Music, Theatre, Comedy, And Special Events To Highlight 2022 Fall Season At Staller Center For The Arts 

A dynamic array of inspiring and matchless performances will highlight the 2022 Fall season at Staller Center for the Arts. With a diverse lineup of performers, Staller Center showcases both emerging and established artists of wide-ranging appeal.

Alan Inkles, Staller Center Director, announced the 2022 Fall season. "The variety of entertainment offerings this season is programmed to appeal to all ages," says Inkles. "Coming together to experience arts and culture can provide that collective experience we all crave."

Opening the season, rhythm & blues duo LION BABE bring their unique brand of funk, soul, and sonic magic to the Staller stage on September 23. Partners on-stage and off, Lion Babe fuses hip-hop energy with songs that embrace self-love, power, and strength. Multi-disciplinary artist Jillian Hervey (daughter of Vanessa Williams) and DJ/producer Lucas Goodman (aka AstroRaw) perform original songs, including Wonder Woman produced by Pharrell Williams, and Hit the Ceiling featured on HBO's Insecure, classic covers like Carly Simon's Why, and new material from their latest album cosmic wind.

Virtuoso cellist and Stony Brook artist-in-residence COLIN CARR joins award-winning pianist Kyungwah Chu to perform masterworks of the chamber music repertoire on September 28. Carr and Chu will bring their insight and extraordinary artistry to Beethoven's Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69 for cello and piano, and Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19, the composer's last chamber music composition. Proceeds from the concert will benefit cello students in the Department of Music at Stony Brook.

Rounding out the month, vocalist Morgan James brings her meticulously trained, versatile voice of unbridled soul to Staller Center on September 29. With a rich and expressive voice that holds its own in any genre, James arrives at the Recital Hall to deliver the soul and power packed inside of her. Recognized by the Wall Street Journal as "the most promising young vocalist to come along so far this century," James has commanded Broadway theaters and blues venues and garnered internet fame with more than 200 million views on YouTube.

October ushers in a broad spectrum of programs and works with something for everyone: gravity-defying maneuvers of THE PEKING ACROBATS, the soulful renderings of vocalist MACY KATE, the classical preeminence of the EMERSON STRING QUARTET, exuberant comedy from VIC DIBITTETO, and the charisma of cabaret legend Michael Feinstein.

THE PEKING ACROBATS bound onto the Main Stage on October 7, pushing the limits of human ability, flexibility, and control. The famed group, rooted in Chinese history and folk art, combines high-tech special effects with awe-inspiring acrobatic feats. Trick-cycling, tumbling, juggling, and gymnastics come together into one jaw-dropping show.

MACY KATE makes her Staller Center debut on the Recital Hall stage on October 14. Appearing on ABC's Rising Star, her sweet and smoky voice launched her career at age 16. Kate's powerhouse voice and self-effacing confessional lyrics have made her a viral success with millions of streams on Spotify.

On October 18, THE EMERSON STRING QUARTET makes its 63rd appearance at Staller Center as part of the group's valedictory 47th season. This program of Emerson String Quartet's final season opens with Mendelssohn's String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 12, followed by Alban Berg's pathbreaking Quartet, Op. 3 (1900). Dvořák's Quartet No. 14 in A-flat major, Op. 105, written during the composer's three-year tenure in America and completed after returning to his Czech homeland, concludes the program. This unmissable performance is a rare occasion to hear one of the world's finest string quartets in their farewell season.

The "Bread and Milk" man, VIC DIBITTETO, takes over the Staller Main Stage on October 22 with his working-class brand of comedy and irreverent musings on the world around him. DiBitteto's signature stand-up makes an evening with him feel like a night out with your favorite cousin. His "Bread and Milk" and "Who Wants Coffee?" routines have garnered millions of online followers. He is a regular cast member of Amazon Prime's Gravesend, and his latest album, Ticked Off Vic, plays on SiriusXM comedy channels.

Cabaret legend Michael Feinstein returns to the Staller Center on October 29 with Get Happy, a spirited celebration of Judy Garland on her 100th birthday. Feinstein celebrates the unparalleled star in an evening of tributes, surprises, and tender sentiment. With his effervescent personality and special musical gift, Feinstein traces a journey through Garland's storied life and times, highlighted by anecdotes from his close friend, Liza Minnelli, and others. The evening will feature recently discovered, unknown arrangements from Garland's repertoire, peeling back the curtain to reveal a rare perspective on the enduring Garland mystique.

November at The Staller Center features a wide range of musical artists performing works by classical and contemporary composers.

