Teri Bibb and More Set for Family Friendly Holiday Concerts at Rubicon Theatre Company
By: BWW News Desk Dec. 09, 2016
The Tiny Tots Holiday Concert takes place on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 11:00 a.m., with the extraordinary youth troupe The Rubicon Harmonix performing their annual holiday concert on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 7:00 p.m., featuring a special performance by Broadway star Teri Bibb (Christine in The Phantom of the Opera).
Tiny Tots Holiday Concert - Younger children will be delighted by this fun and popular 30-minute holiday concert and sing-along. Featuring The Rubicon's Harmonix and introducing The Harmonix Juniors, these talented local young people ring in the season with popular holiday tunes the entire family can enjoy. Following the concert is a visit to Santa's Wonderland, located downstairs in the theatre. Meet Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and even Santa Claus himself! Parents will want to take advantage of this perfect photo opportunity presented against a festively decorated background. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served. Avoid the long lines at shopping malls and make a visit with Santa and his helpers a memorable and musical experience children will cherish. Appropriate for children of all ages!
Saturday, December 17 @ 11:00 a.m.
Tickets: $10
Ages: Toddlers and up
The Harmonix Holiday Concert - Add harmony to the holidays with the extraordinary youth ensemble as they sing beautiful classics and seasonal favorites in multi-part arrangements and tight harmonies. Having performed locally for many years, these teens have been featured at several venues, special events and recently performed at this year's Christmas tree lighting in downtown Ventura. They are joined by this year's The Harmonix Juniors, a pre-teen troupe of fresh new singers under the musical direction of Miriam Arichea. The evening's 90-minute concert program includes well-known carols and contemporary holiday songs presented in an up-tempo style, with splendid choreography, and loads of synchronized spirit from crooning to triple time to simply good fun. Special guest star Teri Bibb of Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera (Christine for over 1000 performances) joins the evening with her sensational and captivating vocals. A post-show event with the Harmonix and Ms. Bibb is included with the VIP price. Proceeds benefit Rubicon's youth programs.
Sunday, December 18 @ 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: $30-$45
About The Rubicon Harmonix Singers:
Daniel Brackett is a junior at Ventura High School, where he plays trombone in the Wind Ensemble and is part of the school's Drama Department as well as the mock trial team. Daniel has been fortunate to appear in a number of Rubicon Theatre productions, including Our Town and A Rubicon Family Christmas. Daniel has also appeared in Rubicon's summer youth productions, most recently as Sonny in In the Heights. Additional favorite roles include Arab in West Side Story, Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid, Winthrop in The Music Man and Amahl in the Menotti operetta Amahl and the Night Visitors. In his free time, Daniel enjoys playing tennis and watching horror movies.
Lexie Collins loves singing more than anything in the world. Recent performances have paired her with stars such as Shirley Jones and Sally Struthers on the professional stage. She has carried the lead in many musicals including Mulan Jr. and Once on This Island Jr. Other notable roles include Charlotte in 13 The Musical, Ngana in South Pacific and Babette in Beauty and the Beast. Her ensemble roles include Oliver!, The King and I and Meet Me in St. Louis.
Cassidy Craig is a junior at Ventura High School. She plays for the VHS softball team, and is a member of AVID. Cassidy has been involved in musical theatre since she went on stage in her church Christmas program at the age of four, and has been performing ever since. She most recently played Anybodys in Rubicon Theatre's summer production of West Side Story. A few of her favorite roles at Rubicon have been Mushu in Mulan and Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast. Cassidy is also a veteran of the Ventura Unified School District's Festival of Talent, where she has performed every year for the past five years. Cassidy hopes to pursue her love of theatre, athletics, and academics in college and to go as far as her talents will take her.
