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Academy Award, Emmy and Grammy Award winner Common, six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, Tony and Grammy Award winner Leslie Odom Jr. and jazz legend Wynton Marsalis will headline Florida State University\u2019s 2026-27 Opening Nights season.<\/p>\n
The season, themed \u201cStories Worth Telling,\u201d brings together artists from around the world whose work spans music, theater, dance, comedy and storytelling.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery great performance is really an act of storytelling,\u201d said Kevin Maynard, executive director of Opening Nights. \u201cThis season, we\u2019ve brought together storytellers at the height of their craft, voices that carry us into cultures we might never otherwise encounter, and brand-new work being told aloud for the very first time. These are stories worth telling.\u201d<\/p>\n
The season opens Sept. 4 with folk singer-songwriters Drew & Ellie Holcomb\u00a0at Ruby Diamond Concert Hall.<\/p>\n
Among the season\u2019s highlights are\u00a0McDonald, who has won six Tony Awards, more than any other performer in history, on Feb. 25;\u00a0Odom Jr., the Tony and Grammy Award-winning original Aaron Burr in Hamilton, performing with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra on March 6; and\u00a0Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center\u00a0on Jan. 28.\u00a0The performance is part of Marsalis\u2019 final season leading the acclaimed ensemble and will bring one of his last appearances with the group to Ruby Diamond Concert Hall.<\/p>\n
The season brings artists and cultural traditions from around the world to Tallahassee. Audiences will experience the Tuvan throat singing of the\u00a0Alash Ensemble\u00a0on Oct. 29, the\u00a0National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine\u00a0on Feb. 11, the\u00a0Vienna Girls Choir\u00a0on April 6 and the immersive theatrical experience\u00a0Mrs. Krishnan\u2019s Party, running Feb. 17-20.\u00a0The production invites audience members into the story as participants rather than spectators, creating a shared cultural experience centered on food,\u00a0community\u00a0and celebration.<\/p>\n
Opening Nights continues its commitment to supporting new artistic work through two commissioned productions.\u00a0Adele Myers and Dancers\u00a0will present a\u00a0world gone\u00a0FABULOUS on Oct. 6, and\u00a0JazzReach\u2019s\u00a0TRUTH\u00a0will close the season April 16 with a multimedia performance honoring the life and legacy of jazz legend John Coltrane.<\/p>\n
Other season highlights include a Nov. 14 performance by\u00a0Common\u00a0with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, presented in partnership with Visit Tallahassee and Scott Carswell; blues-rock guitarist\u00a0Tinsley Ellis; acclaimed jazz vocalist\u00a0Madeleine Peyroux;\u00a0One Night in Memphis;\u00a0\u201cThe President\u2019s Own\u201d\u00a0United States Marine Band;\u00a0Katie Skene and Friends;\u00a0Whose Live Anyway?;\u00a0pianist Barron Ryan;\u00a0Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel; The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players\u2019 production of\u00a0The Pirates of Penzance; Florida State University\u2019s annual\u00a0PRISM concert; Manual Cinema\u2019s\u00a0The 4th Witch; and Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and drummer\u00a0Jamison Ross.<\/p>\n
Opening Nights also will introduce audiences to\u00a0emerging\u00a0talent, including U.K.-based singer-songwriter\u00a0Grace George, who will make her American debut Oct. 20 at Goodwood Museum & Gardens.<\/p>\n
Two\u00a0additional\u00a0performances that are part of national tours will be announced in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Performances will take place at venues across Tallahassee, including Ruby Diamond Concert Hall, Goodwood Museum & Gardens, Opperman Music Hall, Nancy Smith Fichter Theatre and Adderley Amphitheater.<\/p>\n
Tickets for performances from September through January go on sale to the public at 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 3. Opening Nights members will receive\u00a0early access\u00a0and\u00a0additional\u00a0benefits. Tickets for February through April performances will go on sale in November.<\/p>\n