Mcguire has served as an associate artist and has frequently been on stage at Capital Repertory Theatre, which is also a part of Proctors Collaborative. As the new director of theatrical programming, McGuire will continue to direct the Broadway Camp productions as well as the High School Musical Theatre Awards, which recognizes outstanding local musical theatre productions and students. McGuire will also help support the development of student training classes and be a consultant on theatrical training classes across Proctors Collaborative.
“When looking for someone to fill this important position, we didn’t have to look further than Kevin. He has proven through his time as the director of Broadway Camp and his experience on and off Broadway that he is the perfect person for this role. We’re honored that our students will constantly have the opportunity to learn from one of theatre’s greats.”
– Christine Sheehan
McGuire will also be using his skilled experience from Broadway productions such as “Les Miserables,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “The Secret Garden” and many more productions as theREP such as “Man of La Mancha,” “The Full Monty,” “The Irish and How They Got That Way” and “The Wizard of Oz” to teach and direct the students at CSOA, allowing them to explore and reach their full potential in theatrical arts.
“It has always been my contention that the most important thing I can do is pass on to a new generation the incredible training I had in my youth. I love to teach. I love watching talent emerge.”
Cortland Repertory Theatre has announced their 52nd annual summer season to be held at the Little York Pavilion in Preble, NY in 2024. The season will run from June 5 – August 17 and contain three musicals and two plays.
The Cortland Repertory Theatre opened its doors on July 5, 1972 at Dwyer Memoral Park. Being one of New York State’s longest running professional theatres, they continue to support and showcase popular musicals and plays for theatre lovers in the area.
Producing Artistic Director Kerby Thompson says, “we always strive to select a season that falls under the umbrella as ‘something for everyone’ and I’m very excited about this coming summer’s selections!”
One change in the CRT schedule of note: most of the summer productions will be completing their runs on a Friday, not on Saturdays as in previous years. Also, the theatre will be adding a 2:00PM matinee on the second Tuesday of the performance schedule to make a less hectic, less stressful, and safer changeover from one production to the next. Thompson also notes that matinees are very popular and adding another to the schedule opens more seating options for those who choose the afternoon shows.
Kicking off the season from June 5-14 is a show that has been called “one of the greatest musicals of all time”: My Fair Lady. With book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, this musical was adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s play and Gabriel Pascal’s movie “Pygmalion” and was originally directed and staged by Moss Hart.
In this story, Eliza Doolittle is a young flower seller with an unmistakable Cockney accent which seemingly keeps her in the lower rungs of Edwardian society. When Professor Henry Higgins tries to teach her how to speak like “a proper lady”, an unlikely friendship begins to flourish. The musical’s score is loaded with familiar songs, including “The Rain in Spain,” “I Could Have Danced All Night”, “On the Street Where You Live”, “Get Me to the Church on Time”, and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”
From June 19 – 28 is the CRT debut of the heartwarming comedy The Last Romance, by Joe DePietro. CRT audiences will remember DePietro’s work from the 2005 and 2022 productions of Over the River and Through the Woods.
This play explores the transformative power of love, no matter what age one may be. On an ordinary day in a routine life, widower Ralph takes a different path on his daily walk and meets Carol while she’s sitting on a bench in a dog park. Relying on his boyish charm and a fictional dog named Rex, Ralph woos Carol and they embark on a hilarious and touching journey that proves it’s never too late for romance. This laugh-filled comedy cleverly explores relationships between people in their golden years, and how the invisible bonds of family often tie our hearts tighter than any love affair.
A recent Broadway musical, with the regional premiere from July 3 – 12, is Jimmy Buffet’s Escape to Margaritaville, with a book by Emmy Award winner Greg Garcia and Emmy nominee Mike O’Malley, and music and lyrics by Jimmy Buffett. The Pavilion stage will transform into a tropical paradise where love and laughter are the keys to “growing older but not up.”
The story centers around Tully, the “mayor” of Margaritaville, a part-time bartender, part-time singer, and full-time charmer who’s got life all figured out until a beautiful tourist steals his heart and makes him question everything he knows. This energetic score features Jimmy Buffett’s classics, including “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Fins,” “Volcano,” “It’s Five o’clock Somewhere,” and many more.
