March 20-27
‘Festival of the Emerging Musical’ at The University of the Arts to Challenge Convention
with Explosive, Concert-Style Performances Featuring Four New Musicals and One Classic
A Chorus Line
March 20 & 23 at 8 p.m.; March 27 at 4 p.m. at the Merriam Theater
Music by Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics by Edward Kleban
Book by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante
Directed by Kati Donovan
Music Director César Alvarez
Choreographed by Jenn Rose
The story of Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line, the musical is set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater during an audition for a musical. A Chorus Line provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers.
Creative Team:
KATI DONOVAN is an educator, director, dramaturg and published scholar. A proud graduate of San Diego State University’s MFA in Musical Theatre program, Kati is also an alumnus of Villanova University (MA in Theatre, dramaturgy focus) and The University of the Arts (BFA in Musical Theatre). As a musical theatre specialist, she has taught and directed undergraduate students in a number of different academic settings, at Franklin and Marshall College, San Diego State University and The University of the Arts. Supplementing her teaching with a strong scholarly background, Kati has presented papers at the Association of Theatre in Higher Education, American Literature Association, Philadelphia Theatre Research Symposium and Music Theatre Educators Alliance conferences. Her scholarship has been published in The Eugene O’Neill Review, and the international journal, Studies in Musical Theatre. www.KatiDonovan.com
CÉSAR ALVAREZ is a New York-based composer, lyricist and writer. Recent composition credits include “FUTURITY” directed by Sarah Benson (Soho Rep/Ars Nova, A.R.T, Walker Art Center, Mass MoCA); Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ “An Octoroon” (Soho Rep, TFANA. Drama Desk Nomination); “Washeteria” (Soho Rep); The Foundry Theater’s “Good Person of Szechwan” (LaMaMa, Public Theater; Drama Desk Nomination); Mac Wellman’s “3 2’s; or AFAR” (Dixon Place), “Full Still Hungry” for Contra-Tiempo (Ford Amphitheater, Dance Motion USA). Works in development include “The Universe is a Small Hat,” a multi-player participatory musical (Berkeley Rep Ground Floor, Civilians R&D Group, PRELUDE NYC, Babycastles, Sarah Lawrence College), “The Elementary Spacetime Show” (Ars Nova Uncharted, EST/Sloan Commission, Polyphone) and “Castro” with Lucas Hnath (Berkeley Rep Ground Floor and Space at Ryder Farm). César is an Artist-in-Residence at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and the Artistic Director of Polyphone, a festival of the emerging musical at UArts. www.musicisfreenow.org
BRIANNA REEDY (Stage Manager) is a junior Directing, Playwriting, and Production major with a concentration in Stage Management. UArts: Equinox: A New Play Festival (PM), American Pop, The Skin of Our Teeth, Polyphone 2015 (Asst. PSM), Places of Pilgrimage (ASM). Other credits include: School Play (AEA Tour), Dream Street (Kids of the Arts, Pearl Theatre Co.), Sweet Tooth (NYC Fringe), Northeast Children’s Theatre Company Intern. www.briannareedy.com
ADRIANNA LOMBARDI (Assistant Stage Manager) is a freshman Directing, Playwright, and Production major with a focus in Stage Management. A Chorus Line is Adrianna’s first musical as an ASM.
TARA NORMAN (Dramaturg) is a senior Musical Theater major. UArts: Pay Up, Bitter Homes & Garden workshop, Marie Christine.
JENN ROSE (Choreographer) Regional: Theatre Horizon, Arden Theatre, 11th Hour, Milwaukee Rep, Roxy Theatre, Two River, Walnut Street Theatre, Media and Montgomery Theatre. Her work has been recognized with three Barrymore nominations, funding from the Joyce Theatre, and two Broadway World awards. Jenn is grateful to be inspired everyday and looks forward to what is yet to come……. www.iamjennrose.com
MICHAEL PACIFICO (Associate Music Director, Piano) is a recent graduate of The University of the Arts and a musician in the Philadelphia area. UArts: Marie Christine, Godspell, Carrie, Side Show, Spring Awakening, Legally Blonde. Regional: Heathers the Musical (Philadelphia Regional Premier, Vulcan Lyric), Kiss Me Kate (Act II Playhouse), Pirates of Penzance (Mauckingbird Theater Co.). Michael would like to dedicate his work on A Chorus Line to David Jenkins. michaelpacifico.com
Cast
CHRIS GAROFALO (Zach) is a Senior Acting Major. UArts: Twelfth Night, The Skin of Our Teeth, We Are Proud to Present, Into The Clear Blue Sky, O Beautiful, Under Construction. Chris is a current Understudy at the Arden Theatre Company for their production of The Stinky Cheese Man. Website: www.CJGarofalo.com
AMANDA DESOUZA (Cassie) is a senior, graduating in May with a BFA in Musical Theatre. Past UArts credits include: Legally Blonde, Kiss Me, Kate, and Side Show. Regional credits: Oklahoma, Cats, Annie, Anything Goes, West Side Story, and Phantom. Amanda is currently employed with 2Life Talent and AI Cats entertainment company. Post graduation Amanda will be choreographing the MoorArts production of AIDA and will be performing in the “Forever Tina” Tina Turner tribute tour. A BIG thank you to all involved with this show! Couldn’t have done it without you!
