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Press Room

Visit the Bankhead website calendar at www.bankheadtheater.org to confirm that the performance you are interested in has Student Rush Tickets available. There is a one ticket limit per student on select LVPAC Presents performances, based on availability.

Student Rush Tickets will be available for The Kyle Eastwood Band, Tuesday, November 11 at 8:00pm. As someone who has had a myriad of opportunities to shine, Kyle Eastwood has truly carved his own path as a musician (yes, he’s Clint’s son). Having dabbled on electric bass as a teenager, he now also plays the upright, acoustic and double bass. Kyle’s second album “Paris Blue” resonates with swing, groove, and funk overtones. Kyle says, “My roots remain in jazz but I like adding all kinds of different flavors.” The album climbed to #1 on the French Jazz charts. Kyle has composed music for the Academy Award winning films, “Mystic River” and “Million Dollar Baby,” and wrote the score for the just released film “The Changeling.” Kyle will be autographing his most recent album “Now” after the performance, stop by and meet him.

LUMA: THEATER OF LIGHT
Visual magic including High-tech Illuminated Objects
Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 2pm

THE BEST OF DOO WOP
Swing, Rhythm and Blues of the 50’s and 60’s
Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 8pm 

PUNCH BROTHERS
Featuring Chris Thile of Nickel Creek Fame
Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 8 pm

TANGO FIRE
Buenos Aires’ Electrifying Tango Company
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 8 pm

Livermore, CA – (October 24, 2008) – The highly acclaimed LVPAC Family Fun Series of performances specifically designed for young people and their parents returns to the Bankhead Theater on Sunday, November 30^th at 2pm with the visually stunning and stimulating work of LUMA: Theatre of Light. The November 30^th event, part of LVPAC’s World of Wisdom (WOW!), is partially underwritten by a generous grant from Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC and helps bring science, math and technology-based performances to the Family Series. 

With darkness as a canvas and light as a brush, LUMA performers paint dazzling, sparkling images that tell stories and spin a visual magic, evoking awe and delight. National Public Radio has praised the luminescent production, calling it “pure utter beauty…in all its mythical, philosophical, and playful wonder.” Created in 1999 by comic and street performer, Michael Marlin, LUMA is the world’s first “human light show” that has audiences sitting on the edge of their seats, mesmerized by natural, artificial, and metaphysical light depicting dancing fireflies and shooting stars on a darkened stage. Add flashing screen savers and imaginary carnival rides, and LUMA becomes an “engaging show with the wonder that is light,” proclaims the San Francisco Chronicle. Inspired by the natural beauty and the splendor of the night sky, Marlin created a riveting production that has enraptured audiences of all ages by bringing to life what previously could only be imagined: mind-boggling, magical realms of light, color, motion and music.

LVPAC’s Family Fun Series features four Sunday afternoon matinees offering young people and their parents exciting opportunities to experience the best in performing arts presentations from across the US and around the world. Two of the presentations make up World of Wisdom (WOW!) – fascinating and stimulating events which highlight science, math and technology components within an artistic and entertaining performance. Additional presentations in the series include:

Masked Marvels & Wondertales – Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 2pm – Michael Cooper’s original stories of courage and wonder, breathtaking handcrafted masks and far-reaching physical repertoire.

Red Grammer – Sunday, March 1, 2009 at 2pm – The Grammy nominated songwriter and recording artist, who set the gold standard for writing and performing contemporary children’s music, returns for his second season of performances in Livermore.

Toying with Science – Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 2pm – Garry Krinsky’s fast-paced, varied and dynamic program combining circus skills, mime, music and audience involvement to explore gravity, leverage, fulcrums and simple machines. A WOW! presentation.

The Family Fun Series is a part of the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center’s LVPAC Presents program. Next up in the series, on Tuesday, November 11^th at 8pm is a renowned jazz trio, The Kyle Eastwood Band, followed by the return of Jeffrey Siegel’s Keyboard Conversations, featuring Chopin for Lovers, on Tuesday, November 18^th at 8pm.

