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A post-presidential election talk about politics by Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd, an appearance by satirist Fran Lebowitz and a conversation about criminal-justice reform are just a few of the wide-ranging entertainments on the lineup to mark the upcoming 20th-anniversary season at Park City's Eccles Center.
Along the way, Park City Institute's December-to-April series also features musicians such as Taj Mahal, John McKuen, Portland's Storm Large and the third appearance by musician-storyteller Nellie McKay, as well as dance troupes ranging from Alvin Ailey's Ailey II to Montreal's Cirque Éloize.
Other far-ranging acts include a conversation with podcasters Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder, the creators of NPR's "Serial," and a special New Year's Eve nightclub cabaret by Scottish actor Alan Cumming, who promises to perform plenty of "sappy love songs."
If the season seems anchored by storytellers, that's an indication of how entertainment has changed in a social-media-saturated world, says Teri Orr, the institute's founding director. She hopes audiences will find envelope-pushing entertainments as part of the season.
Beyond its Eccles Center and Deer Valley performing arts series, Park City Institute offers free after-school literacy tutoring at Old Town's Mega-Genius Supply Store and New Park's IQ HQ, as well as hosting TEDx and Curiosities events.
"I am most enthusiastic for the wide net we throw out, the variety of ways for the community to be entertained," Orr says. "I think we continue to have a diverse range of programming that you can bring your family to. With any luck, you will still be talking about what you saw days later. We try to introduce you to things that are new, not just what you know."
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Dec. 3 • Maureen Dowd and Carl Hulse, of The New York Times, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and congressional correspondent. Promoters describe the pair as "a kind of yin and yang of our nation's political/social landscape.
Dec. 10 • Adam Savage of Discovery TV's former show "MythBusters." He's known for DIY ingenuity in a TED talk as well as his TV show, drawn from his experience in the special-effects industry, as an animator, graphic designer, rigger, scenic painter, carpenter and welder.
Dec. 17 • Pacific Mambo Orchestra, winner of the 2014 Grammy for Best Tropical Album, plays classic Latin Big Band music, mixing salsa, bachata and cha-cha, as well as American jazz, R&B and Afro-Cuban influences.
Dec. 29 • The Fabulous Thunderbirds, a band led by Kim Wilson, who play Texas Roadhouse blues-rock, noted for their platinum album "Tuff Enuff" and recent release "Strong Like That."
Dec. 31 • Scottish actor Alan Cumming — noted for his Tony Award-winning turn as the Emcee in Broadway's "Cabaret" and as the shady spin doctor in CBS' "The Good Wife — promises to sing sappy love songs and tell stories.
Jan. 7 • A conversation about criminal-justice reform, featuring CNN contributor and former White House adviser Van Jones, "M*A*S*H" actor and anti-capital-punishment activist Mike Farrell, and Kirk Bloodsworth, the first man released from death row based on DNA evidence.
Jan. 13 • Jessica Lang Dance returns as an encore to the company's 2014 concert, spotlighting dance that blends ballet technique with contemporary modern dance movements and gymnastics. Dance Magazine calls the founder "a master of visual composition."
Feb. 4 • Satirist Fran Lebowitz, noted for her Dorothy Parkeresque barbed writing as well as "Law and Order" appearances, has been offering her opinions since her first writing job with Andy Warhol's Interview magazine.
Feb. 18 • Portland's Storm Large, a musician, actor and author who also sings with Pink Martini, performs her cabaret act with her band Le Bonheur.
Feb. 21-22 • Montreal-based Cirque Éloize performs "Saloon," a mix of theatrics, dance, acrobatics, with a little clowning, all under ten-gallon hats and Western humor.
Feb. 24-25 • Ailey II, the younger Alvin Ailey company, is part of the company's history of pushing the limits of contemporary modern dance. The company's founder called his most known work, "Revelations," a "blood history," as it tells the story of this country through African-American history.
March 4 • Writer Lidia Yuknavitch (author of novels such as "Dora: A Headcase" and "The Small Backs of Children" and the searing memoir "The Chronology of Water") speaks, drawing upon her megapopular TED talk addressing the misfits in all of us.
March 11 • Wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin, known for Animal Planet and Discovery shows, spotlights live creatures and conservation issues.
March 18 • Ballet West first performed on the Eccles Center stage in 1998 for the theater's grand opening and returns with new works that showcase the growth of the 53-year-old company.
March 25 • Legendary musician Taj Mahal plays the blues in stories and songs.
April 1 • Peabody Award-winning podcasters Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder, the creators of NPR's "Serial," offer behind-the-scenes from a new form of investigative journalism as they prepare to launch their second season.
April 8 • Musician John McKuen, a solo talent as well as longtime member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, plays a mix of folk, bluegrass and country.
April 15 • Singer and actor Nellie McKay returns for her third Eccles show with her cabaret-indie-pop performance, "A Girl Named Billy," the story of musician Billy Tipton, who, upon his death, was discovered to be a woman.
Tickets • $29-$79 for regular season shows (children, seniors, Summit County students discounts) currently on sale to Park City Institute members; on sale to general public Sept. 22, at 435-655-3114, parkcity.institute or at the Eccles Center Box Office, 1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City
Season punch cards • Ten regular season shows (excluding special events such as New Year's Eve, are $240, $410 or $690, available for Park City Institute members
Shows • Most shows begin at 7:30 p.m.
Where • George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts, 1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City