The Jets & Debbie Gibson to Play SCERA, 7/20

The Jets and Debbie Gibson dominated the air waves and concert stages in the'80s with hit after hit and still have productive touring careers as Utah audiences will see July 20 when SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre in Orem brings two of the decade's biggest stars to the stage.

General admission tickets for the 8 p.m. performance are $20 for adults and $15 for children (age 3-11) and seniors (age 65 and older). Patrons should bring a blanket or rent a first-come, first-serve chair for $1.00 (limited quantities). Tickets are available at www.scera.org, by calling (801) 225-ARTS, or in person at the main office at SCERA Center for the Arts, open 10am-6pm weekdays and Saturdays from 12Noon-6pm. Tickets may also be purchased at the Shell gate 90 minutes prior to the event. The Shell is located at 699 South State, Orem, in the center of SCERA Park.

The Jets, a Grammy-nominated group of brothers and sisters from Minneapolis, hit the music scene as teenagers in the mid-'80s and became instant pop sensations and chart toppers with such hits as "Crush on You," "You Got It All," Make It Real" and "Rocket 2 U"-all hits that still enjoy radio play. With origins in Tonga, the Jets are vocally tight sibling sensations who maintain an enormous international appeal and have been heard at the Seoul, Korea Olympics as well as three world tours and two USO tours in Asia and Europe. With eight Billboard top 10 hits, the pop and rhythm and blues artists are celebrating their 30th anniversary as consummate entertainers.

Equally accomplished is their special guest, Debbie Gibson, who at only age 16 exploded on the Billboard pop charts and became the youngest artist to write, produce and perform a number one hit, "Foolish Beat." She followed that hit with a sensational 16 million albums sold worldwide and completed three world tours that highlighted her huge hits that include "Electric Youth," "Lost in Your Eyes," "Shake Your Love" and "Only in My Dreams."

The young prodigy then set her sights on live theater where she starred in 17 musicals in 17 years, including the heartbreaking role of Eponine in the Broadway production of "LES MISERABLES." She broke box office records in the London West End production of "Grease" in the lead role of Sandy, returning to the U.S. to perform in "Grease," this time as Rizzo, and as Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl." Other leads included Belle in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast, Gypsy Rose Lee in "Gypsy," the narrator in the national production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," and leading roles in national tours of "Cinderella," "Chicago" and the Broadway revival of "Cabaret" with Neil Patrick Harris."

More than a quarter of a century later, Gibson continues to dazzle with her talents, and recently had a sold out run at Harrah's Atlantic City with her critically-acclaimed one-woman show called "Pop Goes Broadway."

"There is a lot of buzz surrounding this concert," says SCERA President & CEO Adam Robertson. "Eighties music is hot right now, and we've got two of the best coming to the Shell!"

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