On November 6, Metropolitan Opera tenor Matthew Polenzani brings his world-class artistry to the Recital Hall for an intimate evening of selections from his award-winning, versatile career. Hailed by The New York Times as "a vocalist of refinement, inwardness and melancholy," Polenzani breaths vibrant life into characters like Fernando in Cosi fan tutte, Tamino in The Magic Flute, and the title role of Don Carlos. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music director of the Metropolitan Opera House, declared Polenzani "one of the greatest tenors of our time." This is a "Don't Miss" performance.

STARRY NIGHTS, a magical evening of chamber music curated by cellist Colin Carr, returns on November 11 accompanied by Stony Brook's established artists and rising stars. Artist-in-Residence Carr and company will bewitch Staller audiences with a program combining classical, world, folk, and jazz music genres. The Fall concert repertoire will include Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50, with Jennifer Frautschi, violin, and Ji Na Kim, piano, and jazz selections with masters Ray Anderson, and Tom Manuel & Friends.

On November 18, renowned violinist Caroline Campbell showcases her exceptional versatility in Hollywood Serenade, performing some of the best-known music of Hollywood and beyond. Last seen at Staller alongside Chris Botti, Campbell has played concerts from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House and made solo appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Campbell has also performed duets with Andrea Bocelli, Sting, and Rod Stewart.

December rushes in with THE KAT & DAVE SHOW. Sixteen-time Grammy-winning music icon David Foster and singer, television, and Broadway star Katharine McPhee introduce their viral Instagram show to the Staller Center Main Stage on December 1. The powerhouse duo will perform a setlist of hits from Dave's repertoire, including songs written for Chicago, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Josh Groban, and Michael Bublé, and some of Kat's biggest hits from her career-launching season on American Idol and Broadway's Waitress.

America's Got Talent finalists SONS OF SERENDIP return to the Staller Center Recital Hall for a special Holiday show on December 11. This unique holiday performance delivers a mix of seasonal favorites infused with fresh creativity and imagination from one of today's leading classical music crossover ensembles. Join lead vocalist Micah Christian, cellist and vocalist Kendall Ramseur, pianist Cordaro Rodriguez, and harpist Mason Morton as they light up the stage with festive merriment. Before their Holiday Show, they will be offering an interactive children's concert.

Throughout the Fall, the Staller Center presents live and encore screenings from the MetOpera LIVE in HD and theatre in HD direct from London on Staller's 40-foot screen. MetOpera LIVE in HD presents Cherubini's Medea, a new Metropolitan Opera production on October 23 at 12:30 pm, Verdi's La Traviata on November 12, and Mozart's The Magic Flute on December 3. Direct from London, Kinky Boots in HD, presented by National Theatre Live, comes to Staller audiences on November 11, followed by Shakespeare's Henry V in HD with Kit Harrington in the title role, a Donmar Warehouse production also from London's National Theatre, on November 13.

On October 1 and November 5, the STONY BROOK SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, conducted by Alan R. Kay and Jens Georg Bachmann respectively, displays the impeccable musicianship and virtuosity of the student musicians of the Music Department at Stony Brook University. These programs of orchestral masterworks will feature Dvořák, Symphony No. 9, "From the New World" (October 1), and Sibelius Violin Concerto and Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances (November 5). On Saturday, December 10, a performance led by the STONY BROOK SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA will present an Orpheus-style conductor-less concert. Tickets for the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra concerts will go on sale in August.

Looking ahead to 2023, Staller Center's annual Gala on March 4 will feature the internationally renowned AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE. In their first-ever appearance at Staller Center, ABT's unrivaled stars perform a program of choreography ranging from classical to contemporary in an inspiring evening of dance.

The Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery is open before all Staller Center Live performances and during intermissions. Admission is free. Currently on view through October 29, Connecting the Drops: The Power of Water, a group exhibition focused on environmental justice and the vital importance of water. The exhibition addresses topics such as the Shinnecock Indian Nation's historical ties to water and oyster farming, community access to clean water, carbon absorption by the oceans, glacial melting, and the social impact of climate change. From November 10 through February 23, 2023, Revisiting 5+1 provides a reflection on the 1969 celebrated exhibition 5+1, curated by Frank Bowling at Stony Brook University, at the junction of abstract art, racial and gender politics, and student activism during the 1960s. The 2022 exhibition will present works by the original six Black abstract artists, all men, alongside Howardena Pindell, Distinguished Professor of Art at Stony Brook, and five other women artists of color, selected in collaboration with Pindell. For more information, please visit https://zuccairegallery.stonybrook.edu/.

Tickets for the Fall 2022 season and the 2023 Gala are on sale now, with a 10% discount offered on all shows through September 5. Use code PRE22X at checkout. The Staller Center will announce the Spring 2023 season will be in November. Please visit stallercenter.com or call (631) 632-ARTS, or email boxoffice@stallercenter.com.

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