THE NEXT FIVE YEARS Benefit Cabaret Will Be Performed at Savannah Rep

Kicking off Rep's return to live performance and the official start of a capital campaign for their new downtown venue is THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, a benefit cabaret May 27th and 28th featuring the music of Jason Robert Brown. Mikki Sodergren, the Executive Artistic Director of American Traditions Vocal Competition will join Ryan McCurdy, Rep's Executive Artistic Director, in a first act suite of songs from Brown's beloved The Last Five Years. The second act will welcome Rep board member and local luminary Cecilia Tran Arango and Rep staff members Jenn Bishop and Sandra Karas to sing from Parade, The Bridges of Madison County, and others. The evening will be music directed and accompanied by Assaf Gleizner.

The performances will take place at 402 E Broughton St. Formerly the Southern Motors Acura dealership, the well-known building will retain its exterior appearance but undergo an internal build to prepare it for audiences with an eye for opening in early 2022. A major capital campaign to fund the conversion has begun at bit.ly/RepCampaign. This will be the first nonprofit theater on Broughton Street in nearly two decades since the closure of City Lights Theatre.

The two performances are Thursday, May 27th, and Friday, May 28th at 8p, and will be the centerpiece of a larger weekend of events introducing the venue to the greater Savannah community. On Saturday, May 29th the building will play host to "The Stage Is Yours", an open mic for all Savannah theatermakers and musicians from 1p - 8p; E-mail ryanmccurdy@savannahrep.org to reserve a half-hour slot. There will be a venue open house on Sunday, May 30th from 2p - 4p and a theater roundtable from 5p - 7p co-hosted by Chris Bass and the Savannah Performance Project; E-mail jennbishop@savannahrep.org to RSVP as space is limited for both. Rep's new neighbor Vineyard Vines at 301 W Broughton St will get into the action by donating 20% of their sales on Friday, May 28th from 2p - 5p to Rep's capital campaign.

Tickets for THE NEXT FIVE YEARS are $35 and available at http://bit.ly/TheNextFiveYears. This evening is included for free as part of Rep's Digital Season Pass and to Patron level and above donors - please E-mail boxoffice@savannahrep.org to secure your reservation.