The Oklahoma City Philharmonic is turning Civic Center Music Hall into a haunted concert stage this weekend, pairing a full orchestra with four Broadway voices for a night billed as part ghost story, part showstopper. “Music to Die For: Songs From the Shadows” runs Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., kicking off the orchestra's new season of Pops programming with a decidedly spooky theme.
According to okcphil.org, the concert is led by conductor David Andrews Rogers and pairs the sound of a live orchestra with cinematic suspense and showstopping Broadway vocals. The description tracks closely with reporting from KOCO, which noted the Philharmonic invited the community to the Civic Center Music Hall performance blending live orchestra music with cinematic suspense.
Four singers are set to join the orchestra on stage: Kathy Voytko, John Cudia, Danielle L. Herrington and Ashley J. Mandanas. Per the orchestra's own program notes, Voytko has appeared on Broadway in Oklahoma!, Nine, The Frogs, Next to Normal, Tuck Everlasting and The Music Man, while Cudia is a lyric tenor known for portraying both the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera and Jean Valjean in Les Misérables on Broadway.
A Symphonic Mystery Downtown
The Civic Center's own event listing frames the evening as an immersive experience, promising audiences will “experience the symphonic mystery of the shadows” across a program that moves from cinematic suspense to showstopping Broadway numbers, according to okcciviccenter.com. It's a fitting kickoff for a season the orchestra has dubbed “Orchestrating Passion,” which, as 405 Magazine reports, is split into Classics and Pops concert types across 15 individual shows at Civic Center Music Hall running from September through May.
The Halloween weekend performances specifically open the orchestra's Pops season, according to okcfriday.com, which listed the 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday start times for Oct. 30-31. The concert also falls under the orchestra's Chickasaw Nation Pops Series, which the Philharmonic describes as bringing together blockbuster entertainment, iconic music and unforgettable family experiences.
Getting Tickets and Background on the Orchestra
Tickets for both nights are available for purchase by emailing [email protected] or calling (405) 842-5387, per the orchestra's own announcement. The Oklahoma City Philharmonic was founded in 1988 and has since become a fixture of the city's downtown arts scene, anchoring its season at Civic Center Music Hall.
With a Phantom of the Opera veteran and a cast of Broadway regulars sharing the stage with a full orchestra, the two-night run offers local audiences a theatrical alternative to typical Halloween weekend plans, joining the roster of grown-up Halloween events the Oklahoman has tracked across the metro this season.
