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August 2008
SAVE THE DATE! The gala concert celebrating 25 years of graduates from the Musical Theatre department will be held Saturday, March 21, 2009 in Hill Auditorium. We hope every graduate, friends, and family will consider attending! Details will be posted soon. Tickets for the concert go on sale to the public on Tuesday, September 2nd.
May 2008
Productions for the 2008-2009 Season: To kick-off the season, we're opening with RENT, scheduled for October 16-19 in the Mendelssohn Theatre. Though the production rights to RENT are still largely restricted, we're fortunate that one of the original Broadway producers, Jeffrey Seller, is a Michigan graduate, and he was instrumental in helping us get the rights so that we could present the show this fall. This will certainly be an exciting way to begin the year!
We're also producing other works next year, including a new musical entitled ELLA MINNOW PEA, and in April 2009, the classic tap show 42ND STREET.
April 2008
One of our graduates has achieved what must surely be a theatre record: he is appearing in a Broadway show, while a musical for which he wrote the score is soon to open on Broadway --- all at age 23! Nick Blaemire, a 2006 graduate, is appearing in CRY-BABY, which opens later in April, and his new musical GLORY DAYS opens on Broadway in early May. This is quite an achievement! A feature article about Nick and his writing partner recently appeared in the New York Times. We think you'll find the interview fascinating --- notice all the Michigan references.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/theater/03glory.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=&st=nyt&oref=slogin
And here's an official announcement about the show:
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/116211.html
Meanwhile, another graduate, Daniel Reichard, opened at the New York City Opera in the title role in CANDIDE. Interestingly, this is a role he played in our production of CANDIDE here at Michigan. Mark Simon, a casting director from New York, saw the production when he was here on one of his frequent visits to speak to students. Mark is the casting director for the production at the City Opera, and was the one who suggested Daniel for the part. This is a bit of a change from Daniel's last New York role ---- he was one of the original four in JERSEY BOYS, both in La Jolla and on Broadway. Here's a link to a Playbill interview with Daniel. Again, notice the Michigan references. http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/116494.html
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