THE ROCK TENOR, Featuring Rob Evan, To Have World Premiere At The Wilma Theater 7/8

The Rock Tenor makes its debut this summer beginning July 8, starring vocalist Rob Evan (Broadway performer and lead singer for the multi-platinum band The Trans-Siberian Orchestra), who conceived the show with director Vincent Marini (former Producing Artistic Director of New Jersey's Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center) officially opens July 15 and closes August 23. The Rock Tenor fuses rock and roll anthems, Broadway classics, opera favorites, country rhythms and classical melodies in a unique performance that showcases these familiar works in a whole new light. The Rock Tenor will be performed at The Wilma Theater, located at 265 South Broad Street. Tickets are $25-$40 and are available at www.therocktenor.com or by phone at (215) 546-7824.

"Rob and I started with a basic question, ‘If we had a single two hour concert to deliver all of our favorite songs -- regardless of genre -- what would that concert look like?," said Marini. "From there we began weeding through hundreds of our favorites across every imaginable musical genre. As we did, we began to see connections between songs in the set list. Sometimes it was a lyrical connection, other times it was in the melody or the chord structure. Regardless, we began working with our extraordinarily talented colleagues to find ways of combining and fusing the different pieces of music together and ended up with something fresh and original. I can honestly say that if you love music -- any type of music from Rock to Opera and everything in between -- this is the show for you."

Performed with a live rock band featuring some of the top live musicians in the country, this new concert will appeal to even the most casual fan of Broadway, classical and rock and roll. The set list spans The Beatles, Puccini, Journey, Handel, The Police, Meatloaf, Les Miserables, Mozart, Sondheim, Bon Jovi, Andrea Bocelli, STYX, The Rolling Stones, Daughtry, Keith Urban and will also include music by The String Divas, who will be performing with the rock band. The String Divas, led by Betsy Goode, are an all string group that performs classical music and classic rock. Goode has performed with STYX, Rod Stewart, Josh Groban, Trans-Sibeiran Orchestra, and many others.

The Rock Tenor artfully marries rock and roll with music from a variety of other genres to produce a vivid concert experience that leaves audiences breathless one minute and joyous the next. It's about songs that transcend time, age and race, delivered by performers who are as comfortable singing a Puccini aria as a Beatles classic. Imagine a Handel Aria that falls seamlessly into Journey's iconic ballad "Open Arms" which then finds itself in a call and response with Sondheim's "Johanna." Imagine a Puccini aria married intimately to Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir." Evan and Marini worked with some of the top arrangers in the country to create the harmonious connections between these seemingly disparate pieces.

Rob Evan, a member of the platinum selling rock band, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, is also lead vocalist for Bat Out of Hell creator Jim Steinman's band The Dream Engine and recently recorded the debut album for his new progressive rock band Menrva Realm. Other credits include starring in the original Broadway cast of Jekyll & Hyde where he played the title roles for three years and over 600 performances and appearing on Broadway as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, becoming the youngest performer ever to play both of these roles on Broadway. He also toured the world in an all-new Jekyll & Hyde: The Concert. Most recently, he played the role of Kerchak in Disney's Tarzan at the Richard Rodgers Theater. He also starred as the sadistic Orin Scrivello D.D.S. in the recent Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors. Evan has performed with REM, Phil Collins, John Mellencamp, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bonnie Tyler, Usher, Trisha Yearwood, Michael Crawford, Joan Jett, Linda Eder, Savatage, and Sebastian Bach of Skid Row.

Also featured in the concert are: classically trained vocalist Morgan James, who will hit Broadway in the fall with The Adams Family Musical; Dustin Brayley from the international tour of RENT; and Aaron Lavigne, a singer-songwriter who recently won FAMECAST Season 4. Performing with the band is accomplished violinist Susan Aquila. Aqulia spent the past 20 years bridging the gap between her successful rock and classical careers. Trained at Juilliard and Rice University, Susan has traveled extensively throughout the world performing in France, Germany, Spain, Russia, Korea and Japan. She has been seen on stage with Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Alicia Keys, Tony Bennett, k.d. lang, John Mayer, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, Willy Nelson, and Chuck Mangione, to name just a few.

Director Vincent Marini recently spent six years as the Producing Artistic Director of Lenape Regional Arts Center and has directed the Philadelphia region's Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre since 2004. With his company Blue Eyed Theatrical, he is currently developing a new international theatrical production with Roy Miller (West Side Story, Drowsy Chaperone, Title of Show) and Base Entertainment (Jersey Boys, Phantom Las Vegas, Cirque Wintuk, etc.) that will premiere in Macau, China in early 2010. The yet-to-be-titled production will be one of the largest theatrical events ever to open in China. Marini is also collaborating with songwriter Vienna Teng on the upcoming world premiere musical The Day Before, on a re-conceived revival of the early 90s musical Svengali, and on a new production of singer/songwriter Jeremey Schonfeld's Drift with Lauren Kennedy. He is a guest lecturer for Kanazwa Institute of Technology in Tokyo, Japan and Temple University.

The setlist was arranged by a team of some of the most talented arrangers in New York, including: Joe church, the Musical Director of original Broadway productions of The Lion King and The Who's Tommy; Henry Aronson, Musical Director and conductor of the new Broadway hit Rock of Ages; Kim Scharnberg, who has arranged for several Broadway musicals including Jekyll and Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Civil War and Little Women and for feature films (A River Runs Through It, Quiz Show, Made In America, The Net, Fly Away Home) and television; Jeremy Roberts, the Music Supervisor/Arranger for Jekyll & Hyde and Dracula on Broadway; and Linda Eder's musical director/arranger/conductor for 18 years; and Nashville's John Hinchey, noted for the progressive rock album Rewiring Genesis and his work with Sting on The Rainforest Foundation Fund Concerts.

JV Theatricals is a joint venture between Jay Harris and Blue Eyed Theatrical. Harris has produced all over the world. Among his many productions are the TonyTM nominated Say Goodnight Gracie, the upcoming national tour of Little House on The Prairie starring Melissa Gilbert, Respect The Musical, Jewtopia, and Evil Dead The Musical. His eleven London productions include the award winning Sunday in the Park with George and Mary Stuart. His productions have been nominated for multiple awards around the world. Blue Eyed Theatrical is a producer of theater, concerts and special events around the world. The company, headed by Vincent Marini, has produced the International Tour of Jekyll & Hyde in Concert, the new musicals Zelda by Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy, For The Glory starring Rob Evan, Keith Byron Kirk, Michael Lanning and Dan Cooney, The Day Before with singer/songwriter Vienna Teng and the new Motown show Classic M. The company is currently working on a new theatrical production slated to open in late 2010 in Macau, China. The new production will be one of the largest theatrical events ever produced in China. The Rock Tenor is produced in association with Norus Productions.

Blue Eyed Theatrical is a producer of theater, concerts and special events around the world. The company, headed by Vincent Marini, has produced the International Tour of Jekyll & Hyde in Concert, the new musicals Zelda by Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy, For The Glory starring Rob Evan, Keith Byron Kirk, Michael Lanning and Dan Cooney, The Day Before with singer/songwriter Vienna Teng and the new Motown show Classic M. The company is currently working on a new theatrical production slated to open in late 2010 in Macau, China. The massive new production will be one of the largest theatrical events ever produced in China. For more information, visit www.betheatrical.com.

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