San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Operatic porch singer’s concert series draws to a close in North Park
When all of her singing gigs for the year dried up in the spring, opera singer Victoria Robertson found a creative way to practice her art with a series of weekly concerts on the porch of the home she has rented in North Park for the past 17 years.
For the past 24 Sundays, Robertson has presented free, unamplified 30-minute concerts of opera arias and musical theater classics for an appreciative audience of neighbors and admirers, who have supported her both emotionally and financially for the past five months.
But the owner of the home Robertson rents has decided to sell the property, so she is planning to go out on a high note. At noon Sept. 27, Robertson will present her grand finale concert. The one-hour program will feature all the guest performers who have shared her porch over the past five months.
Robertson, a soprano, performed for seven years with the United Service
Organizations and said that experience taught her to “improvise, adapt and overcome.” So, while she may no longer be able to host her own concerts, Robertson said she plans to present a “floating concert series,” where she’ll perform at different porches around the community.
For information on upcoming concerts and where to find them, sign up for her email list at Victoriarobertson.com.
Roustabouts planning musical reading
The Roustabouts Theatre Co. will present a free reading later this month of “Switching Tracks,” a new musical by Matthew Salazar-thompson, as part of its new Second Stage Virtual Reading Series.
Directed by Jacole Kitchen, the musical will star local actors Steven Lone and Allison Spratt Pearce as Michael and Rebecca, a divorced couple who reconnect at New York’s Grand Central Station after not seeing each other for 10 years.
The reading will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30. To register to watch the online performance, and make a donation if possible, visit theroustabouts.ticketspice.com/switchingtracks.
S.D. Rep plans virtual ‘Judy Garland’ concert
San Diego Repertory Theatre will join arts organizations from around the country in co-hosting the live virtual concert “Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland” at 4 p.m. Oct. 11.
The concerts, produced by Chicago’s Artists Lounge Live, will be streamed live from Chicago and will feature Ingersoll performing a two-hour concert with a six-piece orchestra. Ingersoll has portrayed Garland in the musical drama “End of the Rainbow” at theaters around the country. For this concert, she will sing classics such as “Over the Rainbow,” “The Trolley Song,” “Get Happy” and more.
Tickets are $35. To register, call the Rep at (619) 544-1000 or go to sdrep.org.
SDMT planning ‘Stars’ concert
San Diego Musical Theatre is hosting a virtual benefit concert later this month featuring some of the city’s best-known musical theater performers.
The prerecorded “Under the Stars” concert will be available for viewing between 4 p.m. Sept. 25 and Sept. 27. A minimum $25 donation will entitle viewers to watch the concert twice.
Performers include Allison Spratt Pearce, Robert J. Townsend, Erin Vanderhyde, Bethany Slomka, Bryan Banville, Bets Malone and Ken Prymus Jr. For tickets, go to bit.ly/sdmtstarsconcert.
Old Globe marks fundraising milestone
Earlier this month, the Old Globe announced it had crossed a milestone in its Globerising fundraising campaign by collecting $500,000 in emergency funds to help tide it over until it can return to production sometime in the future.
The fundraising campaign included donations from more than 2,300 households, including gifts from nearly 1,000 new donors or existing donors who increased their annual contribution. These gifts were matched by Globe lead donor Darlene Marcos Shiley and Globe board members Terry Atkinson, Elaine Darwin and Ann Davies.
writes about theater for The San Diego Union-tribune. Email her at pam.kragen @sduniontribune.com.