For more than two and a half decades, the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville has been guided by one of its central pillars: providing mindful opportunities for community engagement. Each year, organizers and staff re-examine what's working and what could benefit from a few tweaks. Ahead of the 2019-20 season, public relations director Jennifer Wilson points out the changes and additions for the Broadway series programming that were prompted by the desire to make WAC engagement more accessible to more guests and even easier to navigate.
• Arts and Appetizers
FYI
Broadway packages, build-your-own subscriptions and single tickets are all on sale now. 443-5600 or waltonartscenter.org.
Before -- Conversations held prior to each Broadway show exploring the world, writing, author, history or any other topic of interest surrounding the show.
Now -- "We [realized] if we do something that's a little bit more spaced out, not as frequent, we can go a bit more in depth in the shows that are around it and cover other things in addition to the Broadway shows," Wilson explains. "So by having fewer, we're able to develop the content in each of those events and go a little wider in what we cover.
Dates -- Oct. 14, Nov. 4, Feb. 3, March 2
Cost -- Free
• Cocktail Classes
Before -- Last season offered a cocktail class add-on for Broadway shows "Jersey Boys" and "Waitress" where guests learned and crafted two show-themed cocktails.
Now -- "They were very popular," Wilson shares. "So we looked at the shows that we have coming, particularly our Broadway shows since they're in the house for multiple days, and looked at ones that would really be fun to do cocktails for. So we're just setting those as a more permanent engagement opportunity for our season this year."
Dates -- Oct. 25 for "Escape to Margaritaville"; Dec. 14 for "A Christmas Story: The Musical"; Feb. 15 for "Once on This Island"
Cost -- $35 add-on
• Broadway Book Club
Before -- Following each Broadway show run, a book club discussion of books directly related or adjacent to themes, time period or setting of the theater piece.
Now -- "Again, we decided this season we wanted to take a step back and look at books that are adaptations, so the Broadway plays come out of books that currently exist," Wilson reveals. "We're only having four of those, but we're able to directly tie them to this is the book, and this is the play. And it leads to a lot of good discussion about how they're different, how one is better or how you connect with one or the other more."
Dates -- Oct. 28 for "Escape to Margaritaville"; Dec. 2 for "A Christmas Story: The Musical"; Feb. 17 for "Once on This Island"; April 20 for "Fiddler On The Roof"
Cost -- Free
NAN What's Up on 08/25/2019