Clint Black, Capitol Steps, PIRATES OF PENZANCE & Loretta Swit Added to Poway Center's 2012-13 Season

Michael Rennie, Executive Director of the Poway Center for the Performing Arts Foundation has announced four new shows to be added to the 2012/2013 Professional Performance Season.

"We are tremendously excited to be part of the West Coast tours for both country music legend Clint Black and the hilarious comedy troupe the Capitol Steps. Add to that a lavish production of Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance and the premiere of Loretta Swit of M*A*S*H in a new production of Eleanor: Her Secret Journey, and you have one of the most diverse line-ups in our 23 year history."

Clint Black, heralded as one of Country music's brightest stars, hosts an intimate evening of stories and songs tonight, January 18 at 8:00pm in An Evening with Clint Black. Black has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide including his 1989 debut album, Killin' Time, which went triple platinum and yielded five #1 hits including "Nothin' But the Taillights," "A Better Man" and "Put Yourself in My Shoes."

CMT lists this album as one of the 100 Greatest Albums in Country Music. Rennie states, "If you're familiar with Clint's work, then you already know what a talent he is. With a voice that is equal parts Merle Haggard and Randy Travis, Clint embodies the best of traditional and contemporary country -- crystal clear and melodic one moment with the appropriate amount of whisky-soaked grit when necessary. Most will remember Clint as part of the crossover country movement of the '90s that included Garth Brooks, Shania Twain and Faith Hill. Clint hasn't stopped touring since and sounds as good as ever. The POW Foundation partnered with a string of performing arts centers throughout Southern California to make this tour happen. Fans will get an intimate evening of songs and stories with Clint and just two backing musicians - just the sort of show that plays perfectly in our 800-seat house."

After an 11- year hiatus, The Capitol Steps return for an election year special on Saturday, February 16 at 8pm. They began as Senate staffers who set out to satirize the very people and places that employed them. The group was born in December, 1981 when some staffers for Senator Charles Percy were planning entertainment for a Christmas party. Their first idea was to stage a nativity play, but in the whole Congress they couldn't find three wise men or a virgin. So, they decided to dig into the headlines of the day, and they created song parodies & skits which conveyed a special brand of satirical humor. Since they began, the Capitol Steps have recorded over 30 albums, including their latest, Desperate Housemembers. They've been featured on NBC, CBS, ABC, and PBS, and can be heard 4 times a year on National Public Radio stations nationwide during their Politics Takes a Holiday radio specials. "There is rarely anything funny about an election year. More than ever elections have become about divisiveness, separatism and heaping helpings of negativity - all of which is in direct opposition to our mission," says Rennie. "We're in the business of building community and bringing people together! So we thought 'what better way to mend fences with our neighbors than to get them together for a good laugh?'" The Capitol Steps are the proverbial equal opportunity offenders skewering left, right and middle with a wink, a nudge and tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Part theater camp, part community gathering - all fun! Missoula Children's Theatre returns to present Snow White on Saturday, March 16 at 3 and 7pm. The actor/directors will transform more than 60 local children into stage-savvy thespians in just six days. Auditions, open to all children age 5 through 18, will be held Monday, March 11 at 4pm at the Center. Participating children will spend the week learning the trade of the stage - from auditions to rehearsals to a performance of an all-new musical version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. See tomorrow's stars on stage today! For audition information visit www.powayarts.org.

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