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ASTEP Gala on April 23, 2018

March 9, 2018
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When Mary-Mitchell Campbell says, “Hey, would you be willing….?” I answer yes. Truly, it doesn’t matter what it is. But in this case, what she’s doing is some of the most inspiring philanthropy I’ve ever witnessed, year after year, seemingly tirelessly, on top of a Broadway schedule that puts the rest of us to shame. Help me celebrate, the organization my dear friend created. Come to the gala if your life and budget allow, and if not, please check out and support the work that they do, because it is truly life-changing.

Matt Bogart, Christiane Noll, and More Lead Cast of SNOW CHILD

March 7, 2018
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Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full cast and creative team for the world-premiere musical Snow Child, based on Eowyn Ivey’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel. Infused with a score that combines Alaskan string band-traditions with contemporary musical theater, Snow Child follows a couple rebuilding their lives in the Alaskan wilderness when they meet a magical and mysterious snow child who transforms them. Concluding her 20th anniversary season at Arena Stage, Artistic Director Molly Smith directs this world-premiere musical, featuring a book by John Strand, music by Bob Banghart and Georgia Stitt and lyrics by Stitt. Snow Child is a co-production with Perseverance Theatre and runs April 13-May 20, 2018 in the Kreeger Theater, and May 25-27, 2018 in Anchorage, and June 9-10, 2018 in Juneau.

The cast includes Matt Bogart as Jack, Christiane Noll as Mabel, Fina Strazza as the snow child Faina and Natalie Toro as Esther. D.C.-based actors Alex Alferov and Dan Manning will play Garrett and George, respectively. Rounding out the company are ensemble members Dorothy James, and D.C.-based David Landstrom and Calvin McCullough.

“Molly sent me Eowyn Ivey’s novel back in the fall of 2014, and before I even finished reading it I wrote her to say ‘Yes, count me in. I love this book,'” says Stitt. “The story was so evocative, so theatrical, and the humanity of the main character, Mabel, was palpable. I’ve been most excited to write such a complex female character, to explore the relationships between what we own and what we only inhabit, and to write American theater music that lives fully and dramatically on the five most traditional bluegrass instruments (fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo and upright bass).” Read more here…

Leslie Uggams and Tommy Tune Honored at 2018 TADA! Gala

March 6, 2018
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[PHOTOS] Tony Award-winning Broadway stars Leslie Uggams and Tommy Tune were honored March 5 at the annual TADA! Youth Theatre gala in New York City. The evening featured a cocktail hour, dinner, live and silent auctions, entertainment from TADA!’s Resident Youth Ensemble, Jason Robert Brown, Michael James Leslie, and more. Read more HERE… 

BROADWAY REVIVALS AND GENDER STEREOTYPES (NYTimes)

March 4, 2018
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I was interviewed by Michael Paulson of the New York Times in a conversation about how problematic gender stereotypes are in revivals of classic musicals. We should also talk about racism in this context, but this article is specifically about the way female characters are/were written and the compounding problem in such portrayals when there are so few (no) women on the creative teams. Click here to read more, and thanks for engaging!