This Spring Break Party with Baby Bash as his tour makes his way through the Northwest. He'll be performing new and well-known hits. Special guests include Rasheed with The Purp Gang and Hood Made Empire.
Tickets ($35-$75) are available at the door. Outside food and beverages are not allowed.
The Live Cinema Series continues with a screening of the current production of Carmen by The Royal Opera on Wednesday, April 11 at 6:00 p.m., and again on Sunday, April 15 at 2:00 p.m. This production is filmed live in London and rebroadcast internationally to select screens.
Carmen is the best-known work by French composer Georges Bizet, and one of the most famous operas in the entire art form – numbers such as the Habanera and the Toreador Song have permeated the popular consciousness as little else has. The opera’s heady combination of passion, sensuality and violence initially proved too much for the stage, and it was a critical failure on its 1875 premiere. Bizet died shortly after, and never learned of the spectacular success his Carmen would achieve: the opera has been performed more than five hundred times at Covent Garden alone.
This ever-popular opera is given a fresh point of view in Barrie Kosky’s highly physical production, originally created for Frankfurt Opera. The Australian director is one of the world’s most sought-after opera directors, whose Royal Opera debut with Shostakovich’s The Nose in 2016 was greeted with delight. For Carmen he has devised a far-from-traditional version, incorporating music written by Bizet for the score but not usually heard, and giving a new voice to the opera’s endlessly fascinating central character.
For this production, Jakub Hrůša conducts the following cast:
MORALÈS - Gyula Nagy
MICAËLA - Kristina Mkhitaryan
DON JOSÉ - Francesco Meli
ZUNIGA - David Soar
CARMEN - Anna Goryachova
FRASQUITA - Jacquelyn Stucker
MERCÉDÈS - Aigul Akhmetshina
ESCAMILLO - Kostas Smoriginas
DANCAÏRO - Pierre Doyen
REMENDADO - Jean-Paul Fouchécourt
VOICE OF CARMEN - Claude de Demo
This screening runs approximately 3 hours 50 minutes including one intermission and an onscreen introduction.
NOTE: Carmen is sung in French with English surtitles.
Reserved seating tickets ($15 Adults, $10 Students/Youth) are available online or by calling the box office at 509-529-6500. For group ticket sales, please call 509-876-1662. Outside food and beverages are not allowed. Beer, wine, popcorn, and snacks will be available for purchase, and may be taken into the theater.
Gesa Power House Theatre presents all-female country group Farewell Angelina in concert on Thursday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m.
Named after a haunting Bob Dylan song, Farewell Angelina is comprised of four powerhouse vocalists, dynamic songwriters and badass multi-instrumentalists. Their stellar blend of heart-stopping harmonies over blazing double violins and guitars has earned soaring praise across the board. Roughstock calls them a "Superstar Act... with Killer Songs." Rolling Stone says, "Wickedly smart songwriting delivered with a healthy dash of sass... deft playing... into one sonic knockout punch."
A band of longtime friends, Nicole Witt, Andrea Young, Lisa Torres, and Lauren Lucas all met pursuing their dreams in Nashville, TN. Each had deeply respected and admired each other while they were building successful solo careers, touring and recording with top artists, and writing songs for some of Country Music's biggest hitmakers. When they heard the undeniable magic of their voices together for the first time, they couldn't wait to take their show on the road. Major opportunities soon followed including singing the National Anthem for Thursday Night Football, The Unbridled Eve Gala for the Kentucky Derby, and The Trails West Festival among many others.
Farewell Angelina's chemistry lives in watching each other shine, and most of all, creating moments every night with the country music fans they love so much. They've been named among Rolling Stone's "New Artists You Need To Know," and Roughstock's "Ones to Watch" with a tour schedule to prove it. They have opened for the likes of Kenny Chesney, Old Dominion, Frankie Ballard, Jake Owen, Billy Currington, and Trace Adkins, to name a few.
Reserved seating tickets ($45-$35) are available online or by calling the box office at 509-529-6500. For group ticket sales, please call 509-876-1662. Outside food and beverages are not allowed. Beer and wine will be available for purchase, and may be taken into the theater.
Celebrating 5 years of supporting youth ballet in Walla Walla
Gala benefit for Danza Classica Ballet Foundation
Tutus & Tapas, a gala evening of ballet, will return to Gesa Power House Theatre for a 5th year on Saturday, April 14, 2018. This event features local food and wine; dining, wine, and activity items for auction; and a chance to see the Valley’s only classically trained youth ballet company present the repertoire for their summer 2018 trip to Italy. All proceeds benefit the Danza Classica Ballet Foundation whose mission is to foster and advance the art of ballet in the WW Valley.
