New MSC OPAS season packed with exciting acts

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Everything from singing Texans to Broadway stalwarts to powerful dramas to the return of a crowd-favorite Beatles tribute highlight the 42nd season of MSC OPAS announced Thursday night.

And OPAS Executive Director Anne Black is teasing patrons with a possible October concert by a "big name" artist in a "blockbuster performance." Tickets for that performance are not part of the season-ticket packages, but those who purchase season tickets will have first chance to buy tickets for the special event.

As always, the four OPAS series are loaded with outstanding programs. A full story on the new season will appear in Arts Watch in The Eagle on Sunday. For now, here is a quick look at the upcoming OPAS season:

Ann Cobb Wiatt Main Stage series

• The Texas Tenors on Sept. 26, featuring country singer JC Fisher, pop singer Marcus Collins and opera singer John Hagen who, as the Texas Tenors, made the top-four finalists in season four of America's Got Talent.

• Cole Porter's 1934 classic musical Anything Goes on Oct. 21, featuring such hits as You're the Top, I Get a Kick Out of You and the title song.

• Sister Act on Nov. 5, with music by Tony- and Oscar-winner Alan Menken, based on the popular Whoopi Goldberg comedy of the same name.

• Guys & Dolls on Feb. 7, based on two short stories by Damon Runyon, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. You know the songs such as A Bushel and a Peck, Adelaide's Lament, If I Were a Bell, Luck Be a Lady and Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat.

• Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles on Feb. 13, the most requested return visit for a show from an earlier OPAS season.

All Main Stage shows will be at 7:30 p.m. in Rudder Auditorium. Season ticket packages start at $160.

• The Swingle Singers on Oct. 16. the a cappella jazz septet started in Paris in 1962 by Ward Swingle.

• The Capitol Steps political comedy troupe in a return visit on Oct. 28, a week before the November general elections.

• The 5 Browns holiday show on Dec. 5, featuring siblings Ryan, Melody, Gregory, Deondra and Desirae Brown on piano. The New York Post said, "One family, five pianos and 50 fingers add up to the biggest classical music sensation in years."

• In the Heat of the Night on Feb. 10, based on the book, movie and TV series of the same name, performed by L.A. Theatre Works.

• F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby on March 5, performed by the Montana Repertory Theatre.

All Intimate Gatherings will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Rudder Theatre. Season tickets to the series start at $135. Most of the series will include a question-and-answer session with the artists following the performance.

Family series

• National Acrobats of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 7.

• Jack Hanna's Into the Wild Live! on Feb. 28.

The Family series is designed for families with children of varying ages.

The two shows will begin at 7 p.m. in Rudder Auditorium. Tickets for both shows are $48.

• The live version of the hit animated PBS show Wild Kratts Live! on Feb. 22 in Rudder Auditorium.

• The return of the undersea musical adventure John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean on March 28 in Rudder Theatre.

Season tickets to OPAS Jr. are only $34.

Current season ticket holders will have through May 29 to buy tickets for the new season before they go on sale to the general public.