Tim Rice/Elton John's 'Aida' coming to SIC stage
HARRISBURG - Southern Illinois will get a musical taste of Egypt when Southeastern Illinois College brings "Aida" to the Allan G. Kimball stage the last weekend of April.
"Aida" is a hit musical with book and music by Sir Elton John and Tim Rice. The show will take the stage at 7 p.m. April 26 and 27 and 2 p.m. April 28.
Aida is packed full of unforgettable music, and is known for receiving the Tony Award for best score in 2000.
It's a timeless love story that follows the tale of Radames (Braden Cummins of Carrier Mills) the prince who has fallen in love with one of the Nubian slaves, Aida (Sena Ntumy of Carbondale), much to the dislike of Radames' father Zoser (Alex McRoy of Harrisburg). Radames is promised to be wed to Amneris (Paige Clore of Norris City) and to become the new pharaoh of Egypt.
Additional roles include Joli Murphy (Springerton) as Nehebka, Levi Titsworth (Harrisburg) as the pharaoh, Jordan Richey (Benton) as Mereb, and Donovyn Valdez (Carrier Mills) as Amonasro.
"It's great to see the show come together. I'm so happy to be a part of Allan's last show here at SIC," said Richey, a veteran SIC actor.
Clore added, "This show is super exciting because it's a challenge. It's one of the hardest shows I've ever been in, but it's going to be so rewarding in the end to see what we can accomplish with Allan."
Director Allan Kimball will be retiring from teaching after this semester. This performance will be his last show as theater director on the SIC stage, recently named the Allan G. Kimball Stage in his honor.
McRoy, who has performed in many SIC productions under Kimball, said, "It has been amazing to get to be a part of this show. I think it has brought all of us new challenges and made us better performers because of it. I have loved getting to make our director's dream come true as his final show at SIC. We as a company would just like to give a huge, 'Thank you' to Allan Kimball for all the work he has done for us and so many other theater students during his career."
Aaron McRoy is the stage manager for Aida with help from Kassi Ketten and Rayanna Bainbridge. The music director is Cory Garmane, and Josh Kimball serves as the company's choreographer. The colorful array of costumes are designed by Janet Hart and Gareth York. John Hart of Hart's Music in Harrisburg provides the sound equipment for the shows. The lighting plot will be designed by Kyle Upchurch.
Reserved seating tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students, staff, and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance by calling (618) 252-5400, ext. 2486, 841-4649 or by emailing boxoffice@sic.edu.