Riley Conrad is a sophomore honors student at Ventura High School, where she is a member of the dance team, the mock trial team, and the Drama Department. Riley has been performing since the age of six, with some of her favorite productions being: 13 the Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, Oliver, Into the Woods, Annie, Shrek the Musical, and Jungle Book. She has appeared in numerous local theatres, including the Rubicon Theatre Company, Conejo Players, PTYA Ventura, and Ojai Art Center Theatre. For the past three summers, Riley has gone to New York to participate in the Broadway Artists Alliance and Stagedoor Manor musical theatre camps. Riley also made it to the final rounds of auditions for Annie on Broadway, from an open call in Los Angeles. In addition, Riley has traveled to Sacramento to lobby her State Legislators for funding the performing arts in public high schools. Riley enjoys watching "American Horror Story" and "America's Top Model" in her free time.
Madeline Gambon is a junior honors student at Rancho Campana High School. Madeline discovered her love for musical theatre in fourth grade when she performed in her first school play, Guys and Dolls. Madeline has appeared in a number of local theatres including Rubicon Theatre Company, Young Artists Ensemble, Panic! Productions, Conejo Players, and Camarillo Skyway. Her favorite productions include: Seussical the Musical (Gertrude McFuzz); 13 the Musical (Charlotte); Mulan (Mulan, Mushu) and Once on This Island (Little Ti Moune). Madeline was recently seen in the mainstage production of Return to the Forbidden Planet. Other Rubicon credits include A Rubicon Family Christmas and Rubicon's Kids4Kids Benefit Concert (2012-14). Madeline was a 2014 Musical Theatre Finalist in Hal Leonard's Early Teen Vocal Competition, as well as an active member of Kiwanis and Sock-it to Hunger. Madeline studies voice with Vanessa Townsell and hopes to study musical theatre in college.
Gus Graham hails from Santa Paula, where he is a home-schooled junior in high school. Gus is a longtime participant in Rubicon Theatre Company's summer musical theatre program, and has appeared in the shows Jungle Book (Colonal Henthi), Captain Louie (Ziggy), Mulan (Qian-Po), Beauty and the Beast (Cogsworth) and four Kids4Kids benefit concerts. In addition, Gus has been part of the tech crew for Rubicon's productions of West Side Story, Hamlet, and The Drowsy Chaperone. Gus was also cast in the 2012 and 2013 productions of A Rubicon Family Christmas. Gus is passionate about playing drums, and studies percussion at Pulse Drumming in Ventura; he has also performed with many local bands and plays in a band with his two brothers. Gus hopes to join the Ventura Collage Jazz Band where he will study music. He also sings in his church choir with his loving family.
Jesse Graham is a senior high school student in Santa Paula. Jesse has performed with Rubicon's main stage productions where he previously appeared in Return to the Forbidden Planet, A Christmas Carol, My Fair Lady and A Rubicon Family Christmas. Other stage credits include In the Heights (Usnavi), West Side Story (Action), Tarzan (Tarzan), The Drowsy Chaperone (Gangster #1), Beauty And The Beast (Ensemble), Sweeney Todd (Ensemble), Love's Labour's Lost (King Ferdinand), Mulan (Captain Shang), The Sound Of Music (Kurt) and multiple performances with the Rubicon Harmonix. In the community, Jesse has volunteered for the "Best Day Foundation," has participated in the walk for life events and has provided entertainment for the Oncology Pediatric unit VCMC. Jesse studies voice with Linda Ottsen and dance at Jill Johnsons Dance studio.
Sarah Mehrnia is a senior at Ventura High School and is an original, six-year member of the Rubicon Harmonix. Her Rubicon credits include A Rubicon Family Christmas, West Side Story, The Drowsy Chaperone, Captain Louie, The Jungle Book and Free to Be You and Me. Sarah has also performed with the Ventura High School Drama Department as Gabriella Montez in High School Musical. In order to share her love of music with her peers, Sarah created Sing to Serve, a Ventura High School club that performs for Ventura's elderly community. She is an avid member of her temple's High Holiday choir and has previously worked with the youth of her congregation. Sarah studies voice with Linda Ottsen and danced at Ballet Academy Ventura for ten years en pointe.
