Free Concert Series: Natalie Ford in "Looking for Love"

Local actress and soprano Natalie Ford will perform in Looking for Love, a concert featuring ballads and duets from beloved musicals and Broadway hits. The concert, set for Friday, June 1 at 5 p.m., is a part of Grace Lutheran Church’s First Fridays, a free and open to the public concert series offering music selections on the first Friday of every month. Ford is joined by fellow local talents Tim Rebers, tenor and Maggie Rebers, pianist.

“The First Fridays concert series gives the downtown community not only an opportunity to experience world-class music, but also a chance to get to know new neighbors and Grace’s caring ministry,” Pastor Aaron M. Strong, who oversees community outreach at Grace, said in a statement. This isn’t the first time the theater and the church have crossed paths – the newly minted Grace in the Ward, a second site ministry for Grace Lutheran led by Strong, holds Sunday morning worship services at The Broadway Theatre Center, located off 158 N. Broadway in the historic Third Ward of Milwaukee. The Broadway Theatre Center houses several resident companies, including Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and Skylight Music Theatre, where Ford appeared as Eliza Doolittle in their 2016 production of My Fair Lady.

Ford boasts an impressive resume: Cinderella in Into the Woods (Skylight), Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar (In Tandem), and Martha Jefferson in Milwaukee Opera Theatre’s 2016 1776, which featured a slew of local Milwaukee talent, including Tim Rebers as Edward Rutledge. Tim Rebers, a member of Grace and co-coordinator of First Fridays along with his wife and local talent Maggie, will appear later this month in Urinetown, Skylight’s final production of the 2017-2018 season. Both Tim and Maggie Rebers will join Ford for the one-night only concert, accompanying as tenor and pianist respectively.

The concert program will include a number of musical theater hits, including favorite pieces from Camelot, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls, Into the Woods, The Phantom of the Opera, South Pacific, and of course, My Fair Lady.

The one-night-only concert Looking for Love will take place on Friday, June 1, 2018 at 5 p.m., with the performance being held in Grace’s sanctuary, located at 1209 N. Broadway, Milwaukee. The concert will run approximately an hour, with light refreshments being served post-concert. Admission is free, with a freewill donation taken to support the artists and the series. For more details, contact Amanda Schumacher, Communications Coordinator, with any questions at at 414-271-3006 or by emailing aschumacher@gracedowntown.org.