Running from July 17 – 26 is a thrilling new adaptation of the Broadway classic that inspired the 1967 film starring Audrey Hepburn, Wait Until Dark, originally written by Frederick Knott and recently adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher.
Murder, secret identities, and a switchblade set the stage for this white-knuckle thriller that takes place in the quaint 1944 Greenwich Village basement apartment of Susan, a blind yet capable woman, and her husband Sam. While Sam is away on business, Susan finds herself threatened by a trio of men who will stop at nothing to get a stolen item hidden in the apartment. As the climax builds, Susan discovers that her blindness just might be the key to her escape, but she must wait until dark to reach the shattering conclusion.
Wrapping up the summer, from July 31 – August 17, Cortland Repertory Theatre presents their debut production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and a book by Linda Woolverton. This “tale as old as time” was originally directed on Broadway by Robert Jess Roth, and originally produced by Disney Theatrical Productions. Original music supervision and new arrangements are by Michael Kosarin with dance music arrangements by Glen Kelly and orchestrations by Danny Troob. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated film, this stage adaptation includes all those wonderful songs and characters that kids of all ages know and love.
The story revolves around Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end, and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.
Cortland Repertory Theatre is currently selling 5-show summer subscriptions which are $190 for center seats and $180 for side seats and allow the patron to see all five productions. Also available are Flex Pass Packs for 5 shows ($195) or 6 shows ($234) and allow the patron to choose the shows they see and when they see them. A two-pack Youth Flex Pass is also available for $40.00. CRT’s gift cards are available for purchase at any time, for any dollar amount, with no expiration date. Individual tickets will go on sale starting May 20, 2024, with Adult Tickets for $42.00 (center seats) and $40.00 (side seats).
A $2.00 discount is available on individual tickets for seniors 62 and up, active military and veterans, first responders, and groups of 10 or more. All youth tickets, 22 and under, are $25.00 at all times.
Current box office hours at CRT Downtown, 24 – 26 Port Watson Street in Cortland are Mon-Fri, 9:00-4:00; summer hours will be extended starting on May 20 to Mon-Fri 9:00–6:00, Saturdays noon-6:00. More information can be found online or by calling 800-427-6160.
Producers Stephen Gabriel and Ira Pittelman announce that the newly reimagined production of The Who’s TOMMY will open on Broadway March 28, 2024, with casting yet to be announced.
Three decades after the epic pop-culture musical theatre sensation first bowed on Broadway, original Tony Award®-winning creators Pete Townshend (music, lyrics, book) and Des McAnuff (book, direction) have reunited to bring the story of Tommy Walker to today’s audiences.
Following a critically acclaimed, award-winning run at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre (where it was the highest grossing production in the history of the Goodman), The Who’s TOMMY will open on March 28, 2024 at the Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street). Preview performances will begin March 8, 2024.
The Who’s TOMMY creative team includes choreographer Lorin Latarro (Into the Woods, Mrs. Doubtfire and Waitress); music supervision and additional arrangements by Ron Melrose (Jersey Boys on Broadway, London and National Tour); musical direction and additional orchestrations by Rick Fox (Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar); set design by David Korins (Hamilton, Beetlejuice, Here Lies Love ); projection design by Peter Nigrini (Here Lies Love,MJ and Dear Evan Hansen); costume design by Sarafina Bush (for colored girls…, Pass Over on Broadway); lighting design by Amanda Zieve (Broadway associate on Escape to Margaritaville and Allegiance); sound design by Gareth Owen (Back to the Future, & Juliet and MJ); and wig and hair design by Charles LaPointe (Hamilton, Beautiful). Casting is by Tara Rubin Casting/Merri Sugarman, CSA. Additional Chicago Casting by Lauren Port, CSA and Rachael Jimenez, CSA. Tripp Phillips is the Production Stage Manager and Bespoke Theatricals is General Manager.
“In many ways, I think the world has caught up to Tommy Walker, which makes it exciting to revisit The Who’s TOMMY for a new generation who, possibly more than any other, has a broad appetite for all kinds of music and story-telling.”
Des McAnuff
Pete Townshend (Music, Lyrics, Book) is known principally as the lead guitarist and composer for The Who, as well as for his own solo career. His career with The Who spans over fifty years, during which time Townshend wrote well over a hundred songs for The Who’s eleven studio albums, including the rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia and the well-regarded rock radio staple Who’s Next.
