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WATERVILLE — International recording star Fantine will star as Casssandra, the lead female role in the world premiere of “One Way Trip to Mars – A Rock Opera” at the Waterville Opera House. The show runs Thursday, Aug. 24 through Sunday, Aug. 27.
“One Way Trip to Mars”is a Broadway-bound production that takes audiences on a virtual journey into space and the surface of Mars.
The story is told entirely through songs written by Maine musicians Peter Alexander and Johannah Harkness and is directed by Dennis St. Pierre. Fantine is joined on stage by a cast of professional New York actors, and supported by an 11-piece rock orchestra.
Singer-songwriter Fantine has worked with pop stars Gloria Estefan and Wyclef Jean. She made her musical debut in 2010 when she lent her vocals to Australian Group Space Invada’s jazz-inspired single “Super Sweet.” In 2013 she began working on her debut album, “I Am Fantine,” with 19-time Grammy Award-winning producer Emilio Estefan and seven-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan (who also co-wrote two of her songs).
“One Way Trip to Mars” is set in 2033 and tells a fictional story about Paolo Cruze, the first human chosen to fly a solo one-way mission to establish a human colony on Mars. Harkness conceived of this idea and she and Alexander began writing songs for rock opera in 2015. In the fall of 2016, they produced a series of multimedia concert performances of the show with their Hollowbody Electric Band and an 18-voice chorus. Since that time the show has been re-worked for musical theater with 10 additional songs and theatrical book by St. Pierre.
For more information, visit onewaytriptomars.org. Tickets available at www.operahouse.org.
