Local to star in The Show Must Go

Nicholas Boyack Reporter from Community News

A local Hawke's Bay woman who has gone on to become a musical theatre star throughout Australasia, is returning to the Bay to perform - and we have COVID19 to thank for it
Akina Edmonds was born in Napier, of Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Porou descent and grew up in the Hawkes Bay, being the eldest of seven in her family. While she had fond childhood memories of singing and dancing around the coffee table in the family home as a child, Edmonds first exposure to performing and has fond memories to her time with the school Kapa Haka group. There was no background or music connections in her family, other than her great grandmother who she thinks was a singer with a beautiful voice.
Three years of tertiary study at NASDA (the Christchurch-based National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art) was followed by over a decade of work in some of the biggest professional productions in Australasia – including Buddy, Hairspray and The Lion King, and the Australasian Premiere of Sister Act in New Plymouth, New Zealand in 2016.
The Show's Must Go On is a glittering concert of musical theatre showstoppers, featuring songs from the world's greatest Broadway and West End musicals in concert including The Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Mamma Mia, Wicked, Priscilla The Greatest Showman, and more, along with New Zealand’s favourite musical Les Misérables.
The Shows Must Go on performs in Hawke’s Bay at Toitoi – the Hawkes Opera House in Hastings on Wednesday 28th October at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from Ticketek.