Kelli O’Hara (photo: Laura Marie Duncan.)
Are you looking for some holiday cheer in the form of Broadway talent and a visit to New York City’s iconic Carnegie Hall? Mark your calendar for December 19 and 20, when the New York Pops will present a concert at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage featuring Tony, Emmy and two-time Golden Globe nominee, Matthew Morrison, and five-time Tony nominee Kelli O’Hara. The orchestra will also be joined by Judith Clurman’s Essential Voices USA. Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke will lead the concert, which will include festive classics like “Carol of the Bells,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” and “Winter Wonderland,” plus some of the Broadway’s most beloved musical numbers.
O’Hara recently appeared as Mrs. Darling in NBC’s live telecast of Peter Pan. She received her fifth Tony nomination—along with Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics award nominations—for her portrayal of Francesca in the musical adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County. On New Year’s Eve 2014, O’Hara will make her Metropolitan Opera debut in a production of The Merry Widow with Renée Fleming. This spring, she will return to Broadway in the Lincoln Center revival of The King and I opposite Ken Watanabe.
Matthew Morrison (photo provided by New York Pops.)
The Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe-nominated star Matthew Morrison may have come to national prominence through his role as the perpetually optimistic high school teacher Will Schuester on Fox TV’s “Glee,” but the Southern California native was turning heads years earlier on the Great White Way.
After studying musical theater, vocal performance and dance at Tisch School of the Arts in New York, Morrison made his Broadway debut in Footloose, followed by The Rocky Horror Picture Show. However, it was his role as Link Larkin in the original cast of the Broadway production of Hairspray that served as his breakthrough and led to Morrison being cast in the critically acclaimed The Light in the Piazza. He return to Broadway this spring in the much-anticipated Finding Neverland.
“Our annual holiday program is one of our favorite traditions. It’s a time for loved ones to come together and celebrate the season through music,” says Reineke. “This year, we’re thrilled to be joined by two immensely talented friends—Kelli O’Hara and Matthew Morrison—who will have their long-awaited reunion on one of New York’s most beloved stages. We couldn’t ask for a greater gift!”
The New York Pops will also perform a special holiday Family Concert on Sunday, December 22. Based on the iconic television special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” this staged concert performance brings Rudolph, Santa and their friends to life through original choreography by director/choreographer Liza Gennaro, as performed by dancers from New York Theatre Ballet. In his debut with The New York Pops, Broadway actor John Bolton (Spamalot, Contact, Titanic) will narrate the classic Christmas tale, with additional characters voiced by Scot Cahoon, Rory Kulz, Bobby Underwood and students from TADA! Youth Theater. Judith Clurman’s Essential Voices USA will join The New York Pops to perform Johnny Marks’ beloved score.
The orchestra’s 32nd season continues on Friday, March 13, 2015, 8:00PM with One Night Only: Sutton Foster, with the two-time Tony Award-winning star of Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes in her solo debut at Carnegie Hall.
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