DR. PHILLIPS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS ANNOUNCES STAR-STUDDED BROADWAY & BEYOND AT THE WALT DISNEY THEATER EVENT ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2014

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Norm Lewis Photo credit: Peter Hurley

The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts announced today that tickets are on sale for Broadway & Beyond at the Walt Disney Theater, a one-night-only variety show featuring luminaries from the Great White Way and beyond, including international music and dance performers. Broadway & Beyond will open the Walt Disney Theater during the Grand Premiere of Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Presented by Dr. Phillips Charities and Balfour Beatty Construction.

Tony nominee Norm Lewis returns to Central Florida for a special appearance in Broadway & Beyond to celebrate his hometown’s new performing arts center. Lewis grew up in Eatonville, Florida and is making history as the first African American Phantom of the Opera, currently on Broadway. He has received Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for his performance as Porgy in the Broadway production of The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess. Lewis also had a very successful year-long run in London as the role of Javert in the West End’s Les Miserables, and was honored to perform the same role for the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert.

Broadway director and producer, Richard Jay-Alexander, and musical director and conductor Mary-Mitchell Campbell, conceived and created the show especially for the Grand Premiere of the Dr. Phillips Center.
“I am thrilled to be part of Broadway & Beyond at the Walt Disney Theater for the Grand Premiere of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts,” says Jay-Alexander. “These performers are traveling from all over the continent, and the world, to be here for this very special occasion, and we are going to put on QUITE A SHOW!”

The 90-minute show will feature incredible performances from a range of stars including leading soprano, Deborah Voigt; rising Latin superstar, Ektor Rivera; world-renowned Argentinian dance duo, The Lombard Twins; The Broadway Kids; Sierra Boggess (Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, The Little Mermaid); NBC The Voice’s, Chris Mann; legendary jazz singer, Jane Monheit; popular all-male singing string quartet, Well-Strung; YouTube sensation, Jeremy Green; and a full 26-piece orchestra, made up of members of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. (All performers are subject to change.) 

Jay-Alexander is best known for his association with Cameron Mackintosh, having run the North American company for the British mega-producer and served as Executive Producer for such Broadway hits as Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Five Guys Named Moe and others. Jay-Alexander staged 11 companies of Les Miserables, which spanned the continent and played the world. He has also produced many recordings for Broadway shows as well as some of today’s leading artists, including Barbra Streisand, Il Volo, Norm Lewis, Kristin Chenoweth, Il Divo, Bernadette Peters, Ricky Martin, Bette Midler and Brian Stokes Mitchell.

A composer, music director, music supervisor, orchestrator, conductor, and teacher, Mary-Mitchell Campbell is an acclaimed musical artist. She won a 2006-2007 Drama Desk Award for her orchestration of Company, for which she also served as music director.

Campbell has worked on New York productions of Next to Normal, Company, Sweeney Todd, Beauty and the Beast, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Big Fish, The Addams Family and Sweet Charity at Lincoln Center.

Deborah Voigt is known for the singular power and beauty of her voice, as well as for her captivating stage presence. A leading dramatic soprano, internationally revered for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss, she has also portrayed some of the great heroines in Italian opera to great acclaim. She also appears regularly, as both performer and host, in the Metropolitan Opera’s “The Met: Live in HD” series, which is transmitted live to movie theaters across the U.S. and overseas.

She continues to serve as the first Artist-in-Residence in Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.

Ektor Rivera is a singer, actor and artist from Bayamón, Puerto Rico who was recently selected by Jennifer López to appear on the TV show Q’Viva The Chosen, seen by over 30 million television viewers. The show produced by Lopez, singer Marc Anthony and, choreographer Jamie King, was created by producer Simon Fuller. Q’Viva was the first show to be broadcast in the U.S. and Latin America on both Univision and FOX simultaneously, and was presented live as a sold out event, at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

Martin & Facundo Lombard are world-renowned artists and performers born in

Buenos Aires, Argentina. The started dancing at the age of seven, inspired by Michael Jackson, and made their debut at the age of 13 on Argentina’s most popular show Rhythm Of The Night. Shortly after, The Lombard Twins met James Brown during a concert and were called up to the stage to dance. In awe of their talent, Mr. Brown dubbed them “the soul boys”. The Lombard Twins performed at Michael Jackson’s induction into the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs, NY; choreographed and were featured in Wyclef’s music video Electric City for The Electric Company on PBS and have co-starred in the Disney Film Step Up 3D and the upcoming Step Up: All In.

