Entertainment Unbound at Highlands Performing Arts Center

Written By: Mary Adair Trumbly - Highlands PAC | Issue: 2018/04 - April

The Highlands Performing Arts Center has lined up a very cool Concert Season for 2018. 

The season opener is “The Official Blues Brothers Revue,” presented by Dan Aykroyd, Judith Belushi, and Musical Director Paul Shaffer on Sunday, June 17.  It’s been nearly 40 years since the Blues Brothers were first introduced to “Saturday Night Live” viewers as a musical skit that quickly took on a life of its own, culminating in concerts, records, and an iconic movie.

The Highlands PAC and the Highlands Playhouse have joined together to present “An Evening with Danny Kaye,” starring Brian Childers.  Performances will take place at the Highlands Playhouse from Thursday through Sunday, June 21-24.  With tenderness and great affection, Childers pays tribute to one of Broadway and Hollywood’s greatest showmen.  He becomes Danny Kaye in a way that lets a new generation discover, and an older generation re-visit, a unique performer. 

Saturday, June 30, brings Jeannie Austin with “Tapestry: A Tribute to Carole King.”  Tapestry faithfully recreates the glorious sound of a Carole King concert, leaving you with memories of the great music she wrote and recorded, including “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “The Loco-Motion,” “Natural Woman,” “One Fine Day,” “Beautiful,” “I Feel the Earth Move,” and many more.

At 8:00 P.M. Saturday, September 15, Broadway returns to Highlands with “O Sole Trio: Bravissimo Broadway,” combining classic show tunes from the most beloved Broadway musicals.  The performance includes highlights from shows such as “Les Misérables,” “West Side Story,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “The Sound of Music,” and “Ghost: The Musical.”  The show will take you on a thrilling 70-plus-year adventure of the best songs and behind-the-scene stories Broadway musicals have to offer.

On Saturday, September 22, get ready for a night of rockabilly, country, gospel, and pure 1950’s rock and roll with “One Night in Memphis,” a high energy concert that takes you back to December 4, 1956, the night when four of the biggest names in early rock and roll − Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash −  gathered together for an impromptu jam session at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis.

The Friday after Thanksgiving is “Christmas with the Nelsons,” starring Matthew and Gunnar Nelson.  This heart-warming multi-media live concert stars the third generation of #1 Nelson Family hitmakers, Ricky Nelson’s twin sons, multi-platinum recording artists.  They have been thrilling sellout audiences world-wide for the past decade with their high-integrity “Ricky Nelson Remembered Show,” and they’ve got a new gift for you to open, ‘Christmas with the Nelsons.” 

Tickets go on sale April 15 and are available online at highlandspac.org or by calling (828) 526-9047.  Inquire about becoming a PAC Member and the benefits offered to members.  Highlands Performing Arts Center is located at 507 Chestnut Street.