DILLAN SMITH (Paul) is a senior Musical Theater major. UArts: Legally Blonde, Carrie: The Musical, Sideshow, Godspell, I Know The Way Home*, American Pop. Dillan is the recipient of the Ira Brind Award. www.dillanjamessmith.com
SOL MADARIAGA (Diana) is a sophomore Musical Theater major. UArts: The Rocky Horror Picture Show. New York: (Planet Connections Theatre Festivity) Einstein Liked People, When One Such As You, #(Hashtag) Medea, W.orld O.f W.arcraft. International: (Colon Theatre Opera House) La Boheme, Mephistopheles, Boris Godunov.
ARIANA SEPÚLVEDA (Shelia) is a senior musical theater major. UArts: Carrie: The Musical, Places of Pilgrimage, Rocky Horror Show, O Beautiful. Regional: Hairspray, Avenue Q, Suessical (Forestburgh Playhouse). 2015 season ASM at Bay Street Theater, Sag Harbor.
CARRIE THORWARTH (Maggie) is a senior Musical Theater major. UArts: Godspell (Turn Back O Man), Pied!, Rocky Horror Show. Regional: Normitivity, The Who’s Tommy.
ALEXA WILDER (Bebe) is a junior Musical Theater major. UArts: A Chorus Line, The Threepenny Opera. Regional: Annie Get Your Gun, Les Miserables, West Side Story, Hairspray.
CHRISTOPHER KUBAT (Mike) For Loretta Norman, who taught her daughter the very valuable lesson she taught me: fearlessness. And to my Father, Bob Kubat, for supporting me quitting baseball years ago to go to more dance classes.
BRYCE CRANDALL (Al) is a junior Musical Theater major. UArts: American Pop, Marie Christine, Love, Too, Will Ruin Us, PIED!, Persephone, and Carrie: The Musical.
SARAH FLAIM (Kristine) is a sophomore musical theatre major. UArts: Reefer Madness, Marie Christine, She Keeps Me Warm. Regional: Bucks County Playhouse, Washington Crossing Open Air Theatre. Sarah also recently worked as a background vocalist for the newest Pentatonix album “Pentatonix.”
BRIELLE RICKARDS (Val) is a Senior Musical Theatre Major. UArts: Marie Christine (Daughter), A Little Night Music (Anne). Regional: Jekyll and Hyde, Hairspray (Broadway Theatre of Pitman).
KRISTIN SCRENCI (Judy Turner) is a Junior Musical Theater major. UArts: Reefer Madness, The Threepenny Opera, F@#k A Title, The Tryangle. Regional: Chronotope: A Trilogy (Applied Mechanics), Normativity.
EMMA ANDRIATCH (Connie) is a junior musical theater major UARTS: (Some) Love & (Some) information, A Little Night Music. REGIONAL: Estuary: An Artist/ Mother Story (Joe’s Pub), Spring Awakening (Avenue Theater), Hairspray (Center Stage).
DARIUS J. MANUEL (Richie) is a senior Musical Theater major. UArts: Marie Christine, American Pop (Michael Friedman), Kiss Me Kate. Regional: Kiss Me Kate (Renaissance Music Co.); The Puppet Dead (Mills Entertainment); Seussical, A Good Man (Main Street Musical Festival). Darius is represented by Baker Management. www.dariusjmanuel.com
BRANDON WEBER (Don) is a junior Musical Theater major. UArts: Fuck A Title and The Total Bent. Regional: Lost in the Meadows (People’s Light), How Green Was My Valley (Main Street Musicals), and Better Than Abnormal (Philly Young Playwrights). Brandon is also apart of a hip-hop group called Gotham City Kidz that is performing at the World of Hip-Hop convention this spring.
MATTHEW OSTER (Mark) is a senior Musical Theater major. UArts: Winterset, Long Live the Boy Bands, Carrie, Sideshow, Pied, and Rocky Horror Show. Regional: Damn Yankees, South Pacific (Allenberry Playhouse). Matt is also currently in rehearsals for Next to Normal as Henry. www.matthewoster.info
MICHAEL VANDIE (Greg) is a junior Musical Theatre major. UArts: Reefer Madness, Marie Christine, The Threepenny Opera, Kiss Me Kate. Regional: Into the Woods, Rabbit Hole, Lend Me a Tenor.
PHIL BARROOD (Bobby) is a senior, graduating this May. He has been seen as Terry in “Sideshow,” in both “A Little Night Music” and “The Threepenny Opera” in last year’s Polyphone, and most recently as Dante Keyes in “Marie Christine.”
EMMA PILLOW (Tricia) is a freshman Musical Theatre major. This is her first UArts production. Regional: Seussical, Shrek the Musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Fiddler on the Roof (Dallas Young Artists).
AUDREY SIMMONS (Lois) is a junior Dance major and Musical Theater minor. UArts: The Pirates of Penzance; performed works by Douglas Becker, Sidra Bell, Jesse Zaritt, Katie Swords, Robert Burden, and Justin Allen. Audrey participated in both the BalletX and Keigwin + Company summer intensives in 2015 and is a member of Choral Arts Philadelphia.
SIDNEY DICK (Vicki) is a sophomore Musical Theatre major. UArts: Marie Christine, Shadowland.
BRYCE MENARD (Butch) is a freshman Musical Theatre Major. UArts debut. Community Theatre: White Christmas, Into the Woods, Bye Bye Birdie (Woodson Improvaliers); Bugsy Malone, Godspell (Northwest Theatre Center).
BRADY FRITZ (Frank “Headband Boy”) is a Freshman Musical Theater major. UArts: Shadowland. This is Brady’s first appearance in The University of the Arts season! He would loved to give a shoutout to his awesome family and amazing friends for all the support! Instagram: @bfrog86.
