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Early spring opening set for NCA; gala celebration followed by lineup of varied acts

By Dean Shalhoup - Senior Staff Writer | Dec 3, 2022

Courtesy photo The proposed Nashua Performing Arts Center is depicted in a computer-generated image. West Pearl Street is at right. (Courtesy photo)

NASHUA – Hailed by Nashua Community Arts president Rich Lannan as both an “economic engine for the Nashua area” and “a community venue focused on the arts,” the Nashua Center for the Arts will come to life the evening of Saturday, April 1, with a gala opening night called “Nashua Celebration of the Arts.”

Under construction at 201 Main St. – the corner of Main and West Pearl streets – for more than a year, the NCA is gradually taking shape inside and out as city officials, local arts advocates, benefactors and performing arts enthusiasts count down the weeks to the grand opening.

Spectacle Live, the center’s venue operator, just announced the grand opening event and the first eight acts booked so far. Spectacle Live spokeswoman Cassidy Blouin said tickets for each of the events have just gone on sale, and can be purchased through www.NashuaCenterfortheArts.com or by calling 800-657-8774.

Blouin said Spectacle Live plans to announce this Tuesday an additional set of acts that have been, or are in the process of, being booked for the center.

That information will be posted at www.nashuatelegraph.com when it becomes available.

The list of donors whose contributions have made possible the construction of the center has reached the 400 mark, according to Lannan, the Nashua Community Arts president.

Lannan, on behalf of the donors, said recently that they “are excited that the vision of the Nashua Center for the Arts as an economic engine for the Nashua area, and a community venue focused on the arts, will be realized when it opens next year.”

Mayor Jim Donchess, a proponent of the project since its inception, said he and other city officials “are proud to announce the first shows to be presented” at the center.

The center’s opening represents “the culmination of years of tireless efforts from civic leaders and volunteers who have worked together to make this dream … into a reality.”

Donchess seconded Lannan’s prediction that the center will prove to be an economic engine for the city, as patrons and guests “will be supporting local shops and restaurants” that are part of “a modern, vibrant downtown.”

Pete Lally, the president of Spectacle Live, has been a frequent visitor to the site and to various informational meetings since the agency signed on as venue operator, which entails running all aspects of the operation from bookings and marketing to hiring and managing staff.

“After the years of hard work and dedication that has gone into the Nashua Center for the Arts, we are excited to finally share it with the public,” Lally said recently. “The design and uniqueness of the building will allow for us to showcase a diverse array of shows. This is only the beginning and we look forward to announcing the exciting things we have planned for the Nashua Center for the Arts.”

Spectacle Live has booked, in addition to the lineup of touring acts, several local performing arts groups, such as Symphony NH and Safe Haven Ballet, the latter of which hails from the Laconia area.

As for Symphony NH, its April 29 show will take place 100 years to the day after its very first concert on April 29, 1923.

The show will feature acclaimed cellist Amit Peled, who performed Dvorak’s “Cello Concerto” with the symphony in 2001.

Two other works the symphony plans to play – Schubertís “Unfinished” Symphony and Straussís “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” – were played at the symphony’s first concert a century earlier.

As the oldest professional orchestra in New Hampshire, and one of Nashua’s longest performing organizations, “Symphony NH has always been at the forefront of musical innovation,” executive director Deanna Hoying said.

Orchestra members “are excited to support and collaborate with Nashua’s newest music venue,” and are “looking forward to performing in this new, accessible, welcoming and state-of-the-art venue,” Hoying added.

A lineup of the initial performances, beginning with the Nashua Celebration of the Arts grand opening event, follow. For more information on each event, click on “tickets” at www.nashuacenterforthearts.com, then click on the “more information” link and if desired, click on “get tickets.”

• April 1: Nashua Celebration of the Arts, 1 p.m. $15.

• April 15: Suzanne Vega – An Intimate Evening of Songs and Stories, 8 p.m. $49-$195.

• April 22: Safe Haven Ballet Presents “Beauty & The Beast,” 4:30 p.m. $40-$45.

• April 29: Symphony NH: “Momentum!” 100-year anniversary concert, 4 p.m. $52.

• May 19: The Rush Tribute Project, 8 p.m. $29-$59.

• June 8: Celebrating Billy Joel: America’s Piano Man, 8 p.m. $29-$59.

• June 17: Grace Kelly, 8 p.m. $40-$95.

• July 15: Jake Shimabukuro, 8 p.m. $29-$69.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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