Kean Stage Announces the 2017-18 Performance Season

From Kean Stage: Kean Stage, a presenter of world-class performances, continues to bring an impressive line-up of award-winning artists, engaging family events, dynamic dance companies and multicultural music and shows to Kean University as part of its 2017-18 Season.

Two of Broadway’s most celebrated legends, Chita Rivera and Tommy Tune, who collectively have won 12 Tony Awards, will be the season opener at Kean’s intimate Enlow Recital Hall on Saturday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m., in the premier performance of their nationwide tour, Chita & Tune - Two for the Road. Rivera and Tune will present a second matinee performance on Sunday, September 17, at 3 p.m.

“I am thrilled to be joining my dear friend, the incomparable Tommy Tune, on this concert tour,” said Rivera. “When we performed together in my benefit concert for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS in 2013, we knew then that we had something special.”

Rivera, the winner of two Tony Awards, is best known for her starring roles in West Side Story, Chicago, The Rink, Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Visit. She was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 and was the first Hispanic woman ever chosen to receive the coveted Kennedy Center Honor.

Tune has been honored with 10 Tony Awards, including outstanding performer for My One and Only and Seesaw; best choreography for A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, Grand Hotel and The Will Rogers Follies; and best direction of a musical for Nine. In 2015, he received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.

“I love Chita Rivera,” said Tune. “This is a dream come true!”

Steve Cochran, manager of Kean Stage, is elated that two of theatre’s most beloved stars will open the upcoming season.

“We are honored that Chita Rivera and Tommy Tune have chosen Kean University to kick off their national tour of Chita & Tune - Two for the Road,” he said. “These two legendary performers have made an invaluable contribution to the fabric of American theater, and now local audiences will have a chance to experience their immense talent at Kean’s Enlow Recital Hall.”

Among the other artists appearing at Kean Stage will be former "Teen Angel" Frankie Avalon, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Darlene Love, Russian-American violinist Yevgeny Kutik, renowned Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas, and The Modern Gentlemen, former backup singers for Frankie Valli.

For the holidays, the Russian Grand Ballet will delight audiences of all ages with the classic ballet,The Nutcracker, and America’s Got Talent finalists Sons of Serendip will perform their holiday concert, Christmas Beyond the Lights.

In March 2018, Kean Stage will also present BiRDMAN LiVE, in which four-time Grammy Award winner Antonio Sánchez, who created the original score for the Academy Award-winning Birdman, or the Unexpected Virtue of Innocence, will perform the entire drum score live alongside the visually stunning film.
“These are just a few of the diverse and outstanding artists on our roster for the season,” said Cochran. “We have something for everyone here at Kean Stage.”

Tickets can be purchased at the Kean Stage Box Office in Wilkins Theatre at Kean University, 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ, by phone at 908-737-7469 or online at www.keanstage.com.

Click here to see this event on the Patch Calendar.

Photo courtesy of Kean Stage: Chita & Tune - Two for the Road (l.-r.) Chita Rivera and Tommy Tune will perform Saturday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, September 17 at 3 p.m., at Kean Stage’s Enlow Recital Hall. (Photo credit: Joseph Sinnott/THIRTEEN Productions LLC, Peter Glebo)