with video: UMS announces single ticket sale dates and additional programs for 2010-11

The season opens at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens on Thursday, September 9, with David Leddy’s site-specific audio-play "Susurrus" (one of the major hits of last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival); and the season continues through April 23, 2011, with 66 performances by 49 different artists/ensembles, taking place in 7 venues in Ann Arbor: Hill Auditorium, Rackham Auditorium, the Power Center, Michigan Theater, Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, and the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. (Check out the complete schedule on UMS' website.)

Additional programs and one scheduling change were also recently announced for UMS' 10/11 season.

Just added to the UMS 10/11 season, Lebanese singer Assi El Helani takes the stage at Hill Auditorium on Saturday, November 6. Born in 1970, Assi El Helani has been a major figure in the music scene of the Middle East since the 1990s. With participation in numerous important musical events — including the Carthage Festival, the Baalbeck International Festival, and concerts throughout Europe, the Arab World, and America — he is regarded as one of the true superstars to emerge from Lebanon, and his music videos give a nod to his reputation as a talented actor who has received numerous offers for leading roles in Arab films and television series.

Watch an Assi El Helani music video:

UMS will also continue its partnership with the Michigan Theater to bring high-definition broadcasts of six productions by the National Theatre of London. The broadcasts include Complicite’s "A Disappearing Number" (Sunday, October 31 at 2 p.m.), Shakespeare’s "Hamlet" (Sunday, January 2 at 2 p.m.), Bill T. Jones’ "Fela!" (Sunday, January 30 at 2 p.m.), Shakespeare’s "King Lear" (Sunday, February 20 at 7 p.m.), Nick Dear’s "Frankenstein (based on the novel by Mary Shelley Wednesday, April 6 at 7 p.m.), and Chekhov’s "The Cherry Orchard" (Sunday, July 17 at 7 p.m.).

Finally, the concert by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, November 6 at Hill Auditorium, has been changed to Friday, November 5; and program information is now available for pianist Rafał Blechaz, who's scheduled to perform Friday, February 11.

All tickets for UMS' 10/11 season will go on sale on Wednesday, August 25 at 10 a.m. at the Michigan League Ticket Office (911 North University Avenue). Tickets are also available by calling 734-764-2538 (or by calling toll-free, 800-221-1229). Michigan League Ticket Office hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Beginning Tuesday, September 7, the League Ticket Office will resume extended hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

UMS Donors of $250 or more may purchase tickets to individual events beginning Wednesday, August 18 at 10 am. Tickets go on sale at the UMS website beginning Monday, August 23, a full two days before phone and walk-up sales.

Groups of 10 or more receive discounts of 15-25 percent for most performances and may reserve their seats now. Call the UMS Group Sales Hotline at 734-763-3100.