THEATRE & FILM
To my good fortune, when I was a teenager, I happened to be 'discovered' by off-Broadway director Robert Vogel and cast as a lead in a Sam Shepard play called Action, for which I won an Ontario-wide festival actor's Award Of Merit.
Rinse and repeat, the following year I won another Award Of Merit for my performance in another Sam Shepard play, The Tooth Of Crime.
Subsequently I was asked to apprentice at
Canada's prestigious Stratford Theatre. I turned it down due to my ambitions to be a rock star. The folly of youth?
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Nonetheless, with love of the art etched into my DNA, I took every opportunity between musical projects to return to the theatre stage when I could, with forays into film.
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I've played every kind of character in the spectrum of human emotion: a thug private (Biloxi Blues), a vicious French aristocrat (Tale Of Two Cities), both Satan and Job (Job & The Snake), Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (in two separate productions), an army vet with PTSD, a washed up rock star, an undercover cop (Nikita), a demon landlord, the biblical Boaz (Come Away - the musical). Though often cast as leads, I felt that no part was too small. I'm driven by the love and mystery of the craft, not the size of the pay cheque.
My proudest accomplishment in this field has been creating the rock musical BURN: The Story Of Joan Of Arc. This two-hour work carries a timeless message of love and conviction in the face of overwhelming odds.
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VIDEO
Dark Night 3
Job & The Snake - Wicked Man
Job & The Snake - Though He Slay Me
Lost Penny
MUSICAL THEATRE CAST RECORDINGS
Frankenstein...Do You Dream
Created by Robert George Asselstine
Myself as Daemon
Myself with Michael Burgess
Myself with Theodore Baerg
Job & The Snake
Created by Robert, Miq & Mann Munoz
The Pilgrim
Created by Robert, Miq & Mann Munoz
Photo by Jeff Speed
BURN The Joan Of Arc Story
Music, lyrics and libretto written, arranged and orchestrated by Kevin Connelly, with "Burn" and "Who Are You" co-written with Marc Ganetakos
"Sincere words of praise for my new, favourite musical theatre work, BURN. The standard of performance and musicianship is superb. I'm blown away by the colourful, inventive, supremely sensitive (often whimsical) orchestration."
[Referring to the songs] "'The Siege Of Orleans': Shelley Beeston's voice drives me wild. 'My Glory': Excellent, potent and very well performed. 'I See Red': Powerful, dramatic. 'Burn': Great arrangement, wonderful lyrics! 'Who Are You?': A truly gorgeous tune! Shelley Beeston's voice is a gift from heaven. 'Tapestry': I LOVE THIS TRACK! Connelly has a genius for the ballad.
"Visceral and engaging. When all is said and done, BURN is a brilliant, brilliant work."
MAREK NORMAN, Creator of Dracula: A Chamber Musical; Emily; Larry’s Party; The Great Adventure; and Wanderlust (all performed at the Stratford Festival, Canada).
ACT I The Rise & Fall
ACT II The Trial & The Choice
BURN Musician Credits
VOCALS:
JOAN - Shelley Beeston - Tracks 1, 4, 5, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17
CAUCHON - Kevin Connelly - Tracks 7, 8, 13, 14, 17
YOLANDE - Kathy Hall - Tracks 3, 6 ,7, 17
DUNIOS - Peter Saban - Tracks 2, 5
de RAIS - Robert Demers - Track 2
CHARLES VII - Roger Michael Garner - Tracks 3, 6
TREMOUILLE - Adam Brooks - Tracks 3, 6
BEAUPERE - Shawn Devlin - Tracks 11, 16
THEROUANNE - Gary Fischer - Tracks 11, 13, 16
THE HONEST SOLDIER - Kevin Connelly - Track 4
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ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND VOCALS
Tanya Godinho - Tracks 1, 8, 15, 16
Barbara Gracey as "Psycho Operetta" - Track 15
Kevin Connelly as 'The Voice Of Doubt' - 12, 15
Shawn Devlin as "The Messenger" - Track 4 & Voices Of Doubt" - Track 12
DRUM PROGRAMMING, KEYBOARDS, GUITAR & BASS - Kevin Connelly (everything not listed below)
GUITARS, DRUM PROGRAMMING - Marc Ganetakos - Tracks 8 (guitar & drum programming) 9, 10, 12, 15, 16 17 (guitars)
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"The rock musical BURN is the next JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR"
MICHAEL BURGESS, Famed Actor / Tenor - 'Jean Valjean' (the lead protagonist in) Les Miserables
“Kevin Connelly’s rock opera BURN successfully combines contemporary pop song writing with the challenging formal demands of musical theatre. Connelly has met this challenge with exceptional skill, imagination and soulfulness. This work gives me hope for a new direction for musical theatre in Canada.
VINCENT de TOURDONNET, Creator of Pelagie, and The Real McCoy
GALLERY
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