The Bushnell Announces Holiday Season Events

The holidays will be here before you know it and The Bushnell has a full range of festive holiday programming and more to celebrate the season! The 2011-2012 season is sponsored by Farmington Bank.

Check out the wide array of events being offered:

PETER PAN starring Cathy Rigby
November 22-27, 2011
Mortensen Hall
Part of The Bushnell Broadway Series Co-Sponsored by Travelers and Webster Bank

Tony Award® nominee Cathy Rigby takes flight in an all new production of Peter Pan! Discover the magic all over again of this two-time Emmy® Award-winning and two-time Tony Award®-nominated production. The New York Times says "Rigby still carries off the flights, fights and acrobatics that make Peter Pan audiences mesmerized." Peter Pan is filled with timeless magical moments and a captivating hook. The legend you thought you know, is now the adventure you never dreamed possible...Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan!

Tickets start at $17.00

Breakfast with Santa
December 3, 2011
Autorino Great Hall
Part of the Robinson & Cole Family Series

Gather your family for an unforgettable morning at The Bushnell. Take a photo with Santa and visit with Santa's elves and Mrs. Claus. Enjoy breakfast, storytelling, carolers, crafts and more. Christmas lists accepted!

Seatings at 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Reservations required.

Children $20.00; Adults $22.00

Drumline LIVE
December 3, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.
Mortensen Hall

Drumline LIVE, created by the music team behind the hit movie Drumline, brings the marching band tradition of historically black colleges to The Bushnell stage with explosive percussion, resounding brass and dazzling choreography. This versatile group of musicians and dancers is equally at home with the hottest contemporary hip hop, R&B, classic Motown tunes and the great brass tradition celebrated on college football fields across the South.

Tickets start at $15.00

Cesar Millan: The Dog Whisperer
December 4, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
Mortensen Hall

Dog lovers - this is your show! It's an evening of inspirational storytelling, helpful training tips and a special Q&A with one of the most engaging personalities in the world of animal behavior: the star of Nat Geo's Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. Please note that no dogs will be allowed in the theatre.

Tickets start at $33.75

The Nutmeg Ballet's Nutcracker
December 17 & 18, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m.
Belding Theater
Part of the Robinson & Cole Family Series

The Nutmeg Ballet's Nutcracker returns to The Bushnell with family friendly times and prices! Enjoy yourself this yuletide season as you travel with young Clara to the enchanted Land of Sweets. Delighting audiences young and old, this holiday favorite brings to life toy soldiers and dueling mice, princesses and sugarplums - a delicious treat for the child in all of us. The production is danced by the trainees and graduates of The Nutmeg Conservatory for The Arts.

Find out more about Nutmeg's Nutcracker: www.nutmegconservatory.org/nutcracker.

Tickets start at $33.00

Vienna Boys Choir Holiday Concert
December 17, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
Mortensen Hall

Celebrate the holiday season with the angelic voices of the Vienna Boys Choir, which has been thrilling audiences young and old for over 500 years. Their holiday repertoire features favorites like "I'll be Home for Christmas" and "Silver Bells," plus a selection of timeless French, Italian and Russian carols.

Tickets start at $19.50

Cirque Dreams HOLIDAZE
December 20-24, 2011
Mortensen Hall
Sponsored by First Niagara

Renowned director Neil Goldberg, creator of the groundbreaking Broadway hit Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy, re-imagines the holiday season with Cirque Dreams Holidaze. An international cast of over 30 multi-talented and brilliantly costumed artists come to life and perform astonishing feats of disbelief. Experience gingerbread men flipping in mid air, toy soldiers marching on thin wires, snowmen daringly balancing, icemen powerfully sculpting, penguins spinning, puppets dancing and reindeer soaring high above a landscape of holiday wonderment. Original music and some seasonal favorites accompany hundreds of spectacular costumes and holiday dreams in a setting of gigantic gifts, colossal candy canes and 30-foot towering soldiers. The perfect way to come in from the cold, forget the holiday stresses and rediscover the magic of the season.

Tickets start at $40.00

And if you're looking for holiday gift ideas, we have a wonderful variety of programming coming up in the New Year as well! From big Broadway musicals, to comedy, to family programming, there's something for everyone on your list:

MEMPHIS
January 10-15, 2012
Mortensen Hall
Part of The Bushnell Broadway Series Co-Sponsored by Travelers and Webster Bank

TURN UP THAT DIAL...From the underground dance clubs of 1950s Memphis, Tennessee, comes a hot new Broadway musical that bursts off the stage with explosive dancing, irresistible songs and a thrilling tale of fame and forbidden love. Inspired by actual events, Memphis is about a white radio DJ who wants to change the world and a black club singer who is ready for her big break. Come along on their incredible journey to the ends of the airwaves -- filled with laughter, soaring emotion and roof-raising rock 'n' roll. Winner of four 2010 Tony Awards® including Best Musical, Memphis, which played pre-Broadway at the La Jolla Playhouse, features a Tony®-winning book by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) and a Tony®-winning original score with music by Bon Jovi founding member David Bryan. Directing is Tony® nominee Christopher Ashley (Xanadu), and choreography is by Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys). Get ready to experience Broadway's most exciting new destination - what AP calls "The very essence of what a Broadway musical should be."

Tickets start at $17.00

Warriors Don't Cry
January 12, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.
Autorino Great Hall

Warriors Don't Cry is a one-woman play adapted verbatim from the Little Rock Nine memoir by Melba Pattillo Beals who integrated Central High School in 1957. The inspiring performance chronicles the arduous and violent year in which nine black students risked their lives for a good education. In the post-show Q&A, students explore themes of bullying, hate speech, and other issues of contemporary relevance.

NOTE: This show uses strong, historically accurate language, including the use of derogatory terms.

Tickets are $33.00

10th Anniversary Best of Ha! Ha! Hartford!
January 13, 2012 at 8:30 p.m.
Belding Theater
Sponsored by United Technologies Corporation

96.5 TIC-FM's Damon Scott returns once again to host a special, Friday the 13th Ha! Ha! Hartford! We've selected the cream of the crop from comedians who have previously been featured in The Bushnell's homegrown comedy series and we're bringing them back for an all-star, encore performance. The lineup will include Eric McMahon, who last performed at The Bushnell during the inaugural season of Ha! Ha! ten years ago, Eddie Brill, who was last in Hartford in February 2008, and Jessica Kirson, who brought the house down at our "Women of Comedy" Ha! Ha! Hartford! in November 2010.

Tickets start at $25.00

THE ADDAMS FAMILY A new musical comedy
February 21-26, 2012
Mortensen Hall
Part of The Bushnell Broadway Series Co-Sponsored by Travelers and Webster Bank

The Addams Family is a smash-hit musical comedy that brings the darkly delirious world of Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsley and, of course, Lurch to spooky and spectacular life. This magnificently macabre new musical comedy is created by Jersey Boys authors Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice, Drama Desk-winning composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party), choreographer Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys) and Olivier Award-winning director/designers Phelim McDermott & Julian Crouch (Shockheaded Peter) with creative consultation by four-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Zaks. Come meet the family. We'll leave the lights off for you.

Tickets start at $17.00

Tickets for all of these events are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting The Bushnell Box Office at 166 Capitol Avenue in Hartford or by calling (860) 987-5900. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.bushnell.org. Ticket prices do not include applicable fees.

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