From early classic singles, such as ‘My Generation’ and ‘Substitute’ to ‘Tommy’, ‘Lifehouse’ and ‘Quadrophenia’, Townshend has always been at the forefront of his profession. Though known mainly as a guitarist, he is an accomplished singer and keyboard player, and has played many other instruments (banjo, accordion, synthesizer, piano, bass guitar and drums) on his solo albums and on certain The Who albums.
As an author, he has written Horse’s Neck, a collection of short stories (Faber & Faber, 1985); Who I Am, a memoir (Harper Collins, 2012), and his latest artistic project, The Age of Anxiety, is simultaneously a novel and a rock opera about passion and ambition, good drugs and bad drugs, and loves lost and found (the novel was published by Hodder & Stoughton, 2019).
His numerous awards for The Who’s Tommy include a Grammy Award (1993), Tony Award for Best Score (1993), Dora Mavor Moore Award (1994) and Olivier Award (1997).
Des McAnuff (Book, Director) is a two-time Tony Award-winning director and former Artistic Director of Canada’s Stratford Festival. He is also Director Emeritus of La Jolla Playhouse, whereas Artistic Director he staged over 30 productions of classics, new plays and musicals: Ain’t Too Proud; Summer; Doctor Zhivago; Jesus Christ Superstar; Guys and Dolls; Aaron Sorkin’s The Farnsworth Invention; Jersey Boys (Tony and Olivier Awards: Best Musical); Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays (Tony Award: Best Special Theatrical Event); Dracula the Musical; and many, many more.
“Being asked to join the creative team of TOMMY is a dream come true. It’s the OG rock musical. Des and Pete are visionaries,” said Lorin Latarro. “I’m focused on creating a contemporary movement vocabulary that feels like it could be from any era. I am interested in pushing story inside the dances, and still building to dance breaks that have high velocity. I’m also a mother and I see the domestic aspects of this family as both brutal and profound. The work of motherhood without the joy of a hug from your child is sobering.”
The Goodman production of The Who’s TOMMY recently won 9 Joseph Jefferson “Jeff” Awards, the most for any show this season, including Best Director for Des McAnuff and Best Production.
TOMMY is the first musical in years to feel completely alive in its own moment. No wonder that for two hours it makes the world seem young.
Frank Rich, New York Times 1993
Presale for those who sign up will be available here, beginning on Wednesday, November 8 at 10:00am ET through Friday, November 10 at 9:59am.
General Onsale begins Friday, November 10 at 10am ET. For more information, visit TOMMY’s website.
New York City’s East River ferry route has introduced a new Back To The Future: The Musical themed ferry experience. Beginning on October 20, select NYC Ferry departures will give riders a taste of Broadway’s latest hit show, as well as surprises throughout the month.
The ferry rides will feature a ticket giveaway, trivia, and cast appearances. In addition, travelers will be able to board the special Back To The Future: The Musical vessel on other NYC ferry routes through November 17.
Back To The Future: The Musical is a multi-award-winning Broadway musical based on the classic 1985 film. The show won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, as well as four WhatsOnStage Awards. It is officially open at New York City’s Winter Garden Theatre.
The NYC Ferry is a reliable, convenient public transit option for New Yorkers, offering service through all five boroughs. Tickets are $4.00 per one-way ticket, and are also available in discounted ticket packages. To plan your travel on the ferry, and view schedules and service alerts, visit ferry.nyc.
Back To The Future: The Musical is now showing at the Winter Garden Theatre. To purchase tickets, visit www.BackToTheFutureMusical.com, purchase via Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or Telecharge.com, or at the Winter Garden Theatre box office at 1634 Broadway.
Broadway’s SPAMALOT is slated to begin performances on Tuesday, October 31, with the official opening ‘knight’ Thursday, November 16 at the St. James Theatre on 44th Street.