RICHARD MATTHEWS (Tom) is a Senior Dance Major and Creative Writing Minor. This is his first musical with UArts and in Philadelphia. Richard is also a founding member of UArts Hip-Hop student organization, Ammo. http://rjimatthews.wix.com/richard-rg-matthews
LINDSAY WOLGEL (Ensemble) is a senior Musical Theater major. UArts: César Alvarez’s The Elementary Spacetime Show (Polyphone 2015), Side Show. New York: The Elementary Spacetime Show (Ars Nova Uncharted), Fresh Ground Pepper’s BRB Showcase (Walkerspace), Fiddler On The Roof (Merkin Concert Hall). During her summers, Lindsay has been an Apprentice at Fresh Ground Pepper’s 2015 BRB Artist Retreat, an Asst. Teaching Artist at Philadelphia Theatre Company’s ActOut Summer Program and is a Radio City Rockette Summer Intensive alum. www.lindsaywolgel.com
ANGELIQUE FOSTER (Ensemble) is a freshman Musical Theatre major. Hawktheatre: Little Women, All Shook Up, Disney’s Tarzan, Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr., The Addams Family.
ANNELISE LIPOWITZ (Ensemble, Flute) is a sophomore Acting major. This is her first UArts production. Regional: Behind Closed Doors (Speakeasy 932).
KACEY KIRK (Ensemble) is a junior Musical Theater Major. UArts: Circus Freak. Regional: Hairspray, Urinetown, Steel Magnolias, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [Abridged], La Double Inconstance, and The Trojan Women.
LIBERTY LAFERRIÈRE (Ensemble) is a freshman Musical Theater major. UArts debut.
MARY HOWE (Ensemble) is a freshman Musical Theater major. This is her Bring School debut! Blend Theatrics: Shadowland. Colonial Forge Theater: Legally Blonde, Fiddler on the Roof, Once on This Island. Mary is also currently Assistant Directing Next to Normal (Director, Darius Manuel).
Annie Salem: An American Tale
March 24 at 8 p.m.; March 26 at 5 p.m.; March 27 at 12 p.m. at the Merriam Theater
Music by Heather Christian
Book by Rachel Chavkin
Concert Director: Amy Dugas-Brown
Music Director: Heather Christian
Assistant Music Director: Ellen Winter
Percussion Designer: Eric Farber
Blending social commentary, sci-fi and romance, Annie Salem: An American Tale tells the story of teenage misfit Jack, his love for Annie, and a journey to mars. A surreal, experimental new musical adapted from Mac Wellman’s genre-defying novel. This project and its creative team comes to us fresh from a residency at Sundance Theater Lab.
Creative Team:
HEATHER CHRISTIAN is an Obie Award winning composer and performer for music and theater (“Mission Drift,” National Theater London; “The World Is Round” Brooklyn Academy of Music, NYC; “Of Mice and Men,” West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds; “Annie Salem,” Ars Nova/Sundance Theater Lab) as well as film (“Gregory Go Boom,” Winner of 2014 Sundance Grand Jury Prize). She teaches an Atelier at Princeton University for traditional songwriting in non-traditional applications and was named a TimeOut NY Downtown Innovator to Watch. Primarily a songstress with her band, the Arbornauts, she has released four records and can be seen all over the world avant-torching.
RACHEL CHAVKIN is a director, writer, dramaturg and founding artistic director of Brooklyn-based experimental ensemble the TEAM, with whom she has co-authored and directed 9 works which have been seen across NYC (including the Public Theater and PS122), nationally (including the Walker Art Center and A.R.T.) and internationally (including the National Theatre and Royal Court, and festivals across Europe, Australia, and Asia) – www.theteamplays.org. She collaborates regularly with writers and composers on new work, including Dave Malloy’s “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812” (Ars Nova World Premiere, off-Broadway transfer, A.R.T., Broadway transfer upcoming; New York Times, Time Out NY, and NY Post Critics’ Pick), folksinger Anaïs Mitchell’s “Hadestown” (NYTW, Spring 2016), Chris Thorpe’s “Confirmation” (2014 Scotsman Fringe First, national and international tour), Bess Woh’s “Small Mouth Sounds” (New York Times Top 10 2015) and Marco Ramirez’s “The Royale” (Lincoln Center, Old Globe). Recipient of the 2010 and 2013 Obie Award, Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Nominations for Best Direction, and 2013 and 2014 Doris Duke Impact Award Nominee. Proud SDC Member.
DevinRe Adams (George Henry) is a junior Musical Theatre major at UArts. His previous credits include UArts: Rocky Horror Show, A Little Night Music, Godspell ; Regional: Zanna Don’t (Fringe), Don Giovanni: Opera Look-In (Kennedy Center)
Kirstyn Ballard (Ensemble) is a Junior Musical Theatre major at UArts. Previous performances at UArts include “The Circus Freak” (freak puppeteer) and “Marie Christine” (ensemble).
Sandy Buz (Ensemble) is a sophomore Musical Theatre major. This is her Uarts debut! Past credits include Gypsy, Spring Awakening, and The Who’s Tommy (Villagers Theatre). Sandy is also a counselor at the Villagers Summer Theatre Arts Program.
John DiCaro (Cousin Hup) is a Freshman Musical Theater Major. Uarts: See Rock City and other Destinations, and The Opposite side. Regional: A Midsummers Night Dream (Long Island Theater Collective), Songs for a new world, All Shook Up (Plaza Theatrical Productions), Highschool: Guys and Dolls, Sweeny Todd, Curtains, and Big fish.
