‘Gift Wrapped: A Holiday Musical Revue’ opens Dec. 8
MILLSTONE — Gift-wrap the holiday season in song at the Millstone Performing Arts Center (MPAC) holiday show on Saturday, Dec. 8.
This heartwarming show, directed by Gina Whalen, includes 22 holiday songs, including “White Christmas,” “Santa Baby,” “Frosty,” “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch,” and other holiday favorites accompanied by a live band.
The cast of 45 includes a mix of professional performers and local talent including 33 children from second grade through high school.
Children with lead roles in “Gift Wrapped – A Holiday Musical Revue” include Millstone residents Natalie Cappuzzo, 13; Gianna Pallante, 12; and Ben Hahn, 10.
The show opens at 7 p.m., Dec. 8. All seats in the state-of-the-art 1,200-seat theater are reserved, and tickets start at $20. Tickets can be ordered online at www.millstoneperformingarts.com or by calling MPAC at 732-446-8480.
Audience members are asked to bring either holiday decorations or a toy that will be donated to Hurricane Sandy victims.
The musical director of “Gift Wrapped — A Holiday Musical Revue” is Henco Espag, who works as an accompanist and vocal coach for the Musical Theatre Department at Westminster College of the Arts at Rider University. He has worked on numerous projects as composer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor, accompanist, music director and session musician.
Among the adult vocalists, Bruce Clough, of Hightstown, has performed over 100 roles on stage, along the way earning some awards and working with icons Anthony Hopkins, F. Murray Abraham, Mike Nichols, and even James Gandolfini. Prestigious venues on his resume include The Public Theater, The Actors Theater in Louisville, and The Dallas Theater Center.
Equally adept at singing and acting, Mr. Clough has performed a dozen of Shakespeare’s greatest hits, growled funk and blues songs with great bands, and created a niche in the New York City cabaret scene with a series of sold-out, critically acclaimed shows.
Ms. Whalen, of Millstone, has traveled the world performing in musicals. She portrayed the Mistress in the International/National Broadway production of “Evita.” Other favorite regional credits include, Anita in “West Side Story,” Maggie in “A Chorus Line,” Florence in “Chess,” Joan in “Dames at Sea,” and Susan Wilkes in “Big River.” Ms. Whalen is an experienced cabaret singer, having performed her critically acclaimed one-woman show in New York City.
Singer Sam Levine is a recent graduate of Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s in Music Education. He currently teaches general/choral music at Shalom Torah Academy and Temple Sholom. Past credits include “Titanic” (Isidor Straus), “Oklahoma!” (Ali Hakim), “Guys and Dolls” (Benny Southstreet), “Annie” (Bert Healy), “Sweeney Todd” (Judge Turpin).