It was a cold, rainy winter's night at Reservoir High School, but no one expected a single phantom to pop up, let alone three.

By the time the meeting was over, plans for a fundraising event to support the Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts were hatched, centering on a concert starring not one but three former leads of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway musical, "The Phantom of the Opera."

Ideas on how to raise money for Toby Orenstein's widely acclaimed summer youth theater had been flying every which way, from barbecues and yard sales to a themed dance party. But then director Orenstein brought everyone back to the main point.

"We need performers to support CCTA," she said. "They understand our mission better than anyone."

Someone brought up a close tie with one of Broadway's former Phantoms, reminding others of their own past associations with professional wearers of the mask and cape. If three tenors could command auditoriums full of opera-lovers, surely three Phantoms could make local theater supporters sit up and take notice.

Thus with cheers and applause was born "Three Phantoms in Concert," set to take place May 19 at Toby's Dinner Theatre, in Baltimore. The program not only has its built-in fan base, it promises a slate of wonderful musical selections culminating in Webber's all-time, show-stopping ballad, "The Music of the Night."

A winning formula

The nonprofit Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts traces back to the earliest days of New City idealism. "In the early '70s, I was approached by Jim Rouse to start a theatrical arts school for the new city of Columbia," recalls Orenstein. It quickly became the local training ground for a whole new crop of singers, dancers and actors in grades from kindergarten to high school.

"CCTA has become everything that Jim Rouse and I envisioned 37 years ago," adds the award-winning director, most recently inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame. "It's a great pleasure watching our students exploring, risking, discovering and being challenged in our classes."

All three of the stage stars of the May 19 gala -- Kevin Gray, Cris Groenendaal and Craig Schulman -- have ties to Howard County and to Orenstein. Collectively they have donned the trademark Phantom mask a few thousand times over a 10-year period. Each tenor brings an average of 20 years of Broadway experience to the concert, not to mention their numerous regional roles, television appearances and opera gigs.

The youngest actor to play the role of Phantom, Gray has also played Pilate in "Jesus Christ Superstar," Thomas Andrews in "Titanic" and the Engineer in "Miss Saigon," among his other Broadway credits.

Groenendaal has performed on Broadway as Anthony Hope in "Sweeney Todd," as George Seurat in "Sunday in the Park with George," and as Rizzolli in Stephen Sondheim's "Passion." He originated the part of Andre in the Broadway production of "Phantom of the Opera" and went on to play the role of the Phantom for 860 performances.

Broadway star, recording and concert artist Schulman is the only actor in the world to have portrayed all three of today's greatest musical leads: The Phantom in "The Phantom of the Opera," Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables" and the title role in "Jekyll & Hyde." Schulman holds the world record for playing Valjean, appearing in nearly 2,000 performances of "Les Miserables." For a time he shared the stage in that production with Howard County's own Betsy True, another veteran of Orenstein's training and nurturing.

Schulman is also serving as the producer of "The Three Phantoms in Concert," and devotes his free time to "Jenna's Dream," a charity named after his daughter who died at a young age. It benefits children through the performing arts.

"Supporting kids in the arts has become a special passion of mine," says Schulman from his New York home. "That's what makes the show at Toby's so meaningful to me."

What should we expect from the concert? "Lots of songs from Broadway shows," he chuckles, "solos, duets and many medleys." The singers will be accompanied on piano by Sue Anderson.

"The Three Phantoms In Concert" will be performed at Toby's Dinner Theatre of Baltimore, 5625 O'Donnell St., Monday, May 19, starting at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Tickets of $75 each, which include after-show desserts and coffee, are available by phone at 410-381-0700 or by e-mail to info@CCTArts.com.

Winners take bows and checks at gala

High school senior Alexander Francis took home the $5,000 first-place award in the 2008 Rising Star competition sponsored by the Howard County Arts Council. The home-schooled pianist was honored for performing his own arrangement of "Cultures" at the April 26 Celebration of the Arts gala at The Jim Rouse Theatre.

Ten local "emerging artists" competed as finalists for the top three cash awards. Coming in second in a polling of audience members at the close of the evening was Colleen Daly, a music teacher and opera singer, who was awarded $2,500. Monologist and actress Courtney Bell, an Atholton High graduate, was named winner of the $1,000 award.

Other Howard County residents honored at the annual arts council fundraiser with 2007 Howie Awards were Deborah Bourke, chosen Outstanding Arts Educator, Jason Love, voted Outstanding Artist for his work as music director of The Columbia Orchestra, and Rand Griffin, chief executive of Corporate Office Properties Trust, named Outstanding Community Supporters of the Arts.

This year's benefit raised over $100,000 in revenue and an additional $80,000 in donated goods and services for the arts in Howard County, according to arts council spokesperson Coletta Taylor.

Among the programs funded by the Howard County Arts Council are annual scholarships in the arts. The latest recipients for the 2008 Arts Scholarships were also announced at this year's gala.

Seven local students were selected to receive funding to an accredited college program for a degree in the arts. They were musician and jazz pianist Zach Brown, a senior at Wilde Lake High School; pianist Ecaterina Coman, a senior at Atholton High; ballet student Laura Gilbert, a senior at Marriotts Ridge High; visual artist Katelyn Jurney, a senior at Marriotts Ridge High; visual arts major Jacob Thompson, a senior at Long Reach High; flutist Katherine Bateman, a senior at Hammond High; and violinist Morgan Dice, a senior at Reservoir High School.

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