SPAMALOT features Tony Award nominee Christopher Fitzgerald (Waitress) as Patsy, Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin, Hamilton) as King Arthur, Taran Killam (“Saturday Night Live”) as Lancelot, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (Beetlejuice) as The Lady of the Lake, Tony Award nominee Ethan Slater (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical) as The Historian/Prince Herbert, Jimmy Smagula (Billy Elliot) as Sir Bedevere, Drama Desk Award winner Michael Urie (“Shrinking,” Torch Song) as Sir Robin and Nik Walker (Hamilton) as Sir Galahad.
Additional cast include with David Josefsberg, Graham Stevens, Daniel Beeman, Maria Briggs, Gabriella Enriquez, Michael Fatica, Denis Lambert, Shina Ann Morris, Kaylee Olson, Kristin Piro, Drew Redington, Tyler Roberts, Anju Cloud, Darrell T. Joe, Lily Kaufmann, and Charlie Sutton. Iglehart, Kritzer, Smagula, Urie and Walker will be reprising their roles from the record-breaking sold-out run at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
SPAMALOT features SNL alum Taran Killam as Lancelot
The musical first galloped onto Broadway in 2005, featuring a book & lyrics by Eric Idle and music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle. The original Broadway production was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and won three, including Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical (Mike Nichols) and Best Featured Actress (Sara Ramirez as The Lady of the Lake) and featured choreography by Casey Nicholaw. Josh Rhodes (Bright Star, Cinderella) will return from the Kennedy Center production to direct and choreograph on Broadway. Jeffrey Finn, Vice President & Executive Producer of Theater and Artistic Director, Broadway Center Stage at The Kennedy Center serves as lead producer.
The creative team also includes scenic and projection design by Paul Tate dePoo III, costume design by Jen Caprio, lighting design by Cory Pattak, sound design by Kai Harada & Haley Parcher, wig design by Tom Watson and music direction by John Bell. Casting is by JZ Casting, Matthew Lacey will serve as the Production Stage Manager and RCI Theatricals will serve as General Manager.
Playhouse Stage Company has announced its 36th Season, presenting both professional and youth musical theatre to the Capital Region. The upcoming lineup features four shows to be presented at Cohoes Music Hall and Albany’s Park Playhouse, as well as productions for schools and young people in the community.
The season will kick off in time for the holidays with the musical adaptation of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, running from December 1-23 at Cohoes Music Hall. The classic story by Barbara Robinson follows the “horrible Herdmans,” the rowdy bunch who force their way into the annual Christmas pageant, and transform the story into an unexpected extravaganza.
The group will present Spring Awakening, running from April 12-28, 2024. Featuring a cast of advanced teen students alongside professional actors, Spring Awakening showcases a fearless approach to taboo topics. A winner of eight Tony Awards, the timeless musical is based on the 19th century German book of the same name.
Next summer will begin at Cohoes Music Hall with the musical The Marvelous Wonderettes. Running from June 28-July 24, 2024, this 1950s and 60s musical brings fabulous harmonies and fashions as four friends take the stage at their high school prom with a jukebox full of hits.
Finally, the company will return to Park Playhouse for the fan favorite Legally Blonde: The Musical. Based on the book and hit 2001 film, the musical follows Elle Woods, a fashion-forward, hard-working young woman as she embarks on a journey through Harvard Law. Legally Blonde will run from July 16-August 18, 2024.
With this season’s productions, our goal is to continue exceeding audience expectations with first-rate musical theatre that’s both entertaining and engaging. This season, we’re offering a lineup of shows that, each in their own way, invite audiences to reflect on, reconsider and redefine how they see the world around them. With a mix of the region’s most talented young performers from our Playhouse Stage Academy, local and regional professional actors and musicians, and a world-class design and creative team, we’ll once again work hard to prove to audiences why we were dubbed ‘Broadway in the Capital Region’s backyard’ when we were founded all the way back in 1989.
Playhouse Stage Co. Producing Artistic Director Owen Smith
In addition to the mainstage offerings, the Playhouse Stage Company will offer two shows geared towards children: Grace for President, and Disney’s Finding Nemo Jr. Both perfect for family audiences, Grace for President will run from February 26-March 22, 2024. Finding Nemo Jr. will run from August 21-25, 2024 at a new outdoor venue to be announced.
Four-ticket Flex Packs that can be used for any of the company’s mainstage productions will go on sale Saturday, September 30 online playhousestage.org and thecohoesmusichall.org, or by phone at (518) 434-0776. Tickets to individual productions will go on sale later in the season. For more information, audiences can visit www.playhousestage.org.
