Members of the non-profit organization, Voices of Hope, Inc. will present ‘Working: The Musical’ at the North Shore Music Theatre Thursday, May 5. (WHAV file photograph)
Performers from Haverhill and Methuen are among 100 local volunteer artists participating in the upcoming performance of “Working: A Musical” to benefit the Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Cancer Center.
The artists have collectively donated thousands of hours of rehearsal and planning leading up to this one-night-only event at the North Shore Music Theatre, 62 Dunham Road, Beverly, Mass.
The May 5 event, presented by Voices of Hope, Inc., begins with a cocktail reception and silent auction at 7 p.m. in the theatre lobby, followed by the performance at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40, $50, and $75 (includes VIP reception) and can be purchased by phone at 978-232-7200, online at www.nsmt.org , or in person at the theatre.
Voices of Hope is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to raising funds for cancer research through song and dance and is comprised of performers, choreographers, musicians, directors and stage hands whose lives have been changed by cancer, including Haverhill’s Amelia Butman, Cori Thurlow and Elise Boland and Methuen’s Meredith Thompson, Wendy Greenwood Baisley, Chevanese Mcgaw-Holiday, DeeDee Spiros, Diane Longtin, Mike Condon and Natalie McBrien.
Voices of Hope was formed by Greg Chastain, who lost his mother in 2009 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer and has donated more than $600,000 to cancer research through its fundraising efforts.
The show, adapted from Studs Terkel’s 1974 best-selling book of interviews with American workers, explores the working lives of 26 people from all walks of life: a schoolteacher, a waitress, a truck driver and mason, to name a few and promises to “reveal a variety of hopes, aspirations, joys and dreams.”
More information is available at www.voicesofhopeboston.org.
Local performers and their roles in the play:
Amelia Butman: Vocal and Dance Ensemble – Haverhill
Cori Thurlow: Vocal and Dance Ensemble – Haverhill
Elise Boland: Featured Dancer – Haverhill
Meredith Thompson: Lead Vocalist (Millwork) – Methuen
Wendy Greenwood Baisley: Orchestra (Drums/Percussion) – Methuen
Chevanese Mcgaw-Holiday: Vocal and Dance Ensemble – Methuen
DeeDee Spiros: Vocal and Dance Ensemble – Methuen
Diane Longtin: Choreographyer & Featured Dancer – Methuen
James DeStefano: Set Design and Stage Production – Methuen
Mike Condon: Lighting/Tech – Methuen
Natalie McBrien: Featured Character/Ensemble – Methuen