January 2017
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ARTS<br />
The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the<br />
Performing Arts as it stands today.<br />
(All photos courtesy of Kravis Center)<br />
Kravis Center for the<br />
Performing Arts Marks<br />
by Dale King<br />
As the spring training camp for the Philadelphia<br />
Athletics and St. Louis Browns, it became known for<br />
strong performances and lots of hits. Since 1992, the<br />
Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts has stood<br />
on that same gently rising promontory along Okeechobee<br />
Boulevard. It has also become known for its strong<br />
performances and lots of hits.<br />
Its 2016-<strong>2017</strong> season is being dedicated to the 25th<br />
anniversary of the 10.6-acre complex that’s home to the<br />
2,195-seat Alexander W. Dreyfoos Concert Hall, the 300-seat<br />
Marshall E. Rinker Sr. Playhouse, the 1,400-person-capacity<br />
outdoor Michael and Andrew Gosman Amphitheater, and the<br />
newest arrival, Helen K. Persson Hall, another 300-seat venue<br />
that was opened in 2003.<br />
A free-standing parking garage offers space for 1,100 vehicles.<br />
And a commemorative plaque marks the spot where home<br />
plate was located at Connie Mack Field.<br />
Photo shows construction well under<br />
way on the Kravis Center.<br />
60<br />
“Just over a<br />
quarter-century<br />
ago, building a<br />
major performing<br />
arts center in<br />
Palm Beach<br />
County seemed an<br />
uphill challenge,”<br />
said Kravis CEO<br />
Judith Mitchell.<br />
“Today, a thriving<br />
cultural complex,<br />
which acts as a<br />
gateway to downtown<br />
West Palm Beach,<br />
not only serves the<br />
JANUARY <strong>2017</strong><br />
community<br />
but also is<br />
gaining a<br />
worldwide<br />
reputation<br />
as a premier<br />
entertainment<br />
venue<br />
and arts<br />
education<br />
facility.”<br />
Judith Mitchell, chief operating<br />
officer of the Raymond F. Kravis<br />
Center for the Performing Arts.<br />
The full<br />
season of<br />
stage shows, concerts, lectures, and stars from TV and films<br />
will celebrate the performing arts center’s jubilee. The figures<br />
tell the story. The number of Broadway series shows has<br />
increased from six to seven. Productions in Persson Hall rose<br />
from six to nine. PEAK (Provocative Entertainment at Kravis)<br />
series shows rose from nine to 11, lectures jumped from four<br />
to five and Lunch & Learn events increased from three to four.<br />
The really big show of the 25th year hits the stage Feb. 11<br />
when a cluster of performers arrives at Kravis. Hosted by<br />
Michael Feinstein, leader of the center’s pops orchestra series<br />
which will perform that night, the program includes organist<br />
Cameron Carpenter, actors/singers Alan Cumming and Darren<br />
Criss, singers Denyce Graves, Storm Large, and Neil<br />
Sedaka, plus movement artists Lil Buck and Jon Boogz,<br />
Greg Schreiner’s Hollywood Revisited, and Tap Ensemble by<br />
Nouveau Productions. Robert Pullen is director of the starstudded<br />
event that he promises will be filled with surprises.<br />
The folks at Kravis say the 25th anniversary “Night of Stars”<br />
will be the most glittering lineup since the center’s grand<br />
opening in 1992, when Burt Reynolds emceed a show that<br />
featured Faith Prince, Isaac Stern, Lily Tomlin, the Alvin Ailey
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