The evening, called The Music of Michael Arden (plus a few other tunes he likes to hum along to) is a one night event directed by Kristin Hanggi (Bare) with musical direction by Matt Richardson. Brooke Sunny Moriber (James Joyce's The Dead, My Life With Albertine) will also perform as a special guest, and two other surprise guests will appear.
The concert will feature original songs written by Arden including selections from his musical Easter Rising, an original musical Arden wrote that deals with love and loss set in his native Texas.
Arden's muscular pop voice wowed audiences in the spring developmental run of Bare, the new rock opera set in a Catholic boarding school. He played Tom Sawyer in the Roundabout Theatre Company/DeafWest Broadway run of Big River. Among his credits, he appeared in a pre-Broadway workshop of The Vampire Lestat by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.
Songs by Billy Joel, Ben Folds, John Bucchino, Jason Robert Brown, Duncan Sheik and William Finn will be performed in the Aug. 15 concert.
The band will feature Matt Richardson (piano), Christian Hebel (violin), Clara Kennedy (cello), Greg Skaff (guitar) and Sean McDaniel (drums). Opia is at 130 E. 57th Street. Tickets for this one night only concert are available at (212) 688-3939 or www.LiveAtOpia.com. Tickets are $22 with a two-drink minimum.
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Bare: A Pop Opera will resume performances on Sept. 22 at Dodger Stages (350 West 50th, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues). Tickets for Bare are currently on sale at www.Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.
Casting hasn't been announced for the open-ended run of Bare, but Arden is expected to again play Peter, the conflicted teen whose boyfriend, Jason, is even more confused in their hermetic world at a Catholic boarding school.
Arden played the lead role in the musical workshop of The Hudsucker Proxy. His regional credits include Donald Margulies' God of Vengeance, Falsettoland (Williamstown), Tom Jones' Harold and Maude, West Side Story, Songs for a New World, The Common Pursuit, The Winter's Tale.
Visit www.bareapopopera.com.
