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MCT
founders lead
fine arts benefit
Take your
favorite show tunes, add two acclaimed guest artists surrounded by
a constellation of talented alumni, faculty and students. Then prepare
yourself for a rollicking evening of song and dance that will set
your toes tapping.
The University of Montana’s fourth annual Odyssey of the Stars
— A Celebration of Artistic Journeys is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday,
March 20, in the University Theatre. This year’s show features
two beloved Montana entertainers, Jim Caron and Don Collins, returning
to the stage where their collaboration and friendship first began
more than three decades ago.
The pair, who starred together in the 1970 UM production of the musical
“Man of La Mancha,” founded the Missoula Children’s
Theatre the same year. Three years later, Caron took over the reins
of the organization and Collins moved to Seattle to begin a singing
career.
Odyssey 2004 also will include participants from throughout the School
of Fine Arts, spotlighting the music department. The event will feature
more than 200 outstanding UM student performers.
A benefit for the School of Fine Arts scholarship fund, the event
features fine arts alumni who have gone on to stellar careers in the
arts, in concert with current students who dream of such careers.
Caron, Collins and other great Missoula voices will delight audiences
with favorites tunes from a host of musicals, from “Fiddler
on the Roof” to “Carousel.”
A $100 sponsorship helps underwrite the cost of the Odyssey production
and includes two premium reserved tickets. Half of the sponsorship
is tax deductible. Individual tickets are available for $25. To sponsor
Odyssey of the Stars or purchase tickets, call (406) 243-4970.
Jim Caron
When Chicago transplant Jim Caron arrived in Missoula in 1970, no
one, let alone Caron, could have imagined the impact he would have
on the local community and the performing arts.
An actor with a dynamic presence and a broken VW bus, Caron found
himself in the summer of 1970 with time on his hands while he waited
in Missoula for repairs. A poster announcing auditions for the UM
Summer Theatre production of “Man of La Mancha” caught
his eye and the rest, as they say, is history.
Caron, who earned a master of fine arts degree in drama from UM in
1976, has served as executive director of the Missoula Children’s
Theatre and MCT Community Theatre for the past 30 years. He has overseen
its development into a worldwide arts/education service organization
— the largest touring children’s theater in the nation.
MCT has traveled to as many as 30 countries in all and in 2004 will
be in all 50 states. Almost 50,000 children will be involved with
the theatre this year, a figure Caron likes to compare to the population
of Missoula or a full Yankee Stadium.
In addition to running MCT, Caron annually directs a number of MCT
Community Theatre productions. He also is an affiliate faculty member
in the School of Fine arts.
Don Collins
One of the finest singers in UM’s history of great vocalists,
Don Collins has appeared on stages throughout the United States and
Canada, performing leading roles in New York, Memphis, New Orleans,
Portland and Vancouver, B.C. His rich baritone has resounded alongside
some of the greatest names in theater and opera, including Richard
Tucker, Sherrill Milnes, Giorgio Tozzi and Howard Keel. Collins has
served as the Resident National Artist Baritone with the Seattle Opera
and has been recognized for both his outstanding acting and singing
abilities.
Collins’ odyssey began as a UM music major and student of John
Lester and Esther England. Then in that fateful 1970 UM summer production
of “Man of La Mancha,” he played the lead role of Don
Quixote, which became his signature role among Missoula-area fans.
A member of the famed Jubileers as a UM student, Collins helped form
a musical group known as the Big Sky Singers during his college days.
Rob Quist, Gary Funk and Don MacDonald completed the popular group
that played “Friday at Four” appearances on campus and
weekend gigs at the Heidelhaus. Stay tuned for a Big Sky Singers reunion
during this year’s Odyssey of the Stars.
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