TECUMSEH — As Amy Slupe, the Tecumseh Center for the Arts’ executive director, planned out the TCA’s upcoming 2024-25 National Touring Season, it quickly became apparent what the season’s tagline should be: “Let’s Get Rowdy.”
“It’s a big season,” Slupe said. “’Let’s Get Rowdy’ [is] just how the season feels.”
Slupe said that it’s important to her that the TCA is a place that brings people together for a shared experience and to “make a memory.”
Live performance “matters to the quality of our life, and we’re so glad to be able to offer this to our community. … I think the best thing you get from live performance is the feeling you get in your soul, so I wanted performers who would bring joy,” she said.
Events on tap this season include comedy nights and musical performances in a wide range of genres from ’60s and ’70s AM radio hits to Celtic fusion to country/rock. Compared to last season, this one — the first one Slupe has been responsible for programming — has two comedians instead of just one and several acts that are bigger in terms of the number of performers onstage.
The season begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 with a performance by New York-based comedian Myq Kaplan, whose work has been seen on Comedy Central and the Amazon special “Small, Dark, and Handsome.” The New York Times has called him “invigoratingly funny.”
Next up, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, is singer Lola Kristine. “She’s glorious,” Slupe said. “She has this really rich sound — these gorgeous, rich, soulful notes in her lower range and this beautiful soprano, too.”
For the holiday season, the TCA brings in Bernadette Kathryn and her Lonely Days Band at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14 for the group’s Rock’N Country Christmas Show.
“Bernadette has this really rocking show,” Slupe said. “There are elements of the ’70s Christmas shows we all used to watch.”
The show will also feature a chorus of yet-to-be-selected area singers who will be the backup performers for a couple of songs.
“For young local artists to be able to sing alongside a national touring artist is really an opportunity,” Slupe said.
The season’s second comedian, Michael Palascak, is a Midwest native who now hails from Los Angeles. He was one of the top five finalists on “Last Comic Standing,” has appeared on all the major late-night shows, and has produced his own Comedy Central special.
Palascak performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
Valentine’s Day at the TCA, Friday, Feb. 14, features a 7:30 p.m. performance by singer Sharrie Williams, whose style is billed as “gospel-drenched” blues.
“She is a tornado,” Slupe said. “She really knows how to work a crowd, so her show is going to be really exciting. … She just draws you in.”
The Celtic fusion band Crossbow performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 8. Slupe described the six-piece ensemble as a blend of Celtic, bluegrass, rock, and R&B. “They’re really powerful … crisp, clean, and they have this uprising onstage. They’re just raucous,” she said.
Closing out the season at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 26, is the group Pure AM Gold. This group came to Slupe’s attention thanks to its frontman, Chuck Colby. He is also part of Three Men and a Tenor, which performed at the TCA last season.
Pure AM Gold, as its name implies, performs many of the greatest hits of 1960s and 1970s radio, such as those by Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Neil Diamond, and The Monkees.
“They’re just fantastic,” Slupe said. “We’re really excited to have them cap off our season.”
Separately from the National Touring Season, the Circus Science Spectacular is this year’s Family Show at the TCA. The performance, at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, features two Ringling Bros. veterans, Steve Russell and Kobi Shaw, who showcase science concepts using comedy, juggling, and magic.
Tickets to this show are $25 for adults, including senior citizens and military members, and $15 for youth.
For the National Touring Season itself, tickets to most shows are $33 for adults, $28 for senior citizens and military members, and $15 for youth. The two comedy acts, Kaplan on Oct. 12 and Palascak on Jan. 25, only have adult-priced tickets: $33 for adults and $28 for senior citizens and military members.
Season tickets come in a variety of packages: all seven shows for $173 (adults) and $147 (seniors and the military); six shows for $158/$134; five shows for $140/$119; or four shows for $118/$100. Packages do not include the Circus Science Spectacular.
Tickets can be ordered online at www.TheTCA.org; by calling 517-423-6617; or at the box office, 400 N. Maumee St., Tecumseh. Box office hours are Thursday and Friday from noon to 5 p.m.
