Sikora will play Ellie May Chipley in the June 10 benefit for Carnegie Hall, which will be directed by The Little Mermaid's Francesca Zambello.
The actress joins a cast that includes the previously announced Becky Ann Baker (Parthy Ann Hawks), Carolee Carmello (Julie LaVerne), Alteouise deVaughn (Queenie), Nathan Gunn (Gaylord Ravenal), Jonathan Hadary (Cap'n Andy), Marilyn Horne (Old Lady on the Levee), Gavin Lee (Frank Schultz), Alvy Powell (Joe) and Celena Shafer (Magnolia Hawks). Show time is 8 PM.
Musical director Paul Gemignani will conduct the Orchestra of St. Luke's. The creative team will also feature Robert Longbottom (musical staging), Doug Wright (concert adaptation), lighting designer Alan Adelman, scenic designer Scott Pask and costume designer Gregg Barnes with sound design by Acme Sound Partners.
Show Boat has music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein and is based on the novel by Edna Ferber. The original Broadway production opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Dec. 27, 1927. Harold Prince directed the most recent Broadway production of the musical, which opened in 1994.
The musical was the first to tackle such weighty issues as racial prejudice, poverty and abandonment. The show's songs include "Make Believe," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," "Bill" and "Ol' Man River." Megan Sikora has been seen on Broadway in Curtains, Wicked, Dracula, Wonderful Town, Thoroughly Modern Millie and 42nd Street as well as in the City Center Encores! production of A Connecticut Yankee. Her other theatrical credits include productions of The Wild Party and Anything Goes. Sikora was nominated for an L.A. Ovation Award for the role of Bambi in the Ahmanson production of Curtains.
The gala evening will begin at 6 PM with dinner at Remi Restaurant (144 West 54th Street), followed by the 8 PM concert. Gala tickets, priced $1,000-$2,500, are available by calling (212) 903-9679.
Beginning April 21, a limited number of concert-only tickets, priced $36, $44, and $58, will be available by calling CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800.
For more information visit www.carnegiehall.org.
