Fox Theater Announces Grand Opening Plans

Aug 10, 2007

For Immediate Release

Contact: Elizabeth Thompson (509) 326-3136 ext. 32

The Fox Theater with the Spokane Symphony and WestCoast Entertainment announce a star-studded line-up of entertainment for the grand opening of the fabulously restored historic art deco theater. The performances will reflect the broad spectrum of entertainment, demonstrating that the Fox is for everyone.

From Frederica von Stade and Thomas Hampson to Pop Icon Tony Bennett and local stars Too Slim & the Taildraggers with the Spokane Jazz Orchestra, the grand opening of the Fox will echo the glorious past and project its exciting future. We are so proud to share this treasure and the celebration that will mark its opening, said Brenda Nienhouse, Executive Director of the Fox Theater and the Spokane Symphony.

"We are very pleased to be working with the Spokane Symphony on such a significant event for Spokane," stated Jack Lucas, President of TicketsWest and WestCoast Entertainment. "The Fox Theater represents the rich history of entertainment in the Pacific Northwest. The completed renovation and opening ceremonies is a time for reflection on that history, and celebration of the entertainment that will grace the Fox stage in the many years to come."

Nov. 17 The Fox Theater Grand Opening Gala Evening

The celebration begins on Nov. 17 with a Grand Opening Gala Evening designed to reflect the glory of the original 1931 opening, featuring the Spokane Symphony and world-renowned star of classical music, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade. It will include a pre-concert dinner at the Davenport Hotel and prime seating for the concert for 450. The remaining 1,120 concertgoers will join the celebration at the dazzling concert and postconcert reception for everyone.

Magical, powerful, exhilarating, grandiose and theatrical are some of the words Maestro Preu uses to describe the music he has chosen for this much-awaited concert. The program will feature a fanfare written especially for the opening concert in the Fox by Hans Peter Preu. The Overture to the Magic Flute by Mozart, the Pines of Rome by Respighi and Ravel's Scheherazade sung by von Stade are just part of this fabulous program.

Recognized as one of the most beloved musical figures of our time, Frederica von Stade has enriched the world of classical music for three decades with her appearances in opera, concert, and recital. She recently sang for the gala opening of the new home of the Nashville Symphony.

The mezzo-soprano is well known to audiences around the world through her numerous featured appearances on television including several PBS specials and "Live from Lincoln Center" telecasts. She has made over 60 recordings with every major label, performing complete operas, aria albums, symphonic works, solo recital programs, and popular crossover albums.

Tickets for the Grand Opening Evening, including dinner at the Davenport, are $200 each. Tickets for the grand opening concert and post-concert reception range from $125 to $40.

Nov. 18 Community Day

On Nov. 18 the Fox will celebrate Community Day, hosting a variety of performances on stage, including dance, drama and music that will showcase the theater's versatility and Spokane's local talent. This all-day event will be free to the public and will also feature front of house tours of the Fox to allow the public to see the dramatic transformation the Fox has undergone.

The day will conclude with a performance by the Spokane Symphony. All performances are free.

Nov. 19 Tony Bennett

Pop icon Tony Bennett will grace the Fox Theater's stage on the evening of Nov. 19. The 81-year-old has been a nonstop singing success since the 1950s and has undoubtedly bridged the generation gap, winning such accolades over the years as multiple Grammy awards, Kennedy Center Honors and MTV recognition.

"Mr. Bennett," wrote Stephen Holden in The New York Times (August 2, 2006), "has steadfastly remained the embodiment of heart in popular music. He pours it into every note he sings and every phrase he swings with a sophistication that deepens his unguarded emotional directness. In the polluted sea of irony, bad faith and grotesque attitudinizing that pop music has become, he is a rock of integrity."

That description explains very clearly why Tony Bennett is one of the first of many great performers who will appear in the revitalized Fox Theater. We are so happy to have him in our line-up, said Fox Theater General Manager Patricia Iron.

As he has done virtually every year or so since the 1950s, the forever young octogenarian has recently recorded a new album, an unaffected and unabashed exaltation of what he calls "the Great American Songbook," a timeless treasure trove of standards, classics, and sometimes overlooked gems of traditional pop and swinging jazz.

Tickets are from $200 to $100.

