UB Center for the Arts Announces 2012-13 Season

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo announces its 2012-13 season.

The Center for the Arts (CFA) this season will feature two Broadway musicals -- American Idiot and Shrek the Musical. In its Western New York premiere, American Idiot, based on the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum selling Green Day album of the same name, tells the story of three lifelong friends forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia. Shrek the Musical brings everyone's favorite swamp-dwelling ogre to the stage in a hilarious, irreverent romp. In the spring, the CFA will also present The Acting Company in Of Mice and Men.

A number of musicians will also be performing at the CFA this fall. Bona fide living legend Glen Campbell will be stopping at the CFA on his Goodbye Tour featuring favorites from his 50-plus-year career. Grammy Award-winning artist Bruce Hornsby will also be performing a solo set featuring popular favorites, new pieces, choice covers and audience requests. Other fall concerts include: guitar virtuoso Steve Vai; Irish and world music group Clannad; and the WYRK Acoustic Show. In support of the CFA's ongoing Arts in Healthcare Initiative, cellist Stephen Katz will spend two weeks as an artist-in-residence at Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo and Roswell Park Cancer Institute and will give a special performance at UB. Spring performances include the ultimate Elvis tribute, "Love Me Tender," as well as two of the world's most celebrated fiddlers, Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy in "Masters of the Fiddle." British a cappella group VOCES8 will perform in March.

This season will not be without its share of laughs. Returning by popular demand, Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood, stars of the Emmy-nominated Whose Line Is It Anyway?, will team up to bring a night of extraordinary improvisational comedy driven completely by audience participation. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet, stars of ABC's "Modern Family" will perform as part of UB's Homecoming Weekend.

The CFA is Western New York's premier presenter of dance. This season's M&T Bank Dance Series features Pilobolus, an iconic and imaginative dance company now entering its 41st year, as well as Buffalo's own LehrerDance. Also returning will be Back to Buffalo 4: UB Dance Alumni All-Star Concert where noted UB dance alumni will give a benefit performance for the CFA's dance residency program. NYC's Dance Theatre of Harlem and jazz-based contemporary dance company River North Dance Chicago will make their first visits to the CFA. The Russian National Ballet Theatre will round out the dance series with their performance of the timeless classic, Swan Lake. And the holiday season would not be complete without the American Academy of Ballet's presentation of The Nutcracker.

Buffalo's own Peter McGennis will be premiering his latest film, Queen City, at the CFA this fall. Shot entirely in Buffalo, Queen City celebrates the gritty struggle of two detectives and a jazz singer in the wake of the steel plant closings. The incredible ensemble includes Grammy winning and nominated talent including Susan Tedeschi, James Cotton, Sharon Jones as well as others. Following the premiere will be a performance by soul/funk sensation Sharon Jones, blues legends James Cotton, Toni Lynn Washington and Surprise Guests.

Each season, the Center for the Arts offers a number of unique cultural performances. Fall attractions will include: African percussionists Royal Drummers & Dancers of Burundi; the 72-piece National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba; Kung Fu masters Shaolin Warriors; and The National Circus of the People's Republic of China in Cirque Chinois. In the spring, two of Britain's finest military regiments will perform in Pipes & Drums of the Black Watch/Royal Band of Scots Guards. Surreal Swiss theatre troupe Mummenschanz will perform in January.

Tickets will be available at the Center for the Arts Box Office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Online and phone orders for events prior to Oct. 1 can be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations, ticketmaster.com, or at 1-800-745-3000. For events Oct. 1 and later, tickets can be purchased at tickets.com or at 1-800-223-6000. For group sales, call 716-645-6771. For more information, call 716-645-2787.

The Center for the Arts 2012-13 Season includes:

Sept. 8-9: Green Day's American Idiot

Sept. 22: Back to Buffalo 4: UB Dance Alumni All-Star Concert

Sept. 22: Steve Vai

Sept. 23: Clannad

Sept. 26: Bruce Hornsby - Solo

Sept. 29: Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood: Two Man Group

Sept. 30: WYRK Fall Acoustic Concert

Oct. 6: LehrerDance

Oct. 13: Royal Drummers & Dancers of Burundi

Oct. 14: Stephen Katz

Oct: 20: Jesse Tyler Ferguson & Eric Stonestreet of Modern Family

Oct. 22: National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba

Oct. 24: Glen Campbell – The Goodbye Tour

Nov. 14: Queen City – film & music premiere

Nov. 15: Bellydance Superstars: The Magic of Dance

Nov. 17: Pilobolus

Nov. 20: The National Circus of the People's Republic of China in Cirque Chinois

Nov. 29: Shaolin Warriors

Dec. 8-9: American Academy of Ballet -- The Nutcracker, Tickets on sale in September

Dec. 13-14: Shrek the Musical

Jan. 25: Mummenschanz

Feb. 2: Pipes & Drums of the Black Watch / Royal Band of Scots Guards

Feb. 6: Dance Theatre of Harlem

Feb. 8: Love Me Tender: The Ultimate Elvis Bash

Feb. 23: Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy -- Masters of the Fiddle

Feb. 24: The Acting Company in Of Mice and Men

March 6: VOCES8

March 22: River North Dance Chicago

March 26: Russian National Ballet Theatre in Swan Lake