EVENT DETAILS:
Friday, September 29, 2023 at 7:30pm
The WSO kicks off the 2023-2024 season with our Opening Night Concert and Celebration, featuring Broadway star Sutton Foster!
Known for her Tony Award-winning performances in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes, as well as starring in television shows Bunheads and Younger, Foster will perform a selection of Broadway classics guaranteed to start our season with a bang. Fresh from her Broadway performance of Marian Paroo in The Music Man alongside Hugh Jackman, Ms. Foster is sure to amaze audiences with her incredible vocals and entertaining personality, alongside a few other surprises.
In addition, before the concert, join us for a Celebration in the Capitol Theatre Ballroom to help ring in the new season! Heavy hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be provided. Stay tuned for more information.
Early access tickets are available now for 2022-2023 season subscribers.
Tickets for the general public will go on sale August 15. Join us for a celebratory evening featuring one of Broadway’s brightest stars!
***The Opening Night Concert and Celebration is a special event performance and is not included in the Capitol Series Subscription.
Sutton Foster, vocalist
Sutton Foster is a Tony Award winning American actress, singer, and dancer who was most recently seen on the Broadway stage starring in an acclaimed turn as Marian Paroo in the Broadway revival of The Music Man, opposite Hugh Jackman at The Winter Garden Theatre. Her performance earned her seventh Tony award nomination as well as the coveted 2022 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award. In the summer of 2021, Sutton reprised one of her most notable roles as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre in London in which she earned an Oliver Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. A cinematic version of the show had a subsequent limited release in US and Australia theaters. Her original performance in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre earned her a 2011 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. On television, Sutton led the critically acclaimed TV Land series, “Younger.” Created by “Sex in the City’s” Darren Star and styled by the iconic Pat Field, the seventh and final season of series premiered in April 2021, making it the longest running original series in TV Land history. Under the direction of Michael Mayer, Sutton starred as Millie Dillmount in the 2002 Broadway production of Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Marquis Theatre. Originating the role, she established herself as one of the greatest talents in the industry and earned her first Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Foster has originated numerous notable roles, including Princess Fiona in Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire’s Shrek The Musical at The Broadway Theatre, as well as Inga in Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan’s parody of the horror film genre, Young Frankenstein, at Foxwoods Theatre. As a solo artist, Sutton has toured the country with her hit solo concert which featured songs from her debut solo CD “Wish” as well as her follow up CD, “An Evening with Sutton Foster: Live at the Cafe Carlyle.” She has also graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, Feinstein’s, Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series and many others. Sutton released her third solo album, “Take Me to the World,” through Ghostlight Deluxe, June 1, 2018. Sutton Foster holds an honorary doctorate from Ball State University, where she also teaches.
John Devlin, conductor
Conductor John Gennaro Devlin, is an ardent champion of American music, an innovator of concert design, and a thought leader in the field of classical music. In his fifth season as Music Director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Devlin is only the ninth conductor in its 90-year history to hold that title. He was recently named a recipient of the 2023 Georg Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award. Devlin’s artistry and versatility make him a frequent guest conductor with major orchestras across the nation. His engagements include performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, and the American Repertory Ballet. Of his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra and violin soloist Joshua Bell, Anne Midgette of The Washington Post wrote that Devlin “led the evening with flair … and was visibly in his element.” A strong advocate for American music, Devlin has made it a programmatic focus and has premiered over 40 new American works. Committed to serving the wider arts community beyond the podium, Devlin is part of the six-member Conductor Constituency Leadership Team of the League of American Orchestras, advocating for conductors nationally. Previously, he served on the Conductors Guild’s Board of Directors and was a featured speaker at the organization’s annual conference, discussing the future of orchestras with the Executive Directors of the National and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras. He also delivered the keynote TED talk on “Innovation in Crowded Marketplaces” at a TEDx symposium. Devlin completed his master’s and doctoral degrees in orchestral conducting under the tutelage of James Ross at the University of Maryland. His undergraduate degree is from Emory University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a double major in Clarinet Performance and Latin.
The Wheeling Symphony is a rental event presented by an independent organization separate from the Capitol Theatre, WesBanco Arena, and the Greater Wheeling Sports and Entertainment Authority.