Stars From Wicked and Rent Performing at the Garfield

STARS FROM WICKED AND RENT PERFORMING AT THE GARFIELD

The board of directors at the Garfield Center for the Arts are proud to announce the theatre’s 2018 annual gala fundraiser; Broadway by the River! Hosted by New York’s drag queen sensation, Marti Gould Cummings, and featuring an evening of intimate performances and conversations with cast members of various Broadway shows; Christine Dwyer of Wicked and RENT, Marty Thomas of Wicked, Xanadu and The Secret Garden and Katrina Rose Dideriksen of RENT, Hairspray, Finding Neverland and NBC’s The Voice. Broadway by the River promises to once again deliver some of that “Big Apple” theatre magic to Chestertown on Friday, April 6th, 2018 at 8pm.

Marti Gould Cummings (formerly of Kennedyville) is a comedian and host who most recently hosted the PBS show SIP N CHAT on New York’s WNET Channel 13. He can be seen as a regular guest host on MTV Live with Mike Kelton and weekly at his Broadway talk show, Stage Fright, that has featured over 25 Tony Award winners and nominees as guests. His comedy concerts have sold out across the country and in London. As an actor he was featured off-Broadway in the Drama Desk nominated musical Twist, at Webster Hall in Life & Death of Kenyon Phillips directed by Tony Award winner Cady Huffman and on the hit NBC sitcom 30 Rock. For more information visit www.martigcummings.com

Christine Dwyer was raised in Lynnfield Massachusetts by parents Tom and Ann with her older sister Katie. Christine was always a very active child, always struggling to pay attention to any one thing at a time….until she saw Cinderella at North Shore Music Theatre at the age of five. This was the first time her parents had ever seen her sit still for more than two minutes, and at the end of the show, when asked if Christine liked it, she replied: “I did…but I want to be up there”. Since then, her love and passion for music and theatre has immensely grown. She graduated from The Hartt School with a BFA in Musical Theatre and has traveled across the country as Maureen in RENT and Elphaba in Wicked. She can now be seen occasionally “defying gravity” as the Elphaba standby on Broadway and performing in various concerts across the city!

Marty Thomas is New York based rennaissance man. He is a Grammy Nominated recording artist who made his Broadway debut in The Secret Garden at age 11. He has also appeared on Broadway in Xanadu and Wicked. He has released several records on the iconic disco label Westend Records under the Godfather of disco, Mel Cheren. He has appeared on the Tony Awards, The View, The Today Show, The Tonight Show, Inside Edition, CBS, VH1, MTV, 20/20 and more. He has opened for Grace Jones and Patti Labelle, and has sung backup vocals for Billy Porter, Stephanie Mills, Jessie Mueller, Shoshana Bean, Rachel Potter and more. Marty plays Damon on the hit CBS sitcom Two Broke Girls, and he will appear as Charlie in the upcoming third season of the Netflix series Grace and Frankie. Marty was named Mr. Broadway 2008 and was a 1992 Ed McMahons’ Junior Vocalist Star Search Champion.

Katrina Rose Dideriksen is originally from Durham, NC, and as a child attended Durham School of the Arts. She later studied at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education before attending an open call for the musical Hairspray. After winning over the producers, Dideriksen was first sent to the Toronto Hairspray cast and then joined the touring company. Dideriksen originated the role of Tracy for The Luxor production of Hairspray in Las Vegas opposite Harvey Fierstein. She played Tracy until the Vegas show closed in June 2006. She has also starred in Hairspray in Pittsburgh and Houston, as well as revisited the Standby position on Broadway. More recently, Dideriksen was Mimi in Rent opposite Justin Guarini at Surflight Theatre, Rizzo in Grease opposite Marc Summers, and a Swing in the off-Broadway production of Rent. In 2017, Katrina Rose became a contestant on the thirteenth season of NBC’Ss reality television program The Voice. She performed Janis Joplin’s “Kozmic Blues” for her blind audition and managed to turn the chair of Miley Cyrus, who became her initial coach. She proceeded to progress through two more rounds before being eliminated from the competition.

Cummings wanted to share some of the NYC theatre world with the community where he grew up, and the Garfield was the perfect venue. Those lucky enough to get tickets will be able to hear Cummings, Dwyer, Thomas and Dideriksen perform songs from their respective shows, without paying the Broadway ticket price.

Tickets to this exciting event are expected to sell out. Limited VIP “Broadway Pass” tickets are $100 each and include front row table seating as well as entrance to an exclusive meet-and-greet with the performers after the show at the Kitchen at the Imperial. Tickets for the front row of the balcony are $75, and general admission is $50. Tickets can be purchased online at www.GarfieldCenter.org, by calling 410-810-2060 or in person at the Garfield Box Office, located at 210 High Street in Chestertown. Purchase your tickets now to show your support for the Garfield’s mission of nurturing, celebrating and supporting the arts and artists through performance and education, and help ensure that the theatre is able to continue to produce outstanding events in Chestertown.