Festivities begin when the doors open at 7:00pm. Your ticket provides you with tasty small bites and a complimentary glass of local, award-winning wine (or non-alcoholic beverage if you prefer). Mingle with friends and browse the themed, silent auction baskets or check out our marvelous wine wall. Then "take a chance" at the Tutu Board where your donation gets you the pick of what's behind the mini tutus on display: it could be a gift certificate at a local business or a special prize item. Enjoy the eclectic sounds of the musical duet, My Sister Linoleum, performing on stage as you sample the local culinary creations.
Then at 8:00pm come have a seat and watch the beauty and variety of five specially choreographed dances performed by the youth dancers of the Danza Classica Ballet Company. These young ballet dancers, directed by Idalee Hutson-Fish, will be presenting five new works with choreography by Idalee Hutson-Fish, Phyllis Rothwell Affrunti of Ballet Idaho, and Natascha Greenwalt, director of Coriolis Dance Collective in Seattle.
Our entertaining Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Thomas Beebe, is returning for the evening to introduce the program and assist with the live auction bidding for items like:
four tickets to Pacific Northwest Ballet’s June production Love & Ballet in Seattle;
a cheese & wine pairing for 6-8 people with tour of the farm at Monteillet Fromagerie in Dayton;
a 6-month family pass for unlimited visits to Walla Walla Fight Factory gym and fitness center;
a season pass for two to the Live Cinema screenings from the Royal London Opera/Ballet/Shakespeare Companies at the Gesa Power House Theatre.
Tickets are $25/person and are available online, from Danza Classica Ballet Company dancers, and at the door. Outside food and beverages are not allowed.
Contact Information: info@dcbfww.org
The Live Cinema Series continues with a screening of the current production of Carmen by The Royal Opera on Wednesday, April 11 at 6:00 p.m., and again on Sunday, April 15 at 2:00 p.m. This production is filmed live in London and rebroadcast internationally to select screens.
Carmen is the best-known work by French composer Georges Bizet, and one of the most famous operas in the entire art form – numbers such as the Habanera and the Toreador Song have permeated the popular consciousness as little else has. The opera’s heady combination of passion, sensuality and violence initially proved too much for the stage, and it was a critical failure on its 1875 premiere. Bizet died shortly after, and never learned of the spectacular success his Carmen would achieve: the opera has been performed more than five hundred times at Covent Garden alone.
This ever-popular opera is given a fresh point of view in Barrie Kosky’s highly physical production, originally created for Frankfurt Opera. The Australian director is one of the world’s most sought-after opera directors, whose Royal Opera debut with Shostakovich’s The Nose in 2016 was greeted with delight. For Carmen he has devised a far-from-traditional version, incorporating music written by Bizet for the score but not usually heard, and giving a new voice to the opera’s endlessly fascinating central character.
For this production, Jakub Hrůša conducts the following cast:
MORALÈS - Gyula Nagy
MICAËLA - Kristina Mkhitaryan
DON JOSÉ - Francesco Meli
ZUNIGA - David Soar
CARMEN - Anna Goryachova
FRASQUITA - Jacquelyn Stucker
MERCÉDÈS - Aigul Akhmetshina
ESCAMILLO - Kostas Smoriginas
DANCAÏRO - Pierre Doyen
REMENDADO - Jean-Paul Fouchécourt
VOICE OF CARMEN - Claude de Demo
This screening runs approximately 3 hours 50 minutes including one intermission and an onscreen introduction.
NOTE: Carmen is sung in French with English surtitles.
Reserved seating tickets ($15 Adults, $10 Students/Youth) are available online or by calling the box office at 509-529-6500. For group ticket sales, please call 509-876-1662. Outside food and beverages are not allowed. Beer, wine, popcorn, and snacks will be available for purchase, and may be taken into the theater.
Returning for its fourth year, Pitch It! was created to inspire and celebrate young entrepreneurs in the Walla Walla Valley by providing a platform for area students to test out their ideas, develop entrepreneurial skills and compete for investment funding.
Inspired by the TV show Shark Tank, students develop an idea, create a business and marketing plan and pitch their idea to a panel of judges. Local Walla Walla business leaders contribute as mentors, coaches and judges for contestants grades K-13+. The series of events culminates in a final event at Gesa Power House Theatre.
