THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 23, 1995 TAG: 9512230376
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
``Phantom'' is warming up its ``Voices'' to benefit a Virginia Beach theater.
On Wednesday, ``Phantom of the Opera'' cast members will present ``Phantom Voices'' at the Virginia Beach Pavilion. Proceeds from the special program will go to Commonwealth Musical Stage.
``Theaters close all over this country all the time. So they felt it was valid to invest time and energy to help support an emerging theater company,'' said Jeff Meredith, Commonwealth's producing director.
On Dec. 11, the ``Phantom'' cast staged a ``Voices'' performance in Norfolk to benefit AIDS organizations.
The Beach ``Voices'' will be entirely different, Meredith said. As in the musical ``A Chorus Line,'' it will appear like an audition on a bare stage.
A dozen cast members, primarily singers, will take turns coming forward to introduce themselves. Each will tell his or her real story, then sing.
The 90-minute show will feature about 20 musical numbers, Meredith said. Styles will include Broadway musical, cabaret, pop and great American standards.
``You get to see behind the mask of the performers. They have selected their material, so it touches a special place in their lives. And they will be sharing anecdotes about their career,'' he said.
Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf plans to attend the benefit, and to proclaim Wednesday ``Phantom of the Opera Day in Virginia Beach,'' Meredith said.
The event is being organized by Christian Nova, the Portsmouth-born actor who is the phantom's understudy for the touring show at Chrysler Hall through Jan. 6.
Nova will appear in ``Voices.'' Earlier this year, he had a supporting role in the Commonwealth production of Stephen Sondheim's ``A Little Night Music.''
So far, about half the available tickets for 952-seat Pavilion Theater have sold. A sellout would raise $10,000, reducing the company's $30,000 deficit by a third, Meredith said.
Commonwealth's 1995-'96 budget is $500,000. The next production - Frank Lesser's ``The Most Happy Fella'' - opens Jan. 26 at the Pavilion.
On Dec. 12, Oberndorf dubbed Commonwealth ``the official professional theater of the City of Virginia Beach.''
In the same week, the National League of Professional Musical Theater Producers placed the theater among the nation's top ten emerging musical theater companies. MEMO: WANT TO GO?
What: ``Phantom Voices,'' a special program featuring cast members
from ``Phantom of the Opera''
Where: Virginia Beach Pavilion
When: Wednesday at 11 a.m.
How much: advance tickets, $10; $15 at the door.
Call: 340-5446 by CNB