The Ivoryton Playhouse will be holding local auditions for Equity and non union actors for La Cage Aux Folles on Wednesday, April 2, from noon to 8 p.m. in the Rehearsal Studio, 24 Main Street, Centerbrook.

La Cage Aux Folles by Harvey Fierstein, Jean Poiret and Jerry Herman runs Aug. 6 – 31, 2014.  The Playhouse is looking for singers, dancers and actors over 21.

Auditions are by appointment only.  Bring a headshot and resume, and prepare a song.

For audition appointments, call 860-767-9520, ext 203

French Hornist Leelanee Sterrett will be one of the guest artists at the Essex Winter Series Master Class to be held at the Community Music School, March 31.

Essex Winter Series will present a Master Class for French horn, trumpet, and trombone on Monday, March 31 at 4 p.m.  Held at the Community Music School at 90 Main Street in Centerbrook, brass students will perform select pieces for critique and tips by guest artists Leelanee Sterrett (French horn), Paul Murphy (trumpet) and Stephen Dunn (trombone).

Sterrett is the Essex Winter Series 2014 Fenton Brown Emerging Arist.  She joined the New York Philharmonic as assistant principal and utility horn in June 2013. She was previously a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, and the La Crosse and Fox Valley Symphonies in Wisconsin.

After attending Interlochen Arts Academy, she earned degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as a student of Douglas Hill, and the Yale School of Music, with William Purvis.  She is a past prizewinner in the International Horn Competition of America.

This special opportunity to gain a deeper knowledge and appreciation for the performing arts is free and open to the public, and is one of the many programs through which Essex Winter Series presents community outreach activities. It is also another chance to experience the gifted talent of Sterrett who will be performing with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra at the Essex Winter Series concert on March 30.

Now in its 31st year of enriching the Connecticut Valley-Shoreline communities by offering outstanding private and group music instruction for all ages, the Community Music School is a private, non-profit organization that sponsors many ensembles, orchestras and events covering a broad spectrum of musical interests while focusing on public performances and community outreach programs as a key component of its mission.

For more information on the Community Music School, visit www.community-music-school.org or call 860.767.0026.

International prizewinning pianist Kuok-Wai Lio will perform at the Chester Meeting House on Sunday, April 6, at 5 p.m.

The Collomore Concert Series, celebrating its 40th anniversary season, is welcoming Kuok-Wai Lio, a 25-year-old brilliant performer, to the historic Chester Meeting House on Sunday, April 6, at 5 p.m.  The concert is the third in this season of the Robbie Collomore Concert Series.

Born in Macau in 1989, Kuok-Wai began his piano studies at the age of five.  In 1997 he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and in 2006 he entered the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia. His principal teachers have included Gabriel Kwok and Gary Graffman.  Most recently, Kuok-Wai has been working regularly with András Schiff at international master classes and festivals in Europe.

His recent performances include solo recitals at the Ravinia Festival, Vancouver Recital Series, as well as chamber music concerts at the Salzburg Festival.  A regular participant of Open Chamber Music Prussia Cove, and the Marlboro and Santa Fe Chamber Music festivals, Kuok-Wai has also performed with the Macau Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, China Philharmonic, Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Curtis Chamber Orchestra, Russian Symphony Orchestra and Camerata Salzburg.  He has given solo recitals in Japan, Germany and Italy.  In 2013 Kuok-Wai Lio was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant Award.

His Chester concert will include Schubert’s Four Impromptus, the “Waldstein” Sonata in C Major by Beethoven, and Schumann’s Fantasy in C Major.

Tickets for his Chester concert are $21.  For students from elementary through graduate school, a ticket is $5.  All ticket-holders are invited to stay for a reception, with refreshments provided by Simon’s Market, after the concert to meet the performer.

For tickets, call (860) 526-5162 or visit www.collomoreconcerts.org.  The Chester Meetinghouse is located on Goose Hill Road in Chester.  The concert is sponsored by First Niagara Bank.

The all-female cast of SHOUT! Tamala Baldwin*, Mikah Horn, Monica Bradley*, Jennifer Lorae* and Bethany Fitzgerald.*  (* Denotes member of AEA.)

The last British raid on Essex was 200 years ago and 27 ships were burned.  This year, they are coming back — but not burning ships this time, but definitely shaking up the town with the fab music of London in the 60s and 70s.

SHOUT! is the mod musical magazine that brings back the beautiful birds and smashing sounds that made England swing in the 60′s.  Created by Phillip George and David Lowenstein, SHOUT! features new arrangements of such classic tunes as “To Sir With Love,” “Downtown,” “Son of a Preacher Man,” and “Goldfinger.”

SHOUT! travels in time from 1960 to 1970 chronicling the dawning liberation of women.  Just as Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, and Cilla Black were independent women with major careers, English and American women were redefining themselves in the face of changing attitudes about gender.  SHOUT! (and its all-female cast) reflects that through the unforgettable music of the time.  With a shimmy and shake, the songs are tied together by hilarious sound bites from the period — from 60s advertisements to letters answered by an advice columnist, who thinks every problem can be solved with a “fetching new hair style and a new shade of lipstick.”

The songs in this musical resonate with a timeless quality, which appeals across the generations.

The show is directed by Jacqueline Hubbard, musical director is Kyle Norris and choreographer is Cait Collazzo.  Set designed by Dan Nischan, lighting design by Marcus Abbott and costumes by Kari Crowther.

SHOUT! The Mod Musical is currently being performed in Ivoryton and runs through April 6.  Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.  Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $42 for adults, $37 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling the Playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or by visiting www.ivorytonplayhouse.org  (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.)

The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton.