Raising the bar

Winter is shaping up to be the warmest season for the performing arts in our region, with offerings ranging from Hampson to Hampton, Byrne to Bach. Here’s a roundup of the most anticipated events:

• “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Spokane Civic Theatre, Jan. 9-25 – The Ken Kesey novel is one of the great classics of Northwest literature. The stage version, adapted by Dale Wasserman, captures the humor and drama of this tale of sanity and insanity in an Oregon asylum. George Green plays McMurphy and Yvonne AK Johnson directs.

• Spokane’s Lincoln Festival: Celebrating Lincoln’s Ideals in the 21st Century, various venues, January through March – The Spokane Symphony, the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox and other area arts organizations are presenting a series of events honoring Lincoln, beginning with “A House Divided: The Legacy of Lincoln,” an art exhibit at the Chase Gallery which opens Tuesday.

Other highlights include the symphony’s Family Concert, “The World Comes West,” on Jan. 24 at the Fox, which is about Lincoln’s Homestead Act of 1865.

The biggest event will be the symphony’s Thomas Hampson concert on Feb. 28 and March 1 (see details below). Keep an eye out for further announcements.

• Spokane Symphony with pianist Gabriela Montero, Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, Jan. 17, 8 p.m. and Jan. 18, 3 p.m. – Montero will play Liszt’s Concerto No. 2 and the orchestra, under Eckart Preu, will play Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8.

• “Burn the Floor,” INB Performing Arts Center, Jan. 17, 7:30 p.m. – This traveling dance extravaganza is billed as a cross between “Dancing with the Stars” and “Riverdance,” with top dancers demonstrating a variety of ballroom and world dance styles.

• Northwest Bach Festival , various venues, Jan. 23-31 – One of Spokane’s undisputed national-class events, under the direction of Pulitzer Prize-winner Gunther Schuller, returns with a series of concerts culminating in a spectacular Jan. 31 concert at St. John’s Cathedral, featuring Mozart’s rarely performed “Solemn Vespers” (obviously, this festival is not all Bach).

• Spokane String Quartet, “Return to Vienna,” Bing Crosby Theater, Jan. 25, 3 p.m. – Spokane’s top chamber music group will perform works by Schubert, Mendelssohn and Mozart.

• “Cowgirls,” Interplayers Theatre, Jan. 29-Feb. 14 – This new musical has a promising concept: A country-western saloon, facing foreclosure, books a group called the Cowgirl Trio for a benefit concert. Turns out, they’re actually the Coghill Trio, a classical chamber trio. Culture clash ensues.

• “The Magic Flute,” Spokane Opera, Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, Jan. 29-31 – The Spokane Opera’s big winter production will be especially novice-friendly: Mozart’s brightest and most accessible comic-romantic opera. The Eugene Opera will provide the spectacular sets; the Fox will provide the fine acoustics.

• “The Women of Lockerbie,” Spokane Civic Theatre’s Firth Chew Studio Theatre, Jan. 30-Feb. 22 – This touching drama, by Deborah Brevoort, is about the aftermath of the Pan Am 103 air tragedy over Lockerbie, Scotland. Sara Edlin-Marlowe directs.

• “Annie,” INB Performing Arts Center, Jan. 31, 1 and 6:30 p.m. – The lovable orphan and her even more lovable dog will arrive in this national touring production. The audience will, undoubtedly, include hundreds of 9-year-old girls who know every song by heart.

• Spokane Symphony SuperPops, “3 Broadway Divas,” INB Performing Arts Center, Feb. 7, 8 p.m. – Broadway veterans Jan Horvath, Debbie Gravitte and Lisa Vroman perform tunes from “Gypsy,” “West Side Story,” “Mame” and others, along with the symphony.

• Evelyn Glennie, INB Performing Arts Center, Feb. 13, 8 p.m. – If you saw her performance last year, you already know: Glennie is a superstar of percussion. Watch her work her magic on some of the 1,500 percussion instruments she brings with her.

• “A Musical Valentine” with Frieda Chan, Bing Crosby Theater, Feb. 14, 8 p.m. – Flutist Frieda Chan, who has studied under James Galway, will make her debut in her new adopted city of Spokane. The program will include Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,” with dance accompaniment from the Theater Ballet of Spokane. Tickets available at the door or by calling (509) 768-0539.

• David Byrne, Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, Feb. 19, 7:30 p.m. – The former frontman of the Talking Heads will bring his “Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno” tour to the Fox. The concert will focus on the many collaborations between Byrne and the longtime Talking Heads producer.

• Alvin Ailey II American Dance Theatre, Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, Feb. 22, 3 p.m. – The renowned Alvin Ailey dance troupe presents the cream of its young talent in a show that emphasizes innovative choreography.

• “No, No, Nanette,” Spokane Civic Theatre, Feb. 20-March 15 – Musicals don’t get any more frothy and old-fashioned than this 1925 classic, full of tap-dancing and chorus lines. This is the show that made “Tea for Two” famous. Jean Hardie directs.

• Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival, University of Idaho’s Kibbie Dome, Feb. 25-28 – Jazz masters from around the world arrive in Moscow for this four-night jazz extravaganza. You’ll discover old and new stars every night (one year, an unknown Diana Krall wowed the crowd). The biggest name this year? Bobby McFerrin on Feb. 27.

• “The Belle of Amherst,” Interplayers Theater, Feb. 26-March 14 – Ellen Crawford (formerly of “ER”) takes on the role of poet Emily Dickinson in this acclaimed one-woman play by William Luce. Karen Kalensky directs.

• Thomas Hampson with the Spokane Symphony, Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, Feb. 28, 8 p.m. and March 1, 3 p.m. – The symphony will perform works from the Moldenhauer Archives. Then, in a much-anticipated world premiere, baritone Hampson will perform Michael Daugherty’s “Letters from Lincoln,” specially commissioned for Spokane’s Lincoln Festival events.

• Spokane Symphony, “New Worlds,” Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, March 7, 8 p.m. and March 8, 3 p.m. – The Spokane Symphony Chorale joins the orchestra in a program that includes Messiaen’s “L’Ascension” and Holst’s “The Planets,” complete with a NASA-photo multimedia show.

• An Evening with Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway, Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, March 14, 8 p.m. – The most famous knighted flutist in the world is joined by his wife and fellow flutist in a program that includes everything from Mozart to pop.

• “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” INB Performing Arts Center, March 19-22 – Ruben Studdard (“American Idol”) and Frenchie Davis (“Rent”) star in this national tour of the Fats Waller musical. This show transports audiences back to the heyday of the Cotton Club in Harlem.

• “Godspell,” Spokane Civic Theatre’s Firth Chew Studio Theatre, March 20-April 11 – The famed musical based on the Gospel of Matthew, directed by Troy Nickerson. It spawned the hit song “Day by Day.”

• “Defending the Caveman,” Bing Crosby Theater, March 20 and 21, 8 p.m. – This will be the first-ever Spokane appearance of this smash one-man Broadway comedy about the different ways men and women relate to each other – or fail to.

• k.d. lang, Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, March 21, 8 p.m. – The Canadian chanteuse covers styles ranging from country to bossa nova to jazz to torch. Expect to hear a little of everything when she arrives in support of her latest album “Watershed,” a collection of original songs.