The Bankhead Theater is located at 2400 First Street in Downtown Livermore and operated by the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center. The ticket office is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m. On performance days the ticket office opens at noon and remains open through intermission.  To purchase tickets call 925-373-6800, or visit the LVPAC website www.livermoreperformingarts.org.

LVPAC Makes a Transition

Livermore, CA – (September 18, 2008) – Phil Wente, Board Chair of the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center (LVPAC), today announced that Len Alexander, LVPAC’s first Executive Director, would be changing roles when his contract ends on September 30^th.  Alexander has worked with LVPAC through his consulting firm, Management Consultants for the Arts, since December 2005.  His consulting position was expanded in June 2006 to include the responsibilities of Executive Director.  To allow Alexander to return to his theater consulting business, David Dial, LVPAC’s General Manager for over a year, has been promoted to the Executive Director position effective October 1^st. Alexander will be engaged as a part time LVPAC consultant.

In announcing this change, Wente noted that LVPAC has just concluded a very successful first year at the Bankhead Theater and Bothwell Arts Center. Wente said,  “Len has spearheaded the opening of the Bankhead with more star-studded performances than we could ever have imagined. In every area, he has set a high standard for the organization that will serve us well. Fortunately, Len will still be available to us as a consultant.

“David, our General Manager since before the opening of the Bankhead, has been running the theater with almost all of the staff reporting directly to him, and now will be adding fundraising to his responsibilities.  He brings over 20 years of experience in the management of cultural non-profit organizations. We have watched David’s professionalism over the last year, and have utmost confidence in his knowledge and judgment. His warmth and concern have made him a strong ambassador to performing arts user groups and others throughout the community.”

In discussing his decision to step back, Alexander observed, “With the Bankhead Theater starting its second year of operation and planning for the regional theater in place, it seemed like a good time for me to return to my national consulting practice.  I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to work with the LVPAC staff, board and volunteers, as well as the many Bankhead Theater supporters in the community, to build a strong and successful arts, cultural and economic asset for Livermore and the Valley.  I’m particularly proud of the variety and quality of our LVPAC Presents program which brings nationally and internationally recognized artists and ensembles to our stage.”  While Alexander will return to his work with arts organizations across the country, he continues to reside in Livermore and will advise LVPAC on programming for the Bankhead and operational activities as needed.

Dial’s experience includes the design, construction and day-to-day operations of such major Bay Area cultural projects as Cal Performances, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Zeum, and Computer History Museum.   “This is a very exciting time for LVPAC,” Dial said “Len has launched the Bankhead Theater as the home for performing arts in the Tri-Valley.  I look forward to continuing that work and moving toward the opening of the Regional Theater.”  

LVPAC recently completed its first year of operations at the Bankhead Theater.  During the initial season, 201 events were presented attracting a total audience of over 76,000 including 14,000 young people.  The new 2008-09 season begins on September 21^st with a performance by American Ballet Theatre II and continues through August 2009.  Next up will be the singer Ricki Lee Jones on October 1^st, followed by the Smothers Brothers on October 3^rd.  In addition to operating the Bankhead Theater, LVPAC is working with the City of Livermore to develop a 2000-seat regional performing arts theater and operates the Bothwell Arts Center, an eclectic arts-incubator for area visual and performing artists.

Curtain Closes on a Successful Inaugural Season

at the Bankhead Theater

Livermore, CA – (September 8, 2008) – The inaugural season of Livermore’s new Bankhead Theater came to a successful close on August 31^st. The Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center’s (LVPAC) first venue, which opened on October 1, 2007, has by all measures achieved success far ahead of the expectations of both the community and LVPAC’s board and staff. According to Len Alexander, LVPAC Executive Director, “The Bankhead Theater has performed well beyond what all of us expected when the season first opened, with two weeks of non-stop performances, eleven months ago. We are gratified that over 76,000 individuals, including more than 14,000 students, have attended the 201 events that have occurred during our first season. Initial projections suggested that there would be 150 events in the hall and we have been amazed at the varied and exciting uses that the community has made of this theater.” Looking ahead to the 2008-09 season, Alexander reveled that more than 205 events are currently on the theater’s calendar with more expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks.

