How do I hitch a ride to Vienna?

Actually, I'm really saving my strudel for Michael Arden, (not Barbra!) one of the four Broadway leading men who will join her Diva-ness on her European tour. I was so sorry I missed Arden in THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN'. I saw him perform "Blowin' in The Wind" at Broadway on Broadway and loved him! (see my previous post).

Hmmm, let's see, who would I pick as "my boys" to back me up on my tour? How 'bout: Michael Arden, John Lloyd Young, Daniel Reichard, and Hugh Jackman...

According to this article in Playbill:

American audiences may have been treated to the sounds of Il Divo during Barbra Streisand's recent U.S. concert tour, but international audiences will hear a Broadway sound.

Playbill.com has learned that four of Broadway's leading men -- Michael Arden, Peter Lockyer, Sean McDermott and Hugh Panaro -- will join the Academy Award-winning actress during her forthcoming European tour.

As previously announced, the concert -- co-directed by Streisand and Richard Jay-Alexander -- will play London, Austria, France and Ireland with additional tour dates to be announced shortly. The award-winning performer will be backed by a 58-piece orchestra, and concertgoers can expect to hear such tunes as "Evergreen," "People," "The Way We Were" and "Don't Rain on My Parade."

Designated proceeds from the tour will support Streisand's philanthropic initiatives and will be distributed through The Streisand Foundation.

The current tour itinerary follows:

June 21 in Vienna at the Schloss Schonbrun
June 26 in Paris at the Bercy
July 10 in Nice at the Nikaia Stadium
July 14 in Dublin at the Castletown House
July 18 in London at the O2 Dome

Michael Arden was most recently on the Broadway stage in Twyla Tharp's The Times They Are A'Changin'. The young actor made his Broadway debut as Tom Sawyer in the revival of Big River, and his other New York stage credits include Bare: A Pop Opera, The Vampire Lestat, It's Only Life and Harold & Maude. Arden's regional credits include Ace; God of Vengeance; Falsettoland; Art, Song Dance; West Side Story; Songs for a New World; The Common Pursuit and A Winter's Tale. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Arden's compositions include Easter Rising and As You Like It.

Peter Lockyer has been seen on Broadway in La Boheme, Cyrano -- The Musical, Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. He portrayed Marius in the tour of Les Miz and Chris in the tour of Miss Saigon. Lockyer was also seen in the TV version of Gypsy as Yonkers.

Sean McDermott's Broadway credits include Grease, Falsettos, Miss Saigon and Starlight Express. He was seen Off-Broadway in Boys in the Band and in the national tours of South Pacific and Starlight Express as well as the international tour of West Side Story.

Hugh Panaro's Main Stem credits include The Phantom of the Opera, Lestat, Side Show, Show Boat, The Red Shoes and Les Miserables.

For more information visit www.barbrastreisand.com or www.cpitour.com.

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