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Overture to feature big names, shows
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by Darryl Schnell
Monday, September 12, 2005
Now in its second year of operation, the Overture Center for the Arts continues to schedule renowned performances and shows in an attempt to appeal to a diversified clientele from both inside and outside the city of Madison.
Despite its fine arts and Broadway-type shows which attract a notable group of patrons, the Overture Center has typically failed to captivate the minds of young people, according to some University of Wisconsin students.
"I had never thought twice about really ever going to the Overture Center for anything," University of Wisconsin senior Adam Strehlow said. "I thought of it as somewhere where the 'real' adults go."
Strehlow, who admitted to being a "typical UW student," said some of the Overture's scheduled fall performances intrigue him.
"I don't really like any of that Broadway stuff," Strehlow said. "But when I heard that they had Widespread Panic and Jerry Seinfeld coming, I was interested in getting tickets for those shows."
Some students feel the Overture Center is trying to reach out to a much younger audience by scheduling events geared more towards their demographic.
"Scheduling rock and new age music tells me they're trying to get more students to go," UW senior Aaron Zittnan said. "Widespread Panic is totally a student band."
Overture divides it acts by genre, ranging from Broadway, Ballet and Classical Music to Jazz, Blues, Big Band, Comedy, New Age Music and Rock.
UW senior Ted Koehler said attracting the student group and others to a variety of shows and performances will aid the arts venue.
"It benefits the Overture Center and the community to have diverse audiences," Koehler said. "One way to bring in diverse audiences is to have diverse acts."
Michael Goldberg, vice president for programming and development at the center, said the Overture Center will continue to focus on a commitment to draw a range of performers.
"The idea here is for anybody from any part of the community to be able to walk in any time … and say, 'Hey, this is me,'" Goldberg said in a previous interview.
Despite diversity efforts, some students said they still feel generally neglected by the Overture Center.
"The fact that they seem to be bringing in different acts is okay, but there're only two shows I'm actually interested in going to see," Strehlow said. "I'd feel so out of place going to some of those other shows."
While ballet and Broadway performances may not interest students such as Strehlow, others add that the price of tickets can be burdensome for those wrestling with tuition and rent.
"It seems like they're only catering to students two nights out of the year," Zittnan said. "And those shows are so expensive too. I don't know many students, unless they were desperate to go, who would want to pay that much for tickets."
Zittnan pointed to Widespread Panic tickets selling for $36, while tickets for Seinfeld are at least $51 and as much as $81. Broadway shows such as "Rent" feature single tickets ranging from $33 to $50.
