The 2011 Mohler Lecture at McPherson College will feature songs of Broadway in a performance-based lecture recital. This event is free and open to the public.
“It’s essentially a mini-musical of our life,” said Kevin Jones.
Jones and Melia Dell-Jones, a 1992 graduate of McPherson College, will present a program entitled “I Sing, I Act, I Play a Little Piano…” at 4 p.m. March 6 in Brown Auditorium. It will feature the couple’s theatrical journey, interspersed with Broadway music and show tunes. “Our hope is that it will be entertaining,” Kevin Jones said.
The Mohler Lecture series was started in 1975 through the generosity of Dr. Robert and Mrs. Fern Shoemaker Mohler to enrich a variety of academic experiences at McPherson College.
Three days before the lecture, Kevin and Melia will lead workshops for the college choir and musical theatre students, and will work with the spring musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” in its final stages of production.
Jones and Dell-Jones saw a need for theatre opportunities in the Roanoke, Va., area and founded The Kevin Jones Performing Arts Studio to meet that need. The studio offers comprehensive acting and musical theatre camps, workshops and trips for youth first grade through 12th grade. Kevin Jones said that when they first came to the Roanoke Valley, there were few youth opportunities for performance. “They were screaming for training,” Jones said. “So we provided that opportunity for them.”
The couple also founded the non-profit Opening Doors Foundation, which helps provide musical theatre training for students in the Roanoke area and free theatre performances to the community as a whole. Melia Dell-Jones said working with children and teenagers was important because performance and presentation were useful regardless of what they do with the rest of their lives.
“It’s a form of expression,” she said. “You can find out a lot about yourself as a person by doing theatre.”
Jones has spent nearly two decades as a professional actor and director. His credits include the Broadway national tour of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”, “Annie” at the Seoul Arts Center in Korea, the European touring company of “Annie Get Your Gun”, three productions of “Evita”, and two of “Phantom of the Opera.” Dell-Jones also has 18 years in theatre to her credit as an actor, singer, dancer, costumer, graphic artist and set painter. Her acting work includes roles in “Evita”, “State Fair”, “Mame” and “The King and I.”
Information Box:
What: Mohler Lecture: “I Sing, I Act, I Play a Little Piano…” featuring Kevin Jones and Melia Dell-Jones
Where: McPherson College, Brown Auditorium. 1600 E Euclid, McPherson, Kan.
When: March 6, 4 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public. No reservations required
Post by Adam Pracht