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| Brad Kenney, executive artistic director at Ogunquit Playhouse, is going to Carnegie Hall (courtesy photo) |
By Timothy Gillis
OGUNQUIT -
Brad Kenney, the executive artistic director at Ogunquit
Playhouse, has been tapped to work on a new holiday special at Carnegie Hall in
New York City. Kenney will be working with multiple Emmy and Golden Globe
award-winning actress Jane Seymour and PBS composer Tim Janis for the musical
journey called “The Christmas Rose” on Thursday, November 29. A cast of 400
performers will fill the stage for an evening of music, dance, and drama.
Kenney has met with producers of the show and will begin work in earnest in
early November.
“It’s kind of a different genre,” Kenney said. “A mix of
symphony, large choir, folkloric dancing, with a Broadway musical story.”
“The Christmas Rose” is a whimsical, family tale that
follows a young orphan named Annabelle into the desert, pursued by a team of
bandits. She crosses paths with everything from the three wise men and singing
angels to Mary and Joseph.
“It has a spiritual, holiday feel to it,” Kenney said. “It
will be very inspirational, fun, upbeat. We’re shooting for it to be an annual
holiday event there.”
The show will employ Broadway-caliber talent, he said, and
is very funny. “A team of bandits, led by a character named Adbul, are comic
and farcical in their attempts to capture this young girl,” Kenney said. “The
backstory is really about a lot of us, a universal message. She’s finding her
way in the next part of her life.”
Kenney came to be involved in the mega-production when he
was approached by Janis, a noted composer from York, and his producing
partners. Kenney’s reputation as Ogunquit Playhouse’s artistic director is
known in theater circles around the country, and they recruited him to be at
the helm of this new venture in a theatrical fashion.
“We hope it’s the new Nutcracker,” Janis said.
Jane Seymour is the star of the show, set in a story-telling
environment. Seymour’s husband, James Keach, who produced “Walk the Line,” will
work with Kenney on the production. Kenney thinks Seymour is the perfect choice
for her role.
“There’s a beautiful aura of elegance about her, for telling
a story like this, on the grand scale of Carnegie Hall,” he said.
Janis and Elizabeth Demmer wrote the music and lyrics for
the musical spectacular, and Janis wrote the script. The show will play for one
evening only. The following evening, Janis will return for the American Christmas
Carol, an annual treat at the venerable venue.
Janis has ten Billboard charting CDs, more than one million
albums sold, and four national public television specials. He’s worked with
some of the top artists in the music and entertainment business including Paul
McCartney, Billy Joel, Ray Charles, George Clooney and James Earl Jones. He has
also conducted the Czech National Symphony, the Kwazulu Natal Philharmonic and
the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.
“A lot of what Tim does is inspirational,” said Kenney, who
has only been to Carnegie Hall once, as a patron to see a classical music
concert. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s an incredibly prestigious place.”
Kenney plans to work with some familiar faces from the
Ogunquit Playhouse, who will be collaborating on the project.
Kenney is in his seventh season at the Ogunquit Playhouse,
and he is already looking to next year.
“Although we are working on the current production (“Buddy,
the Buddy Holly Story”), we’re already working furiously on the 8th (season),”
he said. “The seacoast has been a great partner with the playhouse.”
Even with people interested in their digital devices, live
theater continues to grow, he said. Kenney credits “the support network, from
the community, the board, and the talented actors and actresses that are drawn
here. The seacoast is an incredibly cultured and intelligent community, and
when you put out a strong piece, they react to it. That’s not always the case
in other parts of the country.” Kenney says he repeatedly hears from actors and
actresses that “the audiences are smart; they really react to the material.”
The final production of the season, “Buddy,” has some
surprises in store. “The actors not only sing and dance and act,” Kenney said.
“They also play the instruments.” The theater was fortunate to work with the
original creators of the show from London’s West End, he said, and there will
be “new songs in the show that haven’t been heard before.”
After “Buddy,” Kenney will focus on “The Christmas Rose,”
which will also feature the country’s premier concert boys choir The American
Boychoir, and internationally renowned and Ireland’s own Damhsa Dance Company.
The evening’s proceeds will go to benefit The Open Hearts
Foundation, which encourages people to live with an open heart in the face of
adversity. Tickets go on sale September 28, at the Carnegie Hall box office.
Call 212-247-7800 or visit carnegiehall.org. Tickets are discounted thirty
percent the first four days they go on sale, from September 28 at 11 am until
October 1 at 11:59 pm.
