Experience the Arts! Box Office and Ticket Sales begin Monday, September 11

Experience the Arts!
The Lenfest Center for the Arts 2023-2024 Season

Washington and Lee University's Lenfest Center for the Arts is looking forward to its 2023-2024 season inspired by the classical, the entertaining and the magical-Live the Arts! Tickets are available to buy with a credit card online or in-person and phone at the Lenfest Box Office beginning Sept. 11 from 9 - 4 p.m. and one hour prior to performance.

The Lenfest Center 2023-2024 calendar of events can be found in its entirety online at my.wlu.edu/lenfest-center/current-season.

W&L's Lenfest Season, featured in the Keller Theatre, opens on Friday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Keller Theatre with "Honoring Our Roots of Influence." Concert features four internationally acclaimed performing and recording artists-Scarlet Rivera, Chris Van Cleave, Ray Shell, Daryl Davis-together at last on the same stage. A unique concert which honors the various early roots that influenced our noteworthy group of performing artists, and showcases how the breadth and depth of their artistry continues to branch out with their own unique styles. SCARLET RIVERA- legendary violinist with Bob Dylan, singer-songwriter, activist; CHRIS VAN CLEAVE-actor "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Les Misérables," singer-songwriter, playwright; DARYL DAVIS-Boogie Woogie piano player with Chuck Berry, actor, singer, bridge builder; RAY SHELL-via video from London, West End Star, singer-songwriter, bestselling author; CHAPMAN ROBERTS-actor, music director, vocal arranger, producer, Impresario.

On October 9 at 7:30 p.m., W&L will host "Odyssey," Lisa Peterson's (Acting Company) adaptation of "The Odyssey"-bringing new life to this ancient epic. Four young women trapped in the limbo of a refugee camp retell Odysseus' adventures as they struggle with their own search for a home. A production based on the revelatory new translation by Emily Wilson, its bold theatricality brings new humor and grace to a story we all think we know.

On January 24, 2024 at 7:30 p.m., W&L celebrates Step Afrika!'s 30th Anniversary with a return performance on the Keller stage. Step Afrika! blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African-American fraternities and sororities and introduces audiences to Zulu and South African gumboot dance. Performances are much more than dance shows; they integrate songs, storytelling, humor, and audience participation. The blend of technique, agility, and pure energy makes each performance unique and leaves the audience with their hearts pounding.

The Lenfest Season concludes with a much anticipated, family-friendly show on May 1 at 7:30 p.m. with the "Illusionist of the World"-Rick Thomas' "Mansion of Dreams." Direct from Branson, Missouri, and "Winner of the 2022 Branson's Best Award"-Production Show and Magic show-Thomas has headlined the Sydney Opera House in Australia, starred in Las Vegas for 15 straight years performing a staggering 600 shows and astonishing audiences on Broadway, he continues to entertain millions of people across the world.

Tickets are required for all Lenfest Series events. Performances are sponsored in part by the Class of '64 Performing Arts Fund.

W&L's Concert Guild Season boasts five ticketed performances in Wilson Concert Hall. Season opens with The Los Angeles Piano Trio at 8 p.m. on September 30. The Trio brings a new level of refinement, emotional depth and artistry to the piano trio repertoire, reflecting the City of Angels' rich cultural legacy, global impact and vibrant energy. Ilonka Rus, piano, an international recitalist and concert artist performs October 21 at 8 p.m. She has performed in prestigious music centers including Carnegie Hall (New York), Ateneul Roman (Bucharest) and Concertgebouw (Amsterdam). Rus' program will include works by Mozart, Brian Field, George Enescu, Tudor Dumitrescu and Carl Filtch. The Antioch Chamber Ensemble makes its third appearance in Wilson Concert Hall on January 20 at 8 p.m. for an evening of choral music. The concert will feature Morten Lauridsen's five-movement "Mid-Winter Songs" as well as "An Extra Day," a work by British composer, Joanna Marsh, commissioned by the ensemble to commemorate the 2024 leap year. On February 10 at 8 p.m., The Manhattan Chamber Players close out the season. The Manhattan Chamber Players are a chamber music collective of New York-based musicians who share the common aim of performing the greatest works in the chamber repertoire at the highest level. 