Join us for this year's final event:
Thursday, April 19th, 2018
Gesa Power House Theatre
5:30-8:00pm
The preliminary competition for all contestants will be held:
Thursday, March 29th, 2018
Walla Walla Community College, Water & Environment Center
5:30-8:00pm
Pitch It! is made possible through the generous support of: Baker Boyer Bank, Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce and Emberfuel Coworking.
The Live Cinema Series continues with a screening of the current production of Macbeth by The Royal Opera on Wednesday, April 25 at 6:00 p.m. and again on Sunday, May 13 at 2:00 p.m. A portion of the proceeds ($1/ticket) will be donated to the Walla Walla Symphony.
Verdi’s life-long love affair with Shakespeare’s works began with Macbeth, a play he considered to be ‘one of the greatest creations of man’. With his librettist, Francesco Maria Piave, Verdi set out to create ‘something out of the ordinary’. Their success is borne out in every bar of a score that sees Verdi at his most theatrical: it bristles with demonic energy.
The warrior Macbeth fights on the side of the King of Scotland – but when a coven of witches prophesy that he shall become king himself, a ruthless ambition drives Macbeth and his wife to horrific acts. Murder makes Macbeth king, and intrigue and butchery are the hallmarks of his brief, doomed reign. The witches make another prediction, which also comes true: Macbeth and his lady lose their lives, and justice is restored.
Phyllida Lloyd’s 2002 production for The Royal Opera is richly hued, shot through with black, red and gold. The witches – imagined by designer Anthony Ward as strange, scarlet-turbaned creatures – are ever-present agents of fate. Lloyd depicts the Macbeths’ childlessness as the dark sadness lurking behind their terrible deeds. The Royal Opera’s production uses Verdi’s 1865 Paris revision of the opera, which includes Lady Macbeth’s riveting aria "La luce langue."
Antonio Pappano conducts a cast led by Serbian baritone Željko Lučić as Macbeth, Russian soprano Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth (one of her signature roles) and Italian bass-baritone Ildebrando D’Arcangelo as Banquo.
NOTE: This production is sung in Italian, with English surtitles. This screening has a runtime of approximately 3 hours, 20 minutes, including one intermission and an on-screen introduction.
This production is performed by the Royal Opera, filmed live in London, and rebroadcast to select theaters.
Reserved seating tickets ($15 Adults, $10 Students/Youth) are available online or by calling the box office at 509-529-6500. For group ticket sales, please call 509-876-1662. Outside food and beverages are not allowed. Beer, wine, popcorn, and snacks will be available for purchase, and may be taken into the theater.
Gesa Power House Theatre presents jazz vocalist Kathy Kosins in concert on Sunday, April 29 at 7:00 p.m.
"One of the most alluring voices in Jazz" - Chicago Tribune
ASCAP award-winning vocalist Kathy Kosins combines the rich vocal traditions of jazz and soul in a one-of-a-kind presentation of music and visual art. Performing a mix of classic and original songs, Kosins brings the audience on a tour of some of the best and most loved hallmarks of the jazz and soul genres. An avid visual artist, Kosins also paints on stage during her performances, creating unique pieces that are improvised and inspired by the music. Whether a jazz aficionado or a beginning artist, everyone will find Kathy Kosins’ unique performance delightful and inspiring.
Born during the Motown era of Detroit, she began singing and arranging background vocals in the early eighties, which led to her becoming one of the most sought after session singers. As a lead vocalist she recorded for both Carrere (Sony) and Quality Records and later toured with Was/Not Was.
In the early ’90s, Kosins, a ferocious writer and arranger, fell in love with the freedom of the jazz art form and her writing naturally evolved into a more traditional approach. Stints with the JC Heard and Nelson Riddle Orchestras followed and led to a 1996 release of “All In A Dreams Work” (SchoolKids Records), an impressive debut featuring a first rate collection of nine originals and a cover of the Miles Davis composition “Four.” Reported by over 250 Jazz stations, she reached the top 20 in the Gavin Report.
Her 2002 release of “Mood Swings” (Chiaroscuro Records) continued to bring her recognition and success at the national level. On her 2006 release of “Vintage,” (Mahogany Jazz), she rediscovered little known songbook gems which she placed alongside a few widely known, yet unexpected tunes from outside the jazz tradition, which brought her glowing reviews from journalists.
