Acting Out! presents fundraising performance

Area thespians are turning to their melodious sides to present "A Very Broadway Christmas," an evening of music, food and drinks at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Cup 'N' Cork, 11 S. Spanish St. in Cape Girardeau.

Members of the local stage troupe Acting Out! will perform a range of tunes to raise funds for next year's productions. There is no admission charge, and 10 percent of proceeds from the sale of food and beverage will be donated to Acting Out!

Kasey Cox, founder and artistic director of Acting Out!, is excited about the cabaret and the lineup of performers. The show will feature local musicians and singers from a range of backgrounds. Two are junior high and high school students who have been cast members at The Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis, two are musical theater and theater majors at Southeast Missouri State University, one is Cape Girardeau Central High School's choir director, and Kasey Cox holds a bachelor's degree in musical theater and a master's in theater.

The cast includes Jenny Duncan, part of the production of "Little Women: The Musical" that Acting Out! presented in August; Cameron Tyler and Collin Ritter, participants in Southeast's production of "Hairspray" with Ritter also acting in "Little Women;" Maria Drury, part the cast of Southeast's "Macbeth" and Acting Out!'s "A Midsummer Night's Dream;" Jordan Cox, music director for Acting Out!'s "Little Women" and cast member in Acting Out!'s "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"; and Kasey Cox, who played the role of Jo March in "Little Women."

"Everyone is incredibly talented," Kasey Cox said.

Jordan Cox

It is no small task to assemble a troupe with the time and talent to bring a musical Christmas to Cape Girardeau. These are not just any holiday songs, after all. Each selection is from musicals, and Kasey Cox will sing a couple of solos. "A certain amount of acting ... accompanies them" as well, she said.

"The cast was selected from a pool of performers with whom we were familiar. We typically do auditions for our regular season, but for fundraisers, we tend to simply ask those we already know," she said.

Acting Out! plans to continue bringing theater and music to the region, and company already is looking ahead to next year.

"The funds raised by food and coffee sales are going toward next year's season, specifically 'Twelfth Night,' which is our Shakespeare in the Park that is free to the public," Cox said.

"This should be a great show for the entire family. There are so many Christmas pieces that people are not aware come from musicals, and we will be doing many of those standards, plus a few more contemporary pieces from 'Elf: The Musical' and 'Songs for a New World,'" she said.

Among songs on the program are "Hard Candy Christmas," "Count Your Blessings," "White Christmas," "Surabaya Santa," "Christmas Lullaby," "We Need a Little Christmas," "There Is A Santa Claus" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

"If the community has enjoyed seeing Acting Out!'s productions for the past two years and are wondering how they can help us have a successful third season, attending fundraisers just like this one is a great start," Cox said.

"Cup 'n Cork is a great establishment with a spacious new building, and we are so lucky to have them supporting us in this way. Not to mention their food and coffee are spectacular," she said.