Julia Louis (Gaby/77illith) is a sophomore musical theater major. Uarts: Twelfth Night, The Elementary Spacetime Show. New York: The Elementary Spacetime Show (Ars Nova Uncharted). Regional: Sunday in the Park with George (NJ Summer Theater Workshop).
Katie Markey (Grandmother/ Sarah Washington) is a senior Musical Theater major, graduating in May. UArts: Twelfth Night, Field Hockey Hot, Pied! (Polyphone Festival 2015), Cole Porter Cabaret
Taj Rauch (Assistant Director) is a sophomore Directing, Playwriting, and Production major. Uarts: Polyphone Festival 2015. Founder at Speakeasy 932. Playwright, director, choreographer.
William Shipley (Jack/Zass) is a freshman acting major. UArts: Quietus (Barnabas). VHSL One-Act Competition Outstanding Performer 2013. This is William’s UArts main season debut.
Amanda Spivack (Annie) is a Senior Musical Theater major. UArts: Marie Christine, Threepenny Opera, and Purgatory. Regional: A New Brain (Players Club of Swarthmore), Next to Normal (Heritage Theater Company). www.amandaspivack.com
Meagan Spry (Stage Manager) is a sophomore Directing, Playwriting, and Production major. UArts: Equinox New Play Festival 2016, Marie Christine, A Little Night Music (Polyphone 2015), Equinox New Play Festival 2015. Regional: [title of show] (Annapolis Summer Garden Theater).
Tim Stout (Uncle Krebs/Zephaniah Newland) is a Junior Acting major. UArts: The Rocky Horror Show (Narrator), Reefer Madness: The Musical (Ralph).
Emily Wanamaker (Assistant Stage Manager) is a freshman Directing, Playwriting, and Production major. She is very enthusiastic to have Annie Salem be her first UArts production. Her past stage management experience has included the production of new work at Philadelphia Young Playwrights.
ELLEN WINTER (ZERO/Assistant Music Director/Synth) is a performer, composer, and playwright based in Brooklyn, NY. In 2014 her senior thesis at Sarah Lawrence Collge, Let Me Lie Here, an electronic-folk musical infused with Greek tragedy, won the David Lindsay-Abaire playwriting award. She sings, hits keys, and writes in Chamber Band, a coffee-fueled nerd-rock group that has three west coast tours and two full length albums under their belts with a time-traveling EP in the works. In 2015, she assistant music directed The Elementary Spacetime Show (UArts Polyphone, Ars Nova) and performed in The Universe is a Small Hat (SLC) by César Alvarez. Recently, she and her Yamaha opened for Madam Gandhi at the Knitting Factory as a part of non-profit Oxfam’s International Women’s Day OxJam. ellenwintermakesthings.com
Finn the Fearless
March 22 & 25 at 8 p.m.; March 26 at 11 a.m. at the Merriam Theater
Music and Lyrics by Andrew R. Butler
Book by Andrew Farmer
Director: Kent Nicholson
Music Director: Amanda Morton
Choreographer: Christy Lee
Once there was a weird little fella from up north named Finn who wanted to feel his heart race. So he trekked on down to the most devilish, hair-raising and humid pit known to man; a little place called…Florida. Told through tall tales, lively Americana music and gator wrestling, Finn the Fearless uses our nation’s most confounding state to frame a story about our species’ most confounding emotions: fear and love.
Creative Team:
KENT NICHOLSON most recently directed Long Story Short at Prospect Theater in New York. New York credits include: “Five Flights” (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), “Wet” (Summer Play Festival), and “Marry Harry” (NYMF, American Theater Group). Regional credits include: “Light in the Piazza” (South Coast Repertory); “How to Write a New Book for the Bible” (South Coast Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, Seattle Repertory); “Lizzie” (Theater Under the Stars, Village Theater); “Grey Gardens,” “Vincent in Brixton,” “Ambition Facing West” and “All My Sons” (TheatreWorks); ”Saint Ex” (Weston Playhouse); “9 Circles,” “The Good German” and “Jacques Brel” (Marin Theater Company); and “Small Tragedy” and “Satellites” (Aurora Theater Company). Kent created the New Works Initiative at TheatreWorks, Silicon Valley in 2000 and served as the Director of New Works until 2008. He currently serves as the Director of Musical Theatre for Playwrights Horizons.