W&L's SonoKlect's Season opens with "The Kenny Werner Trio"-Ari Hoenig on drums and Johannes Weidenmueller on bass-creating music as one voice that is filled with passion, surprise and cutting edge rhythm at 8 p.m. on September 23 in the Wilson Concert Hall. No tickets are required. The season concludes on February 17 at 8 p.m. with the James Madison University Brass Band. Featuring a lineup of top-notch musicians who are masters of their craft, this brass band is sure to blow you away with their virtuosic solos, tight harmonies and dynamic stage presence.

W&L's Pickens World Music Concert features Oud virtuoso, Simon Shaheen, and his trio on October 28 at 8 p.m. in the Wilson Concert Hall. One of the most important Arab musicians of his generation, Shaheen masterfully performs everything from traditional Arabic music to modern jazz on the oud, a type of short-necked lute that is a staple of the Arab music tradition, and the violin.

W&L's Department of Theater, Dance, and Film Studies is proud to announce their upcoming season with "Speech & Debate," opening November 1-3 at 7:30 p.m. and November 4 at 2 p.m. in the Johnson Theatre. Tony Award-winner Stephen Karam's "Speech & Debate" is a snappy dark comedy, sarcastic yet sincere-a genuinely hilarious and genuinely emotional story of misfit teens-who explore sexuality, identity and personal power-as they learn to deal with misunderstanding and dismissal from the adult world. Tickets are required.

W&L Dancers Create.... will perform on November 30 - December 1 at 7:30 p.m. and December 2 at 2 p.m. in the Keller Theatre. These performances are entirely choreographed, designed and performed by the students themselves.

The award-winning W&L Repertory Dance Company will perform pieces created by both faculty and nationally and internationally renowned guest artists on March 14 - 15 at 7:30 p.m. and March 16 at 2 p.m. Tickets are required.

The season closes with Qui Nguyen's "Begets: Fall of A High School Ronin" on April 3-5 at 7:30 p.m. and April 6 at 2 p.m. in the Johnson Theatre. Nguyen turns his attention to the highs and lows of the American high school. What if your high school was a video game? What if its divisive cliques were controlled by shoguns and threatened by samurai warriors? What if you suddenly discovered that the greatest fighter in the universe was actually a self-professed high school geek gurl? Does violence have to beget more violence? Does absolute power corrupt absolutely?

Join us for W&L's Department of Music's Season, full of exciting performances from faculty, guests and talented students. Highlights include numerous faculty recitals in the Wilson Concert Hall including piano faculty member Akiko Konishi, and artist colleagues; Anima e Grazia featuring Julia Goudimova, cello and Anna Billias, piano; the Marlbrook Chamber Ensemble; and the Robert O. and Elizabeth M. Bentley Opera, "Dido and Aenas." The choral program offers a number of performances featuring the University Singers, Men's Glee Club and Cantatrici throughout the year.

W&L Fall Choral Concert will be held on October 24 at 8 p.m. and is not to be missed!; tickets are free, but required. Join us for a performance by the University Wind Ensemble on November 6 at 8 p.m., no tickets are required. Mix it up with the University Jazz Ensemble performance on November 9 at 8 p.m., no tickets are required. The University Orchestra opens its season on November 16 at 8 p.m., no tickets are required. The Holiday Pops Concert will span two days, December 4 & 5 at 7 p.m., tickets are free with non-perishable food or monetary donation to Campus Kitchen. Lessons & Carols, a long time tradition favorite, will return to the University Chapel on December 7 at 8 p.m., no tickets are required.

For a complete listing of W&L fall, winter, and spring Music season performances, visit my.wlu.edu/lenfest-center.

W&L's Staniar Gallery Season features numerous exhibits opening with Mary Mattingly: "Proposals" beginning September 4 - October 25 with a lecture and reception held on September 19. Nestor Armando Gil's "Taller Workshop: Rastros" exhibition begins November 1 - December 8 with a lecture and reception held on November 14. Start the 2024 Year off right with "Florence As It Was: The Digital Reconstruction of a Medieval City" held February 13 - March 22 with a lecture and reception on February 13. A highlight of the Staniar Gallery season will be the Senior Theses Exhibition held April 1-12 with the lecture and reception to be announced. Concluding the season is Sandy De Lissovoy exhibit "Floating Topographies, New Work and Collaborations," on April 29 - May 31 with lecture and reception on TBA.

Live the Arts at Lenfest Center for the Arts!