The award-winning Broadway Voices concert series kicks off on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 8 p.m., with the renowned Ashley Brown.
Brown originated the title role in Mary Poppins on Broadway, for which she received Outer Critics, Drama League and Drama Desk nominations for Best Actress. Her other Broadway credits include Belle in The Beauty and the Beast.
Brown also starred in the national tour of Disney’s On the Record, and has performed with orchestras including the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, the Cincinnati Pops, the Indianapolis Symphony and the Pensacola Symphony. She studied at the Cincinnati College‐Conservatory of Music, where she received her Bachelor in Fine Arts degree in Musical Theater.
Last year’s sold-out Broadway Voices series, the vision of arts aficionado Tim Stevens of Garner, brought nationally renowned Broadway talents to the local stage and attracted fans from as far as Florida.
Presented through an innovative collaboration of the Town of Garner, the Garner Chamber of Commerce and local sponsors, Broadway Voices earned statewide recognition for Garner Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources, earning this year’s Arts and Humanities Award from the N.C. Parks and Recreation Association.
Additional concerts in the 2011-12 series include a concert by Susan Egan on Saturday, March 3. Egan headlined on Broadway as Thoroughly Modern Millie, as Broadway’s longest-running Sally Bowles in Cabaret, and the original Belle in Beauty and the Beast.
The final concert in the series features J. Mark McVey and Christy Tarr-McVey, on Saturday, May 5.
Mark McVey currently stars as Jean Valjean in the 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables, and returns to Broadway Voices for an encore performance with his wife, Christy, who made her Broadway debut in The Who’s Tommy and also starred in Annie and Jekyll and Hyde.
All concerts will be held at the 471-seat Garner Performing Arts Center, formerly Garner Historic Auditorium, located 7 miles from downtown Raleigh.
Tickets are $75 for the three-concert Broadway Voices series. For tickets or more information, contact the Garner Chamber of Commerce at (919) 772-6440 or visit www.garnerchamber.com.
