Special Presale: Yo Gabba Gabba

Yo Gabba Gabba Invades Coachella!

Check out these awesome videos of the Yo Gabba Gabba crew, DJ Lance Rock, Muno, Foofa, Brobee, Toodee and Plex, having a blast at the 2010 Coachella Festival! You can check them out IN JACKSONVILLE when they invade our city on October 27th for two performances only! Tickets go on sale June 4th! Visit www.artistseriesjax.org for more information!


[Yo Gabba Gabba Coachella Teaser]


[Toodee dances around Coachella!]


[Muno needs a ticket to Coachella!]


[Plex parties with the kids and robots at Coachella!]

VIDEO: Food Fight, A Musical Comedy for Waist Watchers

In Jacksonville for five performances at the Wilson Center for the Arts on

Florida State College at Jacksonville's South Campus May 5-9, 2010.

Taylor Hicks Meets the Press!

Here are a few snapshots from Taylor Hicks' press tour around Jacksonville yesterday. Taylor Hicks is currently starring in Grease! as Teen Angel! Make sure to check it out this weekend and stick around for the encore for a special surprise!!

[Taylor Hicks and Corinne Hautala at First Coast News]

[Taylor Hicks with Mark Kaye and Anna at 95.1's Morning Mess]

[Mikey P was on the side taping the interview for their website!]

MAMMA MIA! What A Deal!

A Selection of Awesome Thanks

After the Wizard of Oz came to town, a group of second grade students sent us some handmade thank you cards, expressing their delight and gratitude in seeing the show through some donated tickets. There is nothing like the words of a child to really get the message across. [Although they did think our name was "Creative Artist" instead of "The Artist Series". Cute!]

A special thanks to these sweet students, as well, for coming out and having such a great time!

[image by Julia]

Dear Creative, artist,

Thank you for the tickets for the wizard of Oz. I have gone to a play befor but that was amazing. It was better than Hortant hears a who. how did you make the sound a feackts my hole class jumped when the wich came and left. I mite be in 2 grade but I loved that play. The cowarly lion was cute + funny. My mom liked the cyclone. Thank you for donating the tickets for me my mom and my class we all loved it. I liked Dorothy and toto made a grate team. Thank you so much.

love, Elicia

ABBA Inducted Into Hall Of Fame... Over KISS! Mamma Mia!!

Newsday recently published this article on ABBA getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! ABBA is the musical inspiration behind Broadway's smash hit musical "MAMMA MIA!", coming to Jacksonville March 26-28, 2010 at the Times Union Center's Moran Theater. Get tickets here.

Mama mia! ABBA enters the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

March 11, 2010

By Glenn Gamboa

NEW YORK — No one was more surprised about ABBA being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame than the band’s co-founder Benny Andersson.

“We’re a pop band from the North Pole,” Andersson says, calling from his studio in Stockholm. “There’s no such thing as a (continental European) band in the Rock Hall, so it is flattering. It feels good, but it’s very unexpected.”

After all, ABBA — Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faltskog — is best known for pop hits such as “Dancing Queen” and “Knowing Me, Knowing You” and disco anthems such as “Lay All Your Love on Me,” as well as the Broadway smash “Mamma Mia!” and the movie of the same name. Andersson’s latest album, “Story of the Heart” (Decca), gorgeously runs the gamut of classical-inspired instrumentals, American Songbook-styled ballads and even a tinge of country. Big rock guitars and heavy drumbeats? Not so much.

“Every year, there’s someone that attracts attention from people who aren’t happy about the choice,” says Terry Stewart, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s president and chief executive. “One of the problems this year is you have the extremes of ABBA getting inducted and KISS doesn’t. I’ve answered 5,000 to 10,000 e-mails and letters. This issue is a high point this year.”

Grab Your Aquanet! Hairspray Is Almost Here!!

Hairspray will be in town on Tuesday, March 16th for two performances: 10:00am and 7:30pm. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Artist Series Box Office at 904-632-3373 or by visiting us online at www.artistseriesjax.org.

Florida Times Union: 'The Wizard of Oz' gets a little help from local youngsters playing Munchkins

Check out the fun story in today's Florida Times Union Weekend about the local children taking on the role of the Munchkins in the Broadway production of the Wizard of Oz, in Jacksonville February 23 - 28, 2010!

By COURTNEY LAMBERT Story updated at 6:08 PM on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010

When "The Wizard of Oz" takes the stage next week as part of The Artist Series, some of the smallest cast members might look familiar.

