Stars of Broadway visit to help the Richey Community Orchestra celebrate the best that the West has to offer on stage.
By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN
Published March 26, 2004
Broadway performers Peter Palmer (title role in L'il Abner; Brigadoon; Lorilei) and Anika Farrell (Lorilei) will be guest stars at the Richey Community Orchestra's Sunday concert, "The Best of the West."
The pair will recreate highlights from the musical Oklahoma!, in costume with scene-setting dialogue.
Palmer originated the role of L'il Abner in the 1956 Broadway hit, L'il Abner, for which he won the 1957 Theater World Award, and went on to play the role in the 1959 movie. He had the lead in the off-Broadway revival of Brigadoon in 1963 and played Gus Esmond in the 1974 Carol Channing vehicle, Lorelei (Gentlemen Still Prefer Blondes).
Ms. Farrell played Pheasant and Bridesmaid in Lorelei, as well as being in the ensemble.
In recent years, the two have played together in regional and dinner theatres, including the long-gone Showboat Dinner Theatre in Clearwater.
The orchestra is bringing back some of the special effects they had for last month's concert, "The French Connection," which drew a near-capacity crowd.
"The video was an enjoyable addition to the concert last month," said Denise Isaacson, publicist for the orchestra, so the group is doing it again.
"The video will feature pictures of America from the Grand Canyon to scenes from the West. The stage will include scenery to project the "Old West' feel, and we'll have a narrator with script to narrate the show," she said.
The orchestra will also feature its concertmaster, Elan Chalford, doing Aaron Copland's Hoe Down on electric violin. Chalford has won the Big Cypress Swamp Fiddle Contest and the Florida Fiddlers' Contest, among other honors.
The orchestra's opening number is the theme from the movie and television show The Wild, Wild West. Also on the program are On the Trail from Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite and a medley of American classics, including Shenandoah, Oh, Susanna and America the Beautiful.
WHAT: Richey Community Orchestra presents "The Best of the West"
WHERE: Center for the Arts at River Ridge, 11464 Town Center Road, New Port Richey
