The Longwood Players @thelongwoodplayers - Tumblr Blog

Rehearsal for YCTIWY #tlplayers #yctiwy #notes #rehearsal #almosttechweek (at First Church Somerville)

#rehearsal #almosttechweek #notes #yctiwy #tlplayers

#tlpclybournepark #firstreadthru

Behind the Scenes With Director Stephen Libby

Our fall play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, opens on November 14th. Director Stephen Libby brings a wealth of experience to this production, having worked in many theatrical capacities in the greater Boston area, including founding the company Simple Machine he founded with his wife Anna Waldron (director of last season's Kiss Me, Kate). Stephen is no stranger to R&G - he's worked with this Tom Stoppard favorite no less than five times and previously portrayed both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. "I'm finding that even though this is my fifth time working on this script, there are still things that are surprising me," Stephen says. "It's a credit to Stoppard, but even more of a credit to the theatrical process that necessitates collaboration. To do theatre right, you have to be willing to step outside of what you think you know and actively solicit other points of view. It's an act of empathy and of trust."

Get your tickets for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead!

With opening night just around the corner, we asked Stephen for a peek into the creative process and the world of R&G.

The Longwood Players: This is your first time directing for The Longwood Players. What drew you to our company? Stephen Libby: I've always appreciated the literate and ambitious approach Longwood takes to producing the classics. There's a lot of respect for the playwright, which is something I share. But there's also a lot of respect for the audience. They're challenged to act as a key collaborator in the process; it's not a passive role, but one that demands an active intellectual and emotional investment. It's a much more rewarding experience. TLP: The theme of Season 17 with The Longwood Players is community. How do you see R&G fitting into that theme, and how have you been working to create a community within the company during the rehearsal process? SL: Well, I think this is a case where we learn about an idea by looking at its opposite. This play focuses on outsiders, people on the periphery. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern exist on the edges of this towering, monolithic story, incapable of joining in any of the communities that surround them. The Tragedians are their own community. They're not accepted in normal society, so they've formed this microcosmic society that orbits in and out of these other disparate worlds. The company of Tragedians in particular has been a fun process of creating a theatrical company within a theatrical company. They've all learned how to collaborate to tell a story and that support and rapport really extended outwards to the rest of the cast. We've got a great group of actors who are game for whatever I throw at them and are very giving with each other on stage. TLP: You've played many roles in the local theater scene, both onstage and off. What has it meant to you to have been involved with - and created! - so many different communities? SL: One of the most amazing things about the theatre community is that you are allowed and encouraged to try new things. Boston is such a deceptively small community. I wind up working with the same people, but in a completely different capacity, and at every stage, I've been met with open minds and intense generosity. They all want each other to succeed, they're all excited about seeing good work. It's satisfying and humbling to be part of a group like that. TLP: Tom Stoppard uses familiar elements from popular culture writing about some heavier topics, like mortality and why we're alive. How has he made these conversations more accessible to audiences in R&G? SL: If you want to get people to think about these heady issues and to follow you through all the logical twists and turns, you've got to get them engaged in the first place, and you've got to let them know their efforts will be worth it. One of the best ways to get an audience emotionally engaged is with laughter. You get people laughing, then you can get people thinking, and then you keep them on their toes. By using Hamlet as the foundation of this story, Stoppard's getting the audience ready to explore deep concepts in a serious way, but then he subverts your expectations with the comedy and absurdism of vaudeville mixed with Beckett. TLP: From Wicked to Maleficent to Gotham, there are tons of modern examples where fairy tales and well-known stories are retold from another point of view. What do you think attracts audiences to these retellings? SL: Humans are gifted with more curiosity and sophistication than I think we typically give ourselves credit for. I think a lot of modern media has tried to train us to think in black and white terms, to spoon-feed us opinions, but we're capable of more nuance than that. We naturally want to examine a problem from multiple angles. That's why we seek out the untold stories, the inside-out version of the story we thought we knew. At our best, we can see the world in 3, 4, 5 dimensions, and the process of fulfilling that potential is very gratifying. TLP: What do audiences need to know when they come to see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead? SL: The title gives you all the plot you need to know going into it. If you've heard of Hamlet, then congratulations, you know enough to enjoy the play immensely. Everything else adds levels of subtlety, but as long as you come to the play with an inquisitive spirit, I think you'll have a great time. Tickets for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead are on sale now! November 14-22 - $16-25 - YMCA Theater - Central Square

Summer Artist Spotlight featuring Rachel Savage, Kevin Hanley, and a cappella groups Vinyl Street and The Pow Arrangers!

