THE MONKEES MAKE A MUCH ANTICIPATED STOP IN SHIPPENSBURG,
OCTOBER 29 WITH THEIR 50th ANNIVERSARY TOUR!
The H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center at Shippensburg University presents THE MONKEES – GOOD TIMES: THE 50th ANNIVERSARY TOUR, Saturday, October 29, 2016 at 8 p.m.
SHIPPENSBURG, PA (October 18, 2016) – The H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center at Shippensburg University presents THE MONKEES – GOOD TIMES: THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016 at 8 p.m. Reserved tickets are $69, $65, $59 & $49 and are now on sale. A group discount is available for groups of 20 or more. Visit or call the Luhrs Center box office at 717.477.SHOW (7469) to purchase reserved tickets or log on to the Luhrs Center website luhrscenter.com.
UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1970: Photo of Monkees Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
The Monkees, present day.
When directors Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider cast four young men in the television roles of a struggling rock band inspired by The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night, few could have predicted the impact The Monkees would make on music and pop culture at large, an impact that still reverberates 50 years later.
Assembled in Los Angeles in 1965 for the television series The Monkees, the quartet of Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and the late Davy Jones brought a singular mix of pop, rock, psychedelica, Broadway, and country to their music. The show itself, meanwhile, paid tribute not only to The Beatles, but also to the comedy stylings of The Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy, as well as the pop-art sensibilities of Andy Warhol and the emerging San Francisco psychedelic scene.
The Monkees’ released their first single, “Last Train to Clarksville,” in August 1966, hitting #1 and serving as advance publicity for their series, which debuted on September 12. When the group’s self-titled debut album arrived in stores a month later, it quickly headed for the top spot of the Billboard charts, where it would ultimately sit for 13 of the 78 weeks it remained in the Top 200. Two decades later, in the midst of a new burst of Monkee-mania, The Monkees popped back onto the charts, bringing the total number of weeks to 102.
By the time the group’s TV series aired its final new episode on March 25, 1968, the Monkees saw three further albums top the charts – More of the Monkees, Headquarters, and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd., all of which they released in 1967, racking up several more hit singles with “I’m a Believer,” “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” “The Girl I Knew Somewhere,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “Words,” “Daydream Believer,” “Valleri,” and “Tapioca Tundra” that all found their way into the Billboard Top 40.
After the series’ two-season run, the group went on to star in the cult feature film HEAD (co-written by Jack Nicholson) and a TV special (33 1/3 Revolutions per Monkee), while also continuing to record new material. Yet, much as the ‘60s gave way to the ‘70s, the members of the Monkees eventually gave in to their individual musical interests and went their separate ways… for a while.
In February 1986, after MTV broadcasted a marathon of The Monkees, Dolenz, Jones, and Tork reunited for a 20th anniversary tour, with Nesmith joining them onstage in Los Angeles, and in 1996, all four members of the group reunited for a new album, Justus, and TV special, Hey, Hey, It’s the Monkees.
In the wake of Jones’s death on February 29, 2012, the surviving members of the Monkees reunited and performed a series concerts. Sold-out shows and phenomenal responses once again greeted the performers. Now, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork carry on that tradition with a full evening of magical music and multi-media splendor, including clips from their Emmy Award winning television series. Their new show features all of The Monkees’ hits, plus an intimate acoustic set and solo spots for each of the singers.
This evening with The Monkees is sure to please every fan. Learn more at www.monkees.com.
For tickets and additional information about The Monkees – Good Times: The 50th Anniversary Tour performance, or other events within the 2016-2017 Luhrs Center season, please call the Luhrs Center box office at 717.477.SHOW (7469) or visit the Luhrs Center website at luhrscenter.com.
About the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center at Shippensburg University
The mission of the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center at Shippensburg University is to support and enhance the University’s role in academic and cultural enrichment for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Luhrs Center’s 1,500-seat state-of-the-art Grove Theatre is where programs educate, enlighten and entertain a variety of audiences. The Center brings benefits to the region, including an expanse of opportunities to participate in a wide range of cultural programming, such as full-scale Broadway companies, musical groups, symphonies, dance troupes and internationally known speakers. In addition, it adds options for professional training programs, youth programs and senior citizen programs; attracts regional and national business conferences, professional meetings and planning sessions; and encourages additional visitors to the area, resulting in a positive impact on the local and regional economy.
