Carol Morsani Hall - again one of top-ranked venues in the world!

Billboard Magazine ranked our own Carol Morsani Hall (2,610 seats) 5th in the world for venues 5,000 seats and under, for 2007.

According to the Top Stops report from the year-end Venues Today magazine, the top three venues in the 2,001-5,000 seat capacity were the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Carol Morsani Hall.

Pollstar's numbers should be released sometime soon, but we have a good feeling we'll be ranked high there as well.

Thank you for making TBPAC so strong! Without good, regular folks like you buying tickets we wouldn't even need to be here, much less rank so high on these lists!

The Lion King on "The View"

The Lion King is scheduled to appear on ABC's "The View" Friday, Dec. 21. In celebration of the show's 10th year on Broadway, members of the Broadway cast will perform "He Lives in You." What a great way to get a taste of the show before it heads back to Tampa in May!

As a bit of trivia, Broadway's "Nala" is Tampa Bay's own Kissy Simmons. She appear here at the TBPAC in many of our cabaret productions before landing the role of "Nala" in the first national tour of The Lion King and shortly thereafter being cast in the role on Broadway.

The Drowsy Chaperone closes on Broadway

It was annouced yesterday that the Tony-award winner, The Drowsy Chaperone, will play its last performance on Broadway, Dec. 30. In total the show will have played 674 performances and 32 previews. It also picked up five 2006 Tony Awards, the most of any show in 2006; seven Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical; four Outer Critic's Circle Awards including Outstanding Score; and the Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical.

BTW, the well received national tour is still headed to Tampa in January as planned. The tour includes original Broadway cast members Georgia Engel as "Mrs. Tottendale" and Andrea Chamberlain as "Janet Van De Graaff" (who was the understudy for the role on Broadway).

Next Club Jaeb show: Bethany & Rufus

"There's some Cowboy Junkies here, a dash of Tuck & Patti there and an overall otherworldliness more akin to a David Lynch movie." - Amazon.com Editorial Review

Bethany Yarrow is the daughter of Peter Yarrow (who you might remember from his days of making music with Paul and Mary) who sings in a haunting style you might liken to Nina Simone or Cassandra Wilson, and Rufus Capadoccia plays the cello with a sick skill that will keep you guessing if he's in fact playing a classical cello, an upright bass or possibly even an electric bass. Together their music pushes standard American folk far past the edge into the territory of hypnotic groove, jazz and psychedelic soul.

You can take a listen to some of their music at their MySpace page.

Or watch this video:



I know it's almost a hackneyed expression, but watch this clip and you may even say yourself that Rufus rocks it like a Hendrix on the cello:



Need more convincing? Watch this solo video of his:



Bethany & Rufus play the Jaeb Theater on Jan. 28.

New show: Taylor Swift

Country superstar Taylor Swift will play Carol Morsani Hall on Jan. 26, 2008. Tickets went on sale today at noon to TBPAC donors, and will go on public sale Friday at noon. Call 813.229.STAR or log on to TBPAC.ORG to nab those tickets while they last.


Want to get them now? Check out how over here.

The Roches with a holiday twist!

Check out this Talk of the Nation program on NPR.org regarding the Roche sisters' holiday show currently touring the country. You can listen to the 47-minute program that originally aired on NPR radio, or sample song clips in the menu to the left.

We at TBPAC are really looking forward to hosting The Roches on Dec. 21 in Ferguson Hall. I think it will provide a nice alternative or even compliment to more traditional holiday fare like The Nutcracker or Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

Check it out!

De/ReConstructing Mata Hari

“Looks like Cleopatra, but when she moves it is with the muscle of a Mark Anthony” – Dance Magazine.

De/ReConstructing Mata Hari is here this weekend in the TECO Theater as part of our Expanding Horizons series. You've likely seen the TV spot we've been circulating online and that's been running locally on Bright House Networks, but to get a much better idea of how visually stunning this show is you should take a look at these two sections of the actual show as teasers.

Here is also a review of the original incarnation of the show in the NYTimes.

The show is only here for this one single weekend - hope you can make it out or pass this on to a friend! You can also learn all about the FREE MASTER CLASS here! Space is limited for that, so sitgn up quickly!

YouTubesday at TBPAC

Check out some of these videos on upcoming artists:

Follow this link to check out a clip of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular!


Defending the Caveman - Dec. 12-16


De/ReConstructing Mata Hari - 12/14-16


African Children's Choir - Feb. 13 (this clip is of their appearance on American Idol)


Hubbard Street Dance Theater - Feb. 16

Photo op! Here's an Avenue Q tip for you!

TBPAC wants you to come down to see how we look after 20 years – then take a picture of it! The winner will get a pair of tickets to the opening night of Avenue Q.