ANDREW R. BUTLER is a writer, performer and composer. He has been a resident artist at Ars Nova as a member of their 2014/2015 Uncharted music/theater writers’ group, where he wrote music and lyrics for storytelling folk-musical “Finn the Fearless” with playwright Andrew Farmer. Also with Farmer: “BLESSING,” a new musical commissioned by the Playwrights Horizons Theater School at NYU, directed by Kent Nicholson; and a musical adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s children’s novel “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” commissioned by TheaterWorksUSA. As recipient of the 2014 Boris Sagal Fellowship at the Williamstown Theater Festival, Andrew wrote music and lyrics for “The Dixon Family Album.” His science-fiction solo folk-musical “Rags Parkland” has been presented at Ars Nova and JACK. He is a recipient of The Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, and of a new musical workshop at the 2015 Aspen Theatre Festival (both with “Finn the Fearless”). Andrew is a founding member of harunalee theater company. Selected performance credits: “Futurity” (SoHo Rep/Ars Nova), harunalee’s “War Lesbian” (Dixon Place), “Political Subversities” (Joe’s Pub, Ars Nova), “Folk Wandering” (Joe’s Pub, Ars Nova), “WOLFERT,” “The White Stag Quadrilogy” (Dixon Place), “BYUIOO” (Gym at Judson), William Burke’s “Comfort Dogs” (JACK). BFA: NYU: Experimental Theater Wing. www.andrewrbutler.com
ANDREW FARMER is a writer, performer and storyteller based in New York. He is currently in residence at Ars Nova as a member of their Uncharted music/theater writers’ group, where he is writing book for the folk-musical Finn the Fearless with composer Andrew Butler. Also with Butler: BLESSING, a new musical commissioned by the Playwrights Horizons Theater School at NYU; and a musical adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s children’s novel The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, commissioned by TheaterWorksUSA. Recent playwriting credits include The Gray Man (dir. Andrew Neisler, Walker Space), The Fall of Hotel Mudafier to the Toltecs (dir. Annie Tippe, Williamstown Theater Festival), Our Farm (dir. A. Neisler, The Tank, Underground Arts) and Hands (Best New Play 2006, Southeast Theater Conference.) Also at Ars Nova, he created and performed in I Heard Sex Noises: A Glimpse at Gardening On Roosevelt Island with Claire Rothrock, Ryann Weir and Annie Tippe, and wrote the book for the new musical Boats And (music by Nate Weida). Recent performance credits include Clown Bar (dir. A. Neisler, The Box) for which he received a NYIT Nomination for Best Supporting Actor, The Universe Is A Small Hat (dir. Sarah Benson, Silent Barn) and Bull’s Hollow: Part I (dir. A. Neisler, Ars Nova). His storytelling has been featured on F@*k! I’m In My Twenties, New York Magazine’s The Cut and Mara Wilson’s What Are You Afraid Of? He currently teaches playwriting at NYU’s Playwrights Horizons Theater School. BFA:NYU:PHTS.
Izzy Castaldi (Thurston Shepard) is a junior Acting major. UArts: I Know the Way Home, Places of Pilgrimage, Ends in Riot, The Unusual Tale of Prince Robert.
Shannon DeVaughn (Scratch/Gravedigger/Professor Bland/Pastor Franklin) is a freshman Musical Theater major. UArts: Artist’s Manifesto.
Sarah Galante (Thurston Shephard) is a senior Directing, Playwriting and Production major with a concentration in Playwriting. UArts: I Know the Way Home, Places of Pilgrimage, and Private Injuries. Regional: Simpatico Theater Co, The Berserker Residents, Philadelphia Young Playwrights and The Foundry Playwrights Lab.
Marlee Gordon (Samantha/Annabelle) is a freshman Musical Theatre major. UArts: See Rock City Regional: Spotlighters Theatre, Pumpkin Theatre.
Elexis Morton (Arlene/Virgil/Weregator) is a senior Musical Theater major. UArts: Marie Christine, American Pop, PIED, Persephone, Kiss Me Kate, Legally Blonde. Regional: Factory Girls (11th Hour Theater Company), Zanna Don’t (Broadway Dreams), BARE: A Pop Opera (Truth Be Told Productions), Kiss Me Kate (Renaissance Music Theater Company). Elexis Morton is represented by Jaime Baker Management. www.elexismorton.com
Elias Rivera (Finn) is a Freshman Musical Theater Major. UArts Debut. Previous: Jonah (Sight & Sound Theaters), Wedding Singer (Cap N’ Dagger/ Bucks County Theatre Festival).
Terran Scott (Edna/Sarah Beth/Granny Scratch) is a freshman Musical Theater major. UArts: The Opposite Side (Equinox Festival). Regional: Hairspray, American Idiot. Terran is also a member of The Main Street Lights, a rock band out of Rochester, NY. For Gram.
Sometimes in Prague
March 22 & 24 at 8 p.m.; March 26 at 8:30 p.m. at Arts Bank
Written by Stephanie Johnstone and Joshua Gelb
Director: Joshua Gelb
Music Director: Stephanie Johnstone
Choreographer: Ayo Jackson
A chance encounter between three Americans in a Czech pub ignites this vibrant theatrical event. A rock concert that culminates in an actual dance-party, Sometimes in Prague provocatively examines the tensions between open and monogamous relationships and the values that shape these orientations, posing the perennial question: “What is the most authentic way to love in our progressively shifting culture?”
Creative Team:
JOSHUA WILLIAM GELB is a director, performer and librettist whose work runs the gamut from devised physical theater, to stylized adaptations of classics, to experimental, original musicals. His work has been produced at Ars Nova, JACK, Incubator Arts Project, Edinburgh Fringe, Knockdown Center, Dixon Place, Target Margin, Ice Factory and NYMF. Gelb’s reimagining of America’s supposed first musical, “The Black Crook,” last seen in 2008, will be remounted this September at Abrons Arts Center in honor of The Crook’s 150th anniversary. Gelb is a Carnegie Mellon John Wells Fellow and a member of the 2012 Lincoln Center Directors Lab.
