August 29, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Continuing a successful run of semi-staged Broadway musicals, the Oregon Symphony launches its 2003-04 Bank of America Pops season with a performance of “Camelot” conducted by Associate Conductor Norman Leyden on Sept. 27, 28 and 29 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, with an additional concert on Sept. 30 at Salem’s Smith Auditorium. While on sabbatical leave for the 2003-2004 season, Leyden is “moonlighting” to conduct this concert. Vivienne Elborne returns to direct. Media support is provided by KEX Radio.
The cast features Amy Jo Arrington, whom audiences will remember as the spinsterish librarian “Marian Paroo” in last year’s production of “The Music Man,” now cast as the lovely Guinevere. Ron Harman plays the steadfast King Arthur and Bruce Blanchard is the lovelorn Sir Lancelot. They’ll sing such classic favorites as “What Do the Simple Folk Do,” “C’est Moi,” “I Loved You Once in Silence” and “If Ever I Would Leave You.” The cast also includes Paul Miller as Mordred, Cindy Severt as Morgan Le Fay, Russ Cowan as Sir Lionel and Shawn Rogers as Merlin.
Unlike a traditional musical theatre production, The Symphony's Pops orchestra, led by Leyden, will be in full view of the audience as the cast performs Lerner and Lowe’s retelling of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
Performances are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Monday, Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, with an additional concert on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at Salem’s Smith Auditorium. Tickets range in price from $25 to $68 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or charged by phone at 503-228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets (503-790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via the Symphony’s Web site at www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.
Vivienne Elborne is delighted to return to Portland to direct her fourth musical with the Oregon Symphony. She arrived in the United States some 20 years ago from London, England, where she enjoyed a long performing career, appearing at the Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall and Westminster Abbey as well as many other venues throughout the UK. She worked frequently on BBC Radio in the series “Friday Night is Music Night” and “These You Have Loved,” the award winning “Beau Brummel” and “All Our Christmasses” and performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Thames Chamber Orchestra, the Charles Young Chorale and the London Symphony Orchestra. Other work included the British tour of “The Rolf Harris Show,” session work with Marvin Hamlisch on the James Bond movie “The Spy Who Loved Me,” and numerous lead roles in musicals, operettas and oratorios.
Vivienne continued her theatrical and musical career in Texas, playing the title roles in “Peter Pan,” “Cinderella” and “Lettice and Loveage” and narrating “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra,” and “Alexander Evergreen” with the San Antonio Symphony and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Memphis Symphony. She became Artistic Director of the San Pedro Playhouse, a position she held for 12 years, as well as resident stage director for the San Antonio Symphony’s staged concert musicals and Christmas shows. She has also directed concert musicals, revues, holiday shows, operas and choral spectaculars for the Colorado Springs Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Alabama Symphony, the Lyric Opera of San Antonio, the University of Texas and Texas Public Radio. She has written director’s guides for the New York publishers Music Theatre International, and was a panel member of the Texas Commission on the Arts. She was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993 and is a winner of the JC Penney “Spirit of the American Woman” Award.
Mrs. Elborne’s huge number of directing credits include the musicals “Titanic,” “Evita,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Forever Plaid,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “A Chorus Line,” “The Secret Garden,” “Kismet,” “West Side Story,” “Nunsense” and “The King and I.” Play credits include “The Odd Couple,” “The Lion in Winter,” “The Merchant of Venice” and “The School for Scandal.” She has taken her production of “An Evening With Noel Coward” on tour to Russia and the Ukraine and a production of “Oliver!” to Mexico.
She now resides in the New York area with her husband and is the proud mother of a brand new member of the United States Marine Corps!
Rose Kennedy has been designing costumes for numerous stage and ballet productions for the past twenty-one years. Rose has also co-produced fashion shows that toured through several cities in Mexico. She is a member of the Fashion Board at the Incarnate World University, and worked for several years in the Trinity University costume department instructing students there. Some of the plays she has produced include but are not limited to “Titanic!,” “West Side Story,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “Evita,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Ragtime” and “Amadeus.” She is looking forward to adding the Oregon Symphony’s production of “Camelot” to her long list of experiences.
Ron Harman last appeared with the Oregon Symphony as Henry Higgins in the orchestra’s very successful presentation of “My Fair Lady,” and is an eighteen-year veteran member of the acclaimed Portland Opera Chorus. With Portland Opera, he performed featured roles in works as diverse as “The Magic Flute,” “The Student Prince,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Showboat.” He has also appeared with Portland Civic Theatre, Musical Company, Theatre in the Grove, Northwest Children’s Theatre, and the American Heritage Theater Project. He created the comic role of Sempung Langu in Vincent MacDermott’s groundbreaking gamelan opera, “The King of Bali.” Most recently he performed the title role in “Dracula” with Discovery Theatre Lab. A native of eastern Washington, Ron has called Portland home for twenty-six years. He is a graduate of Columbia Christian College, and is on the guest services staff at the Oregon Zoo.
Bruce is thrilled to be making his debut with the Oregon Symphony. He has appeared locally as Fred Graham/Petruchio in “Kiss Me Kate” with The Musical Theatre Company and directed and performed in “Forever Plaid” at the World Trade Center Theatre (Triangle Productions). His national credits include: Broadway: “Hello Dolly!” with Carol Channing. Off-Broadway: Smudge in “Forever Plaid,” “Forbidden Broadway” playing multiple characters, the Narrator in “Opal” (Richard Rodgers Award, Outer Critic Nomination). Regional: Curly in “Oklahoma!” with Opera N.E, Nathan in “Shenandoah” at the Goodspeed Opera House with James Vanderbeek of Dawson's Creek; Anthony in “Sweeney Todd” at the Goodspeed Opera House; Tybalt in “Romeo and Juliet” at the Fulton Theatre/S.E Theatre Festival; Tony in “West Side Story” at the Westchester Broadway Theatre; Ernest Simpson in “Only A Kingdom” (World Premiere) at the Mill Mountain Theatre. Bruce also can be heard on the Varise Sariband label recordings of “Forbidden Broadway 2,” “Forgotten Broadway” with Rebecca Luker and the 1995 Broadway cast recording of “Hello Dolly!” He would like to dedicate his performance in “Camelot” to his wife Jami and bouncing new baby boy Hudson, the loves of his life.
Amy Jo Arrington is from Mesa, Arizona and received her Bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University where she received the “Outstanding Undergraduate” award. Amy Jo has played Christine Dae in the National Tour of “The Phantom of the Opera,” Josephine in Arizona Theatre Company’s production of “H.M.S. Pinafore,” (for which she won an AriZoni award), and Clorinda in “La Cenerentola” for the Arizona Opera Outreach program. Amy Jo has been a guest soloist with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Phoenix Symphony. She has been heard on national television as the singing voice for a Mountain Dew commercial. Currently, Amy Jo and her husband Michael are living in Salem, Oregon where he is attending Law School, and she is working on her Masters Degree. Amy Jo’s voice teacher is Christine Meadows.
