Eccles Center to Welcome Creators of WITNESS UGANDA, 11/1

Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews, co-creators of the award-winning and Broadway bound musical "Witness Uganda," open the 2014-2015 Eccles Center season with heart-thumping Afro-pop sounds and heart-wrenching stories on November 1. Based on Matthews' personal experience, the concert -and accompanying tales of triumph and tragedy - tackles the question: is changing the world even possible? Show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 435-655-3114 or online at EcclesCenter.org.

"Part concert, part storytelling, part call to action... this evening is exactly what Park City Institute is all about: entertaining, educating and illuminating," explains Park City Institute executive director Teri Orr. "It's a captivating blend of rhythmic, richly melodic - and, often, joyful - music and thought-provoking accounts of real people and real issues: education, homophobia, race, equality, HIV and AIDS."

The performance borrows from the smash musical, "Witness Uganda," which documents the true story of Griffin Matthews, a black American who is battling to find his place in a world full of injustice and inhumanity.

As the Boston Globe puts it, 'Gould and Matthews don't play up the pathos - they're just telling a true story, honestly and artfully - it's all the more overwhelming when it catches you unawares." The play is set in Uganda in 2005 when Matthews arrives from New York City to volunteer to build a school (while, simultaneously escaping his church's probing into his sexuality). He befriends a group of destitute, orphaned teenagers and sets off on a mission to change his and their lives. Under the direction of Tony award winner, Diane Paulus, "Witness Uganda" celebrated a sold-out run at American Repertory Theater, won the 2014 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater and is headed for Broadway in 2015.

Matthews is a writer, actor, director and philanthropist. Gould's music has been performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Saban Theatre, Symphony Space, New World Stages, Huntington Theatre Company and TEDx Wall Street. Gould and Matthews recently performed sections of "Witness Uganda" for the TEDx conference in New York City. They are working on a commission for Center Theater Group in Los Angeles on a new musical, "The Family Project." The philanthropic side of the equation, Uganda Project, has helped young Ugandans rise above their circumstances and graduate from high school and college.

Park City Institute opens the 2014-2015 Eccles Center Season with An Evening with the Creators of "Witness Uganda" (concert and stories from the award-winning musical) on Saturday, November 1. The performance takes place at The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts (1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City). Show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $20 to $69* (20-percent discount for seniors, ½ price tickets for children ages 16 and under; $5 seats are available in the Copper Section for Summit County students (K-12).

Tickets and information are available at The Eccles Center box office, 435-655-3114 or www.ecclescenter.org.

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