2017 Spoleto Festival Announces Lineup - Dee Dee Bridgewater, WAITING FOR GODOT, EUGENE ONEGIN and More; Beg. 5/26

Festival General Director Nigel Redden has announced the program for the 41st annual Spoleto Festival USA, taking place May 26 through June 11, 2017, in Charleston, South Carolina. "On the heels of a hugely exciting 40th season, this year's Festival promises to build on that momentum, with even more dance and theater performances than in previous years," says Redden. "Charleston's rich history in the arts comes alive during each Festival, and we will explore that history and add to it again in 2017."

The 2017 Festival features more than 160 ticketed events, held in 12 venues around Charleston that reflect the city's past and present-including the raw, intimate Woolfe Street Playhouse, the historic Dock Street Theatre, the versatile Memminger Auditorium, and the recently renovated Charleston Gaillard Center. Again in 2017, the Gaillard will host the Festival's capstone opera, this year a lavish production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. In addition to housing the US premiere of Vivaldi's celebrated opera Farnace, the Dock Street Theatre will also be home to acclaimed Irish theater company Druid's production of Waiting for Godot. Award-winning Garry Hynes, Druid's artistic director, will direct both Dock Street performances. A few blocks uptown, three other internationally acclaimed Theater Productions will be held in College of Charleston's Emmett Robinson Theatre: Blind Summit Theatre's The Table, Aurélia Thierrée's Murmurs, and Rezo Gabriadze's Ramona.

Other College of Charleston venues will again set the stage for Spoleto Festival USA: Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater will light up the College's picturesque Cistern Yard with Festival-eve and opening-night concerts as part of the Wells Fargo Jazz series, while the Sottile Theatre welcomes a range of innovative contemporary dance companies from around the globe, including France's ballet-meets-hip-hop duo Wang Ramirez, Israel's L-E-V, and the New York-basEd Gallim Dance.

The American Express Woolfe Street Series will send audiences to the Upper King-area industrial building-turned-playhouse for a wide array of events, including a world premiere from tap choreographer and performer Ayodele Casel, three programs of Spoleto Festival USA Director of Orchestral Activities John Kennedy's contemporary Music in Time series, and the world premiere of Cinema and Sound, featuring Festival-favorite pianist Stephen Prutsman.

And finally, the spectacular Wells Fargo Festival Finale will take place across the Ashley River at historic Middleton Place, giving ticket holders access to not only a full lineup of local and regional bands headlined by The Revivalists, but also the opportunity to explore the estate's lush grounds and scenic gardens.

Tickets are now on sale by phone at 843.579.3100 and online at spoletousa.org.