Bring your gear down to TBPAC anytime between Dec. 10 and March 7 and take photos of the whole building, a detail or anything in between and submit it to our photography contest. We’re hoping to find a variety of entries – from the classical to the avant-garde. Want inside access to a backstage area? Check our website for scheduled backstage tours. As long as you stay with your group in the designated areas, you can take pictures of the inside of the halls or the backstage areas. Keep in mind – as always we do not allow anyone to take photographs inside the theater during any performance.

Photos should be high resolution (300 dpi) and submitted to us on CD mailed to:

TBPAC Photo Contest
1010 NWC MacInnes Pl.
Tampa, FL 33602

One winner will be chosen by a panel of three impartial judges and will receive a pair of opening night tickets (April 1, 2008) to the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Avenue Q in Carol Morsani Hall (Intended for mature audiences).

TBPAC retains the right to use any entered photographs for, but not excluded to, publicity releases, marketing materials and web site displays. Every attempt will be made to credit the original photographer, but it is not guaranteed. All entered photographs will be made available in an online gallery accessible through the TBPAC website and blog after the contest has concluded. None of the photos will be returned.

The fine print:

Prize to be redeemed at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center at 1010 N. W.C. MacInnes Place, Tampa, FL 33602. No purchase necessary. Participants and winner(s) must be legal U.S. residents, at least 18 years old and residents of Florida. Employees of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, their subsidiaries and affiliated companies, participating sponsors and their advertising agencies and members of their immediate family are not eligible to participate. Not valid where prohibited by law. Contest begins on or around Dec. 10, 2007, at noon. Deadline for submissions is noon on or around March 7, 2008. Winner will be chosen by a panel of three impartial professional judges on or around 48 hours from the deadline. Prize will be awarded on or around March 14, 2008. Decision of the judges is final. The winner will be notified by telephone and/or e-mail. Odds of winning vary greatly depending on number of entrants. The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center assumes no liability or responsibility for any prize once it is awarded, or any damage, loss or liability arising from the award, acceptance or use of the prize, and Contest winner agrees to release and hold harmless the Released Parties against any and all claims of liability arising directly or indirectly from the Contest or the prizes and the use of such Contest winner's name, voice and photo. The Released Parties assume no liability for lost, illegible, incomplete, misdirected or late entries or prize claims, or for typographical or other errors in the offer or administration of this Contest including, without limitation, errors in the printing of the offer and official rules, selection, notification and announcement of the winner, or distribution of prizes. The Contest is subject to applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations, and is void where prohibited or otherwise restricted. The prizes offered in this contest have no cash value and may not be returned for cash. Seats are good for the opening night show of Avenue Q only, and may not be renewed or exchanged. By entering a photograph into the contest, participants give TBPAC full authorization to use, reprint or distribute the work at TBPAC’s discretion with or without proper credit to the photographer.

This week at TBPAC

Club Jaeb Series: Jennifer O'Connor - 12/10

Radio City Christmas Spectacular - on stage now through 12/30

Defending the Caveman - 12/12-16

De/ReConstructing Mata Hari - 12/14-16

He’s no Kiri Te Kanawa

I had no idea that Dr. Drew, the dreamy therapist who is well known for his syndicated radio show “Lovelines,” sings opera. Maybe not on par with Placido or our own Sherrill Milnes, but considering he’s going a capalla and he’s actually a licensed sex therapist, I’ve heard worse. And his serenade of “The Street Where you Live” to the macaw is really, um, touching?

- Kari G.

This week at TBPAC!

Week of Dec. 3, 2007:

A Musical for Kids by Kids Youth Theater Company - Guys and Dolls Jr. - Dec. 6-9

Radio City Christmas Spectacular - Dec. 6-30

Jennifer O'Connor - Dec. 10

Keep in mind if you're looking for an awesome gift - we sell gift certificates that are good for tickets, dining, in the shops or for tuition at the Patel Conservatory!

More on Jennifer O'Connor

This is from former CreLo music critic (and current Nessie frontman) Scott Harrell's column from a year ago, when O'Connor played with Candy Bars

Former Tampa homegirl and current Brooklyn hipster heroine Jennifer O'Connor has a unique take on singer-songwriterdom that splits the difference between tradition and a personal, indie-scene-derived aesthetic. Yeah, yeah, I know that can be said about a lot of great underground talents these days. But where most of them have far more in common with classic folk than they'd care to admit to their all-ages fanbase, O'Connor's genuinely edgy style has at least as much to do with original college-rock influences as it does the little strummer boy archetype. Her debut for the über-cool imprint Matador Records -- this year's Over The Mountain, Across The Valley and Back to the Stars -- is a marvel.

Here's a review of her latest album in Hybrid Magazine.

Here's her page on Matador records.

And finally her personal webpage.

Jennifer O'Connor - Dec. 10

In a very short week from today, Jennifer O'Connor will be playing as the December artist in our Club Jaeb series. Here are some clips of Jennifer I found on YouTube:





Some locals might know Jennifer from when she worked at Vinyl Fever once upon a time, and she played last December here at our own New World Brewery. Get out and see some live music!