Beyond events and attendance, the theater sold more than 1.2 million dollars worth of tickets and returned close to 1 million dollars to the organizations, mostly not-for-profit, that used the theater. In addition, a recent survey indicated that audiences were drawn from over 33 different zip codes in the greater Bay Area. A majority of those surveyed attended more than one performance at the theater and patronized local Livermore shops and restaurants during their visits – helping to fulfill the expectation that the new theater would stimulate the downtown Livermore economy.

The Bankhead Theater serves as the home for eight local performing arts organizations including Del Valle Fine Arts, Livermore Valley Opera, Livermore-Amador Symphony, California Independent Film Festival, Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre, Valley Dance Theatre, Cantabella Children’s Chorus and the Valley Concert Chorale. In addition to outside rentals which include the Pacific Chamber Symphony and the Oakland Ballet, LVPAC presents well-known artists and ensembles for around the world. The upcoming season features The Smothers Brothers, Arlo Guthrie, Tango Fire, The Four Freshman and Tommy Tune, a five part Speakers Series and a highly acclaimed Family Series, among others. A complete listing of the Bankhead Theater’s 2008-09 Season can be found on the LVPAC website www.livermoreperformingarts.org

New Bankhead Speakers Series Unveiled

 Livermore, CA – (September 2, 2008) – The Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center (LVPAC) is pleased to announce the creation of The Rae Dorough Speakers Series, named for long-time Livermore resident, real estate broker and community activist Rae Dorough. The new series will feature renowned commentators discussing interesting and timely topics ranging from oil to iPhones, and is sponsored in part by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC.  Each program begins at 7:30pm at the Bankhead Theater in downtown Livermore and will include an audience Q&A following the speaker's presentation. Special thanks to our Series advisory committee: Jay Davis, Charles Hartwig, Susan Houghton, Nadine Horner, Susan Mayall, Joyce Nevins and Lynn Seppala.

Rae Dorough was professionally known for over 30 years as a respected real estate broker and an active participant in and supporter of a number of charitable organizations and City commissions concerned with health and social issues. She was an ardent follower of the Paramount Theater’s highly acclaimed Oakland Speakers Series and would have been first in line to support a similar program for the Bankhead Theater. “Rae was witty, wise, very kind, lots of fun and much loved by many people,” according to Susan Mayall, a family friend. “She was an amazing source of knowledge on all things cultural and we miss her enormously.” Rae’s husband, Gus, and their seven children are pleased to provide the initial funding to create and sustain the new speakers series in Rae’s memory.

Launching the series, on Wednesday, October 29^th, is Pulitzer Prize Winner, Richard Rhodes, author or editor of twenty-two books and the recipient of numerous fellowships and grants for research and writing.  Currently he is completing his fourth volume of nuclear history, "The Twilight of the Bombs," about the post-Cold War years, which will also be the subject of his talk. Mr. Rhodes has been a host and correspondent for documentaries on public television's Frontline and American Experience series and is an affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University.

Joining Mr. Rhodes during the inaugural season will be Dr. Morton Grosser, co-designer of the “Gossamer Albatross” the first human-powered airplane to cross the English Channel; Bob Borchers, Apple’s senior director of worldwide product marketing for the iPhone and a 1984 Livermore High School graduate; David M. Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize winner for “Freedom From Fear” and a distinguished professor of history at Stanford University; and, Amory Lovins, physicist and consultant to governments and firms worldwide on advanced energy and resource efficiency and the cofounder of the Rocky Mountain Institute.

 “LVPAC, working with our community partners, is delighted to be able to present this exciting series of distinguished speakers for Livermore and the surrounding community,” said Len Alexander, LVPAC’s Executive Director. “The Bankhead Theater offers us the opportunity and venue to host interesting personalities providing insight and knowledge beyond our regular performing arts and entertainment events. From the earliest planning stages, it was hoped that the new theater would support an illustrious lecture series, and we are honored that the Dorough family has helped us create The Rae Dorough Speakers Series to accomplish that goal.”

