Summer concert series

BOWLING GREEN, O.—The Bowling Green State University Summer Concert Series offers audiences several chances to get into the act. The series includes “Sing-a-Long-a Sound of Music,” The Moxie Strings, “Broadway’s Next H!t Musical” and New York Voices. Presented by the College of Musical Arts, all four events take place in the Thomas B. and Kathleen M. Donnell Theatre in the Wolfe Center for the Arts.

Audience participation is the key to “Sing-a-Long-a Sound of Music,” at 7 p.m. on June 21. In preparation for the screening of the classic Julie Andrews movie in full-screen Technicolor, the night will begin with a 30-minute pre-film show during which the host will lead the audience through a vocal warm-up and prepare them for special moments throughout the film and the fancy dress parade and competition. Prizes will be awarded in three groups: nuns and children, individuals and groups. The audience will choose the winners.

Everyone will receive a free fun pack with special props for the “magic moments” that make the evening go with a bang.

The audience lends its voices to the experience, singing from memory (or by subtitle, if new to the “Sound of Music” scene), using the props provided.

Touring since 1999, “Sing-a-Long-a Sound of Music” has been performed over 10,000 times in 11 countries, filling the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles seven times. It premiered at the Prince Charles Cinema in the U.K. The first round of shows sold out, and the Prince Charles Cinema has shown “The Sound of Music” every theater season since.

In 2001, Elton John and 40 of his friends dressed up as nuns to “sing along with Julie,” hiring the show for a private birthday party. Other fans include Hugh Grant, Joan Collins and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys.

ABC World News Tonight said, “If you’ve always wanted to be a part of a musical, this is your chance!”

Tickets to the family-friendly event are $15.

The queens of feel-good, foot-stomping music present a free show at 8 p.m. June 24. The Moxie Strings travel the country performing and educating young string players in classical music with a modern twist. Fiddler Diana Ladio and Alison Lynn, on electric cello, mix bluegrass, Celtic, Canadian, rock, jazz and old time music into an American hybrid. The pair redefine folk music by electrifying the dance-worthy rhythms they have written or arranged.

Ladio has worked with renowned violinists Jeremy Kittel, Casey Driessen and Christian Howes. Before teaching strings at the Ann Arbor Public Schools she taught at the American String Teachers’ Association Summer Camp for six years. Lynn specializes in rhythmic and percussive styles and has performed with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Gaelic Storm and Kanye West.

“Broadway’s Next H!t Musical” will take over the Donnell stage at 7:30 p.m. on July 12, creating a fully improvised, two-act musical based entirely on audience suggestions.

Every lyric, melody and dance move is made up in front of the audience’s eyes, infusing the room with energy and laughter. The first act is the awards ceremony for four of the “best musical” nominees, based on audience-created song titles. The second act is the entire musical, based on the winning song from act one.

The troupe bringing these fake Broadway hits to life features improv-pros Deb Rabbai, Rob Schiffmann, Robert Z. Grant, Kobi Libii, Stefan Schick, Rebecca Vigil and host Greg Triggs, accompanied by pianists Eric March, Andrew Resnick and Gary Adler. The New York Post said the “Broadway’s Next H!t Musical” troupe has “a spontaneity, wit and inventiveness that must be seen to be believed.” The show has been seen recently at the Tribeca Film Festival and at the New York Musical Theater Festival, among many others. 

Rounding out the series, New York Voices returns to BGSU with a public concert at 8 p.m. Aug. 9 as part of its Vocal Jazz Camp. Entering its 26th year, the group is known for its inspired arrangements, intense vocal blend, close-knit voicing and the chemistry between members Darmon Meader, Peter Eldridge, Kim Nazarian and Lauren Kinhan. The Los Angeles Times lauded “the Voices’ capacity to bring a contemporary quality to classic material without sacrificing the essence of either.”

Ticket prices for the charged events vary. Purchase tickets by visiting BGSU.edu/Arts or by calling the Arts Box office at 419-372-8171.

Guests with disabilities in need of special services, assistance, or accommodations to fully participate in these programs should contact BGSU at 419-372-2616 or access@bgsu.edu. Please notify the University five days prior to the event.