STEPHANIE JOHNSTONE is a human, composer, theatermaker, muckraker and sexuality educator with a fierce commitment to celebrating and cultivating interdependence. Her recent original theater work has been seen at Joe’s Pub, HERE Arts Center, 3LD, CSC and in the New York Musical Theater Festival. As a music director, she has worked with Taylor Mac and Anais Mitchell, among others, and she was the associate music director of “War Horse” (1st national tour). She catalyzed a radically inclusive choir (“Everybody Now!”) which aims to amplify the voice of direct action in beauty and in power, and her queer-politics-focused album, “Love Songs for the Rest of Us,” was developed through holding concert/conversations in living rooms across the USA. She also has a podcast, “Sex For Smart People* (*that means you).” www.stephaniejohnstone.com
Jaime Jarrett (Asst. Music Director) is a junior DPP focusing in writing for musical theatre. UArts: American Pop, Equinox New Play Festival 2015. Upcoming: Normativity (New York Musical Theatre Festival).
Eleanor Safer (Stage Manager) is a junior Directing, Playwriting, and Production major with a stage management focus. UArts: Twelfth Night, The 39 Steps, Equinox 2015, The Circus Freak, The Unusual Tale of Prince Robert, (some) Love and (some) Information, Senior Showcase 2016. Philadelphia: The Light Princess (Tony Lawton with Ugly Stepsisters), A Knee That Can Bend (Orbiter 3), The Comedy of Errors (REV Theatre Co), Let the Dog See the Rabbit (Lighting Rod Theatre). Upcoming: Bristol Valley Theatre www.eleanorsafer.com
Cassandra Meehan (Asst. Stage Manager) is a freshman Directing, Playwriting, Production major and plans to minor in Costuming. UArts: The Artist Manifesto (or some bullshit) [Equinox Festival] Other: Shadowland [BLEND Theatrics] Costuming: The Little Mermaid (mermaid bralettes) [Oakcrest Center Stage Follies]
Genevieve Farbe (Dramaturg) is a freshman directing, playwriting, production major. UArts: Ladybug Skins (Equinox A New Play Festival 2016). Regional: Pride and Prejudice (Southern Rep Theatre); Spill, Se-Pa-Rate (Tectonic).
Aziz Naouai (DJ) is a junior Directing, Playwriting and Production major at the University of the Arts. UArts: The Rocky Horror Show, Polyphone Festival 15’, Side Show, Persephone, and Sunny Side Up. Regional: Hands Up (Flashpoint Theatre Company).
Abby Schlackman (Asst. Lighting Designer) is a freshman Theater Design and Technology major with a concentration in Lighting Design. UArts: Equinox Festival 2016, Twelfth Night, or What You Will, I Know The Way Home. Regional: La Traviata, The National Acrobats, Theater Camp Showcase (Madison Theater); Spelling Bee, Amadeus, Spamalot, The Philadelphia Story (James J. LoFrese Auditorium).
Sara Marinich (Projected Media Designer) is a Directing, Playwriting, and Production major. UArts: Equinox 2015, Eat and You Belong to Us. The Bearded Ladies Cabaret: Bitter Homes and Gardens, Bastille Day 2015, Andy: A Popera (with Opera Philadelphia). Teaching: Dreamgirls (South Philadelphia High School). www.smarinich.com
Amanda Hanna (Sound Assistant) is a Freshman Theater Design and Technology major with a concentration in Sound Design. UArts: Equinox 2016, Polyphone. Regional: In the Heights, Mary Poppins (Upper Darby Performing Arts Center). Amanda is the sound designer for Upper Darby Summer Stage 2016.
Gavin Cole (Gavin) is a junior musical theatre originally from Centreville, Va. Recent productions include: Off-Broadway: The Elementary SpaceTime Show (Camus/Player). Uarts: The Rocky Horror Show (Ghoul), The Elementary SpaceTime Show (Camus/Player), The Circus Freak (The Ringmaster), Long Live the Boy Bands (Gavin). Regional: Grease (Kenikie), Falesttos (Jason). Film: Grey Matter: Promo (The Court Prince), Misconduct (Ben), Merch Girl (Ben). gavincoleacting.com
Mina Kawahara (Ryan) is a Senior in the Musical Theater program. UArts: Twelfth Night, Arabian Nights, Godspell, The Elementary Spacetime Show, Mad Forest, Pretty Theft. Regional: Orangutan/Madeleine Mays Understudy for Water by the Spoonful at the Arden Theatre.
Mariah Richard (Joanna) is a junior musical theatre major at UArts. UArts: Marie Christine and Field Hockey Hot. Regional: Throughly Modern Millie, American Idiot, Great American Trailer Park Musical, and The American Plan. Mariah is also a vocalist in the school of music’s Hip-Hop Ensemble.
Michael Anderson (Alex) is a senior Acting Major with a minor in Musical Theater. UArts: Twelfth Night, Sorrows to the Stones, Race, Winter’s Tale, Side Show, Skin of our Teeth, Anna in the Tropics. New York: Spring Awakening, Hindered Hope, Joseph/Dreamcoat, Once Upon A Mattress. Michael is also a founder at the film company “Purple Cloud”: Purplecloudny.com.
Juliet Mellon (Melissa) is a freshman Musical Theater major. UArts debut! Favorite past credits include: Spring Awakening, Rent, Les Miserables.
Sydney Banks (Waitress/Ensemble) is a freshman Musical Theater major. Hairspray (Rhoda McGraw Theatre); Prophets of Death (Baltimore School for the Arts) and Toobie (NorthBay Media Productions).
Andrew Reiff (Ensemble) is a junior Acting major. UArts: I Know the Way Home, Down the Road, The Tryangle.
Anna Ventor (Ensemble) is a freshman Musical Theater major. UArts debut. NYC: Summer Shorties (Times Square Arts Center). Regional: Next to Normal, Peter Pan, West Side Story, Wizard of Oz. Film/ TV: Billions, Power, Person of Interest, Plurality.
