Annual BROADWAY DIRECT Show Returns to Vergennes Opera House

The annual Broadway Direct show will return to the Vergennes Opera House. This year there will be two shows, the first on Friday, December 6 at 7:30pm and the second on Saturday, December 7 at a 3pm.

“The programming team worked with Bill on deciding to go to two shows,” said Gerianne Smart, President of the all-volunteer Friends of the Vergennes Opera House (FVOH) team. “The second show gives folks a chance to enjoy the production on an afternoon and make it easier for some to attend when they have to come from farther away.”

For the past several years, the FVOH partnered with St. Michael’s Playhouse on presenting Broadway Direct. The first performance would be at the opera house, then move up to St. Mike’s for the balance of the weekend. With the closing of St. Mike’s playhouse last year, the FVOH decided to add a second show to accommodate theater enthusiasts who would have traditionally attended the production at the playhouse.

Bill Carmichael Walsh, seasoned Broadway veteran, founder of Broadway Direct, and local citizen, (as well as FVOH board member), has pulled together another group of talented friends to help make the 19th Broadway Direct very special.

“I’m really excited about the team of performers we have joining me on stage in this year’s Broadway Direct production,” said Walsh. “We have Brian Golub and Sarah Ellis coming from the NYC area, and they will be joined by crowd favorite Elisa VanDuyne.”

The accompanist this year will be Ronnie Romano, a versatile pianist who is the music director for the Middlebury College Community Chorus, Congregational Church of Middlebury, and the Wellspring Hospice singers. This will be the first time he will be performing on the Vergennes Opera House stage.

Additionally, the professional singers will be joined by two area high school students, Ella Kozak from Middlebury Union High School, and Lila Brightman from Mt. Abe Union High School, both of whom have performed in plays at their respective schools and are soloists in the Youth Opera Company of Middlebury.

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