MasterVoices will open its 2023-24 season this November at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater, with three performances of The Frogs.
MasterVoices (formerly The Collegiate Chorale) was founded in 1941 by legendary American choral conductor Robert Shaw. Under the artistic direction of Tony Award winner Ted Sperling since 2013, the group is known for its versatility and a repertoire that ranges from choral masterpieces and operas in concert to operettas and musical theater. Season concerts feature a volunteer chorus of 100+ members from all walks of life alongside a diverse roster of world-class soloists from across the musical spectrum, including Julia Bullock, Dove Cameron, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Renée Fleming, John Holiday, Jennifer Holliday, Norm Lewis, Victoria Clark, and Kelli O’Hara.
Under Sperling’s direction the group has created cross–disciplinary collaborations with such diverse creative minds as legendary lyricist Sheldon Harnick, Vogue Editor-at-Large Hamish Bowles, fashion designer Zac Posen, Silk Road visual artist Kevork Mourad, illustrator Manik Choksi, stage designer Doug Fitch, and choreographers Doug Varone and Andrew Palermo. Roger Rees was the group’s Artistic Associate from 2003–2015, and in 2021 the group received a New York Emmy Award nomination and a Drama League Award nomination for its multi-genre digital concert production of Adam Guettel’s Myths and Hymns.
Known for its presentation of lesser-known artistic treasures such as Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, and Tchaikovsky’s Maid of Orleans, the group has received recent accolades for productions of rarely-heard works such as last season’s New York City premiere of Sheldon Harnick’s full English translation of Bizet’s Carmen, Lady in the Dark by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, Victor Herbert’s Babes in Toyland, the Gershwins’ Let ‘Em Eat Cake, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents’s Anyone Can Whistle, and Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe. They also commission and premiere new works; recent examples include choral works by Ricky Ian Gordon, Marisa Michelson, Tariq Al-Sabir, and Randall Eng.
As one of the country’s first interracial and interfaith choruses, MasterVoices (as The Collegiate Chorale) performed at the opening of the United Nations and has sung and recorded under the batons of esteemed conductors including Serge Koussevitzky, Arturo Toscanini, and Leonard Bernstein, among others. It has been engaged by top-tier orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic, and has appeared at the Verbier and Salzburg Festivals.
MasterVoices opens its 2023-24 season on November 3 and 4 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater, with three performances of a concert staging of Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove’s The Frogs, as adapted by Nathan Lane. Ted Sperling, celebrating his tenth season as MasterVoices’ Artistic Director, directs and conducts the 120–member MasterVoices chorus, an 18-piece orchestra, and an all-star cast of MasterVoices favorites. In addition to the two performances initially announced for Saturday, November 4, MasterVoices has added a third performance on Friday, November 3, at 8 PM.
The boisterously hilarious yet poignant musical was inspired by the ancient Aristophanes play of the same name. With the world at war and civilization imperiled, Dionysos, god of wine and theater, feels something drastic must be done. He journeys to the underworld with his servant Xanthias to find the world’s best playwright, who will inspire and save mankind. Along the way, the two travelers encounter many well-known mythic characters. This musical presentation of Aristophanes’ comedy was “freely adapted” by Burt Shevelove and Stephen Sondheim in 1974 and “even more freely adapted” by Nathan Lane and Sondheim for its 2004 staging at Lincoln Center Theater. The script will be further adapted by Nathan Lane for MasterVoices’ concert performances.
The Frogs has a rich and varied score with a substantial role for the chorus; it includes one of Sondheim’s most beautiful love songs, “Ariadne.”
“There’s something in this piece right now– where the country is and for me in particular– there’s something idealistic about the notion of believing that the arts can make a difference. You can affect a change. And in The Frogs, that is Dionysos’ dream– to go down to Hades and bring back this great writer. The belief that that could actually have an effect on the world is noble and touching and crazy– all at the same time.”
