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Health & Fitness

Tony Award Winner Takes to Local Stage

Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell performs at the Hylton Performing Arts Center on Saturday, May 5 at 8 p.m.

The Hylton Performing Arts Center concludes its 2011-2012 Hylton Presents season with a dazzling concert by an artist that The New York Times has called Broadway’s “last leading man.”

On Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 8 p.m., Tony Award-winning singer, actor and consummate entertainer Brian Stokes Mitchell takes the Merchant Hall stage for a thrilling performance showcasing his dynamic repertoire, which includes timeless show tunes, heartrending ballads and classic love songs, such as “Embraceable You,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” and his showstopper, “The Impossible Dream.” 

This tremendous baritone who prefers to be called “Stokes,” has conquered Broadway, cinema and television with his musical versatility and a “chameleonic” ability to evoke any emotion. His matinee idol good looks and stunning voice, which The New York Times calls “richly tailored, warm and resonant,” have landed him leading roles and subsequent awards and honors in Broadway’s “Man of La Mancha” (Tony nomination and Helen Hayes Award), “Kiss Me, Kate” (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), “Ragtime” (Tony nomination), August Wilson’s “King Hedley II” (Tony nomination), “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Mail,” “Jelly’s Last Jam” and David Merrick’s “Oh, Kay!”

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Stokes recently returned to Broadway to star opposite Patti LuPone in the musical version of the Pedro Almodóvar film, “Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.” He has also starred opposite Reba McEntire and Alec Baldwin in a concert version of “South Pacific” at Carnegie Hall, which aired on PBS in 2006; he later reprised his role of “Emile” at the Hollywood Bowl in 2007.

This versatile performer has also appeared on several popular television shows including “Trapper John, M.D.,” “Frasier,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Crossing Jordan,” “Ugly Betty” and most recently, on the hit show “Glee.” He also recently appeared in the film “Jumping the Broom” opposite Angela Bassett.

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Stokes has been invited to perform with some of the country’s finest conductors and orchestras including Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony at Carnegie Hall, the L.A. Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl under Leonard Slatkin and John Mauceri, Marvin Hamlisch and the National Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and John Williams and the Boston Pops at Disney Hall. He also recently debuted Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici’s “Rip Van Winkel” with the National Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin.

The Hylton Performing Arts Center is pleased to recognize Novant Health as the Season Sponsor of the 2011-2012 Hylton Presents season. 

Tickets for BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL are $44, $52, $60. A pre-performance discussion will be held one hour prior to the performance in the Hylton Center’s Buchanan Partners Art Gallery. Visit the box office or charge by phone at 888-945-2468 or visit hyltoncenter.org. The Hylton Performing Arts Center is located on George Mason University’s Prince William Campus at 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, Va., 20110. Free parking is available in the lot next to the Hylton Center. For more information, please visit hyltoncenter.org.

Please Note: This performance is also part of the Hylton Performing Arts Center’s 2nd Anniversary Gala honoring George Mason University President Alan G. Merten and Mrs. Sally L. Merten for their leadership in bringing the Hylton Center to Prince William County and the Northern Virginia community. The Gala supports the Hylton Center’s mission to entertain, educate and enrich the Northern Virginia community by providing diverse and accessible arts experiences in its state-of-the-art venues. This annual event, which is co-chaired by The Honorable Corey A. Stewart & Maria Stewart and Mike & Karen Vanderpool, raises funds for the Sen. Charles J. Colgan Community Arts Benefit Fund, which enables local arts organizations to present at the Hylton Center and make it their artistic home. Individual tickets for the Gala are $300 and include a performance ticket to the Brian Stokes Mitchell concert, a ticket to the Gala Dinner, as well as name recognition in the programs for both events. Table sponsorships are also available. For more information, please contact Emily Robinson at erobinse@gmu.edu or (703) 993-7719.

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