Centrepointe Theatre is celebrating 30 years with an upcoming season that includes country music star Ricky Skaggs and his band Rolling Thunder, along with opera singer and CBC Radio host Ben Heppner.
The theatre opened up on May 3, 1988.
“Milestones like our 30th anniversary are one of those bizarre events that make time both expand and contract simultaneously. To many, it seems like an impossibly long time ago that the theatre opened, but it also feels like it was just last year that we celebrated our 25th,” said Centrepointe’s aritistic producer and manager, Allan Samson, in a media release.
Over the years the theatre has hosted acts such as Rich Little, Sarah McLachlan, The Barenaked Ladies, Boyz II Men, Blue Rodeo, Graham Nash, Ry Cooder and Buddy Guy to name just a few.
Sansom says the theatre has become a place where emerging artists can gain valuable experience through performances in the studio space that was opened in 2010.
“It has been one of my greatest joys to see the studio’s use increase since it opened in 2010, and for it to become the wonderfully diverse place I hoped it would be,” he said, in a media release.
The original opening night featured a performance of Peter and the Wolf by the Nepean Symphony Orchestra narrated by Rich Little, recalled Barbara Feldman, Centrepointe’s first general manager. One of the mainstays of Centrepointe has been the Orpheus Musical Theatre whose first production in the theatre was was Brigadoon and whose next show is Mamma Mia! opening June 1.
The new season will also feature, among others, a new children’s show by the Kratts brothers, Martin and Chris, called Wild Kratts Live 2.0, concerts by JW Jones and Lisa Brokop and some comedy from the Just for Laughs Roadshow.
For more information please see centrepointetheatre.com.