Nathan Lane, 2004
The Frogs is hopping with top Broadway veterans. Tony Award nominee Douglas Sills, last seen in MasterVoices’ 2022 revival of Anyone Can Whistle, is Dionysos. Tony Award nominee Kevin Chamberlin, last seen in MasterVoices’ concerts of Of Thee I Sing and Let ‘Em Eat Cake, is Xanthias. Peter Bartlett, who played Pluto in the 2004 production at Lincoln Center Theater, steps back into his toga to reprise the role.Tony and Emmy Award nomineeDylan BakerisGeorge Bernard Shaw; Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper, who also performed in Of Thee I Sing and Let ‘Em Eat Cake, is Charon; and Tony nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Marc Kudisch, seen in MasterVoices’ 2014 Not the Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy), is Herakles. Tony nominee Jordan Donica is William Shakespeare and Ariadne is played by MasterVoices chorus member Candice Corbin.Nathan Lane, the three-time Tony Award-winning actor, will host the evening and provide narration. The choreography is by award-winning choreographer Lainie Sakakura and the sound design is by Scott Lehrer. Tracy Christensen is the costume designer and the lighting design is by Shelby Loera.
Tickets priced from $30, may be purchased online at jazz.org, at the Jazz at Lincoln Center box office, Broadway at 60th Street, or by calling 212-721-6500.
Artistic Director of MasterVoices, Tony Award-winning Maestro Ted Sperling is a classically trained musician whose career has spanned from the concert hall and the opera house to the Broadway stage. He has led such symphony orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Boston Pops, San Diego Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, the Iceland Symphony, Czech National Symphony, and BBC Concert Orchestra, as well as New York City Opera and Houston Grand Opera. Formerly Principal Conductor of the Westchester Philharmonic, Mr. Sperling is a multi-faceted artist also known for his work as orchestrator, singer, pianist, violinist, violist, director, and music director.
With MasterVoices, Maestro Sperling has led acclaimed productions of rarely-heard gems as both director and conductor. These include Kurt Weill’s The Firebrand of Florence, Knickerbocker Holiday,The Road of Promise (based on The Eternal Road and subsequently recorded on Navona Records), and the sold–out three–performance run of Lady in the Dark at New York City Center. Other notable productions with the group include Carnegie Hall performances of Stephen Sondheim’s Anyone CanWhistle, George and Ira Gershwins’ satirical musicals Of Thee I Sing and Let ‘Em Eat Cake, a reconstruction of Victor Herbert’s Babes in Toyland, and Song of Norway; the New York City premieres of David Lang’s battle hymns at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum; and Ricky Ian Gordon’s operas The Grapes of Wrath at Carnegie Hall and 27 at New York City Center.
During the 2020-2021 season, Maestro Sperling spearheaded a filmed production of Adam Guettel’s Myths and Hymns for MasterVoices, producing and music directing 24 short musical films and directing roughly half of them. This project was nominated for a Drama League Award, and featured over 100 artists collaborating remotely, including Renée Fleming, Take 6, Jennifer Holliday and Julia Bullock. Now that live performances are back, Maestro Sperling is supervising national and international productions of My Fair Lady, The King and I, and Fiddler on the Roof. He has symphonic engagements in the U.S. and Europe and continues to teach at NYU, conducting three different orchestras and training the next generation of Broadway musicians and conductors.
Sperling has conducted multiple concerts for PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center, the American Songbook Series at Lincoln Center, and the Lyrics and Lyricists series at the 92nd Street Y. He conducted Audra McDonald in a double bill of La Voix Humaine and the world premiere of Send: Who Are You? I Love You? at the Houston Grand Opera. He won the 2005 Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his orchestrations of Adam Guettel’s The Light in the Piazza, for which he was also Music Director.
In addition to his directing work with MasterVoices, Mr. Sperling’s work as a stage director includes the world premieres of four critically acclaimed original musicals Off-Broadway—including The Other Josh Cohen and See What I Wanna See—and a noted production of Lady in the Dark at the Prince Theater in Philadelphia, starring Andrea Marcovicci. He graduated summa cum laude from Yale University, and received the Faculty Prize at The Juilliard School. He made his Broadway stage debut as Wallace Hartley in Titanic and appeared as Steve Allen in the finale of Season Two of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
Find tickets for the season’s opening, The Frogs, by clicking here.
For more information about the 2023-24 MasterVoices season, click here. Or, connect with MasterVoices on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@mastervoicesny).