In 2012, she released “To The Ladies Of Cool”, a dedication to the West Coast Cool school of artists like June Christy, Chris Connor, Julie London, and Anita O’Day. Kathy’s arrangements of those classic pieces stay true to the tradition of lyricism and understatement, yet sound so fresh and innovative that it is sometimes hard to believe those songs have been recorded some 50 plus years ago.
“The Space Between” from 2013 found her in the studio with some of LA’s best musicians like Tamir Hendelman (piano), Robert Hurst (bass), Eric Harland (drums), and Larry Koonse on guitar on several obscure tracks that had been recorded by Shirley Horn or Nat King Cole. Her Jazz repertoire is always enhanced by her soulful vocal performance and it is no wonder, that she decided to include a Chill Mix of one of the tunes from the album (“Night Bird”).
With the working title “Uncovered Soul”, Kosins has recorded this ultra soulful set with Grammy Award-winning producer Kamau Kenyatta (Gregory Porter) and a stellar cast of musicians: Greg Moore (guitar), Mitch Foreman (piano,keys), Kevin Axt (bass), Eric Harland (drums), and Munyungo (percussion). On the album, she explores rarely heard Soul and R&B tunes by famous songwriters like Curtis Mayfield, Eugene McDaniels, or Aaron Neville and also more contemporary tune-smiths like Amos Lee. It’s a well- balanced set catering to both jazz fans and soul aficionados alike and destined to become a future classic as it creates a sultry mood and features her most intense and intimate singing yet.
A past recipient of the Michigan Council for the Arts (Jazz Composer of the Year), Kosins has received grants from Michigan’s ArtServe advocacy group. Her clinics and workshops teach performance skills alongside business strategies for the independent artist and have been a success at colleges and universities across the USA.
When not touring the USA or Europe, Kosins excels as a painter. Her abstract improvised acrylics on canvas are influenced by the cubist paintings of the ’50s. Commissioned paintings are held in private collections and Kosins continues to sell her work at both gallery shows and concert performances. Kosins will paint on stage during a portion of her Walla Walla concert.
Kosins has shared the stage and performed with numerous names in the jazz and R&B world. A few notables are: Cyrus Chestnut, Terell Stafford, Randy Brecker, Javon Jackson, Larry Goldings, James Moody, Kevin Mahogany, Bernard Purdie, Greg Hutchinson, Eric Harland, Red Holloway, Grant Green Jr., Reuben Rogers, Reuben Wilson, Aaron Goldberg, Tamir Hendelman, Jesse Davis, Eric Marienthal, Matt Wilson, Mitch Ryder, Was/Not Was and Michael Henderson.
Reserved seating tickets ($30-$25 Adults; $20 Students) are available online or by calling the box office at 509-529-6500. For group ticket sales, please call 509-876-1662.
Kathy Kosins' band for this concert will include Matt Cooper (piano), Michael Simon (bass), and Steven Aslin (drums).
Gesa Power House Theatre presents Okaidja Afroso in concert on Friday, May 4 at 7:00 p.m.
Okaidja is an Afropop singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His unique artistic vision has led him to combine his native rhythms with unforeseen pairings of musical flavors. His sound is a spicy fusion of Ghanaian music with diverse cross-cultural influences. Although most of Okaidja's hypnotic arrangements are sung in his native language, the meaning shines through. His calling and life purpose is to bring us all together so that we can laugh and grieve and dance and forge forward together, in community.
Okaidja tells the stories of his people and follows their journey throughout the disparate lands where they were scattered. Okaidja brings together the deep understanding of his own musical transitions and the inspiration of Africa throughout Latin America. The music Okaidja creates is the music of the human experience. It is joyous, tragic, and uplifting. It embodies the vast perfect/imperfect human story. His soulful vocals and exultant dance movements connect with the audience in the most profound way.
Okaidja was born into a family of musicians and storytellers in the village of Kokrobite on the west coast of Ghana. He began his career as a dancer with the celebrated Ghana Dance Ensemble. As he toured internationally, Okaidja expanded his artistic reach, becoming a master multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and arranger.
Reserved seating tickets ($30-$25 Adults; $20 Students) are available online or by calling the box office at 509-529-6500. For group ticket sales, please call 509-876-1662.
Outside food and beverages are not allowed. Beer and wine will be available for purchase, and may be taken into the theater.
Event Exclusive: Actor and winemaker Kyle MacLachlan will be in the lobby before the show talking about his Pursued By Bear wines - which we will be pouring!
Additional support provided by
Walla Walla County, Port of Walla Walla, City of Walla Walla, City of College Place
Each Coldwell Banker Office is Independently Owned and Operated