The Lafon Performing Arts Center (LPAC) recently announced the launch of its 2023-24 performing arts season following last year’s strong season, which center administrators attributed in part to its strong lineup of artists and pent-up demand from locals seeking live performance entertainment.
“We had our most successful year to date as it relates to audiences returning from the pandemic and supporting the arts in St. Charles Parish,” Allison Hymel, LPAC Marketing and Box Office Manager, said.
The upcoming 2023-24 season at the LPAC will feature events organized into five different categories: Broadway Series, Concert Series, Family Series, Legends Series, Movement Series. Patrons have the option to purchase ticket packages including all shows within one of those five categories or select individual tickets for specific events.
The LPAC will kick off its first performance of the season at 275 Judge Edward Dufresne Parkway in Luling with a Concert Series show featuring an exclusive Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) concert called A Night on Broadway with the LPO. Curated specifically for the LPAC, the LPO’s show will start Saturday September 16 at 7 p.m. The show will feature a selection of tunes with Broadway-style vocals backed by the LPO’s full-scale symphonic orchestra.
“It’s a dedicated show for us; they’re writing it for us, getting all the music together, hiring the singers specifically for the show at the Art Center,” Hymel explained of this season’s inaugural show. “This is not part of [the LPO’s] normal season; this is [the audience’s] only opportunity to see this one particular show.”
The second show of the season comes up Friday, October 6 at 7 p.m. with a touring family show called Mutts Gone Nuts, a comedy show Hymel best described as a “rescue dog circus show” featuring eight world-class stunt dogs. The show, Hymel commented, is part of the Lafon’s Family Series of shows, featuring G rated family shows “you can bring your two-year-old to, or you can bring your 96-year-old grandmother to.”
“The producers go to animal shelters, rescue dogs, and then train them to do tricks and be in the show,” Hymel said of the show’s premise. “We’re really, really excited about that one – it’s just absolutely adorable the dogs that are coming in.”
Rounding out the LPAC’s first three shows of the season is a selection from its Broadway Series called Menopause the Musical, scheduled for Friday, October 13 at 7:30 p.m. Great for a ladies’ night out, the Broadway favorite features an all-women cast belting out humorous musical parodies of songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s.
A wide variety of programming is planned for the remainder of the Lafon’s season with a season that includes 18 live performance shows in its various show categories. The season starts in September with its LPO concert and rounds out the season on May 19, finishing with a show in its Family Series called Dog Man: The Musical.
The LPAC’s Movement Series will showcase dance performances including the Christmas-time classic The Nutcracker along with Ailey II, a modern dance show featuring emerging dance and choreography talent put on by the Brooklyn, NY-based Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Company. Its Legends Series will present with three touring tribute shows and cover bands like the Rhinestone Cowgirls show – a trio of polished female country singers covering classic and contemporary country music hits – or the Boys of D63, a four-person male vocal ensemble covering a wide range of classic pop and R&B music, from Billy Joel to Earth, Wind and Fire.
Season ticket prices vary based on which category is selected, and how many performances are in each category. As an example of pricing – the Lafon’s Movement Series season ticket package, which includes its two dance-oriented performances, is priced at $60 per person, while the three-performance Concert Series package are priced at $155 per person. Individual ticket prices for each event will be released by press time. Seating capacity for the newer LAC venue in Luling is 1,300.
“You’re able to purchase season tickets right now,” Hymel said of the Lafon’s current ticket availability. “Our single tickets go on sale Thursday, August 17.”
For more details the LPAC’s complete 2023-24 show lineup, or for season or individual tickets, visit the LPAC on the web at www.lafonartscenter.org.
Be the first to comment