Arts
Get into the spirit of the season with Jith and his stars
Give a festive start to the Christmas season with Jith Peiris’ ‘Stars on Parade at Christmas’, which will take place next weekend at the Lionel Wendt.
The veteran: Jith Peiris
The veteran producer and director returns for his annual Christmas extravaganza once again for a special cause-this time, to raise funds to buy school supplies for young children.
The young stars of the show will take on Broadway and Christmas classics; expect to hear the old, says the director, sung in the spirit of the new.
Choirs scheduled to perform at the show are the Menaka Singers, directed by Menaka de Fonseka Sahabandu, the Soul Sounds Junior Academy Choir and the award-winning Stafford International School Choir conducted by Francis de Almeida.
The solo performers (some featured on our cover) include some familiar faces with the new. Singers such as Amandhi Caldera, Dilini Perera and Laknath Seneviratne will perform; “I’ve been given freedom to do it my way,” says Laknath Seneviratne, a pupil of Sahabandu, of his performance.
Laknath will take on two Christmas classics including Have Yourselves a Merry Christmas.
Similarly, Dayan Fernando says, “I worked with Jith many years ago as a student at S. Thomas’ College-singing is my passion and hobby and I look forward to being able to give back to such a great cause.”
Joanne Aloysius Rajiyah will also take the stage to perform a couple of solo items. Selected younger performers under Sahabandu’s tutelage will also be performing.
Eighteen-year-old Dewakie Kotelawala will take on the daunting ‘Panis Angelicus’, the penultimate strophe of the hymn ‘Sacris solemniis’ while Brindhiihi Perera, 15, will sing from the musical ‘Annie’; ‘You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile’.
Other solo performers include Navin Kulasinghe (violin) and two pianists performing Chopsticks variations. The show will be compered by a Mrs. Santa Claus-also expect a special guest appearance by two young speakers who will share details about a national campaign addressing child abuse and harassment.
Stars on Parade at Christmas, staged by Jith’s Creative Arts Foundation, will raise funds for school supplies for needy children, including schoolbags, books and uniforms.
Jith is eloquent about the need for such materials for these young children, and says he can’t think of a better way to raise funds than doing what he does best-“so come begin this season of festivities with us,” he invites.
‘Stars on Parade at Christmas’ goes on the boards of the Lionel Wendt on November 28 and 29 from 7.30 p.m. Tickets and box plan available at the Wendt.
Dilini Perera