MORGANTOWN — When Trevor Nicholas lets loose … he lets loose.
After all, the internationally known stage performer regularly projects to back row from Broadway to London’s West End – where he’s earned acclaim for his starring roles in “Aladdin,” “Hamilton” and other marquee productions.
Tuesday, Aug. 8, the Morgantown native and WVU graduate is back on the stage that started it all.
“An Evening with Trevor Nicholas” will commence at 7:30 p.m. in the Gladys G. Davis Theatre at the university’s Canady Creative Arts Center.
The show is a fundraiser for the School of Theatre and Dance and School of Social Work. Visit http://go.wvu.edu/trevor-nicholas for ticket prices and other particulars.
Nicholas will sing songs from those shows and more, backed by the WVU Funk and Soul ensemble.
His father, Bobby Nicholas, who has just as much regional renown for his singing, will also join his son on stage during the evening.
“Well, of course, it’s gonna be a family thing,” Bobby Nicholas said, chuckling, as he talked about the show.
Family got them into all this.
When Nicholas’ wife and Trevor’s mom, Doris, died four years ago, her capacity for caring didn’t go with her.
Doris Nicholas, in turn, made her name in WVU’s School of Social Work. She was a professor and mentor to generations of students going forth to serve people and families in tough circumstances.
She also made regular trips to her native Bermuda to help forge opportunities for young people there being held back, just because of the sociopolitical climates of the day, her husband said.
“Doris had this capacity for social justice,” Nicholas said of his wife of 43 years. “She never stopped fighting for the little guy.”
That first summer after her death, he staged a concert to raise money for the creation of a scholarship in her name that would benefit minority students on campus.
It was successful. Trevor jetted over from London, where he lives with his wife and young children, to perform with his dad for the second show.
Now, he’s Tuesday’s headliner here.
As he told The Dominion Post previously, he was always moved by his mom’s empathy for people. She wanted, her son said, to elevate everyone.
“She wanted people to succeed and she wanted to give them opportunities to succeed,” the son said.
“That’s what her scholarship does. We get to build on something that’s going to outlast all of us.”
Both she and Bobby wanted their son to earn a college degree. Bobby gently steered Trevor to consider other options outside of being an entertainer – but it was Doris, Trevor said, who told him to give it a shot.
“She said if I was that passionate about it, I should work hard and take the risk, so I’d know, one way or the other,” the Broadway and West End star remembered.
These days, Bobby is happy to note, Trevor is involved in several charitable causes in his own right.
“Trevor’s talented, but he’s also a good man. He’s a good member of society. That makes me even more proud.”
