It’s been postponed four times already, but the show will go on in February 2022.
Russell Joel Brown plans to bring “From Mozart to Motown” to the Miller Theater at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18.
“The show opens with a 70-voice choir,” said Brown, who performed snippets from the show at The Bee’s Knees Wednesday. It’s a fundraiser for an organization called Boys With A Future, an outreach of Good Neighbors Ministry at St. Luke United Methodist Church.
Brown is an Augusta native who decided to follow his dreams of becoming a performer after being unfulfilled in a 70-hour a week corporate job. He spent 27 years working on a variety of shows including national tours of “Disney’s The Lion King,” where he played several roles including Mufasa and Scar.
With “From Mozart To Motown,” Brown gets to perform a lot of songs he never would’ve had the opportunity to sing on stage, but because he’s the producer of the show, he can do them.
As the name of the show indicates, “From Mozart to Motown” spans a broad range of genres and eras.
It includes jazz, blues, rock, gospel, spirituals, country and of course Motown.
One of the songs he featured Wednesday was “Nessun Dorma;” a song made famous by renowned opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, he said.
“I’ve been afraid of this song for 30 years,” he said.
However, he’s putting his fear aside to tackle the rich Italian piece.
Also part of the repertoire is Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color.”
“A little-known secret is that I love country music,” he said.
Brown won’t be taking the stage alone in “From Mozart to Motown.” Joining him will be a high school ensemble, and a seven-piece will play the music live rather than having a recorded track.
Brown said tickets are going quickly and hopes to have a sell-out performance. Tickets range from $35-$100.
COVID-19 protocols will be in place for the show. Patrons will be required to have a vaccination card or negative COVID test 72 hours prior to the event.
For tickets, visit russelljoelbrown.com or millertheateraugusta.com.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the features editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