Sara Waite (Ensemble) is a junior Musical Theatre major. UArts: Reefer Madness, The Threepenny Opera, Sideshow. Regional: Phantom, Jekyll and Hyde, Hairspray (BTOP).
The Material World
March 23 & 25 at 8 p.m.; March 26 at 2 p.m. at Arts Bank
Written by Dan Fishback
Director: Stephen Brackett
Music Director: Dane Terry
Choreographer: Ayo Jackson
A multi-generational family epic about capitalism, Judaism and Madonna. The Village Voice observed, “Slacker anxiety, diva entitlement, Kabbalistic mysticism and socialist dogma collide to mind-swelling effect in Dan Fishback’s Kushnerian folk-pop musical.”
Creative Team:
STEPHEN BRACKETT is a company member of Lesser America and Partial Comfort, and an alumnus of the Soho Rep Lab. Works in collaboration with Dan Fishback: “The Material World,” “thirtynothing,” and “You Will Experience Silence” (Dixon Place). Credits include: Jonathan Tolins’ “Buyer & Cellar” (Rattlestick and Barrow Street Theaters/National Tour/London’s Menier Chocolate Factory); Bixby Elliot’s “Sommerfugl” (InViolet); Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz’s “Be More Chill” (Two River Theater); Anton Dudley’s “City Of” (Playwrights Realm); David West Read’s “The Great Pretender” (TheatreWorks); Lucas Kavner’s “Carnival Kids” (Lesser America), “Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief” (Theatreworks USA); Ken Urban’s “The Correspondent” (Rattlestick); Micheline Auger’s “American River” (Lesser America); Bekah Brunstetter’s “Nothing is the End of the World” (Waterwell/PPAS); Chad Beckim’s “After” (Partial Comfort); Brunstetter’s “Be A Good Little Widow” (Ars Nova); “The Tenant” (Woodshed Collective), Rick Viede’s “Whore” (Summer Play Festival); and “Kilroy Was Here: A Styx Rock Opera” (Williamstown Theatre Festival).
DAN FISHBACK has been making theater and music in New York City since 2003. As director of the Helix Queer Performance Network, he organizes public events, teaches workshops and curates various performance festivals. His musical “The Material World” was named one of the Top Ten Plays of 2012 by Time Out New York. Other works include “thirtynothing” (2011) and “You Will Experience Silence” (2009). As a singer-songwriter, Fishback has released five albums, both solo and with his band Cheese On Bread, with whom he has toured Europe and North America. He has received grants from the Franklin Furnace Fund, the Doris Duke Charitable Trust and the Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists, and has been a resident artist at Kelly Writers House, the Hemispheric Institute of Performance & Politics, Dixon Place, MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center and BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, where he has been in residence, in some form or another, since 2010. www.danfishback.com
Jason Armstrong (Ian) is a senior Musical Theater major. UArts: Godspell, Carrie: The Musical, Marie Christine, A Little Night Music, and Persephone: A Musical. Regional: The Who’s Tommy, West Side Story, Heathers: The Musical, Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar and Hair. In 2014 Jason received a nomination by BroadwayWorld for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his role of Tommy in The Who’s Tommy.
Gina Colacci (Assistant Stage Manager) is a freshman Theatre Design and Technology Major, Focus in Costume Design. UArts: Rocky Horror Picture Show, This Beautiful Stupidity, and Domestic Rubatosis.
Cara Corrigan (Gittel) is a freshman musical theatre major. This is her UArts debut! Regional: A Little Night Music (Fairmount Performing Arts), Anyone Can Whistle (Lakeland Civic Theatre), EAT (it’s Not About Food) (Fairmount Performing Arts), Honk! (CATCO), The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (Columbus Children’s Theatre), Richard III (Ohio Shakespeare Festival), Bye, Bye Birdie (SRO Theatre Company), The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Columbus Children’s Theatre), Shrek: The Musical (Columbus Children’s Theatre).
Dante Green (Music Supervisor) is a freshman Musical Theater Major. UArts: Twelfth Night, or what you will, Sarah Flood in Salem Mass. BTE: As You Like It, The Revenge of the Space Pandas. Dante is also a member of the UArts band Darling Run.
Joilet Harris (Old Woman) Because of Winn Dixie (Gloria), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Miss Jones), A Raisin in the Sun (Lena), Ella (Fitzgerald) in Ella the Musical, Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Nell), Caroline or Change (Caroline – Barrymore Award for Best Actress), Hairspray (Motormouth Maybelle), Tulipomania, Finian’s Rainbow (Lead Sharecropper), Damn Yankees (Doris), Crowns (Mabel & Mother Shaw), It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues (Gretha), and many, many more. TV: The Wire (Detective Caroline- 2 seasons), Law & Order SVU, Hack, Philly. Film: The Perfect Witness, Animal Factory, Beloved, Maximum Risk, 12 Monkeys, Rocky V and others. Cabaret Series: From Me To You With Love; “Joy” To The World; Love, Joy Peace and a Few Lil-isms; A Knight With A Wilson. To God Be the Glory!
Matt Rosansky (Assistant Director) is a senior Directing, Playwriting, and Production major. UArts: Equinox: New Play Festival 2016, The Circus Freak, Over., Private Injuries. Regional: Untitled School Project (Berserker Residents), Normativity (Plays & Players), The Who’s Tommy (New Cavern Productions). Writing Credits: The Unusual Tale of Prince Robert. Upcoming: An Open Letter…
Nina Roy (Mitzi/Madonna) is a junior Musical Theatre major. UArts: Normativity (first and second workshop), (some) Love and (some) Information, The Green Bird, Chronotope, Reefer Madness (choreographer). Regional: She Is A Problem (AS220). Nina is also the Box Office Manager for the Ira Brind School of Theatre Arts.
