Tony Winner Louise Pitre, CANADIAN IDOL's Melissa O'Neill and More Set for Acting Up Stage Company's UNCOVERED: Simon & Garfunkel This Week
By: BWW News Desk Nov. 03, 2015
This year, UNCOVERED rearranges the iconic musical catalogue of the extraordinary folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, revealing the narratives and characters that underline the music in such classics as "The Sound of Silence," "America," "The Boxer," "I Am A Rock," "Mrs. Robinson" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
UNCOVERED: Simon & Garfunkel will be performed by a star-studded line up of Canadian musical theatre luminaries; Sara Farb (The Diary of Anne Frank/Stratford Festival), Kelly Holiff (Anne of Green Gables/Charlottetown Festival), Jeigh Madjus (Here Lies Love/Public Theatre, Off-Broadway), Robert Markus (Tommy/Stratford Festival), Melissa O'Neill ("Dark Matter", "Canadian Idol" winner, Jesus Christ Superstar/Broadway), Louise Pitre (Mamma Mia/Broadway), Jeffery Straker (North Star Falling, 2015), and Michael Terriault ("Heroes Reborn", The Producers/Mirvish, The Lord of the Rings/West End).
"We are really thrilled to be able to add an additional performance of UNCOVERED this year," said Acting Up Stage Company Artistic Director Mitchell Marcus. "Every year the concert seems to increase in popularity and so this will be the first year we offer the show for three evenings. The beautiful stories in Simon & Garfunkel's lyrics coupled with outstanding Canadian artists like Louise Pitre, Melissa O'Neil and Michael Therriault makes this the most exciting year for UNCOVERED to date."
As part of a new sponsorship from Scotiabank and an anonymous donor, this year's UNCOVEREDconcert will be professionally audio recorded, with a digital EP released later this fall. Additionally, Acting Up Stage Company has invited the Regent Park School of Music to partner on this year's UNCOVERED concert as part of their core curriculum. 100 music students across Toronto will learn a choral arrangement of "Homeward Bound", receiving an onstage workshop at Koerner Hall and the chance to perform on stage during the November 5th performance.
As in past years, Dora Award-winning musical director Reza Jacobs brings his wildly imaginative and theatrical arrangements to these pop classics. Jamie Drake, Justin Gray, Natalie Wong, and Jacobs comprise the orchestra.
UNCOVERED: Simon & Garfunkel will have three performances this year, on November 3rd, 4th, and 5th at 8:00pm, at the prestigious Koerner Hall, at the TELUS Centre for Performance & Learning. Tickets range in price from $32-$100 and can be purchased at actingupstage.com or by calling 416-408-0208.
Reza Jacobs is an award winning composer, lyricist, sound designer and music director, known for his versatility in style and genre. His credits include sound design and composition for the Shaw Festival, Factory Theatre, Volcano Theatre, Cahoots Theatre, Acting Up Stage Company, the Luminato Festival, & Harbourfront's World Stage Festival. As Music Director, he has won Dora Mavor Moore Awards for London Road (Best Music Direction & Best Musical 2014, Canadian Stage), Caroline, or Change (Best Music Direction & Best Musical 2012, Acting Up Stage) and Assassins (Best Musical, 2010, TIFT, Birdland Theatre). He recently played Ted in an all-new Canadian tour of 2 Pianos, 4 Hands. He is also the resident Canadian Music Director for Andrea Martin's one-woman show, Everything Must Go.
Acting Up Stage Company produces entertaining and poignant contemporary musicals, brings new musicals to life, and develops the artists and audiences of tomorrow. Since 2004, they have been rewarded time and again with rave reviews, sold-out performances, 10 Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards, 45 Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations and nine wins. Past productions include The Wild Party, Elegies: A Song Cycle, Once On This Island, Falsettos, Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata, Caroline, or Change, Ride The Cyclone, Parade, and The Light In The Piazza.
Comments
Videos