Nico Wicklin is a senior at Saint Bonaventure High School where he is a founding member of the SBHS Improv Troupe, "Winners by Default," as well as a four year member of the SBHS Drama Department. He has been interested in theatre ever since he was introduced to it his freshman year by his teacher, Patricia Strickland, and has gone on to play such roles as Pippin in Pippin!, Able in All that Glitters, Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, Baby John in West Side Story, and Graffiti Pete in In the Heights. He has been playing piano since he was four and playing bass since he was 12, along with a multitude of other instruments that involve banging and clanging. He is currently working on writing his own shows and trying to become the next Lin-Manuel Miranda or the third Shakespeare. He also enjoys playing soccer, and is passionate about film.
About The Harmonix Juniors Singers:
Aliza Barroca is a seventh-grade student at Anacapa Middle School in Ventura. She began performing with the Rubicon in 2015 as Flounder in the summer production of The Little Mermaid. Other stage credits include Annie (Sandy the dog), The Lion King (Simba), Wizard of Oz (Cowardly Lion), Muppets (Fozzy Bear), High School Musical (Chorus), Mary Poppins (Chimney Sweep), Beauty and the Beast (Lumiere), Cats (Rumpleteazer), Peter Pan (Lost Boy), Seussical (Cat in the Hat), The Wiz (Eviline), Jungle Book (Baloo) and she regularly participates in the annual VUSD Festival of Talent. Aliza studies the cornet, sings with the newly formed Anacapa student choir and studies dance at Oakley Ballet.
Troy Braun can currently be seen in Rubicon's Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol as John/Turkey Boy and was last seen as Earthworm in this summer's youth production of James and the Giant Peach, Jr. His credits in the summer youth programs also The Little Mermaid Jr. (Scuttle the Seagull), The Noble Gnarble (The Noble Gnarble), The Trial of Goldilocks (Baby Bear), The Sanguin Penguin (Percival & Sparky) and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Ensemble). Troy is a seventh grader at Ventura Missionary School where he is involved in student council and the school choir. He has also been involved in the Ventura Youth choir, taking piano lessons and various solos and plays at church. Troy is active in Tae Kwon Do and enjoys playing Clash of Clans and cuddling with his cat, Scrawny.
Catherine Kim is an eighth-grade honor student at Crane Country Day School in Montecito. She has been performing for audiences since the age of three. She is a vocalist, actress, dancer and musician. Most recently, she played Spiker in this year's Rubicon Summer production of James and the Giant Peach, Jr. was seen the year before as Ursula in The Little Mermaid Jr. Catherine has also performed Blackbeard and The Wizard of Oz with The Missoula Children's Theatre. Her ballet credits include The Nutcracker with Napa Regional Dance Company and with The State Street Ballet, and Sleeping Beauty with The Goleta School of Ballet. She has sung concerts and solos with VOENA World Choir and the St. Helena Unified Drama and Choral Department, as well as participated in the annual Music Outreach and charitable fundraising events while living in the Bahamas with Ars Nova Music Club. In 2011, she won the National Title for Folk Singing in The Bahamas and recorded a Coca Cola Commercial for the "Let's Go Crazy" campaign.
Isabelle Kim is a sixth-grade honor student attending Crane Country Day School in Montecito. Since the age of three, Isabelle has been performing in annual music outreach and charitable performances with The Ars Nova Music Club at The Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas. Her recent Rubicon credits include this year's Summer youth production of James and The Giant Peach, Jr. as Sponge and Jetsome in The Little Mermaid Jr. Isabelle is a vocalist, actress, poet, musician, dancer and athlete. She recently performed in The Goleta School of Ballet's production of Sleeping Beauty as well as the State Street Ballet and Napa Regional Dance Company's production of The Nutcracker. Isabelle also performed in The Wizard of Oz with the Missoula Children's Theater. When she is not playing volleyball, soccer or dancing, she is writing her own poetry or composing her own music on the piano.
Lillian Lippold is a freshman in the Arts and Humanities department at Rancho Campana High School. She was introduced to the Rubicon Theatre community three years ago when she appeared in the summer production of Beauty and the Beast in the role of Chip. Her Rubicon credits include ensemble member in James and the Giant Peach Jr., and Andrina in The Little Mermaid Jr. She was recently the understudy and sound technician in Almost, Maine. She hopes to carry her passion of theatre throughout her life with a dream career on Broadway and professional musical theatre. Her free time is packed with ballet, jazz, playing the piano, participating in volunteer work for the National Charity League and her church choir. She is incredibly grateful to be performing with such talented young actors and actresses and wants to thank each of them for giving her so much knowledge and assistance.