Savannah Souza (Mama) is a sophomore musical theatre major. UArts; Reefer Madness, The Rocky Horror Show, Three Penny Opera.
Carleigh Spence (Bitzel/Britney Spears) is a Freshman musical theatre major. UArts debut! Regional: American Idiot, Young Frankenstein, Annie, Mary Poppins (u/s Mary) with Rebecca Pitcher (Beck Center for the Arts). Carleigh plays Natalie in the 2015 film “Letters from Generation RX” across Tilda Swinton.
Dane Terry (Music Director) is an American composer, performer and writer based in New York City. Dane is the most recent recipient of the Ethyl Eichelberger award from PS122 and is also a part of that organization’s RAMP residency in spring 2016. After premiering in April 2015 at La MaMa, his show Bird In The House went on to be presented at the Public Theater as part of the Under The Radar festival’s INCOMING! series. In New York, he has performed at Joe’s Pub, The Public Theater, Lincoln Center, The Kitchen, La MaMa and Dixon Place. He collaborates often with playwrights, choreographers, performers and other artists and has toured all over.
Melissa Treshock (Stage Manager) is a junior Directing, Playwriting, and Production major. UArts: Equinox 2016, You Can’t Put Me in a Box, The Skin of Our Teeth, Down the Road, Parental Advisory, and The Tryangle. Regional: <*> i am on the Internet <*> (Simpatico Theatre Project)
Nicholas Wainwright (Papa, Kasriel, Peter) is a sophomore Directing, Playwriting and Production major. Brind School debut! Regional: Mame, The Secret Garden, Ragtime Nicholas is founder and artistic director of award-winning children’s theatre group, Daydreamer Productions. Directing credits: Tarzan, 9 to 5, Seussical, James & The Giant Peach, Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty & The Beast, and Young Frankenstein.Nick is currently helping bring the arts back to South Philadelphia High School as Musical Director of Dreamgirls.
Marathon Day on Saturday, March 26
(11 a.m. – 11 p.m. at the Merriam Theater and Arts Bank)
Four new works in succession: Finn the Fearless, Material World, Annie Salem: An American Tale, Sometimes in Prague
ABOUT POLYPHONE
The 2016 Polyphone festival produces staged concerts of new musicals and re-imagined canonical works offering professional composers, librettists and directors an opportunity to develop their work among the rich creative community of the Brind School at UArts.
“Polyphone convenes artists-in-training, master artists developing new musicals and the general public in a radical exploration of the question, ‘What is a musical?’” said Joanna Settle, director of the Brind School at UArts.
By lifting up musicals and artistic voices that are under-supported and under-developed by the musical theater establishment, Polyphone seeks to be a home for young musicals and young artists, pushing both further as a result of their encounter with each other. The Festival offers artists, theaters, producers and students in Philadelphia and beyond a glimpse into alternative futures of what the American musical might be. Each performance stands in sharp contrast to the others, making it thrilling either to attend all five performances, or just one. The five musicals are all stripped down to their essence as an off-book, semi-staged concert with a full band. The resulting performances are explosions of song and story which vibrate on the boundary between concert and musical. It’s all very rock ‘n roll.
The festival was co-founded in 2015 by former Brind School Director Joanna Settle and Cesar Alvarez, a New York-based composer, lyricist and performer who serves as Polyphone’s artistic director.
Michael R. Jackson
MICHAEL R. JACKSON holds a BFA and MFA in playwriting and Musical Theatre Writing from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. As a songwriter, he has seen his work performed at The Barrington Stage Company, Merkin Hall, The Laurie Beechman Theater, 54 Below, The Triad, Ars Nova, Joe’s Pub, The Metropolitan Room, The Bruno Walter Library and ACT in Seattle. He wrote book, music and lyrics for the musical “A Strange Loop.” He wrote book and lyrics for the musical “Only Children” with composer Rachel Peters and is currently writing book and lyrics for the musical adaptation of the 2007 comedy horror film “Teeth” with composer Anna Jacobs. He is an alum of the Johnny Mercer Writers Colony and Ars Nova Uncharted Writers Group.
Unpacking ‘Diversity’ in Musical Theater
Friday March 25th at 6pm
In the spirit of Polyphone’s investigation of the contemporary American musical, Michael R. Jackson, New York-based playwright, lyricist and composer will deliver the Polyphone keynote address.
Creative Team:
Artistic Director – CÉSAR ALVAREZ
Assistant to Artistic Director – DINO PETACCIO ‘18
Associate Producer – MEGHAN WALSH
Assistant Producer – DAVID FERTIK ‘14
Assistant Producer – TERRY MITTELMAN ‘16
Production Assistant – MICHAEL KASPER ‘19
MERRIAM THEATER:
Lighting Designer – SOLOMON WEISBARD
Assistant Lighting Designer – RYAN STOFA ‘18
Sound Designer – LARRY FOWLER
Assistant Sound Designer – AMANDA HANNA ‘19
ARTS BANK THEATER:
Lighting Designer – MASHA TSIMRING
Assistant Lighting Designer – ABBY SCHLACKMAN ‘19
Sound Supervisor / Engineer – MARK VALENZUELA
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!