Local singers chosen to perform in "100 Years of Broadway"

(TAHLEQUAH, OK)--Three area singers have been selected to perform a chorus number with Broadway stars during Neil Berg's "100 Years of Broadway" show March 25 at the Tahlequah High School Performing Arts Center.

Mary Keck of Muskogee, Maryah Reavis of Tahlequah and Carrigan Bradley of Fort Gibson were chosen after submitting digital auditions to Neil Berg's Singing With the Broadway Stars, a competition accompanying "100 Years of Broadway."

Keck, 22, majors in vocal performance at Northeastern State University. She has studied voice and given voice recitals in Muskogee for three years. She was cast as Cinderella in the Muskogee Little Theater production of Into the Woods in 2008. While attending Hilldale High School, she played Anna in The King and I, Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun and was a chorus singer in Carousel.

"I am ecstatic to be included in this production and very thankful," Keck said. "Any opportunity to perform or even be on stage is so exciting for me. Even though it makes me really nervous, I'm very much looking forward to being among Broadway singers."

Reavis, 15, attends Sadler Arts Academy in Muskogee and sings in the school's honor choir. She has played piano for five years and also dances, draws and plays guitar and flute. She has performed the past four years in Sadler's production of The Nutcracker. Her voice instructors are Barbara McAlister and Dana Waters.

Reavis said she has dreamed of performing on Broadway ever since seeing Phantom of the Opera and is "very blessed to have this opportunity."

Bradley, 11, has been singing since receiving her first instruction at age 3 from Woodall School music teacher Angela Yount. She is an American Kids national finalist winner and became a regular cast member of the Clay Cooper Theatre in Branson, Mo. in 2009. She has performed at the 39th International Finals Rodeo, NSU's Downtown Country, Cookson Hills Jubilee and Oklahoma City's Rodeo Opry. Her album "Walk of Faith" is available at N'Tune Music in Tahlequah, Harp's Video in Fort Gibson and Hastings Bookstore in Muskogee's Curt's Mall. It is also available on iTunes and other digital outlets.

"I am very happy anytime I get to sing on stage, but to be able to sing with professionals is an amazing experience and I can't wait," Bradley said. "This area has so many talented singers that I'm honored to be chosen. God gave me a gift to sing and I love when a door opens and I get to share it."

"100 Years of Broadway" is a musical review of some of Broadway's most celebrated shows. It recreates their greatest moments featuring the plays' stars. Berg (www.neilberg.com), the musical director and pianist, is accompanied by Broadway performers. Scheduled to appear are Andrea Rivette (Emma Carew, Jekyll & Hyde), Ray McLeod (Wreck, Wonderful Town), Carter Calvert (It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues), Robert DuSold (Jason Green, The Producers) and Grant Norman (Gaston, Disney's Beauty and the Beast).

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on March 25 and is presented by the Sequoyah Institute at NSU as part of its Galaxy of Stars series. In addition, Berg will deliver a pre-show lecture, "The Business of Broadway," at 6:30 p.m. at the THSPAC.

Ticket prices are adults $20, NSU alumni $18, seniors 60-over and NSU employees $16, students $10 and NSU students $6. To reserve tickets call 918-458-2075.

The Sequoyah Institute's Galaxy of Stars series is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mid-America Arts Alliance and the Oklahoma Arts Council.