Charlottetown – The stars will shine this Sunday with the biggest showcase of musical theatre talent around at the 32nd Annual Maud Whitmore Benefit Concert. The concert fund-raiser gives the Charlottetown Festival cast, crew and staff the chance to perform music and theatre pieces that are the most meaningful to them.
With almost three dozen pieces, the programme this year includes original works, such as a song written and performed by J.D. Nicholsen, who plays Stompin’ Tom Connors in The Ballad of Stompin’ Tom, accompanied by John Connolly, who plays Teen Tom, and an original song by John Connolly accompanied by J.D. Nicholsen. Janet MacEwen, better known as Marilla Cuthbert, performs her new single My Prince Edward Island.
The programme also includes famous musical theatre pieces, such as a very difficult Stephen Sondheim work from Into The Woods that casts Kristen Peace as The Witch, Shawna van Omme as Cinderella, Robin Calvert as Little Red Riding Hood, Gabriel Antonacci as Jack, and Matt Wagman as The Baker.
Members of the Festival orchestra perform the 2nd movement of the Shostakovich String Quartet #8, and Sandy Winsby sings from the Puccini opera La Bohème. Even the Children of Avonlea from Anne of Green Gables - The Musical™ get into the act with a pair of dance numbers.
David Archibald’s original work The Ballad of Pirate Bill features most of the cast of The Ballad of Stompin’ Tom and promises big laughs, while Amy Wallis’ rendition of Leonard Bernstein’s Glitter and Be Gay from Candide will be a show stopper.
The 32nd Annual Maud Whitmore Benefit Concert takes place on the Confederation Centre’s Mainstage on Sunday, August 24, at 7:30 p.m. The Charlottetown Festival Company staff, cast and crew volunteer their time for this meaningful fund-raiser. All proceeds go to the Maud Whitmore Scholarship Fund. Staff, cast, crew, and the orchestra can apply to the fund for scholarships to further their education in the arts.
The late Maud Whitmore, a veteran Charlottetown Festival performer, endeared herself to audiences for many years as the sharp-tongued but kind-hearted busybody Rachel Lynde in Anne of Green Gables – The Musical™ from 1965 to 1977.
Tickets for the Maud Whitmore Benefit Concert are $12. For tickets, please call the box office at 566-1267, toll free at 1-800-565-0278 or visit www.charlottetownfestival.com.
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Media contact: Dan Wall, publicist, Confederation Centre of the Arts, phone (902) 628-6135
Email: confederationcentre.com, web www.confederationcentre.com