By Girindra Selleck
The wait is finally over. Tickets for the first series of shows in the new Hancher Auditorium went sale at 10 a.m. June 10, a press release from the company reported.
After eight long years of construction necessitated by the catastrophic 2008 flood that destroyed the old Hancher and so many other facilities in Iowa City river valley, the organization is set to welcome the community to its new building with a star-studded season spanning from September to May 2017.
Before the shows get started, Hancher will kick off with an open house on Sept. 9, with an additional date set for the Sept. 11. The early season festivities will continue as Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Preservation Hall Jazz Band will present a free outdoor performance on Sept. 16.
Starting today, tickets for a majority of the season’s acts — including highlights such as Steve Martin and Martin Short, Yo-Yo Ma, and Renée Fleming — will be available online at the Hancher website, over the phone (1-800-HANCHER), and at the Hancher Box Office, located in the University Capitol Center.
The season will see Hancher reunite with many of its old friends, including, notably, the Joffrey Ballet. A brand-new rendition of The Nutcracker will mark the latest in a long series of collaborations between the two organizations.
The ballet will be staged by Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon (An American in Paris), O.B.E. and will include a reworked script from Brian Selznick (The Invention of Hugo Calbret). As has been characteristic of many of Hancher’s large-scale dance performances in the past, the show will also feature students from local schools in the supporting cast.
Tickets for The Book of Mormon, the first in a series of touring Broadway shows that will make a stop at Hancher, are set to go on sale Aug. 5.
Information about ticket prices and further event details can be found online at Hancher’s website.
