From the Woodstock Sentinel Review
Friday, May 28, 1999
 
Concert 

One stop on the long haul 

Woodstock's Matt Cassidy comes home 
    for concert next weekend 

By Geoff Dale 
STAFF WRITER 
    WOODSTOCK - When Matt Cassidy was only eight he knew nothing could deter him from pursuing his love - singing.   
    Fifteen years later, as he returns home to Woodstock for a concert of Broadway, jazz and folk selections, he's still living that dream.   
    "I really don't care about fame and fortune," said the 23-year-old Woodstock native. "I just want to do what I love doing and, as you can well imagine, I'm in it for the long haul."  
    That long haul began for the aspiring young singer with voice lessons, tap, jazz and ballet dance lessons, constant practicing and performing, an impressive resume at the local level and a Rose Bowl win at the Rotary Music Festival, where his face and voice were familiar for several years with most local music lovers.  
    Now a baritone and a graduate of Sheridan College in music theatre, he points to an impressive list of credits over a relatively short period of time in the business including Cole Porter's Anything Goes at the St. Lawrence Centre; 42nd Street, Bye Bye Birdie and Oklahoma! with the Huron Country Playhouse; Dracula the Musical and Oliver with the Woodstock Little Theatre and The Libertine at Equity Showcase.  
    After his Woodstock concert next Friday, Cassidy is ready to set out to the Huron Country Playhouse again and then out east for a production of Forever Plaid at the Charlottetown Festival.  
    While he's met with considerable success, he readily admits there's little time to sit back on one's laurels in an industry as competitive as musical theatre.  
    "Let's just say I'm good with my budget," he said. "I live in Toronto because it is the centre of entertainment pursuits in Canada. But you have to pay the rent and feed yourself, so it's wise to have a nighttime job to make sure those bills are being paid 		     "I've been doing bartending, so that frees up my days to get out there and do auditions. I also have an agent and, because I have an interest in television work, I've been doing work with student filmmakers from Ryerson and Concordia."  
    As for musical influences he points to singer/pianist Harry Connick Jr. and the late Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra.  
    "I enjoy singing jazz," he said. "It's such a relaxed music and Connick is a perfect example of that kind of sound, as well as Sinatra."  
    When Cassidy brings his musical stylings to the Market Centre Theatre on June 4, the show will be a mix of Broadway numbers (in the first half) with jazz and folk making up the second half.  
    "It will be a relaxed evening with something for everyone of all ages," he said. "I really want to bring something back to the community for all the support over the years. While I was singing and doing musical theatre all through high school, the support here was simply great.  
    "Also, I'll be singing Is My Team Plowing, which is the number I sang for the Rose Bowl at the festival."  
    The Woodstock audience will get a double treat that night. Cassidy's accompanist will be Ryan McCombe, an Ingersoll native who also captured a Rose Bowl in piano.  
    The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 and available at Heatherfields, Oxford County Tourist Association and the Woodstock and District Developmental Services.  
     A portion of the proceeds will go to Woodstock District Developmental Services.  
  
   
 
 

        Matt's Program