Broad range of music, stellar talent fuels audience member’s nearly 30-year visit to ‘Grand Night’

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 5, 2026) — As a child of the 1950s and ’60s, Jim Albisetti, Ph.D., grew up on classic show tunes. His family’s album collection included original cast recordings of shows like “Oklahoma,” “South Pacific,” “My Fair Lady” and “West Side Story.”

So, it’s no surprise that, after being invited on a date by a colleague to the 1997 University of Kentucky Opera Theatre production of “It’s a Grand Night for Singing,” Albisetti, a UK history professor emeritus, has been a loyal audience member for nearly three decades.

The relationship with Jane Phillips, a UK professor emerita in classics, has continued, as has their attendance at “Grand Night,” which runs June 12-14 and June 19-21 in the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall.

This year’s production includes a broad cross-section of tunes from popular shows like “Hadestown,” “My Fair Lady,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Anastasia,” “The Blues Brothers,” “Hairspray,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Ragtime” and “SIX: The Musical.”

With the exception of one or two years when Albisetti was out of the country on research trips, he has been a faithful patron of the annual celebration of classic and contemporary Broadway music. When he attends a “Grand Night” performance next month, it will either be his 26th or 27th time.

Attending the show has become a regular feature on Albisetti’s calendar, and he said he has many reasons for making it part of his summer, adding that first-time showgoers will experience the same thrills.

“There’s the amazing talent of the singers and dancers, a program that varies significantly from year to year, (associate director) Tedrin Blair Lindsay’s adaptations of familiar music in his stunning piano solos and the annual love song duet performed by (‘Grand Night’ director) Everett McCorvey and Alicia Helm,” Albisetti said. “And family and friends of the new singers each year always seem to be highly impressed with all aspects of the production. Often, there is one solo featuring a remarkable singer from the (UK Opera Theatre) program.”

McCorvey said he’s grateful for the annual support of patrons like Albisetti and Phillips, and that those frequent audience members are an important part of the “Grand Night” tradition.

“One of the things that I love that happens, is we have people who have been attending for so long that they become invested, and they will send me show titles,” McCorvey said.

Some audience members go so far as to send lists of suggested shows and song titles, he added.

“We go through hundreds of songs each year to try and find the right songs for the students and community members participating, and sometimes those lists really help. When an audience member says, ‘Have you considered this?’ and I am like ‘No, I haven’t, but that is a great idea.’”

McCorvey and the “Grand Night” company, composed of UK students and Central Kentucky residents, managed to pack a lot into the roughly 90-minute show, which Albisetti described as the perfect length for an evening of entertainment.

“The whole show is very crisp and always leaves one wishing for a little more.”

“It’s a Grand Night for Singing” showtimes are:

• Friday, June 12, 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, June 13, 2 p.m.
• Sunday, June 14, 2 p.m.
• Friday, June 19, 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, June 20, 2 p.m.
• Sunday, June 21, 2 p.m.

For more information, including ticket prices, visit the “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” event page.