February 13, 2013 - Handcrafted Jewelry Artist, Ana Maria Andricain of Jewel of Havana Featured in Dig Magazine

February 13, 2013 - Featured in Dig Magazine

Magazine: Entertainment Broadway Baton Rouge Local Broadway star to give Valentine’s benefit concert for Arts Council by Savanna Ronco

Ana Maria Andricain, a Baton Rouge native and Broadway star, will be performing in her hometown for a special Valentine’s Day concert benefiting the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge.

The concert, “A Broadway Valentine,” is being hosted by the Baton Rouge Little Theater and will feature music performed by Andricain, as well as behind-the-scenes stories from her time on Broadway.

“People will know most of the songs,” Andricain told Dig. “The ones they don’t, they’ll love once they hear them.”

She will perform both classic and contemporary music, inspired by her time in New York, and Broadway songs that she has performed over the span of her 20-plus year career. All of the music will be Valentine’s themed.

Proceeds from the show will be going to the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge in celebration their 40th anniversary. For Andricain, the show is a special tribute to former Arts Council President and CEO Derek Gordon, who passed away in September of last year.

Gordon was influential in providing the connections for Andricain’s husband Phillip to land a job in Baton Rouge, close to her family. However, Gordon knew how much Andricain loved performing and felt bad for pulling her away from Broadway.

“He always said, ‘We have to find a way for you to perform in Baton Rouge!’” Andricain said. “At the time, I was still under contract and doing a national tour and I just couldn’t commit. Two years later, when I finally had the time and stability to put something together, Derek got really sick, and I had the idea to do this as a benefit concert.”

Tragically, Gordon passed away before the benefit concert could take place, motivating Andricain to sell out the show in his honor.

All of the proceeds from the concert will benefit the Arts Council’s many programs and services, such as Sundays in the Park, a free music series that is one of Andricain’s favorites.

After a successful career in New York, where she performed as Fantine in Les Miserables, Belle in Beauty & the Beast, and Stiffy Byng in By Jeeves, Andricain is thrilled to be living in Baton Rouge once again.

“The art community in Baton Rouge has been built up tremendously since I grew up here,” Andricain noted. “Having something like the Arts Council enriches the community and it’s certainly beneficial for young people to have experience with the arts. It’s also access to free music, which is something I was so used to in New York. Derek [Gordon] was always adamant about having access to free music and entertainment. If people don’t take advantage of Sundays in the Park, I just don’t get it because it’s great music and it’s free.”

Though she loves singing and has stated that she is not retiring for good, Andricain is taking a break from performing on a large scale now that she is living in Louisiana. She has a successful jewelry-making business, Jewel of Havana, which she started while in New York, that has taken off in local markets, giving Andricain a way to make a living that doesn’t require constant traveling. Her website, www.JewelofHavana.com, features all of her pieces.

“Because it’s so creative and allows me to stay home, I love jewelry-making,” Andricain said. “My husband and I just celebrated our 10-year anniversary, and this is the first year where we’ll be able to eat dinner together every night.”

“Assuming that you cook dinner,” her husband said in the background, laughing.

When she first started making jewelry, it was mostly beading and wire wrapping. A few friends would buy pieces for Broadway opening nights or the Tony Awards. Then people started collecting her jewelry, and she began experimenting with metal clay to make her own clasps and bindings. Now Andricain is moving toward metal clay exclusively, although she still incorporates a little of everything.

“As the jewelry business continues to grow, there’s no way I could do both this and acting,” Andricain acknowledged. “The more we’ve stayed in Baton Rouge, the more I’ve loved being close to my family. It’s just a different way of life and we’re enjoying it to the fullest.”

A Broadway Valentine
Featuring Ana Maria Andricain
To benefit the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge Little Theater
Feb. 14
7:30 p.m.
Single $35, couple $60
www.BRLT.org

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