THE HARDER THEY COME – OPENING NIGHT BENEFITS THE JAMAICAN CHILDREN’S HEART FUND
By M. Peggy Quattro
Photos by Lynn Dearing
The Jamaican Children’s Heart Fund (JCHF) successfully benefited from the opening night performance of the smash hit musical, The Harder They Come, based on Perry Henzell’s legendary 1972 movie starring Jimmy Cliff. The South Florida-based JCHF sold hundreds of tickets for the Sat., August 29, 2009, performance at the beautiful Ziff Ballet Opera House, inside Arsht Performing Arts Centre, Miami, FL, and a portion of the ticket price went to this worthy cause.
For the hundreds of Jamaicans, Americans, and international patrons in attendance, the cast of The Harder They Come sang and danced their way into the hearts of the cheerful crowd. Live music was provided by an outstanding band of live musicians cleverly positioned as part of the stage set. Together with the entire cast, they performed popular songs from the original movie that have become world-famous anthems include “Many Rivers To Cross,” “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” “Pressure Drop,” “Sweet and Dandy,” and “Sitting in Limbo.” The audience was brought to their feet to sing along when the cast came on stage to end the show with a rousing version of “The Harder They Come.”
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