WESTERLY — Tony Award winning actor Andrew Burnap will join Chorus of Westerly Conductor Andrew Howell, the choristers and the Pops Festival Orchestra this weekend for the much-loved annual Christmas Pops concert series which kicks off Saturday.
Burnap, a chorus alumnus and board member, will sing several works with the chorus and orchestra and narrate John Tafone’s original setting of “A Christmas Carol.”
Burnap, who grew up in South Kingstown — where his family still resides — won the Tony Award for “Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play,” at the 74th Annual Tony Awards for his performance of Toby Darling in Matthew Lopez’s “The Inheritance.”
Last season he starred as King Arthur in Aaron Sorkin’s revival of Lerner and Loewe’s “Camelot” at Lincoln Center – for which he earned a Drama Desk nomination for outstanding lead performance in a musical. He also starred opposite Marin Ireland in the Off- Broadway production of “Spain” by Jen Silverman and has recently been seen in A24’s psychological horror “The Front Room,” the Apple series “We Crashed,” and in the FX limited series “Under the Banner of Heaven,” when he played Joseph Smith.
A graduate of the University of Rhode Island and the Yale School of Drama — where he earned the Herschel Williams Prize for Outstanding Ability in Acting — Burnap joined the chorus as a youngster as a treble in the early 2000s during the tenure of George Kent.
Inspired by his first performances of “Messiah,” Burnap continued on with the chorus, “developing strong friendships and many happy memories,”
He was soon singing – as a member of the chorus – his first run of “A Celebration of Twelfth Night.”
“Thrilled with the wonder of theater that he witnessed from the risers that first Twelfth Night,” according to an email from the chorus, “the following year, determined to be on the stage for the show, he auditioned, was cast, and his amazing journey began.”
Burnap’s professional career took off in 2014 when he was cast in the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of “King Lear” alongside John Lithgow, Annette Bening, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. In 2016, he was cast as Troilus in the company’s “Shakespeare in the Park” production of “Troilus & Cressida.” A short time later, he starred in Lopez’s play, “The Legend of Georgia McBride.”
Burnap’s upcoming major appearances include a lead role in Disney’s live-action film adaptation of Snow White, starring alongside Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, scheduled to be released in March.
He is also scheduled to perform as Cassio in William Shakespeare’s “Othello” at the Barrymore Theatre alongside Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal and will be starring alongside Nate Mann and Shay Mitchell in the film, The Up and Comer, a thriller directed by Chris Long.
While all three concerts are officially sold out, a waitlist has been established, according to Advancement Associate Isobel McCullough, so those interested should call 401-596-8663 or check the box office in person on the day of the performance.
Tickets are on sale now for the “A Celebration of Twelfth Night” which is scheduled for Jan. 10, 11 and 12.
