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When excess is a good thing

John Leggio students will pull out all the stops with two hours of song and dance - 47 numbers that run the musical gamut.

By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN
Published June 8, 2007

Count on former Broadway dancer John Leggio to put on a show that just doesn't quit.

So it is with In Concert, the end-of-year show he has put together for dance and voice students at his Center for the Performing Arts in Spring Hill.

Performances are at 7 p.m. today and at 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday.

The show starts with a rousing choral rendition of Proud Mary and ends with 70 tap and hip-hop dancers wielding drumsticks while live drummers pound out rhythms that rock the stage.

In between are two hours of nonstop singing and dancing by 140 students, their instructors and guest performers.

"What makes this show different than years past, it's more like a concert, with more singing and not as much dancing, " Leggio said.

The 47 numbers are a mix of country, pop, rock, swing, hip-hop, and other music and dance styles, he said.

Of course, there are Broadway tunes in the show, too.

"One of our newer teachers, Meridith Cullen, does Good Morning, Baltimore from Hairspray, the movie made into a hit Broadway show, he said. Three students perform songs from Dreamgirls, the stage show made into a hit movie.

Professional singer Susan Falcone is also in the show, as are frequent Show Palace Dinner Theatre performers Katie Kerwin and Dan Johnson.

Leggio himself will sing the tender paean to warm relationships For Good, from the musical Wicked ("Because I knew you, I have been changed for good"), in memory of his mother, Barbara Overall, who died in October.

Leggio called on a friend, award-winning set designer Tom Hansen, also from the Show Palace, to do the lighting and rock concert-like set.

"We've been in rehearsal since January for some numbers, " Leggio said. "We spent the last two weeks going 4 to 9 p.m. every day.

"We're really picky with the blocking to make it look professional."

If you go

'In Concert'

What: End-of-year show by John Leggio's Center for the Performing Arts.

Where: The performing arts center at Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School, 13651 Hays Road, Hudson.

When: 7 p.m. today and 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets: $15, reserved seating, at the door, or call (352) 683-8395.

[Last modified June 7, 2007, 22:41:46]