ABAC First Tuesday concert goes Broadway

TIFTON — Famous show tunes ranging from “Cats” to “Camelot” will fill the air in the Chapel of All Faiths at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College at 7 p.m. on April 2 when the final First Tuesday Concert of the season focuses on “A Broadway Kind of Mood.”

“This is always one of our most popular First Tuesday concerts, and I encourage everyone to get there early,” Susan Roe, head of the ABAC Fine Arts Department and originator of the First Tuesday Series, said. “The vocal talent we have lined up to be on the stage that night promises to be an unbelievable experience for the audience.”

Now in its 17th season, the First Tuesday Concert Series at ABAC offers concerts on five selected months from October through April. The concerts are open to the public at no charge.

Performers include Cierra Pineda, a freshman voice and flute major from Cairo, with “How Could I Ever Know” from “Secret Garden;” Moriah Daniel, a voice major from Tifton, with “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Miserables;” Morgan Bridges, a music major from Leesburg, with “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” from “Phantom of the Opera;” Brittany Quinn, a voice major from Sylvester, with “Send in the Clowns,” from “A Little Night Music;” Skylar Loyd, an animal science/music major from Columbus, with “Memory” from “Cats,” and Tyler Bennett, a history and government/music major from Douglas, with “A Bit of Earth” from “Secret Garden.”

Other performers include Stephanie Davis, a fine arts major from Tifton, with “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from “Carousel;” Bryce Peugh, a general studies major from Tifton, with “Dust and Ashes” from “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812;” Sydney Thomas, a history and government/music major from Colquitt, with “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked,” and Landon Chavis, a French Horn/voice major from Hazlehurst, with “Music of the Night” from “Phantom of the Opera.”

A Georgia-based actor, Elizabeth Powell, returns to Tifton when she sings “When it All Falls Down” from “Chaplin: The Musical.” Powell has performed with country star Pam Tillis at Christmas at the Galt House. She has also appeared in “Steel Magnolias” as “Shelby” with the Gypsy Theatre Company in Buford.

Brian Ray, an ABAC faculty member who directs the Baldwin Players, will be featured in “If Ever I Would Leave You” from “Camelot.” Meagan Royal Mayne, an ABAC and Valdosta State University graduate, will sing “How ‘Bout a Dance” and “Dyin’ Ain’t So Bad” from “Bonnie and Clyde.” Barry Cook, minister of music at First Baptist Church of Tifton, will offer “River in the Rain” from “Big River” and “Ya Got Trouble” from “Music Man.”

Jake Alley, an ABAC and VSU graduate who now teaches English and theater at Tift County High School, will sing “The Curse” from “Rigoletto” and “Out There” from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Katelyn Payne Gibson and Daniel Gibson will wind up the evening with “I Think I Got You Beat” from “Shrek The Musical” and “An Old-Fashioned Wedding” from “Annie Get Your Gun.”

Jennifer Huang, an assistant professor of music at ABAC, and Gina Lawhon, a longtime Tift County School System music teacher, will accompany the vocalists on the piano.

For more information on the First Tuesday concert, interested persons can contact Roe at [email protected].