Portland Ovations Announces Largest Season to Date, Blending the Fresh with the Familiar

Portland, Maine - Last night at the Masonic Temple on Congress Street, Portland Ovations revealed its new season to its Members and their guests at the Annual Members-Only Preview Party. During the capacity-crowd reception, Ovations Members and their friends received the first look at the new season. From the fresh to the familiar with much fun along the way, the 2013-14 season of 27 performances takes place at Merrill Auditorium, Hannaford Hall at USM, Portland, ICA at MECA, SPACE Gallery and Westbrook Performing Arts Center.

For 83 years the Maine not-for-profit performing arts organization has brought an array of artists and performances that inspire, entertain and connect the community with the performing arts. The 2013-14 season connects the fresh with the familiar through performances in classical music, opera, Broadway National Tours, dance,theater, literature and music from the four corners of the globe. The season kicks off with the annual party fundraiser, POP! at the Portland Company Complex.

The most innovative events on the Portland Ovations season are Sō Percussion's Where (we) Live, the poignant and provocative Who's Hungry, the trans-global hip-hop dance troupe Compagnie Käfig and the Quebecois Cirque Alfonse's: TIMBER! The "freshest" work is Portland Ovations' commission and world premiere of USM's Associate Professor and Resident Composer Daniel Sonenberg's Opera, The Summer King, which tells the tragic story of Negro League baseball player Josh Gibson.

Well-known talent is threaded throughout the season, featured most prominently within Ovations' Marquee Series, featuring three larger-than-life personalities and performers: Tony Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning actor, Mandy Patinkin, pop culture icon and comedic powerhouse Joan Rivers and ten-time Grammy Award-winning artist Bobby McFerrin. The familiar fan favorites do not stop there; humorist David Sedaris; the peerless chamber music trio David Finckel, Wu Han and Philip Setzer; the inventive and ever-evolving dance troupe Pilobolus; the phenomenon that is Blue Man Group; the Paul Taylor Dance Company and the unmatched artistry of the Handel and Haydn Society all are included on this year's schedule.

Always offering something for every audience, Portland Ovations brings Broadway National Tours of Green Day's American Idiot and a new production of the classic tale Man of La Mancha. The Family Series presentations of Maine's own Fred Garbo's Inflatable Theater Co. and We're Going On a Bear Hunt are programmed with the youngest audience members in mind.

Traveling the world, Ovations' artists and performances represent Scotland, England and the rest of Great Britain, Iran, Brazil, France, Taiwan, the provinces of Quebec and British Columbia, the African continent and beyond to the planet Zargon, featured in the live action graphic novel The Intergalactic Nemesis. While taking a global journey throughout the season one will also find many performances by artists living and creating work right here in Maine.

"With this being our largest season to date, we find ourselves out and about more than ever. Presenting at five different venues, partnering with so many incredible community organizations and connecting artists with audiences through Ovations Offstage activities in classrooms, city locations and other spaces - we are humbled to be part of such a thriving arts community, one the reasons that Portland and Maine are such inspiring places to call home," expresses Executive Director, Aimée Petrin.

The entire 2013-14 Ovations season can be found at portlandovations.org along with Ovations Offstage activities that take place throughout the season, providing numerous ways to learn more and connect more deeply with the arts.

Ovations' Members get "first dibs" at tickets for three weeks starting on Monday, June 3rd. Tickets go on sale to the general public on June 24th. Buying a pre-sale bundle of four or more performances or becoming a Member at anytime will also provide access to early ticket buying. To buy tickets contact PortTIX at 207-842-0800, visit the box office window at Merrill Auditorium or go online to www.portlandovations.org.