Ben Vereen:cancels scheduled appearance at the Seabury Center. Contributed photoActor Ben Vereen, who was scheduled to headline a Broadway tribute to American composer Stephen Schwartz on Sunday at Westport’s Seabury Center, has had to cancel his appearance, organizers said today.
However, the show will go on, planners say, and Vereen has donated several items to be auctioned off during intermission, one of them being house seats to the Broadway show “Wicked,” followed by dinner with him.
Vereen’s cancellation in Westport is the second change for the event. It had originally been scheduled at the Bedford Middle School.
Titled, “Simple Joys,” the two Seabury performances are being sponsored by the Westport-based Center Stage Theatre Company, and will include five Broadway performers singing pieces from productions that include “Wicked,” “Pippin,” “Godspell,” and “Children of Eden.” The show is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 18, from 8 to 9:30 p.m. and from 10 to 11:30 p.m.
Schwartz will be among the guests, according to an announcement.
Among those scheduled to appear are actors Douglas Crawford, Walter O’Neil, Chad Kimball, Say Con and Dominique Kelley. They will be joined on stage by Center Stage Theatre Company students.
Center Stage, which operates out of the Seabury Center on Church Lane, is a private theater school for students from first grade through adulthood.
“Our motto is that they are surrounded by the best, so that they can be the best,” said Jill Jaysen, the theater company’s director. “We love to bring exciting things to the community.”
The 8 p.m. show is sold out, said Jaysen, “however, you can put your name on a wait list.” Tickets are $20 for seniors, children and students and $35 for adults. They can be purchased at the door with advance reservations by calling 203-341-9659.
For further information on the Center State Theater Company visit http://www.cstcompany.com
