EVITA Star to Headline Good Theater Broadway Concerts

Valerie Perri, who created the role of Eva Peron in the national tour of Evita will be the guest star for Good Theater's annual Broadway at Good Theater concerts December 5-9. Perri won the L.A. Drama Critics Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical. She also performed the role at Maine State Music Theatre in 1985.

Broadway at Good Theater is the company's annual fundraising concerts to celebrate Broadway and the holiday season. This year the company salutes musicals from the 1980s. Performances are scheduled for Wednesday December 5 at 7:00 ($27), Thursday December 6 at 7:00 ($35), Friday December 7 at 7:30 ($35), Saturday December 8 at 3:00 ($35) and 7:30 ($45) and Sunday December 9 at 2:00 ($45). Tickets may be purchased on line at www.goodtheater.com or by calling the Good Theater box office at 207-835-0895.

Perri will perform two of her signature songs from Evita, the classic "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and the fierce "Buenos Aires." She will also perform numbers from Jerome Robbin's Broadway and Sophisticated Ladies. Perri recently starred as Dolly Levi in an acclaimed production of Hello Dolly as well as several productions of Sunset Boulevard where she wowed audiences as Norma Desmond.

Joining Perri for these concerts is the company's other special guest star, Daniel Patrick Smith. Smith is returning for his third edition of Broadway at Good Theater. He will star in the company's upcoming musical Lucky Stiff later in the season.

Local cast members include: Emily Akeley, Peter Allen, Marissa Brown, Todd Daly, Marie Dittmer, Laura Houck, Jim Gaddis, Gusta Johnson, John Lanham, Steve Leighton, Conor Riordan Martin, Lynne McGhee, Jen Means, Shannon Thurston. The singers will be joined by musical director Victoria Stubbs who will lead the three-piece band.

Brian P. Allen conceived the concert and will direct. "This is my favorite event of the year at Good Theater. I spend over 12 months putting the concert together, finding just the right song for each artist and balancing the hit musicals with those little known gems, to give the audiences a great musical experience."

Some of the shows featured in the concerts include such blockbusters as: Les Miserables, CATS, Phantom of the Opera, 42nd Street, Big River, La Cage aux Folles, Into the Woods, Chess and the previously mentioned Evita. Lesser known shows include: Bring Back Birdie, Rags, Baby, Woman of the Year, Dance a Little Closer, Legs Diamond and The Rink.

Tickets often sell-out, so patrons are encouraged to book their tickets soon for a great nostalgic trip back to the 1980s.

So far this season, Good Theater has presented the Portland premiere of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and the world premiere of Homer Bound. Still to come will be two Maine premieres: An Act of God and A Doll's House Part 2, plus the musical Lucky Stiff.

Gift certificates for Good Theater are also available either on line or by calling the box-office.

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