The Collegio Pittsburg's student voice since 1916
The Bicknell Family Center for the Arts announced their upcoming 2022-2023 season, featuring five shows from across the country and ranging from a live Broadway tour of “The Fiddler on the Roof” to the U.S. Navy Concert Band straight from Washington D.C.
The Bicknell Center announced the season on Aug. 3, 2022. The season features five different performances to be shown at the Bicknell Center, including a live radio broadcast straight from Pittsburg to millions across the country tuning in to public radio, several instrumental ensemble performances, and a performance of “Fiddler on the Roof.”
“Fiddler on the Roof brings back memories for me of my childhood,” said Joe Firman, director for the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts. “And the first time I saw a Broadway production, and it really is amazing to bring that to Pittsburg Kansas. These are national tours, and it’s the same show you would see if you went to Chicago, Kansas City, or if you went to any other major theatre around the United States—and to have a facility like ours that is capable of holding these shows is so amazing.”
The Bicknell center will be offering a discount to every person who buys their tickets by Oct. 1. The deal is an “early bird special,” no student ID or senior citizen age required, to all who buy their tickets in advance. Tickets can be purchased at the PSU Ticket Office in the Garfield Weede building, or online at pittstate.edu/office/ticket-office, or by calling 620-235-4796
The season is set to begin with Trout Fishing in America on Sept. 30, thanks to an ongoing partnership with Olive Street Presents, a local non-profit group who host house concerts. Tickets for this event will be sold through Olive Street Presents’ website.
“They began in 1979 and have been performing together ever since,” Firman said. “It’s a great Americana show that will be a really intimate and fun show in the Miller theatre, and I really recommend everyone to check it out.”
Each season is chosen based on scheduling, funding, and what the selection team feel will resonate the most with the people of Pittsburg. The season is chosen 18 months in advance of announcing it to the public. More information on performances other than the Bicknell’s primary season can be found on the Bicknell center’s website.
Next in the season is the biggest event of the year, according to Firman. Mountain Stage is a long-standing public radio station that has broadcasted performances by rising stars for nearly 40 years. Originating in West Virginia, this program will be recorded for broadcast and heard on nearly 300 public radio stations nationwide for millions to tune into. Performers will include Grammy winner Kathy Mattea, along with other special performers like Jesse Milnes and Emily Miller, Will Carlisle, among others.
“We’ll reach millions, literally millions of people,” Firman said. “People who come to this show will be part of the live national studio audience. […] The talent they’re [West Virginia Public Radio] bringing here is just off the charts. So, this will be one of the most important concerts we have ever done, or ever had- and a national broadcast to boot.”
“Fiddler on the Roof” comes on Nov. 28. The musical follows the journey of a father and his daughters, and the traditions that define families across the world.
“Fiddler on the Roof is about Jewish Families living in Ukraine,” Firman said. “Which has a fitting connection to the world today where there is still conflicts in that very region where the show was written about.”
Firman expressed his excitement for the upcoming season, and the purpose of the Bicknell for the community.
“The Bicknell center exists to present all of this to the community and to the students here at Pitt State,” Firman said. “So, we want everyone to know that we are open and welcoming for them, and this was built for them… We look forward to seeing their smiling faces, and we hope they’ll take advantage of these opportunities. We’ve invested so much time and energy into building this center and making it possible, the only thing that’s left is to have the audience come. That shared experience as an audience is incredible, along with having the world class entertainment right in our backyard.”