Inaugural ‘Evening with the Divas’ to celebrate Carson City talent

Local vocalists are donating their time and talent to help raise funds for the programs at the Brewery Arts Center, which has been a central figure in the capital city’s art community since 1975.

“Evening with the Divas,” a fundraiser Saturday in the center’s Performance Hall, will feature Barb D’Anneo, Carolyn Dolan, Grace Hayes, Andie Wilkerson, and Maria Arrigotti Wehr for one night.

Accompanied by the Jeff Leep Band and Eric Kao and hosted by Stephanie Arrigotti, the event is billed as a celebration of local talent.

“The BAC is about celebrating artists and the artistic community and we are very fortunate that these incredible performers, including the remarkable Stephanie Arrigotti, have agreed to donate their talents to help us further that cause,” said Gina Lopez Hill, the executive director of the BAC. “I’m such a big fan of all of them, it’s a real thrill for me, personally.”

Grace Hayes will begin the evening performing some of her original music mixed with other numbers you may recognize. Hayes is fresh from her appearance on “American Idol,” where she received a golden ticket to Hollywood week. The audience may also recognize her from the TEDx talk she gave in Carson City last fall.

Following Hayes, Maria Arrigotti Wehr, a familiar face in the local music circuit, will take the stage. The singer has performed several leading musical theatre and opera roles for Western Nevada Musical Theater Company, including Cosette in “Les Miserables” and Christine in “Phantom of the Opera.”

Barb D’Anneo will perform standards similar to those she performed as a professional singer in the big band era in San Francisco.

Andie (Anderson) Wilkerson, who played Eponine in “Les Miserables” and Babe Williams in “Pajama Game,” will bring musical theater tunes and may even have a surprise up her sleeve.

Carolyn Dolan, known for her harmonica playing, will perform her lively jazz and blues.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. with a silent auction. The theater opens at 6:30 and the performance begins at 7 in the Performance Hall, 511 W. King St.

For information, call the Brewery Arts Center office at 775-883-1976.