quartet Brooklyn Rider, as the group tours their Grammy-nominated album “Dreamers.”
A new type of show on display in WMPAC’s 10th season will be a live taping of the hit NPR show “Planet Money.” The hosts of the show find creative, entertaining, and accessible ways to explain the craziness of the economy, and will do so with a live studio audience on Feb. 11.
On Mar. 5, the critically acclaimed group The Acting Company brings the swashbuckling classic “The Three Musketeers” to Big Sky on their national tour.
TAIKOPROJECT is a group of drummers who practice the ancient art of Japanese taiko drumming but blend it with an innovative aesthetic. The group has performed on the Academy Awards, the Grammy Awards, “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Conan” and at the iHeartRadio music festival. They bring the passion and power of their sound to Big Sky on Mar. 16.
The 10th season will close with a local favorite, Jitro Czech Girls Choir. The choir first performed at WMPAC in 2016, and were scheduled to perform again in March of 2020 before Covid restrictions closed the theater’s doors. They make their much-anticipated return on Mar. 25.
For the first time ever, WMPAC is offering season’s passes in a limited number. Only 100 are available, and audience members who buy one will save 30%. Packages of three shows are on sale from Oct. 15 to Dec. 1 for a discount of 20%. Individual tickets go on sale on Nov. 15, and guests will save 10% off the ticket price if they buy individual tickets before Dec. 1.
Tickets and more information are available at warrenmillerpac.org