Albany Symphony, a two-time Grammy Award winner, will present a first-of-its-kind Film Music Festival, made to celebrate music made for media. The festival will be held from October 5 to October 9 at venues such as Albany’s Palace Theatre, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, University at Albany Performing Arts Center, and MVP Arena.
Headlining the innovative new festival are two concerts featuring the Albany Symphony. On Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7:30pm at the Palace, David Alan Miller and the musicians of the Symphony kick off the 2023-2024 season with Soundtrack New York: Musical Scenes from a Cinematic State.
Inspired by the portrayal of the Empire State in film, and by the incredible composers who call New York home, this musical tour includes classic themes including George Gershwin’s Concerto in F featuring pianist Kevin Cole and Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story suite, as well as music from iconic NY films King Kong (Max Steiner), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Henry Mancini) and Taxi Driver (Bernard Herrmann). Music from contemporary NY composers include Brooklynite Tamar-kali’s work from Mudbound, and Hudson Valley resident Howard Shore’s sweeping landscapes from Lord of the Rings.
On Sunday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 at the Palace, the Albany Symphony presents Video Games Live! An immersive concert experience featuring exclusive orchestral arrangements of music from some of the most popular video games of all time. Musician, composer and creator of Video Games Live Tommy Tallarico and his band will join the Symphony for this performance led by guest conductor Emmanuel Fratianni. Featured video games include Final Fantasy, Halo, Skyrim, Kingdom Hearts, The Last of Us, Undertake, League of Legends and many more.
Albany Symphony teams up with the Empire State Youth Orchestra for a free community concert on Monday, Oct. 9 at 3pm at MVP Arena, in a special event presented by the Albany County – MVP Innovation Partnership. Together, the orchestras will perform music from Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and more—a perfect family activity for the day since many kids and families are off on holiday.
Albany Symphony’s Film Music Festival also includes a special Hollywood Cabaret with pianist Kevin Cole on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 7:30pm at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Audience members will be seated on stage to join Cole for a night of classic themes from the Silver Screen. Please note that capacity is limited.
On Saturday, Oct. 7, the Symphony and partners at the New York State Writers Institute present Scoring Work in Show Business, a free and open-to-the-public symposium at the University at Albany Performing Arts Center featuring panelists working in the industry. Speakers include producer Nathaniel Reichman, composers Gregory Polzak and Troy Herion, Albany County Film Commissioner Debby Goedeke, and Youth FX Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director Bhawin Suchak. The Symposium runs from 10am to 2pm, with lunch provided.
The Albany Symphony’s Film Music Festival is made possible in part by support through a grant from Market New York and Empire State Development, as well as additional support from the Albany Symphony’s generous partners, patrons, donors and friends. Learn more about Symphony support at AlbanySymphony.com.
L-Acoustics released a video piece about the use of the pioneering audio technology L-ISA in the Broadway production of Here Lies Love. Featuring interviews with musical legend David Byrne (concept, music & lyrics), sound designers Cody Spencer and M.L. Dogg, and scenic designer David Korins, the video goes in depth on how L-ISA is used in the show and what it means in the context of Broadway productions.
Here Lies Love is a revolutionary Broadway show with a rock-pop pedigree, creating a demand for a sufficient sound system to do justice to the Byrne-Fatboy Slim musical. The L-ISA spatial sound system brings an essential sense of immersion to the production, with over 220 speakers in configuration around the theater.
Here Lies Love tells the story of former Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos’ astonishing rise to power and subsequent fall at the hands of the Philippine People Power Revolution. The show features the first all-Filipino cast to perform on Broadway, and opened in July to raving reviews.
Developed and directed by Tony Award-winner Alex Timbers and choreographed by Olivier Award-nominee Annie-B Parson, the show uses creative choreography and movement to immerse the audience in not only the music, but the dancing and thrill of the Broadway experience.
Tickets are on sale at Telecharge.com, by phone at 212-239-6200, or in person at the Broadway Theatre box office (1681 Broadway at 53rd Street). For information on groups of 10+, contact Broadway Inbound at broadwayinbound.com or call 866-302-0995.
Rush tickets are available in-person at the Broadway Theatre box office on the day of the performance for $35 each. Tickets are limited to a maximum of 2 per person and are subject to availability.
