Sutton Foster, Hugh Bonneville Join Mormon Tabernacle Choir for Annual Christmas Concerts

Award winning actress, singer, and dancer Sutton Foster (Broadway's ANYTHING GOES, VIOLET, SHREK) and acclaimed British actor Hugh Bonneville will be the featured guest artist and narrator at this year's Christmas concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, and Bells on Temple Square on December 14, 15 and 16 in the Conference Center. Under the direction of Mack Wilberg, music director of the Choir, and Ryan Murphy, associate music director, these powerhouse talents will ring in the holiday spirit for audiences young and old.

"Sutton Foster's crystal-clear voice and vibrant stage presence will pair wonderfully with the Choir and Orchestra. She will be an absolute delight for audiences," said music director Mack Wilberg. "We are equally privileged to have the talents of Hugh Bonneville as our narrator bringing to life a story specially tailored to him about joy and peace at Christmas."

Today's carefully guarded announcement was eagerly anticipated by thousands of Choir fans who have attended the traditional Christmas concerts for over a decade. The free performances are seen by over 60,000 audience members each year as well as millions more in PBS television specials and also this year on BYU Television.

"Each year there is a new theme for the Christmas concert which magnifies the strengths of our guest artists," said Ron Jarrett, president of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. "With Sutton Foster and Hugh Bonneville headlining the concert, audiences will experience a full-scale production of world class music, dance, and storytelling with amazing visual effects in the Conference Center."

One of Broadway's most accomplished performers, Sutton Foster has starred in 11 Broadway shows including her Tony-winning roles in Anything Goes and Thoroughly Modern Millie, as well as originating roles in The Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein and Shrek The Musical. On TV, Foster stars as Liza in the critically-acclaimed TV Land comedy series Younger, and previously starred in Bunheads.

As a solo artist, Sutton has toured the country with her hit solo concert which featured songs from her debut solo CD Wish as well as her follow up CD, An Evening with Sutton Foster: Live at the Cafe Carlyle. She has also graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, Feinstein's, Lincoln Center's American Songbook series and many others.

Hugh Bonneville is best known to American audiences for his role as Robert, Earl of Grantham in ITV/PBS Masterpiece's global hit Downton Abbey, for which he received a Golden Globe and 2 Emmy nominations. His many film credits include Notting Hill, Iris, The Monuments Men and the two Paddington movies. Most recently Hugh starred in Viceroy's House in which he portrayed Lord Mountbatten, alongside Gillian Anderson and Sir Michael Gambon. Hugh made a celebrated return to the stage last year in Ibsen's An Enemy of the People at Chichester Theatre.

On, Saturday, October 21 at 10 a.m. MT, tickets will become available at lds.org/events. Patrons will be able to request 4 tickets online, however, tickets will not be available through phone or in person. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Patrons will be able to see which nights are available and will know at the end of their selection which night they have received. Further ticket details are available at mormontabernaclechoir.org.

The Grammy Award-winning, multiple Emmy Award-winning, all-volunteer Mormon Tabernacle Choir is made up of 360 men and women who join their talents to create their trademark, instantly recognizable sound. They are accompanied by the Orchestra at Temple Square, a 150-member symphony, and the Bells on Temple Square, a 32-member handbell choir that are both likewise all volunteer.

The Choir has appeared at 13 world's fairs and expositions, performed at seven U.S. presidential inaugurals, and sung for numerous worldwide telecasts and special events-all this while broadcasting Music and the Spoken Word, the oldest continuing radio network broadcast, a weekly tradition now in its 89th year. The Choir has its own recording label and has just released the CD and DVD versions of last year's Christmas concert, O Come, Little Children with one of the world's leading operatic tenors, Rolando Villazón as the guest artist and narrator. A companion book, The Little Match Girl, is also set for release.

Sutton Foster image courtesy of Laura Marie Duncan

Hugh Bonneville image courtesy of Stuart Mc Clymont