ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Ann Arbor Summer Festival (A2SF) is excited to announce the three ticketed performances as part of the 2023 season including Tony Award-nominated actress/singer for her performance in Hamilton, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Grammy Award-winning artist Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, and acclaimed comedian and musician Reggie Watts. All performances will take place at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor.
A2SF Executive Director Mike Michelon shares, “We’re thrilled to welcome three tremendous artists in Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, and Reggie Watts to Ann Arbor during our 2023 season. These ticketed performances at Hill Auditorium will take place alongside the highly-anticipated community celebration at Top of the Park in June.”
Additional event announcements will be made in the spring, and the complete season will be announced on May 4.
SHOW DETAILS
An Evening with Renée Elise Goldsberry
Thursday, June 15 at 8PM
Hill Auditorium
Tickets begin at $39 plus fees
Renée Elise Goldsberry has delivered award winning performances both on Broadway and on the screen. She is perhaps best known for her role as Angelica Schuyler in the musical phenomenon Hamilton, which has become a cultural touchstone for the ages and earned her a Tony Award, Grammy Award, Drama Desk Award, and a Lucille Lortel Award as well as an Emmy Award for the Disney+ film adaptation. Renée currently stars in Marvel Studios newest television hit She Hulk, in Tina Fey’s Emmy nominated series, GIRLS5EVA, and Billy Porter’s film directorial debut, What If.
Renée made her Broadway debut as “Nala” in The Lion King, and her performance as “Mimi” in Broadway’s closing cast of Rent which was immortalized on film as well as her Outer Critics Circle Award nominated performance opposite Frances McDormand in the play Good People, and the original Broadway version of The Color Purple.
Other highlights from her film and television career include co-starring in A24’s critical darling Waves opposite Sterling K. Brown, the Netflix series Altered Carbon, Documentary Now’s cult favorite Original Cast Album: Co-Op, The Good Wife, The House With a Clock in Its Walls, The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks, The Get Down, and her creation of the beloved character Evangeline Williamson on ABC’S One Life To Live, for which she received two Daytime Emmy nominations and two NAACP Image Award nominations. Renée’s debut album will be released next year.
An Evening with Renée Elise Goldsberry is sponsored by Retirement Income Solutions with additional support from Wendy and Ted Lawrence. Exclusive media partner support is provided by Michigan Radio.
Reggie Watts
Friday, June 16 at 8PM
Hill Auditorium
Tickets begin at $33 plus fees
Reggie Watts is an internationally renowned Musician/Comedian/Writer/Actor who currently stars as the bandleader on CBS’s The Late Late Show with James Corden. Using his formidable voice, looping pedals, and his vast imagination, Watts blends and blurs the lines between music and comedy, wowing audiences with performances that are 100% improvised.
Watts’ first Netflix special Spatial released to massive critical acclaim, with the New York Times calling it “a giddy rush of escapist nonsense” and dubbing Watts “the most influential absurdist in comedy today.” The A.V. Club described Spatial as “signature Watts, meaning it’s alternately exhilarating, silly, exhausting and transcendent,” and Exclaim! Magazine called his performance “engaging, absurd, thoughtful and, most importantly, wholly unpredictable.”
As a solo performer, Watts brand of musical/comedy fusion has led to sold out headlining tours in the U.S. and Europe, including festivals such as Bonnaroo, SXSW, Bumbershoot, Just For Laughs, Pemberton, and more.
At the invitation of Jack White in 2010, Watts recorded Reggie Watts: Live at Third Man Records which was released in limited edition vinyl. In 2012, Watts recorded his second comedy special, Reggie Watts: A Live At Central Park, which was released by Comedy Central.
Last year, Watts released his own content app called, WattsApp, a techno-savvy look into his life, work, and techno junk drawer. WattsApp has all original content including a show called, Droneversations where he interviews guests while it’s filmed by drones along with other fun content.
Reggie Watts is sponsored by Bank of Ann Arbor.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit with Peter One
Sunday, June 25 at 8PM
Hill Auditorium
Tickets begin at $36 plus fees
Jason Isbell has established himself as one of the most respected and celebrated songwriters of his generation. Isbell broke through in 2013 with the release of Southeastern. His next two albums, Something More Than Free (2015) and The Nashville Sound (2017), won Grammy Awards for Best Americana Album & Best American Roots Song. Isbell’s song “Maybe It’s Time” was featured in the 2019 reboot of A Star Is Born. His most recent full-length album, Reunions (2020), is a critically-acclaimed collection of ten new songs that showcases an artist at the height of his powers and a band fully charged with creativity and confidence. In April of 2021, it was announced that Isbell would appear in the upcoming Martin Scorsese film, Killers of the Flower Moon.
In October 2021, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit released a special new covers album, Georgia Blue. Created to celebrate Georgia’s role in the 2020 election, the record consists of new versions of thirteen songs with ties to the state, including tracks originally recorded by Georgia natives R.E.M., Drivn’ N’ Cryin’, James Brown, Cat Power, Precious Bryant, Otis Redding, The Black Crowes, Indigo Girls, Now It’s Overhead, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Allman Brothers Band and Vic Chesnutt. All proceeds will benefit three non-profit organizations: Black Voters Matter, Fair Fight and Georgia STAND-UP.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit is co-presented by A2SF and The Ark, and is sponsored by Wolverine Tax and Financial with additional support from Erin McKean and Steve Sullivan. The Exclusive media partner is ann arbor’s 107one.
TICKET INFORMATION
General Public Onsale: Thursday, March 9, 2023
Presale for Donors $1000+: Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Presale for Donors $100+: Wednesday, March 8, 2023
HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Online: A2SF.ORG
By Phone: 734-764-2538 or toll-free in Michigan at (800) 221-1229
In Person: Michigan League Ticket Office, 911 N. University Ave, Ann Arbor MI 48109
VENUE INFORMATION
Hill Auditorium
825 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Events at Top of the Park will take place between June 9 – June 25, 2023.
A2SF is a performing arts presenter and beloved community institution. The mission of A2SF is to present a world-class celebration of arts and entertainment that enriches the cultural, economic, and social vitality of the region.
Each season features a progressive mix of over 200 events showcasing local, national, and international artists and a diverse audience of more than 80,000 people.
The indoor ticketed series includes performances of world-class music, contemporary circus, dance, family entertainment, public radio shows, and comedy. Outdoor programming primarily takes place at Top of the Park, is held along a beautiful campus green on Ingalls, and offers admission-free concerts, Movies by Moonlight, open-air street spectacle, culinary treats, and unique family attractions.
A2SF is a partnership between the University of Michigan and the City of Ann Arbor and produced its first season in 1984. For more information on all events, please visit the A2SF website: WWW.A2SF.ORG.
Source: A2SF