Digital lottery entrants can register for the chance to purchase up to 2 tickets at $39 each. Entries for the Here Lies Love digital lottery start at 12 AM, one day before the performance, and winners are drawn the same day at 10 AM and 3 PM. Visit rush.telecharge.com for more information and to register. Drawings only appear when they are open for entries.
When You Wish Upon a Star – A Jazz Tribute to 100 Years of Disney is coming to Corning’s Museum of Glass on October 28 as part of their upcoming national tour. The tour will also make a stop at Newark, NJ’s Victoria Theatre at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
The show features musical direction by Sean Mason and the brand new house band of The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, as well as Kim Nalley and Sasha Dobson as vocalists.
Director Sean Mason leads the touring show, as one of the premier talents of his generation. Mason has performed and toured with jazz legends including Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, and Herlin Riley, and as a recent Julliard graduate, he is rolling out his upcoming debut album The Southern Suite. As a native North-Carolinan turned New Yorker, the record explores his southern roots from his current vantage point at the heart of the NYC music scene.
Credit: Martina DaSilva
Philanthropist and vocalist Kim Nalley will join the show, boasting a 3½ octave range and stunning performances. As the “Most Influential African American in the Bay Area,” Nalley has performed with greats such as Rhoda Scott, David “Fathead” Newman, and the San Francisco Symphony. In addition to Nalley, Sasha Dobson will join the show on vocals. A critically acclaimed performer, she is one-third of the hit triop Puss n’ Boots, alongside Catherine Popper and Norah Jones.
Together with band members Ahmad Johnson on drums, Corentin Le Hir on bass, Alicyn Yaffee on guitar and Anthony Hervey on trumpet, the musicians will bring the jazz arrangements of Disney’s popular soundtracks to the stage on the nationwide tour this fall.
As shown in their vast collection of animated feature film soundtracks, Disney has always had an affinity for jazz music. In 2009, Disney released an album of reimagined songs based on their soundtrack catalog. With over 600 songs to choose from, the album features some of the most talented contemporary jazz stars of the age, as well as rising up-and-comers. This fall, the new generation of emerging talent will perform the live touring version, titled When You Wish Upon a Star – A Jazz Tribute to 100 Years of Disney.
Although not associated with Disney, When You Wish Upon A Star will feature fan favorite tunes from iconic movies such as Snow White, Lady and the Tramp, Mary Poppins, and Toy Story. The reimagined songs have been arranged and recorded by Disney music fans such as Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Dianne Reeves.
The touring band personnel is Sean Mason (piano, bandleader), Kim Nalley (vocals), Sasha Dobson (vocals), Ahmad Johnson (drums), Corentin Le Hir (bass), Alicyn Yaffee (guitar), and Anthony Hervey (trumpet).
Upcoming Tour Dates
Sept. 29, 2023 –Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center, Livermore, CA
Sept. 30, 2023 – Grand Theatre Center for the Arts, Tracy, CA
Oct. 1, 2023 – Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, CA
Oct. 3, 2023 – Brigham Young University Performing Arts Series, Provo, UT
Oct. 4, 2023 – College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, ID
Oct. 6, 2023 – CU Presents – University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO
Oct. 7, 2023 – SF Jazz, San Francisco, CA
Oct. 8, 2023 – Carpenter Performing Arts Center at CSU Long Beach, Long Beach, CA
Oct. 10, 2023 – Numerica Performing Arts Center, Wenatchee, WA
Oct. 12, 2023 – Pepperdine University, Smothers Theatre, Malibu, CA
Oct. 14, 2023 – Fox Tucson Theatre, Tucson, AZ
Oct. 15, 2023 – Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler, AZ
Oct. 17, 2023 – Traverse City Opera House, Traverse City, MI
Oct. 18, 2023 – Michigan State University, Wharton Center, Pasant Theatre, East Lansing, MI
Oct. 19, 2023 – Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Oct. 20, 2023 – Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington, IL
Oct. 21, 2023 – College of DuPage McAninch Arts Center, Glen Ellyn, IL
Oct. 22, 2023 – Door Community Auditorium, Fish Creek, WI
Oct. 24, 2023 – The Grand Theater, Wausau, WI
Oct. 27, 2023 – Millersville University, The Ware Center, Millersville, PA