Appearing as The Broadway Kids, five child actors will perform on the Walt Disney Theater stage: Beada Briglia, Luke Mannikus, Grace Matwijec, Sam Poon, Nicky Torchia and Nicole Wildy. They have performed in such shows as Kinky Boots, Billy Elliot, Pippin, Matilda, and A Christmas Story, the Musical.

tumblr_m7f5u1VXsZ1r5h12xo1_500Sierra Boggess recently finished a limited run as Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Other Broadway credits include the 25th-anniversary engagement in The Phantom of the Opera, the revival of Master Class (opposite Tyne Daly) and The Little Mermaid (Drama Desk and Drama League nominations, Broadway.com Audience Choice Award). Her London credits include Les Misérables, the 25th-anniversary concerts of The Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall and Love Never Dies (Olivier Award nomination).

Chris Mann gained fame on NBC’s The Voice, and in 2012 released his Faircraft/Republic Records debut, Roads, a bold reimagining of the classical-pop genre. The record hit #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart and Top 5 on the Classical Chart. Meanwhile, he played to sold out crowds across the U.S. in support of the collection. He followed up the album with his very first PBS concert DVD and CD, Chris Mann In Concert: A Mann For All Seasons and appeared on PBS’ National Memorial Day Concert for over 300,000 and millions of TV viewers to honor American service men and women and their families.

A leading light in both the jazz and cabaret worlds Jane Monheit’s emergence as

a finalist in the Thelonious Monk Institute’s 1998 vocal competition launched her onto the world stage. Her current album, The Heart Of The Matter, marks the Grammy-nominated vocalist’s ninth studio album. In addition to her own recordings, she has worked alongside the likes of Terence Blanchard, Tom Harrell, and Ivan Lins.

Well-Strung is made up by Edmund Bagnell (first violin), Christopher Marchant (second violin), Daniel Shevlin (cello) and Trevor Wadleigh (viola). The foursome features classical musicians who sing, putting their own spin on the music of Mozart, Vivaldi, Pink, Lorde, Kesha, Madonna, Kelly Clarkson and more. They have quickly gained national and international attention for their unique mash-up of string quartet and boy band.

Making his professional debut is YouTube phenom 17 year-old viola prodigy Jeremy Green. Green says he got tired of doing classical music and started creating classical pop covers of current songs and posting them on YouTube. Green plays by ear, and his cover of Pharrell Williams Happy received over 110,000 views.

Ticket Information

Tickets for this one night only, star-studded celebration are $250.00, $175.00 and $125.00. The ticket includes the Broadway & Beyond at the Walt Disney Theater performance, and after-party on the Seneff Arts Plaza that includes a champagne toast and dessert reception, dancing under the stars to Michael Andrews’ live band and other spectacular surprises.

Tickets are also available for the pre-show party and dinner, a black tie event with 1,300 guests. The evening begins with a cocktail reception on the Seneff Arts Plaza followed

by a three-course seated dinner in a tented pavilion. A limited number of corporate and

individual tables are available for $12,500 and $8,000.  Single dinner tickets are available for $750. The black tie dinner event includes the performance of Broadway & Beyond at the Walt Disney Theater and the after-party. To purchase tables please call 407.839.0119.

Single Tickets may be purchased by calling the Dr. Phillips Center Box Office at 844.513.2014, online at drphillipscenter.org or by visiting the Box Office at 155 East Anderson Street, Orlando, FL 32801. Box office hours are Monday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Online and phone ticket purchases include handling fees.

ABOUT THE DR. PHILLIPS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS:

The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to developing and operating a new state-of-the-art performing arts center in downtown Orlando, Fla. Opening in November 2014, the performing arts center will begin to fulfill its vision of Arts For Every Life®; to be a gathering place for creativity and discovery; a vibrant urban destination where artists, audiences and students will come to experience, explore and learn. The two-block community space features the 2,700-seat Walt Disney Theater, 300-seat Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater, Seneff Arts Plaza, School of Arts, the DeVos Family Room, and other event rental spaces. Future expansion plans includes a 1,700-seat acoustic theater, rehearsal room and commercial development spaces. The Dr. Phillips Center is a public-private collaboration with the City of Orlando, Orange County, the State of Florida and generous donors. For more information or to see live footage from the construction webcam, please visit www.drphillipscenter.org.