Opening Nights

An FSU tradition bringing top-notch artists to Tallahassee
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Courtesy of FSU Opening Nights

Comedian Jay Leno, the Count Basie Orchestra, country music legend Emmylou Harris, disco kings KC & The Sunshine Band, classic rocker Roger McGuinn of The Byrds, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colton Whitehead might be as diverse a collection of artists as they are talented. 

But all share a common theme: They’re among the dozens of entertainment alumni from around the world who have wowed Tallahassee audiences at Opening Nights, Florida State University’s popular performing arts series. 

For more than 25 years, Opening Nights has been a premier entertainment staple in Tallahassee, epitomizing the phrase “bridging the town and gown” by offering a diverse lineup of performances for both residents and FSU students and faculty. 

“We are pretty unique in the performances we are bringing in,’’ said executive director Kevin L. Maynard, who joined the organization in November. “Our purview is to do something a bit more cultural and something a bit more overarching with the community and the campus.’’ 

Opening Nights continues FSU’s tradition of bringing performing artists to campus, roots that go back to the 1921 launch of the Florida State College for Women Performing Arts series.

The inaugural Seven Days of Opening Nights started in 1999 and morphed into the current Opening Nights, offering performances in music, theater, dance, visual arts, and spoken word. 

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Courtesy of FSU Opening Nights

The current season continues that momentum with a lineup including dance legend Twyla Tharp, the Ukrainian quartet DakhaBrakha, and London’s Kingdom Choir(best known for performing at the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018).

Programming such an eclectic mix of performances starts with “getting to know the community and seeing what the community is interested in seeing,’’ Maynard said. 

But it’s more than that. Maynard and his staff also try to expose residents and students to performances new to them or that they might not think to see. 

“It’s easy to stay in your lane, but I like to push an audience a little bit further and show them something a little bit different than what they are used to seeing, but I know that they’ll love it. And a lot of that is getting to know your community,’’ he said. 

“Our philosophy is we want to be diverse, we want to represent the community that we are living in, and we want it to be something different that you’re not going to be able to see anywhere else in Tallahassee,’’ he said.

Since education is a core mission of Opening Nights, the series also offers Opening Nights In Class, bringing some performing artists into the Leon County school system and FSU campus to offer master classes, lectures, and question-and-answer sessions for students.

While ticket costs for Opening Nights performances are either less expensive or on par with other performing arts venues, the quality of acts is made possible “in large part to our sponsors and our donors. They allow us to not only have these performances in our community, but they allow us to bring them in and get them into our public school systems,’’ Maynard says. “We are blessed here in Tallahassee to have a really strong arts community.’’

Three
to see!

Here are a few performers coming up at Opening Nights

March 6

Twyla Tharp Dance Diamond Jubilee 

Legendary dancer/choreographer Twyla Tharp celebrates her sixtieth anniversary featuring her Oliver-nominated Diabelli Variations set to Beethoven’s masterpiece, and a new dance to a reimagining of Philip Glass’ Aguas de Amazonia. 

March 19

Time for Three

For an introduction to classical music for people who think they aren’t into classical music, the Grammy- and Emmy-winning ensemble Time for Three merges various eras, styles, and traditions of Western music on violin, bass, and vocals. 

April 1-2

DakhaBrakha

The name of this quartet from Kyiv, Ukraine, translates as “give/take” from old Ukrainian language. Known as a “Ukrainian ethno chaos band,’’ DakhaBrakha incorporates Indian, Arabic, African, and Ukrainian instrumentation to create unforgettable sounds. 

Categories: Art, Dance, Music