The Hayes in ‘08…Wow!

Hayes Performing Arts Center 2008

Story by Anna Oakes

With seating for 348, the Hayes Performing Arts Center is Blowing Rock’s largest indoor performance venue. Having just opened a couple of years ago, the Hayes Center still has some of the sparkle of a new facility but is quickly growing into a familiar, well-frequented destination for live entertainment in the High Country.
From the spectacular productions of the Blowing Rock Stage Company to the range of talented musicians, comedians and other artists of the Hayes Center Presenting Series, the Hayes Center put on quite a show in 2008.

The Hayes Performing Arts Center is located at 152 Jamie Fort Road off U.S. 321 in Blowing Rock. For more information, call 828-295-9627 or click to www.hayescenter.org. Here are some of the many acts featured in 2008.

January 25
Winter Blues Festival
This ode to all things blues featured music by North Carolina artists Chick Willis, Big Ron Hunter and The King Bees.

January 26
John Cowan Band
As lead singer for the erstwhile New Grass Revival, bassist John Cowan introduced a new generation of music fans to an explosive, experimental brand of bluegrass. The popular artist will return to the Hayes Center once again in January 2009.

February 23
John McEuen
A founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, multi-instrumentalist McEuen showcased his diverse acoustic skills on banjo, fiddle, guitar and mandolin. Like Cowan, McEuen returns in ’09.

March 15
Mike Cross
American singer, guitarist and fiddler Mike Cross played to a sold-out show in 2008, blending multiple styles of music, including folk tunes, acoustic blues and humorous novelty songs. He’s back in ’09, too.

April 16 to May 16
HayesGrass
Eight local bluegrass bands competed to be the opening act for the Lonesome River Band on May 17. The Surefire Bluegrass Band was crowned the HayesGrass winner, and the successful contest returns in 2009.

April 20
The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron?
Robert Dubac’s one-man show, a humorous perusal of the male psyche, finds Dubac’s alter ego Bobby, recently dumped by his fiancée, confronting the eternal male question: What do women want? Dubac’s characters and smart presentation scored plenty of laughs with the Hayes Center audience.

May 17
Lonesome River Band
Celebrating 25 years as one of bluegrass music’s most popular and influential acts, the current incarnation of the famous quintet brought its signature sound to the High Country along with the winners of the HayesGrass bluegrass competition, the Surefire Bluegrass Band. The band returns in May 2009.

June 1
Glenn Bolick
Local musician and master potter Glenn Bolick spun some old-time bluegrass on guitar and banjo. A descendent of the first Appalachian pioneers, Bolick preserves the art of his people through music, stories and homespun jokes.

June 27 to July 12
Leading Ladies
In one of the most rollickingly hilarious Stage Company productions of the year, actors Jim Ballard and Ben Corbett had audiences rolling on the floor as the characters Leo and Jack, two penniless Shakespearean actors who planned to pass themselves off as the long-lost English nephews of an ailing, affluent woman in order to inherit her fortune. Things got interesting, however, when the two discovered that the relatives were nieces—not nephews.

June 30
Southern Fried Jazz Band
The eight-piece Southern Fried Jazz Band, founded by Big Band veteran Don Edwards, performed a concert of authentic Dixieland jazz.

July 18 to August 9
Peter Pan
The Blowing Rock Stage Company broke new ground with its production of the classic Peter Pan, demonstrating the technical capabilities of the state-of-the-art Hayes Center. With a large cast of characters and Peter, Wendy, John and Michael literally soaring through the air, the production dazzled audiences. The show was so successful that the Stage Company extended its run an extra week.

July 21
The Lascivious Biddies
This all-female NYC-based cocktail pop quartet blended jazz, pop and cabaret with four-part harmonies, plus a heap of humor and a dash of sentimentality.

August 10
Yuja Wang
World-renowned, award-winning, 20-year-old concert pianist Yuja Wang performed on the Hayes Center stage in August as part of a fundraiser for the Hayes Center’s Capital Fund, Education Endowment and General Fund.

August 15 to 24
Rumors
The Stage Company skillfully executed Neil Simon’s farce Rumors, about several affluent couples who arrived for a dinner party to find there were no servants, the hostess was missing and the host—the deputy mayor of New York City—had shot himself through the earlobe. Complications arose when they attempted to conceal the events from the police, the media and each other.

September 19 and 20
Chicago’s Second City: Greatest Hits
Chicago’s famed improvisational sketch comedy troupe—which has given the world such esteemed wisecrackers as Tina Fey, Steve Carrell, Bill Murray, Bonnie Hunt, John Candy and Peter Boyle—forever revolutionized comedy and theatre. A touring arm of the six-decade-and-counting Windy City troupe came to Blowing Rock to perform an evening of political and pop cultural commentary-fueled belly laughs.

September 26
Richmond Ballet
Considered one of the most innovative and impressive regional dance troupes in the country, the Richmond Ballet performed from its wide-ranging repertory of classical and contemporary dance.

October 3 to 12
The Tempest
The Stage Company began its Theatre in Schools program with The Tempest, the last play written by William Shakespeare. In a play with elements of fantasy, comedy and romance, a usurped duke and his young daughter are marooned on a forgotten island, but 12 years later, a storm inspired by magic brings his enemies to the same shore. The Stage Company performed the play for hundreds of area high school students.

October 5
John Brown Quintet
Comprised of five native North Carolinian friends, the John Brown Quintet delivered a set list that included original versions and new arrangements of traditional jazz standards, modern jazz pieces and original compositions.

October 27
Kruger Brothers
Born and raised in Switzerland, Jens and Uwe Kruger have been performing professionally since 1973. Now that they’ve relocated to the Wilkes County area, the Kruger Brothers are MerleFest favorites and highly sought-after performers throughout the region. Along with bassist Joel Landsberg, the trio performed a rousing concert of acoustic bluegrass.

November 16
Blue Ridge Descendants
A musical staple of 1960s Appalachia, the bluegrass band Blue Ridge Descendants was formed to celebrate and preserve the music and tradition that made mountain life and the music it begat so unique. Three of its original members—James Coffey, Bob Harman and Glenn Bolick—came together to recapture that old-time sound for generations both old and new in a special concert at the Hayes Center.

December 5 to 14
A High Country Christmas Carol
In a play tailored specifically for the Stage Company and the North Carolina High Country, Bob Inman’s A High Country Christmas Carol presented the basic plot and themes of Charles Dicken’s classic in a local setting. The production was well attended and represented a strong finish to the 2008 Stage Company season.