With its 10th anniversary underway, the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center has a lot of events coming up.
Director of Marketing Ginny Van Doren said there are about 10 events in January and 12 in February.
The biggest highlight coming up will be Jimmy Buffett on May 5.
“… That is definitely going to be a scale of proportion that we have not seen here yet in West Texas. That will have a lot of different elements to it. We look forward to celebrating our 10 year (anniversary) in our community with such an iconic performer. That will be, again, May 5 with Jimmy Buffett,” Van Doren said.
Twelve comedy shows are coming up.
“The first six months of 2022 are going to be pretty stacked with a lot of comedy and we anticipate more throughout the year. So that’s kind of exciting. We haven’t had quite that much comedy … in one year. …,” she added.
Van Doren said tickets will go on sale this month, but she did not have a specific date.
“We are limited in capacity, so we’re encouraging people to sign up for our newsletter at WagnerNoel.com. (On the) top right hand corner, there’s a join newsletter button and those folks are going to get some of the earliest access to tickets. That is one of the many perks of being our newsletter subscribers,” Van Doren said.
Van Doren said the number of comedy shows is an industry wide trend.
“It’s a lot easier for a comedy group to go on tour because there’s such a limited amount of people … It’s a lot easier to keep people safe while traveling from COVID … So it’s a lot easier for them to just kind of get back and go out on tour. And typically, too, it’s a low production cost meaning they’re not coming with a five-piece band and backlights and all kind of stuff. A lot of it is we just need the stool and the lights turned on and maybe some water. Jerry Seinfeld’s joke is that you have to hydrate before you get here because there’s nothing around us as far as Wagner Noël is concerned, but he’ll be pleasantly surprised the next time he does come back because we’ve since added to our landscape with the Pilot and some other new ventures are going to be coming up around our area that we look forward to,” Van Doren said.
Comedian George Lopez is returning.
“He almost always sells out. Ticket sales are doing really well for that. So both George Lopez and Jo Koy and Tom Segura, which are all in January, are fairly sold out. If not … already sold out by now. …,” she said.
Rodney Carrington will be returning Thursday to the Wagner Noël.
“… That show always sales really well, too. I’m sure that all of us will need a laugh after the holidays and kind of ease back into the workweek by coming to see Rodney Carrington with us on that Thursday,” Van Doren said.
Van Doren said the venue will do the best it can to accommodate anybody who wants to perform there as some performers aren’t comfortable yet going back out on stage.
“… We’ll do the best that we can … to accommodate anybody who wants to come …,” she said.
For the most part, the only person specifically sought out was Buffett.
“All other artists and comedians, we’ve been fortunate that they have reached out to us to say hey, we’re coming to the area can we perform at your venue? That’s been really nice. And then we are also excited because we have like two new country acts that are up and coming and we don’t always see up and coming on our stage. We’re excited to host both Cody Jinks at the end of January, the 28th and 29th. The first night is already sold out and the second night is going fast. We’re also hosting Whiskey Myers on Saturday, March 26. … We’re really excited to have some new faces of country music coming through our building, as well,” she added.
Jason Boland and the Stranglers also are appearing with Jinks.
“We feel very fortunate that not only do the artists want to come here and perform and some come back and perform, but we’re also fortunate that the Permian Basin continues to support us and allow us to entertain them. We couldn’t do it without the support of our community buying tickets and coming out and seeing shows. That’s something that we are happy to continue doing for as long as we can; hopefully forever,” Van Doren said.
In a Dec. 22 interview, Van Doren added that there were 50 shows on sale.
“(The) typical amount of events for the Wagner Noël is about 120 a year. In 2018, we hit 194, and in 2019, we did 204. So we are hoping to get back up to close to that 200 number again this year and with the way that things are going, it looks like, knock on wood, that we may be able to do so,” Van Doren said.
She added that the WNPAC has bounced back pretty fast.
“It wouldn’t be that way without the support of the community because the community coming out and buying tickets, the artists and the agents and the promoters so everyone involved knows that they can come here, perform in front of a good crowd and everyone leaves happy type of deal. So that’s an environment that we always tried to foster, and thankfully, the Permian Basin supports that and allows us to keep bringing people and we continue to do so,” she said.
Van Doren said there are a handful of people who turn out to almost everything.
“And those people are our folks that we greatly appreciate because they just want to be entertained and they know that no matter what they see on our stage, it’s going to be quality, live entertainment, which goes back to our mission. And then there are obviously going to be some folks who will spend their entertainment dollars only on things that they’re really a fan of. Then you also have a handful of people who are just, again, looking to be entertained and looking for something to do on any night of the week. And for the most part, we’re having about one to two shows a week and some weeks even more. We’re definitely, I feel like, one of the best places to go if you’re looking to be entertained and don’t know exactly how to spend your entertainment dollars, come spend them with us because there’s tons to see and do,” Van Doren said.
She stressed that the best way to connect and find out what’s going on is to sign up for the WNPAC newsletter or social media.
