HOPELESSLY DEVOTED: THE MUSIC OF OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN To Be Presented By Segerstrom Center For The Arts

Segerstrom Center for the Arts announces Hopelessly Devoted: The Music of Olivia Newton-John, performing for three nights, January 11-13, 2024 at 7:30pm in Samueli Theater.

A starry cast of Broadway veterans, Jessica Hendy, Kelli Rabke, David Burnham, Blaine Krauss and Scott Coulter, with accompanist John Boswell, team up to celebrate the life and career of the beloved singer and actress Olivia Newton-John who passed away in 2022. For this special engagement, this show-stopping cast will perform their favorite songs from Olivia's incredible catalogue in an emotional celebration of her life and legacy.

With a 60-year career as an entertainer, Olivia Newton-John was a celebrated artist whose work impacted and inspired so many people around the globe. It all started with music, of course. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included fifteen Top 10 songs, including five songs that made it to #1. Her enormous popularity carried over to the movies too, where she secured her legendary status by starring in such iconic roles as Sandy in Grease and Kira in Xanadu.

Jessica Hendy is a vocal powerhouse who just closed the recent Broadway revival of CATS. She is the only person with the distinction of having been in the original Broadway production of CATS, the National tour, and the Brodway revival. She recently made her Radio City Music Hall debut in The New York Spring Spectacular, alongside the world famous ROCKETTES.

Kelli Rabke has enjoyed a prolific career on the Great White Way, with a resume that can boast of being one of the only Broadway stars to originate a role in both a Stephen Schwartz and an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Her success on the stage and on daytime TV in “The Young And The Restless” has made her an incredibly popular concert artist and a staple in the NYC cabaret world.

David Burnham was last seen on Broadway in the mega-hit musical Wicked, playing Fiyero, a role that he originated in the early workshops of the show. OC audiences might also fondly remember David's starring turn in the Light in the Piazza at South Coast Repertory – a show he appeared in on Broadway as well.

Blaine Krauss has been “blowing us all away” with his talents on the national tour of Hamilton. Before that, he got his big break playing Simba in The Lion King national tour and was a member of the original Broadway casts of The Cher Show and Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812.   

Center cabaret lovers will fondly remember Scott Coulter's booming voice, wit and charisma from last season's The Broadway Hollywood Holiday Soundtrack and we are truly delighted to have one of New York's most honored vocalists back again. Scott has won 5 MAC Awards, given by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs.   

Hopelessly Devoted: The Music of Olivia Newton-John is presented with generous support from Sandy Segerstrom Daniels. Segerstrom Center for the Arts applauds its corporate partner Kaiser Permanente, Official Health Care Partner. It also recognizes RAGE Monthly as a media partner for the Cabaret series.

Dame Olivia Newton-John AC DBE (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. She was a four-time GRAMMY Award winner whose music career included fifteen top-ten singles, including five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and two number-one albums on the Billboard 200: “If You Love Me, Let Me Know” (1974) and “Have You Never Been Mellow” (1975). Eleven of her singles (including two Platinum) and fourteen of her albums (including two Platinum and four 2× Platinum) have been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

In 1978, Newton-John starred in the musical film “Grease,” which was the highest-grossing musical film at the time and whose soundtrack remains one of the world's best-selling albums. It features two major hit duets with costar John Travolta: "You're the One That I Want"—which is one of the best-selling singles of all time—and "Summer Nights".

Her signature solo recordings include the GRAMMY Record of the Year "I Honestly Love You" (1974) and "Physical" (1981)—Billboard's highest-ranking Hot 100 single of the ‘80s. Other defining hit singles include "If Not for You" and "Banks of the Ohio" (both 1971), "Let Me Be There" (1973), "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)" (1974), "Have You Never Been Mellow" (1975), "Sam" (1977), "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (1978; also from “Grease”), "A Little More Love" (1978), "Twist of Fate" (1983) and, from the 1980 film Xanadu, "Magic" and "Xanadu" (with the Electric Light Orchestra).

With global sales of more than 100 million records, Newton-John established herself as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, as well as one of the highest-selling female Australian artists. Newton-John, who battled breast cancer three times, was an advocate and sponsor for breast cancer research. In 2012, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre opened in her home town of Melbourne. She also was an activist for environmental and animal rights causes.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an innovative, nonprofit arts organization committed to supporting artistic excellence, creating impactful educational programs, and dedicated to engaging a culturally connected, inclusive, and vital Orange County community for all, through the power of live performance. As the leading cultural arts hub, the Center presents a variety of programming with performances by international dance companies, Broadway national tours, jazz and cabaret musicians, chamber orchestras and ensembles, comedy, and speaker series. Through the Education and Community Engagement departments, the Center also delivers family-friendly programming and performances on the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza; these events include outdoor movie screenings, concerts, dance classes, diverse festivals, and more. With six venues on a beautiful multi-disciplinary campus, Segerstrom Center for the Arts proudly serves as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County, and Pacific Chorale as well as two independently acclaimed organizations: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory and the Orange County Museum of Art. Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School and Studio D, Arts School for All Abilities. 

Hopelessly Devoted:  The Music of Olivia Newton-John

January 11,12, & 13, 2024 

All performances start at 7:30 pm

Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Samueli Theater

Tickets start at $79. 

In-person and Phone- 

The Box Office 

600 Town Center Drive 

Costa Mesa, CA 92626 

(714) 556-2787 

Monday 10 am – 2 pm 

Tuesday through Friday Noon- 5 pm 

Closed Saturdays and Sundays 

Information provided is accurate at the time of printing but is subject to change. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a public, non-profit organization. “Segerstrom Center for the Arts” is a registered trademark. 

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