Some 1990s nostalgia is coming to the University of Wyoming in the form of rock and roll. The 90s alternative rock band Third Eye Blind will take the stage Nov. 14 in the College of Arts and Sciences Auditorium. Third Eye Blind consists of lead singer Stephan Jenkins, bassist Arion Salazar, guitarist Tony Fredianelli and drummer Brad Hargreaves. 

The group made a name for themselves in 1997, with their self-titled debut album on Elektra records, dishing out popular singles like “Semi-Charmed Life” and “Jumper.” Third Eye Blind has been a band that “has always found inspiration in authenticity and a do-it-yourself ethic,” according to their official Web site, www.3eb.com.

Since their debut, the band has followed up their success and solidified themselves on the music scene with the albums “Blue” and “Out of the Vein,” both of which were well-accepted by fans. Jon Hunzeker, a senior in economics, was happy to hear the band was coming to UW.

“I’m definitely excited to see them. I used to listen to them back in the day and even for a few weeks here in college,” Hunzeker said. 

A lot people became fans when the band debuted and stayed with them through their musical adventures. “Every now and then you just need them,” Hunzeker said. It is not every day that the university gets to play host to big-name performers, but every so often students are given the opportunity to get up close and personal with popular bands.

Mike Lange, program adviser for the Campus Activities Center, explained the process of bringing these powerhouse performers to campus. “Every year a handful of students and staff go to an activities conference called the National Association of Campus Activities. At this conference there was a great deal of buzz about Third Eye Blind. When we were looking at bands this semester we decided to add [them] into the mix after talking with the Concerts & Convocations committees,” Lange said.

“Every school that we talked to that had them on campus said it was a great show, the students loved it and that it sold out,” Lange said. Tickets for the show became available to students last weekend, and as of Monday at 3:30 p.m., after only two days of sales, 700 tickets had sold.

Tickets went on sale to the public Wednesday, and with only about 1800 seats available in the A&S auditorium, the remaining tickets are expected to sell out quickly.  “We suggest that if students want tickets they should get them soon,” Lange said.

The performance will begin at 8 p.m. and tickets for the show are available at the Union Information Desk, the Fine Arts Box Office, by phone at (307) 766-6666 and online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts. Prices are $20 for students and $27 for the public. 

What do a baker, Cinderella, a wolf, Jack’s beanstalk and a witch have in common? No, not all are Grimm’s fairytales, but all are featured in the Centennial Singers’ 2008-09 season show, “Into the Woods.”

“Into the Woods,” with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine, blends four well-known fairy tales into an original story about a baker, his wife and their quest to have children. The production will be the first full musical produced by the Centennial Singers, the University of Wyoming’s musical theatre troupe. For the past 22 years, the Singers have staged original revues, combining songs from a variety of musicals under a focused theme.

Second-year director Patrick Newell changed the usual Singers format because of legality and copyright issues surrounding homemade revues, but the change also stemmed from a new musical theatre concentration within the B.F.A. degree in the theatre department, proposed for Fall 2010.

“I knew when I took this job that I wanted to start a musical theatre degree,” Newell said. “Centennial Singers would be the performing arm of that degree, so [staging full musicals] seemed a natural change.”

Newell began as the Singers’ director last year, continuing the group’s revue format. However, as he planned his production, “Good Beginnings, Happy Endings,” Newell wished he could do whole musicals, not just portions of shows. After discovering the difficulty of obtaining rights to stage single songs, Newell decided the group needed to produce full musicals in the future.