BY KAREN BOSSICK
Sun Valley Opera will parade out three Broadway stars on an unusual stage Thursday night when it presents an evening of Motown, soul, classic R & B and Broadway numbers in Sun Valley’s Festival Meadows.
Organizers are billing it as “two parties for the price of one,” with a concert at 6:30 p.m., followed by dance music from the 1960s to the ‘90s featuring DJ Nathan Hudson.
The concert will feature Jared Wayne Gladly and Allison Semmes accompanied by Sean Mason. Tickets start at $50 and are available at https://www.sunvalleyopera.com or by calling 208-726-0991.
Sun Valley Opera Co-founder Frank Meyer said the opera has wanted to bring back Gladly and Semmes ever since they received thunderous rounds of applause for their appearances in “The Temptations Tribute” and “Girls Groups” a few years ago at the Sun Valley Pavilion.
“Jared, with his captivating bass baritone voice, received a standing ovation with his rendition of Stevie Wonder’s ‘For Once in My Life.’ And Miss Semmes almost stopped the show with her moving rendition of ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ in the ‘Girls Groups’ show at the Pavilion,” he added.
Jared Wayne Gladly is a native Texan who began his professional career on the stage of New York’s historic Apollo Theater as an ensemble cast member of the 2009 national tour of “Dreamgirls.” He has been in several Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including Disney’s “Frozen.”
When he’s not performing, he volunteers for a food pantry in Harlem.
A Chicago native, Allison Semmes, has been in such Broadway shows as “The Book of Mormon” and “Motown the Musical.” She played Diana Ross in the first and second Broadway National Tour of “Motown the Musical.”
Sean Mason, a Charlotte, N.C., native, studied at the University of North Carolina and The Julliard School. He has toured with many jazz legends, including Branford and Wynton Marsalis. He also was the pianist for the documentary “Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre,” Broadway’s “Phantom of the Opera” and “Hadestown” and for Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
People are invited to bring picnics. A no host bar by Warfield Distillery & Brewery will be available.
SIP & SHOP ON FRIDAY:
J. McLaughlin will donate 15 percent of all sales from noon to 4 p.m. Friday, July 15, to Sun Valley Opera. The dress shop is located at 520 E. 4th St. in Ketchum.
LOOKING AHEAD:
- Internationally renowned Soprano Audrey Luna will perform at a Signature Salon in a private garden setting on Aug. 20. Guests will enjoy wine and hors d’oeuvres at 5:30 p.m., with the concert starting at 6:30 p.m.
- On Sept. 1 Sun Valley Opera will show the classic film “Little Shop of Horrors” on the Sun Valley Pavilion Lawn.