Broadway Stars to Sing National Anthem at Greenville Drive Games on August 11, 12
As part of its ongoing support of the arts in Greenville and across the state, the Greenville Drive is pleased to announce that it will give game attendees a chance to experience the talents of top-notch musical theater performers when two celebrated Broadway actors sing the national anthem at Greenville
As part of its ongoing support of the arts in Greenville and across the state, the Greenville Drive is pleased to announce that it will give game attendees a chance to experience the talents of top-notch musical theater performers when two celebrated Broadway actors sing the national anthem at Greenville Drive Games on August 11 and 12 at Fluor Field. The performances will help celebrate and promote the inaugural South Carolina New Play Festival (SNPF) to be held in Greenville August 12-14.
The first performer is Charlotte native Anna Rae Haller, who played young Elsa on Broadway (St. James Theatre) from November of 2019 until COVID closed the show in March of 2020 and joined the national touring company in January 2022. She will sing the anthem on August 11.
Veteran actor Richard Blake will sing the anthem on August 12. He has played numerous roles on Broadway, including Jersey Boys (Tommy DeVito), Wicked (Fiyero), Legally Blonde (Warner), The Wedding Singer (Glen Guglia), Hairspray (Link Larkin), Aida (Radames), Saturday Night Fever (Tony Manero), Rent (Roger), Matilda (Sergei), The Prince of Central Park (Prince), Macbeth (Boy Macduff), The Sound of Music (Friedrich and Rolf), Teddy and Alice (Archie). National Tours: Wicked (Fiyero), Saturday Night Fever (Tony Manero) and Footloose (Chuck Cranston). Blake’s film roles include Life of an Actress, The Factory, Any Day Now, and Red Light August. He also has numerous television, off-Broadway, regional theatre, commercial and radio credits.
The South Carolina New Play Festival will feature new stage productions from top playwrights at multiple venues across the city, a closing night cabaret performance at the Peace Center and small group masterclasses to help aspiring artists hone their craft, including a class on song interpretation taught by Richard Blake. For more information on the festival and to purchase tickets for any of the classes, please visit www.southcarolinanewplayfestival.org.
“We are always looking to create new and exciting experiences at our games and to help promote events that benefit and enrich our community,” said Greenville Drive Vice President of Marketing, Jeff Brown. “Having these high-caliber Broadway stars honor our nation and grace our city with a game-time performance serves both of these purposes. We are thrilled to have them share their remarkable talents and happy to help promote the exciting and innovative South Carolina New Play Festival."
Haller and Blake will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” prior to the 7:05 p.m. games scheduled with the Hickory Crawdads on August 11 and 12, respectively. Gates open at 6:00 p.m., and tickets are available at HERE). The game on Friday, August 12 will also feature an exciting fireworks display. Representatives from the SNPF will be on-hand at each game to provide more information on the festival and associated events.
The Drive looks forward to having the community at Fluor Field to experience these amazing performers.