Shawnee State University’s Vern Riffe Center for the Arts (VRCFA) has announced the 2022-2023 VRCFA Performing Arts Series. Beginning in early Sept. the series features seven shows all to be held in the Eloise Covert Smith Theater.

“It will be an exciting year filled with a wide variety of shows, with something for everyone,” said Dr. Stanley Workman Jr., Artistic Director of the VRCFA.

The series will open on Sept. 15, 2022 with Teresa Walters, a renowned concert pianist who has earned worldwide praise for her dynamic performances, presents a concert titled “A Celebration of Hope & Healing”. Next will be a performance by “HarpOhio”, an Ohio State University-based performing ensemble for pre-college and college-age harpists on Oct. 16, 2022. Broadway will return to the stage with Legally Blond, The Musical on Oct. 27, 2022 and then, a timeless holiday classic, Dicken’s A Christmas Carol will be performed on Dec. 7, 2022.

Starting in the new year, Dr. Stanley Workman, tenor, and Julio Alves, guitarist, will join together to pay tribute to Austrian composer Franz Schubert on Jan. 19, 2023, with a performance of the song-cycle “Die shone Mullerin (The Lovely Miller’s Daughter)”, marking the 200th anniversary of its composition. Chronicling the phenomenal impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the stirring drama “I Have a Dream” will be performed on Feb. 2, 2023 by the Virginia Repertory Theatre Company. The performance will be preceded by a prelude of art songs and spirituals by female African-American composers of the 20th century, performed by Carline Waugh, soprano and Dr. Stanley Workman Jr., pianist. The dynamic male vocal ensemble “Gentri”, whose lush vocal stylings have been described as “cinematic pop” will take the stage on Apr. 20, 2023, and the season will then wrap up with fun for the whole family as Madagascar, the Musical takes the audience on an unforgettable journey on May 15, 2023.

“We are dedicated to supporting a thriving arts community in Portsmouth, and the upcoming series shows how that dedication benefits us all,” said. Dr. Workman.

Past subscribers can renew their subscriptions and preferred seating until Aug. 5. Renewals can be completed by mail, over the phone with the McKinley Box Office, or online at www.vrcfa.com. Tickets for the public will go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 8.

To learn more about upcoming shows at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts, visit www.vrcfa.com.