Photo Flash: Podium Concert Productions presents NINE in Concert

Following the critically acclaimed success of its inaugural presentation of The Secret Garden in Concert, Podium Concert Productions will proudly present the Tony Award-winning musical Nine in Concert, at Trinity-St. Paul's Centre for the Arts on January 12 and 13, 2018. Starring Stratford Festival veteran Juan Chioran, this limited engagement concert also features a world-class orchestra of 23 musicians, hand-picked and led by Mark Camilleri, to accompany 15 of Canada's brightest stars of stage and musical theatre and an ensemble of rising stars from Etobicoke School of The Arts. Nine continues Podium Concert Productions' mission to create exhilarating performances of "shows that deserve to be heard", combining the symphony experience with musical theatre excellence.

Based on Italian director Federico Fellini's masterpiece of biographical filmmaking, 8 1/2, Maury Yeston's sultry and enchanting musical Nine follows the life of world-famous film director Guido Contini as he prepares his latest picture and balances the numerous women in his life. Contini is dreading his imminent 40th birthday and facing a midlife crisis, which is blocking his creative impulses and entangling him in a web of romantic difficulties in early-1960s Venice. Contini is also, after recent box office failures, drifting toward a nervous breakdown from which he is held back only by the support of his wife, Luisa. As his sanity disintegrates, he drifts into nostalgic reverie, eventually focusing on the formative sexual encounter of his life, which occurred at the age of nine.

The cast and creative team includes director Tim French (Evita - MTC/Theatre Calgary) and Musical Director/Conductor Mark Camilleri (Andrea Bocelli, Marvin Hamlish, Audra McDonald); Juan Chioran (15 Seasons at Stratford Festival) as Guido Contini and Tracy Michailidis (Beauty and The Beast -Broadway; Fun Home -Broadway National Tour) as Luisa Contini; with Alexis Gordon, Kira Guloien, Alexandra Herzog, Ashley Hughson, Barbara Mantini, Gabriel Mattka, Jamie McRoberts, Denise Oucharek, Rebecca Poff, Valerie Stanois, Sash Striga, Kate Suhr and Victoria Whistance-Smith.

Tickets start at $39 and can be purchased through podiumconcerts.com

Led by award-winning producer Peter da Costa and veteran music director Mark Camilleri, Podium Concert Productions aims to produce a series of Broadway musicals in concert featuring Canada's brightest stars of stage and musical theatre sharing the stage with an orchestra of world-class musicians.

The founder of da Costa Talent Management and co-founder of Show Choir Canada, Peter da Costa has built his career on creating opportunities, seeking new ventures that capitalize on his extensive industry experience. With offices in Toronto and Vancouver, da Costa Talent Management today enjoys a cross-country presence that benefits the agency's roster of award-winning triple threat talent. Podium Concert Productions is one of several productions in development, including a TV series to follow his 2015 CSA-winning arts documentary Unsung: Behind The Glee.

A music director, pianist, composer, arranger, accompanist, engineer, producer, conductor, and recording studio owner of Imagine Sound Studio, Mark Camilleri's credits include music directing The Toxic Avenger (Dancap Productions); Cinderella (Ross Petty Productions); Disney's High School Musical (Drayton Entertainment), Funny Girl in Concert; A Rhapsody in Gershwin; The Very Very Best of Broadway, with Marvin Hamlisch, Martin Short and Audra McDonald; Back The Mack, with Matt Dusk, Sophie Milman, Jim Cuddy, Measha Brueggergosman and Johnny Reid; the Canadian Screen Awards; associate music directing Mamma Mia, Dirty Dancing (Mirvish Productions); and conducting major symphony orchestras across Canada.