Dick Van Dyke to star in high school benefit concert

Singer/actor Dick Van Dyke will star for the sixth year in the annual benefit concert for local high school choral programs at 4 p.m. Sun., May 13 at the Kavli Theatre in the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

The show is titled "The Music of Dick Van Dyke" and will feature Van Dyke singing songs from such film musicals as "Mary Poppins," "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "Bye Bye Birdie."

Van Dyke will also serve as the master of ceremonies, introducing and performing with choral groups from Thousand Oaks, Oak Park, Newbury Park, Santa Susana and El Camino high schools.

The Conejo Valley Harmony Oaks chorus, a Thousand Oaksbased a cappella men's group, is producing the benefit show and will perform, as will several national award-winning quartets.

The show finale will feature the nearly 300 performers in a barbershop arrangement of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from "Mary Poppins."

All net proceeds from the show will be donated to the music programs of the participating high schools. To date, the concert series has raised more than $100,000. Van Dyke, a longtime supporter of music programs in local high schools, is volunteering his services for this program.

Tickets are $11, $18 and $25 and are available at the Civic Arts Plaza box office, at www. gotchaticket.com or from any of the participating high schools.

For more information about the show, call Neil Pennywitt, PR director, at (805) 4996456 or email pennywitt@earthlink.net.