For 40th Annual Concert, Mad Hatter Chorus Will Debut 'Phantom of the Barbershop'

By SHANNON HICKS

Published: Apr 20, 2007 12:00 am

For 40th Annual Concert, Mad Hatter Chorus

Will Debut âPhantom of the Barbershopâ

BROOKFIELD â The Danbury Mad Hatter Barbershop Chorus will stage its 40th annual concert at 7 pm on Saturday, April 28, at Brookfield High School. The 2007 show is an original Broadway revue titled âPhantom of the Barbershop.â

âThis is family entertainment at its best,â said Hatters president Bob Bradley. âToe-tapping, goosebump-raising harmony, lots of laughs, good homemade fun â and special guests, too.â

Besides the 29-member Mad Hatter chorus, the show will feature the Danbury High School Madrigal Singers and The HotShots, an award-winning novelty quartet from south Florida. Also performing will be three local quartets drawn from the Hattersâ own membership: Rare Occasion, The HatterTones, and Real Chemistry.

Emcee for the evening will be Danbury native and WestConn alumnus Joe West, returning from his crowd-pleasing performance at last yearâs show. Mr West is known in the region for his vocal, sax, percussion and voiceover work.

Written by Hatters director Joe Hudson, âPhantom of the Barbershopâ includes not only traditional barbershop tunes such as âLida Roseâ and âYou Make Me Feel So Young,â but showstoppers from Cabaret, The Lion King, South Pacific, Kiss Me Kate, Damn Yankees and Music Man, as well as Wizard of Oz classic âOver the Rainbowâ and doo-wop numbers like âSh-Boom.â

Mr Hudson, who last fall became director of the Danbury High School Choirs, will also lead the DHS Madrigal singers in a medley of songs both ancient and modern.

The Danbury Mad Hatter Barbershop Chorus is a nonprofit volunteer organization affiliated with the worldwide 30,000-member Barbershop Harmony Society. The Hatters have been spreading goodwill among civic groups and shut-ins throughout the Danbury region since 1966.

Doors open at 6:30 pm. The high school is at 45 Longmeadow Hill Road.

Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for students and seniors, and are available from chorus members or by phoning 203-438-8154 or 845-225-4919. Remaining tickets will be sold at the door.

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For 40th Annual Concert, Mad Hatter Chorus Will Debut 'Phantom of the Barbershop'

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