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| 'Broadway Meets Country' On Monday, Oct. 30 stars from the worlds of Country Music and Broadway will join together in a cabaret-like setting at the James K. Polk Theater at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Broadway performers will sing their favorite Country songs and Country artists will sing their favorite Broadway show tunes -- and there may even be a few duets paring the artists together. The benefit concert is a celebration of the universality and crossover appeal of these two popular musical genres and some of their best performers. "Last year's 'Broadway Meets Country' event in New York City was a tremendous success on many levels from the critical acclaim, to the artists' reaction, and overwhelmingly positive response from music lovers of both genres, " said Tammy Genovese, CMA Chief Operating Officer. "Bringing this one-of-a-kind musical event to Nashville as part of the activities leading up to the CMA Awards was an obvious choice and one that I am sure music and theater fans in Nashville will embrace." The impressive line-up of artists includes Country artists Josh Gracin, Raul Malo, Lorrie Morgan, Jamie O'Neal, SHeDAISY, and Lee Ann Womack, along with Broadway's Laura Bell Bundy ("Hairspray"), Dixie Carter ("Designing Women, " "Thoroughly Modern Millie"), Michael Cerveris ("Sweeney Todd, " "Assassins"), Renee Elise Goldsberry ("One Life to Live, " "The Color Purple"), Brian D'Arcy James ("Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, " "Sweet Smell of Success, " "Titanic"), and Julia Murney ("The Wild Party, " national tour "Wicked") with more artists to be announced soon. "I don't know if people realize, but there is often a great camaraderie and level of mutual respect between artists, whether they're Tony winners, GRAMMY winners, CMA Award winners, MTV award winners, whatever, " said Malo, who also participated in the 2005 "Broadway Meets Country" event. "We tend to have each other on the radar, and events like 'Broadway Meets Country' that bring us together with people we admire and might not otherwise get to work with are really incredible. Hosting an event like this is really an honor for Nashville, and I can't wait to be part of it again this year." "You can imagine how excited we are to see artists from Nashville and Broadway sharing our stage for this concert. These two worlds of entertainment intersect at TPAC on a regular basis, but this benefit is an extra special event for us -- so unique and memorable for local audiences, " said Kathleen O'Brien, TPAC President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are grateful to CMA for designating TPAC Education as one of the beneficiaries of the ticket sales. It will go a long way in supporting our educational mission and goals. On many levels, this is an important, exciting event for TPAC." Those attending the 2006 concert will have the opportunity to hear classic Broadway songs reinterpreted by Country Music artists and classic Country songs performed by Broadway talent. CMA, TPAC and Nashville are honored to host Stephen Oremus ("Wicked, " "Avenue Q"), who returns in 2006 as the evening's musical director and arranger. Oremus has added this year's event to his busy schedule, which includes the opening of "Wicked" and "Avenue Q" in London's West End this fall. The event is co-executive produced by Jed Bernstein and Above The Title Productions in conjunction with CMA. Bernstein executive produced the 2005 "Broadway Meets Country" event while serving as President of the League of American Theatres and Producers. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |