ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Welcome to where it all began.

More than 50 alumni from the University of Michigan will return Saturday to perform in a unique concert celebrating the university’s musical theatre program. The 8 p.m. performance at Hill Auditorium on the U-M campus in Ann Arbor features distinguished graduates alongside current students in a varied program of Broadway hits and University productions.

“Audiences will see and hear for themselves why University of Michigan graduates are making such a big impact in American musical productions,” said Brent Wagner, chair, U-M Department of Musical Theatre. This event is sold out.

“These are the performers who are setting the standard in musical theatre and their success and talent is truly staggering,” he said. “They are the finest ambassadors for U-M and the musical theatre program.”

Now in its 25th year, U-M’s musical theatre program cultivated the talent and fostered the hopes of many successful alumni, including actors, composers and producers. With its emergence in the last two decades, the program is widely recognized as a preeminent training ground for American musical theatre performers.

The anniversary concert will feature numbers from “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “Jersey Boys,” “Wicked,” and “Avenue Q” will be performed along with songs from U-M undergraduate shows “Big River,” “Anything Goes,” “Rent,” and “Candide,” among others.

Returning alumni who will perform include:

? Celia Keenan-Bolger, Class of ’00?Recently completed a long run in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” playing Olive Ostrovsky, for which she received a Tony nomination. Appeared on Broadway as Eponine in the revival of “Les Miserables.”

? Alex Gemignani, Class of ’01?Invited to sing for Sondheim’s 75th birthday celebration and is on the CD “Wall to Wall Sondheim.” Played the Beadle in the Broadway revival of “Sweeny Todd” and starred in “Les Miserables” as Jean Valjean. Most recently, Gemignani played the role of Addison Mizner in the Stephen Sondheim/John Wiedman musical “Road Show” at the Public Theatre.

? Doug LaBrecque, Class of ’88?One of the first students to enroll in the musical theatre program. Immediately after graduation, he was cast in the leads in “Showboat” and “Phantom of the Opera” (Toronto). Performed in repeat engagements with San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, and Israel Philharmonic, among many others.

? Brynn O’Malley, Class of ’03?Cast as the understudy for Belle in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” and as Nessarose in “Wicked” on Broadway. Performed the roles of Kate Monster and Lucy T. Slut in the Wynn Las Vegas production of “Avenue Q,” and recently played Amalia in “She Loves Me” at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., for which she received a Helen Hayes Award nomination as Best Actress in a Musical. Recently completed a long run in the role of Amber in the Broadway production of “Hairspray.”

? Becky Baeling, Class of ’99?After graduation, went on to a career as a pop singer. Her song, “If You Love Me,” hit No. 1 on Billboard charts in 2003. Hosts entertainment news for Sprint TV and a show in Scandinavia called “Star! Weekly with Becky Baeling.” Named entertainment correspondent for the daily show “G Word” on Discovery Channel’s network “Planet Green.”

? Barrett Foa, Class of ’99?Played role of Princeton/Rod in “Avenue Q” and Leaf Coneybear in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Most recently, he appeared as a guest on the CBS crime-drama Numb3rs and will be a guest star on another crime drama, NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

? Nick Blaemire, Class of ’06?Composer and lyricist with James Gardiner who wrote the book of the musical “Glory Days,” which debuted in the spring of 2008 at Circle in the Square on Broadway. Has appeared in the national tour of off-Broadway show “Altar Boyz,” and, most recently, had a starring role in “The Assassination of a High School President” with Mischa Barton and Bruce Willis.

? Dan Reichard, Class of ’00?Made Broadway debut in “Jersey Boys” (2005) as Bob Gaudio of the vocal group Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons. After a two-year run, he left the popular Broadway show to appear in “Candide,” Leonard Bernstein’s opera-musical, at the New York City Opera in April.

? Justin Paul, Class of ’06?Partner in songwriting duo Pasek and Paul, and co-writer of popular revue, “Edges.” Pasek and Paul are also writers for the Disney Channel’s “Johnny and the Sprites.” Their cabaret act has sold-out shows at Joe’s Pub and Ars Nova in New York and the Falcon Theatre in LA. They were invited to participate in the Johnny Mercer Songwriting Festival in the summer of 2008.

For more information or to interview U-M alumni, contact Rachel Francisco, (734) 764 0594, [email protected], Kerianne M. Tupac, (734) 647-2277, [email protected]; or Frank Provenzano, (734) 647-4411, [email protected]

Ticket information on the 8 p.m. Saturday, March 21 Twenty-fifth Anniversary Concert