Most of the cast are touring professional actors. But a dozen of the Munchkins will be played by local kids from Jacksonville's Studio 1014. The kids, ranging in age from 8 to 12, were chosen by Studio 1014 owner and artistic director Cathy Finne after an audition.

Read the rest here!

Fooooood Fight!!!!

FOOD FIGHT: A MUSICAL COMEDY FOR WAIST WATCHERS! is a musical revue that pays homage to and pokes fun at the boxing match between food and the human body, and the pleasures and neuroses that are linked to it: the battle of the bulge, diets, exercise, plastic surgery, cooking show gurus, and more. FOOD FIGHT features four ladies in a women’s-only gym, belting out hysterical song parodies about food, diets, exercise, yoga, plastic surgery, self-esteem, marriage, and more. Hit songs include If I were A Size Two (If I Were A Rich Man), Botox Queen ( Dancing Queen), I Went To The Buffet Line (I Heard It Through The Grapevine), Look At Me I’m Rachel Ray (Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee), and The World’s Greatest Ice Cream (The Impossible Dream).

Don't miss this hilarious Off Broadway production, in Jacksonville May 5 - 9, 2010 at the Wilson Center for the Arts.

Metro Jacksonville Blog's About Sleeping Beauty

Metro Jacksonville, one of Jacksonville's premier blogs and a great place to check out the what's what, who's who, and the when, where, and how of all things involving the Metropolis of Jacksonville, recently posted an awesome blog and conversation on Sleeping Beauty [in town TONIGHT!]


Sleeping Beauty: The Tchaikovsky Ballet Theater performs Wednesday Night!

Everyone is familiar with the age-old fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty.

Wednesday Night, 7:30 PM  at the Moran Theater of the Times Union Center, the classically trained dancers of the Tchaikovsky Ballet Theatre bring to audiences an interpretation of the beloved fable, in a performance the entire family can enjoy! Bringing together a breathtaking production comprised of over sixty dancers, opulent sets and intricate costumes, this is going to be a spectacle.

Founded in 1870, the Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world.


Check out the post here!

You were only waiting for this moment to arrive... RAIN Back In Jacksonville!

RAIN: A Tribute to The Beatles is back in Jacksonville on Sunday, February 14th!! Can you think of a better way to spend the day of love than with one of the world's most loved bands of all time? Take a ride back into time with RAIN, and relive, or experience for the first time, the magic of THE BEATLES!!

[Imagine.]

[Blackbird.]

Wizard of Oz Family 4-Pack for $99!!

Get your tickets HERE!

Garrison Keillor talks about celebrities, other writers and more | Jacksonville.com

Garrison Keillor, made famous for his nationally celebrated radio show A Prairie Home Companion, will be in Jacksonville for An Evening with Garrison Keillor on Wednesday, February 10^th at 7:30PM at the Times Union Center’s Jacoby Hall for one night only. Check out Laura Capitano's interview with Mr. Keillor on Jacksonville.com!

Garrison Keillor talks about celebrities, other writers and more | Jacksonville.com

CAVEtoons!

Check out some of the hilarious Cavetoons from Defending the Caveman, coming to Jax TOMORROW [January 26 - 30, 2010] at the Wilson Center for the Arts.

Alvin Ailey's JUDITH JAMISON Featured on TONIGHT'S NATIONAL PBS NEWSHOUR

TONIGHT’S NATIONAL PBS NEWSHOUR
WILL FEATURE A PROFILE ON
JUDITH JAMISON

OF THE ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER

[Judith Jamison with Alvin Ailey]

WHAT: Covering national and international issues, PBS NewsHour’s Senior Correspondent Jeffrey Brown has profiled and interviewed many of the world's leading writers, musicians and other artists. He recently visited with Judith Jamison during Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s New York City Center season that paid tribute to her 20th year as artistic director.

The celebration continues on a 20-city U.S. tour that begins on February 2nd at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and continues across the country before returning to the Brooklyn Academy of Music from June 10th – 20th. Ailey’s extraordinary artists will move audience with premieres, new productions and repertory favorites, including Alvin Ailey’s signature masterpiece Revelations, a must-see for all people. Recognized by U.S. Congress as a vital American “Cultural Ambassador to the World,” Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater inspires all in a universal celebration of the human spirit using the African-American cultural experience and the American modern dance tradition.

[Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater]

Alvin Ailey is scheduled to perform in Jacksonville at the Times-Union Center, on Tuesday, May 18th at 7:30 pm.

WHEN: Monday, January 4, 2010 @ 7:00PM

WHERE: Airing Locally on WJCT/PBS Channel 7