“SOLO FROM THE PIT”, ELIAS FAINGERSH 3/14/19 @ 7pm Tritico Theatre, Shearman Fine Arts Center Elias Faingersh, “the golden trombone” of Europe, best musician of the year (Sweden), brings his multiple award-winning, Off Broadway hit to Southwest Louisiana. Connecting stories from his life to the operas in which he played, Faingersh guides the audience through a comedic crash course in finding operatic (and personal) meaning, as he recounts his decision to leave a coveted position at the Metropolitan Opera. This story is about the choices faced by most people — whether to pursue comfort and security or follow their dreams. Faingersh’s musical style is unique. He taps, blows and sings into the brass, adroitly flipping it to use a microphone mounted on the back for operatic vocals and hitting foot pedals to loop sound effects. Combining music, comedy and candor, this show is a peek into a composer’s mind.
JEFF BOYER’S BIG BUBBLE BONANZA 3/20/20 @ 10am/7pm Bulber Auditorium, McNeese State University Bubble rainbows with people inside. Audience members making volcano bubbles! Gigantic bubbles that blow their own bubbles? World-famous Guinness Book of World Records-holding master bubble wrangler Jeff Boyer takes bubbles to the max with big bubble flair! Mixing comedy, music, and interactive bubble-magic, Jeff engages and delights audiences of all ages. Jeff Boyer is a proven crowd-pleasing performer engaging, amusing and educating audiences for over 21 years. He’s been excited about bubbles and physics since he was a kid. Studying acting at SUNY Watertown and the Boston Shakespeare Company brought his skills and calling into focus, with Jeff moving into performing for family audiences in 1993. He’s enjoyed being part of ensemble casts and performing one-man shows, which include elements of musical theatre, drama, comedy, science and magic performance. 6 | 2019 Cultural Season
FLYING BALALAIKA BROTHERS 3/21/20 @ 7pm Bulber Auditorium, McNeese State University For nearly 20 years, this feisty group has entranced audiences with their unique blend of electric rock n’ roll with Russian, Ukrainian, and Croatian folk musics. The band’s eye-catching interactive performances feature instruments like the contra-bass balalaika, a triangle-shaped behemoth of a stringed instrument. Seamlessly moving from traditional Russian folk songs to guitar & drum-driven rock, the Flying Balalaika Brothers’ high-energy shows feel more like a block party than a performance.
33RD ANNUAL MCNEESE NATIONAL WORKS ON PAPER EXHIBITION 3/26/20 @ 6pm Grand Gallery, Shearman Fine Arts Center The 33rd Annual McNeese National Works on Paper Exhibition will open with a public reception on Thursday, March 26, 2020 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Grand Gallery in Shearman Fine Arts Center. The juror, Eleanor Heartney, is a noted art critic and contributing editor to Art in America and Artpress. She will present a gallery talk and announce the purchase awards at 7 p.m. The exhibition will be on view from through May 8, 2020.