Nov. 20 Too Slim & the Taildraggers with the Spokane Jazz Orchestra

Two of Spokane's popular local groups have, in the past, found their unlikely combination makes exciting music. The fabulous Fox Theater opening provides Too Slim & the Taildraggers and the Spokane Jazz Orchestra another great opportunity to collaborate. Fans of both groups and music lovers in general will be thrilled to hear this intriguing combination of musical genres.

The Spokane Jazz Orchestra is the nation's oldest, continually performing, professional jazz orchestra. The exciting and innovative 17-piece big band, under the direction of Dan Keberle, is very popular with Spokane's growing jazz community.

Tim "Too Slim" Langford, with his band the Taildraggers, have created an eclectic style of Roots-Rock, Americana, and Blues, that has become a genre all its own. Too Slim's ever evolving musical direction cannot be classified into any box or category. The eclectic nature of the band allows Too Slim and the Taildraggers to easily cross-over and appeal to audiences of various musical tastes.

Too Slim and the Taildraggers are headliners at theaters, festivals, and concert stages. The band has shared the stage with the likes of Bo Diddley, Brian Setzer, Johnny Lang, .38 Special, Robert Cray, Ted Nugent, Los Lobos, Blue Oyster Cult, Heart, Travis Tritt, Junior Brown, Blues Traveler, Steppenwolf, Johnny and Edgar Winter.

This concert offers a low ticket price to further emphasize the fact that the Fox is for everyone. Tickets range from $30 to $10.

Dec. 29 Thomas Hampson Home for the Holidays

International opera sensation and Spokane's own Thomas Hampson will round out the grand opening festivities with a benefit recital at the Fox on December 29. He will be accompanied by Craig Rutenberg. All proceeds will go toward the Fox Theater capital campaign. Fans will recall Hampson's last benefit concert at the Fox in 2005 where he performed to a sell-out crowd.

Born in Elkhart, Indiana, he was raised in Spokane, and educated at Eastern Washington University and Fort Wright College. He began his professional career as a voice student of Sr. Marietta Coyle, and at the age of 19 first appeared in an opera production portraying a very youthful father of the two title characters in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel. During the following years Thomas Hampson studied with Martial Singher, Horst Günter and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. In 1980 he came to Europe and had his first permanent engagement at Düsseldorf's Deutsche Oper am Rhein. Four years later he joined the roster of the Zurich where he has since appeared every season.

He has devoted himself especially to composers of his native country and has initiated and been involved in a number of concert series and recordings as well as TV and multimedia projects. Chief among these has been a 12-city US recital tour in the 200506 season, with, entitled Song of America and presented in collaboration with the Library of Congress. The concerts were dedicated entirely to American art song repertoire, and the tour will continue in 2008.

He has made guest appearances at the world's major opera houses while being particularly associated with the Zurich Opera, New York's Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Opra National de Paris, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the Vienna State Opera.

150 tickets for the fundraising event will include a reception with Thomas Hampson for $500 and $250. The remaining tickets range from $100 to $25.

Other events

KSPS, Spokane's public television station, has been documenting the Fox Theater restoration for over five years and is producing an hour-long documentary, which will premiere in December to coincide with the grand opening events.

One more major act is still being finalized for a date in mid December. The details will be announced as soon as they are complete.

In addition, the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture is doing a special exhibit in honor of the reopening of Spokane's Fox Theater which will run from Nov. 2 to Dec. 30. Entitled Celebrating the Fox Theater, the exhibit takes us back to the original grand opening of the Fox in 1931, with images and clothing from the era.

To round out the six-week celebration, the Spokane Symphony will present performances of its Classics, SuperPops and Casual Classics series in December.

* Saturday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 2 Pianist Cecile Licad with Music Director Eckart Preu and the Spokane Symphony
* Friday, Dec. 14, Cellist Joshua Romans, Music Director Eckart Preu and the Spokane Symphony
* Friday, Dec. 21 and two performances on Saturday, Dec. 22 Holiday Pops featuring Five by Design, Associate Conductor Morihiko Nakahara and the Spokane Symphony

Tickets for all grand opening events will go on sale to Fox donors, Spokane Symphony subscribers and Best of Broadway subscribers on Aug. 27 and to the public on Sept. 5.

Tickets will be available from the Spokane Symphony ticket office at 818
W. Riverside Ste. 100 or 509-624-1200, at all Ticketswest outlets, 1-800-325-
SEAT, at www.foxtheaterspokane.com and at www.spokanesymphony.org.