PEMBROKE — Givens Performing Arts Center’s upcoming slate of concerts and musicals hits all the right notes, according to marketing director Chad Locklear.

“I’ve been here for about three years and I think it’s going to be our greatest season since,” he said.

The center’s 2015-2016 season will kick off Sept. 19 with “We Are the Music Makers,” a photography exhibit and concert featuring John Dee Holeman, Pura Fé, Ulali Project, Deer Clan Singers and Lakota John and Kin.

Billed as a celebration of little known Southern musicians, the exhibit debuted in 2014 at the New York Public Library at the Lincoln Center. It has since traveled to venues such as the B.B. King Museum, the Earl Scruggs Center and the Tampa Museum of Photographic Arts.

On Sept. 25, a group of former Cirque du Soleil performers will bring big top-syle spectacle to Pembroke as part of “Cirque Montage.”

“I think on campus, ‘Cirque Montage’ will be popular,” Locklear said. “It’s a circus act; we’ve had a few of those before and they are really popular with our students and the community.”

R&B band En Vouge will ring in homecoming week on Oct. 2. The girl group scored a number of hits in the early 1990s, including “Hold On” and “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It).”

“Menopause: The Musical” will come to the center on Oct. 9. Written by Jeanie Linders, the show’s songs poke fun at hot flashes and other problems unique to middle-age women.

Speaking of flashes: “Flashdance: The Musical” will be performed at the center on Nov. 14. The show is based on the 1983 film, with a book by Tom Hedley and Robert Cary. In addition to original songs, the musical revisits tracks from the movie’s beloved soundtrack, including “Maniac,” “Gloria” and the Academy Award-winning “Flashdance … What a Feeling.”

The center will close out the year with Grammy-nominated jazz pianist David Benoit on Dec. 5. The 62-year-old will perform a holiday tribute to “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

“We are already getting a lot of calls about his show,” Locklear said.

Shows scheduled for 2016 include “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamboat” on Jan 14; “Ailey II” on March 3; “The Hit Men” on April 23; and “ONCE” on May 3.

Givens Performing Arts Center is located on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. For information, visit uncp.edu.

Courtesy photo | Karli Dinardo belts as Alex Owens during the national tour of “Flashdance: The Musical.” The show is one of several musical events coming to Givens Performing Arts Center.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_Screen-Shot-2015-08-20-at-10.31.54-PM1.jpgCourtesy photo | Karli Dinardo belts as Alex Owens during the national tour of “Flashdance: The Musical.” The show is one of several musical events coming to Givens Performing Arts Center.

By Jaymie Baxley

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Reporter Jaymie Baxley can be reached at 910-416-5771 or on Twitter @Jaymie_Baxley.