Bay City Players :: Carol of the Birds

Nov. 29-Dec.2; Dec. 6-9, 2018

Carol Bird is born on Christmas Day. As she grows into childhood, she brings light and joy to all around her even as her own light grows dimmer. And this Christmas, Carol decides she needs the help of her own family to bring a true Christmas to the family living across the alley.

The seven Ruggles children have little to share but each other. Music fills this family show: the Bird family’s celebration of Christmas; the Ruggles children learning how to behave at this special Christmas adventure across the alley; and carols filling the evening from start to final curtain. Carol Bird welcomes your entire family to a joyously heart-warming Christmas. This musical is written by Players own Kevin Cole and Leeds Bird.

Performances: Thursday – Saturday: 7:30 PM; Sundays: 3 PM

Directors

Leeds Bird

Honorary President: Leeds is a graduate of Michigan State University with an M.A. in theatre. He has spent more than thirty years teaching, directing and performing in educational theatre, dinner theatre, community theatre and summer stock. His collaborations with nationally-known pianist Kevin Cole resulted in the revue RSVP JEROME KERN performed with the Michigan Ensemble Theatre and staged readings of A SHINE ON YOUR SHOES at the Ravinia Music Festival. A particularly enjoyable experience for Leeds was performing as Mark Twain. During a ten-year period, Leeds presented over 500 solo performances as Twain in New England and the Middle West. Leeds is an honorary president of Bay City Players and also serves on the board of Studio 23/The Arts Center and is active with a la Carte, a local arts collaboration.

Kevin Cole

Kevin Cole is an award-winning musical director, arranger, composer, vocalist and archivist who garnered the praises of Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg, Hugh Martin, Burton Lane, Marvin Hamlisch, Stephen Sondheim and members of the Jerome Kern and Gershwin families. He has shared the concert stage with Liza Minnelli, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, William Warfield, Sylvia McNair, Lorin Maazel, Itzhak Perlman, Brian d’Arcy James, Barbara Cook, Robert Klein, Lucie Arnaz, Maria Friedman, Idina Menzel and friend and mentor Marvin Hamlisch. Kevin has given Master Classes in musical theatre vocal performance at Interlochen Center for the Arts and North Carolina School of the Arts. He has served as Musical Director for Pasadena Playhouse, Michigan Ensemble Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Royal George Theatre (Chicago) and New York Musical Theatre Festival. Kevin is also an internationally known concert pianist whose engagements include sold-out performances at Hollywood Bow, Royal Albert Hall, Kennedy Center, Ravinia Festival, Wolf Trap, Chautauqua Institute and legendary Carnegie Hall. Kevin has been active at Bay City Players as Music Director, Assistant Director and Actor-Singer. He has been instrumental in the progress of renovations to the theatre through many benefit concerts. One of his original musicals, A SHINE ON YOUR SHOES, made its premiere at Bay City Players in 2007.