 Tickets for the individual lectures are currently on sale at the Bankhead Theater ticket office, by phone 925-373-6800 and at www.livemoreperformingarts.org   Prices are $40 and $30 per evening for adults and $20 and $15 for students 21 and under. Subscription packages for the entire series are also available at a 15% discount by phone and at the ticket office. 

 The complete schedule includes:

 Richard Rhodes, “The Twilight of the Bombs”
Pulitzer Prize winner for “The Making of the Atomic Bomb” and affiliate of Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 7:30pm

LVPAC Selects Old Lucky Site for Regional Theater

 Livermore, CA – (August 11, 2008) – The Board of Directors of the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center (LVPAC) has voted to pursue a change in the proposed site of the 2000-seat regional performing arts theater from the southeast corner of First Street and South Livermore Avenue (Peet’s Coffee) to a new location within the old Lucky Shopping Center complex at Livermore and Railroad Avenues.  The new site recently became available when the City of Livermore re-acquired it after the previously announced Livermore Village development was unable to obtain financing.

 Reacting to suggestions from Vice Mayor John Marchand, members of the City Council and local residents, LVPAC carefully compared the two sites and determined that the Lucky site could provide significant benefits over the original location, including lower cost, better traffic circulation, and a more pleasing visual and pedestrian connection to the Bankhead Theater and the Livermore Valley Center, as well as allowing the retention of Mills Square Park and the historic AT&T building.

 “While the original site had been selected by the City and LVPAC, following a detailed examination of several locations in the downtown, the unexpected availability of the old Lucky Center offered new opportunities that turned out to be too good to pass up,” according to Len Alexander, LVPAC’s Executive Director. “Although some might prefer the original location as the iconic center of our downtown, the Lucky site creates the potential to partner with a developer to create amenities, such as shops and restaurants that will complement and support the regional theater. In addition, with the City already controlling the land, the development process can advance more quickly.”

 Following the action of its directors, LVPAC will submit, in association with Bay Area developer Holliday Development, its response to the City’s recent request for qualifications to develop the old Lucky site. In September, LVPAC and city staff will present additional information regarding the proposed operation and financing of the regional theater to the City Council.

LVPAC Presents 08-09 Season Announced

 Livermore, CA – (JUNE 17, 2008) – The Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center has released its 2008-09 season of LVPAC Presents attractions for the 500-seat Bankhead Theater which opened in October 2007. This will be LVPAC Presents second season and will feature over twenty internationally recognized artists and ensembles ranging from the Argentinean dance company Tango Fire to the renowned folksinger Arlo Guthrie. 

The season begins in mid-September with American Ballet Theatre II, the superb classical ballet company and continues through Livermore’s 2009 Rodeo Weekend with the Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel. Additional attractions include The Kyle Eastwood Band (Clint’s son), Ottmar Liebert, The Best of Doo Wop, Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile, The Aquilla Theatre Company performing Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors, Marcus Roberts,  A Big Band Salute to Glen Miller and Gene Krupa, Jil Aigrot, Beppe Gambetta and Dan Crary. Classical pianist Jeffrey Siegel also returns with his popular Keyboard Conversations.

Highlighting the season are four special engagements. The first, on October 3^rd will be a gala fundraising performance for LVPAC featuring the incomparable Smothers Brothers. To celebrate New Year’s Eve, LVPAC has scheduled a return visit from last season’s favorites, The Four Freshmen. The spring gala will feature Broadway musical star Tommy Tune and the Manhattan Rhythm Kings. Rounding out the season will be the national touring company of the 2005 Tony Award winner for Best Broadway Musical, The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank.

Tickets for all LVPAC Presents performances go on sale to the general public on Monday, July 14 at the Bankhead Ticket Office, by phone or on line. In addition to LVPAC attractions, the Bankhead Theater will play host to over 180 events in the 2008-09 season featuring the theater’s resident and visiting companies. The full line-up of events will be available in early August.