MIAC lineup for spring 2023 season

Hailey Steidle, staff writer

For the 2022-2023 academic year, Mercyhurst is hosting a Live Series through the Mercyhurst Institute for Arts & Culture. The Live Series hosts a broad lineup of Broadway singers, cultural icons and internationally acclaimed artists. For the remainder of the spring semester, Mercyhurst will host four notable names of Broadway and international musicians with awards from the Grammy’s and the Tony’s. All Mercyhurst students can see these shows for free by just showing their valid Mercyhurst ID. The next artist will be coming to Mercyhurst on March 2. Kelli O’Hara is often referred to as one of the most extraordinary leading ladies on Broadway and will perform in the PAC for anyone who would like to attend. She established herself on Broadway when she portrayed Anna Leonowens in “The King and I,”
from which she earned the 2015 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. She has since added a Grammy, Drama League, Outer Critics and Oliver Nominations to her list of accomplishments. Along with her achievements on Broadway, she has also been involved in a multitude of film and TV shows such as “Sex and the City 2”, “Blue Bloods”, “Peter Pan Live” and “13 Reasons Why.” On March 28 at 7:30 pm in the PAC Theater, Mercyhurst will host Chris Botti, a Grammy award-winning master trumpeter and composer. He has a vast history of performing with big names like Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennet, YoYo-Ma, Frank Sinatra, Sting, Paul Simon and Andrea Bocelli. Since he began performing, he has garnered multiple gold and platinum albums and has been named the nation’s largest-selling instrumental artist. His performance will be one you surely will not want to miss. On April 13, Mercyhurst will be hosting Angelique Kidjo as a part of the Live Series. She will be performing her newest album, “Mother Nature,” in which the five-time Grammy Award winner joined with a number of her musical progeny to create—students interested in seeing this visionary should tune in for this fantastic concert. The Guardian named Angelique Kidjo one of the Top 100 Most Inspiring Women in the World, and Times Magazine named her “Africa’s Premier Diva.” On May 3, Mercyhurst will be hosting Aaron Tveit, who has earned many awards and has been credited in even more shows. Tveit has made a Tony Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for when he leads the cast in the world premiere of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” on Broadway. He has also been credited in many other Broadway shows, such as “Wicked,” “Hairspray,” “Catch Me If You Can,” and “Next to Normal.” On TV, he has been on “Graceland,”“Schmigadoon,”“Braindead,” “Grease: Live,” and finally, the film version of “Les Misérables.” This is an impressive lineup that Mercyhurst is able to offer the community so be sure to take advantage of them! The box office is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12-5 pm. Again, the tickets for students are free and discounted for employees of the university