The 2007-2008 season of the University of Missouri-Rolla Campus Performing Arts Series will feature seven professional productions. All performances in the series will be held at Leach Theatre of Castleman Hall on the UMR campus, 10th and Main streets in Rolla.

Season tickets are on sale through Sept. 7. They are $160 for adults and $125 for those ages 18 and younger. Tickets for individual performances go on sale Sept. 10. UMR students may reserve tickets (one per student ID) to any performance beginning Aug. 20 and will need to be picked up two weeks prior to the event. For more information about the 2007-2008 UMR Campus Performing Arts Series, call the Leach Theatre Box Office at 573-341-4219.

The series begins with Tony Award winning musical “Evita” at 7:30 p.m. Wed., Sept. 19. Based on the life and times of Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine dictator Juan Perón, “Evita” brings to the stage the story of one woman’s love affair with her nation. One of the most popular collaborations of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Evita has won seven Tony Awards.

Other performances to be featured during the 2007-2008 UMR Campus Performing Arts Series include:

• Russian Seasons Dance Company, 7:30 p.m. Thurs, Nov. 8. In celebration of world dance, the Russian Season Dance Company takes audiences on a journey through the folk dances of many nations, from the athletic hopke of Russia and the old energy of Gypsy to the passionate flamenco of Spain and the tangos of Argentina. — A Viennese Christmas: Sigmund Romberg Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Fri, Dec. 7. A tireless composer, Sigmund Romberg is best remembered for his works “Blossom Time,” “The Desert Song,” “Up in Central Park” and “My Romance.” Join his namesake orchestra for a stirring performance of holiday classics.
• The Five Browns, 7:30 p.m. Thurs, Jan. 24, 2008. The Five Browns play classical music, but not like you’ve ever heard it before. The quintet’s five siblings range in age from 20-27 and each is a Julliard-trained classical pianist. Performing on five pianos, as well as various ensemble combinations, the Browns’ fresh energy and sound is opening the doors to classical music for a much wider and younger audience.
• Natalie MacMaster, 7:30 p.m. Wed, Feb. 6, 2008. With a talent that is both raw and wondrously refined, MacMaster continues to stun crowds around the globe with her feverish fiddling and mesmerizing step dancing. Well-known to international audiences for taking Celtic music to new heights, MacMaster displays creativity and range that constantly expands the boundaries of the genre.
• Franc D’Ambrosio’s “Broadway,” 7:30 p.m. Fri, March 7, 2008. Franc D’Ambrosio is credited with the longest run playing Broadway’s Phantom in “The Phantom of the Opera.” His breathtaking voice and charismatic stage presence impresses critics and captivates audiences across the country. His show, “Broadway,” is one man’s humorous, nostalgic look at The Great White Way.
• “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” 7:30 p.m. Wed, April 16, 2008. The Montana Repertory Theatre presents Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer-prize winning “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Brick and Maggie Pollitt are the beautiful yet tragic characters at the center of this enduring tale of family and forgiveness, love and loss. Underneath a festive exterior lies deceptions that threaten to tear this seemingly idyllic Southern family from its very foundation.

Additional funding for the UMR Campus Performing Arts Series is provided by the UMR Endowment for the Performing Arts, the Missouri Arts Council, the Heartland Arts Alliance, the James and Vera Olson Fund for the Arts, the Maxwell C. Weiner Endowment for the Performing Arts and Rolla radio station KKID.