Mason Rothermel is eight years old and resides in Upper Ojai. He can currently be seen in Rubicon's Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol as Tiny Tim. His favorite past performances include his roles in The Wizard of Oz (Mayor of Munchkin City) at Conejo Players, Dr. Doolittle (Tommy Stubbins), A Year with Frog and Toad (Young Frog) at the Ojai ART Center, Mulan JR. (Chien Po) and Fame Jr. (Tyrone). He has also performed at Ojai Youth Entertainment Studio. Mason is excited to tour this Spring with Ojai Opera's Production, Brundib`ar. He is a proud member of, Off The Page Players, a group that collects student written stories and brings them to the stage.
Griffin Sanford is eleven-years-old and originally from New York. He is delighted to be making his Rubicon Theatre Mainstage production debut as Prologue Singer/Boy Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. His theatre credits include James and the Giant Peach Jr. (James) and The Little Mermaid Jr. (Pilot) as a part of Rubicon's summer education programs; and The Wizard of Oz (Cowardly Lion) and Where the Wild Things Are (Max) at Crane Country Day School in Santa Barbara. In addition to musical theatre, Griffin enjoys playing piano, soccer, and traveling with his family. Griffin is thankful to his parents for their support and chauffeuring.
Teri Bibb is thrilled to spend the holidays once again at Rubicon, where she has appeared in all four productions of A Rubicon Family Christmas as well as both productions of A Christmas Carol as Mrs. Crachit/Caroler. Teri's Broadway credits include over 1,000 performances as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera, including the National Tour, earning a Helen Hayes Award nomination and a Carbonell Award. Also on Broadway, Teri played Amalia in She Loves Me (standby). Regional credits include the World Premiere of Songs from the Tall Grass (Mother), The Light in the Piazza (Margaret) and Ellen Terry in Children of the Night (Ovation nomination). Teri has been a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall, London's Royal Albert Hall, Belfast's Odyssey Arena and Radio City Music Hall (duets with José Carreras); has sung with orchestras across the U.S.; and can be heard on the recordings "Unsung Irving Berlin" and "A Gala Concert for Hal Prince." She tours the country as one of "The Phantom's Leading Ladies," a trio of Christine's from Phantom, which she co-created. Teri has guest-starred on TV, been a supporting player on film, and has sung on several film scores, including "Ice Age" and "Polar Express." She was also a guest soloist on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." www.TeriBibb.com
Miriam Arichea (Director) has been affiliated with Rubicon Theatre since 2011, when she began music directing Rubicon's summer youth productions. Miriam also served as children's choral director for the 2012 and 2013 productions of A Rubicon Family Christmas. Miriam is known locally for her performances as a concert pianist and soloist, and has performed with the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra as well as the Ventura College Symphony Orchestra. Miriam also works as music director or pianist for a variety of community groups and events, including the Ventura Unified Festival of Talent, Temple Beth Torah, the Ojai Arts Centre, and First United Methodist Church. Miriam was the honored recipient of the 2014 City of Ventura Mayor's Arts Award for Arts Educator. A lawyer by training, Miriam received her undergraduate and law degrees at Duke University. She presently handles felony appeals as a court-appointed attorney with the California Appellate Project. Miriam and her husband Jeff Brackett have three children - Daniel, Arielle and Joshua.
IF YOU GO:
Tiny Tots Holiday Concert & Party
Saturdays, Dec. 10 & 17 at 11:00 a.m.
Tickets: $10
Harmonix Holiday Concert
Sunday, Dec. 18 at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: $30-$45
Mainstage production: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thursdays at 8 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.
*Talkback follows Wednesday evening performances on Dec. 9 and 16.
Tickets: $35-$65
All shows at Rubicon Theatre Company, 1006 E. Main Street, Ventura, CA 93001
Call 805.667.2900 or visit www.rubicontheatre.org.
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