Savor these last days of summer with The Longwood Players! Join us for our second annual Summer Artist Spotlight, bringing you two chances to experience great live music and support local artists in our community. On September 13th, we’re bringing Longwood favorites Rachel Savage and Kevin Hanley back to the stage for an intimate cabaret-style performance featuring showtunes, standards, and more. Then on Sunday the 14th, we’re hosting two Boston-based a cappella groups for Matinee A Cappella, an afternoon of tight harmonies with The Pow Arrangers and Vinyl Street. . . . : : : Summer Cabaret : : : . . . Saturday, September 13th at 8pm Tickets $15 Available at the door or online: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/9942373 Featuring Rachel Savage & Kevin Hanley with Karin Denison accompanying Join us for an intimate cabaret as two Longwood alums entertain with songs and laughs from musical theater and beyond. Rachel and Kevin most recently starred as Florence and The American in our 2013 production of Chess. Make sure you catch these dynamic performers as they show off their pipes! . . . : : : Matinee A Cappella : : : . . . Sunday, September 14th at 2pm Tickets $10 at the door Featuring: The Pow Arrangers: https://www.facebook.com/ThePowArrangers/ Vinyl Street: https://www.facebook.com/vinylstreet/ We’re celebrating fantastic vocalists by shining the spotlight on the Pow Arrangers and Vinyl Street! These local co-ed a cappella groups will wow you with their arrangements of your favorite songs from yesterday and today. Both performances will get your toes tapping while bringing more exposure to talented local musicians and raising money for The Longwood Players’ 2014-2015 season. Performances take place at the Cambridge YMCA Theater at 820 Mass Ave in Central Square. We hope to see you there!

#boston #cambridge #theatre #musical theatre #a cappella

The Gangsters of Kiss Me, Kate are DASH nominees!

James Aitchison and Andy Lebrun brushed up their Shakespeare as the Gangsters in our spring production of Kiss Me, Kate. Not only did they wow the women - they wowed the critics, too, and landed TWO DASH nominations! James Aitchison and Andy Lebrun - Best Specialty Ensemble in a Musical James Aitchison - Best Supporting Actor in a Musical Congratulations to these gents and everyone involved with this great production! The EMACT Gala and DASH Awards will be held on August 16th. You can check out the full list of nominations at the EMACT website. Plus, we have great news - if you loved James and Andy in Kiss Me, Kate, they're both returning to The Longwood Players' stage this fall in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead! Join us this November for more great performances.

Announcing the cast of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

The Longwood Players is proud to announce the cast of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, a play by Tom Stoppard, directed by Stephen Libby.

Rosencrantz: James Aitchison

Guildenstern: Matt Ryan

Polonius: Mark Bourbeau

Ambassador: Ezra Brown

Leading Player: Chris Cardoni

Hamlet: Eric McGowan

Horatio: Greg Lohman

Alfred: Tyler Prendergast

Claudius: Stephen Peters

Gertrude: Catherine Verow

Ophelia: Annie Hochheiser

Tragedians: Tyler Crosby, Michael Gleason, Rebecca Gray, Andy Lebrun, Emery Westlake

We hope you'll join us this fall for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead!

November 14, 15, 20, 21 at 8pm November 22 at 2pm and 8pm

Cambridge YMCA Theater 820 Mass Ave. Central Square, Cambridge, MA

Fun Facts from Kiss Me, Kate Dramaturg Lydia Anderson

For every show that The Longwood Players produce, we work with a dramaturg to help provide context and historical accuracy for our work. The field of dramaturgy is growing in the theater world, and The Boston Globe had a recent article talking about the importance -- and varied roles -- of dramaturgs in our local theater scene.

For Kiss Me, Kate, our dramaturg Lydia Anderson has worked closely with our cast and creative team to provide the historical background for Kiss Me, Kate, Taming of the Shrew, and the American musical. She's written up a lesson for us with some key details that have informed the action you'll see on stage next month. Keep reading for fun and fascinating facts!

One of the best parts of being a dramaturg is learning new facts and finding new ways to look at a play. With Kiss Me, Kate, I got to research two plays - Kiss Me, Kate and Taming of the Shrew -- for double the theater-nerd fun! There is so much in these two shows, I could write two more shows, but for now, I'll leave it to some of my favorite facts, tidbits, and new ways of looking at things. Brush Up Your Shakespeare Today most actors receive a full script with everyone's lines, but in Shakespeare's times, an actor received only his lines and cues -- remember, paper was at a premium, so printing and reprinting the full show would be quite difficult. Combine these abridged scripts with an extremely short rehearsal period, and you can be sure actors were always on their toes. Women are so simple...or not The Taming of the Shrew is not performed terribly often and with understandable reason: The psychological abuse Katherine suffers at the hands of Petruchio can be difficult for modern audiences to swallow. However, at the time, Petruchio's actions weren't necessarily controversial. In the 16th century, and for many years after, single women were not protected by the law. Marriage was often the only way to ensure women would be protected and provided for. During this period, women were considered the property of their fathers or husbands. Not only that, he never hit Katherine, so his actions may not have been considered abusive. However, over the years, Petruchio's character has changed. In the Victorian Era, he was often portrayed with a whip. In Kiss Me, Kate he spanks Katherine, and today he's sometimes portrayed as more a villain than a comic lead. The question of sexism in The Taming of the Shrew is clearly not one with an easy answer, and we haven't even touched on framing devices, innuendo, wordplay, and Bianca's role reversal! Oklahoma, OK! I learned years ago that Oklahoma!, with its plot driven songs and interpretive dance, changed musical theater in the mid-20th century, but I was surprised to learn the effect it had on Cole Porter. In the years before writing the music for Kiss Me, Kate, Porter was living well off the royalties of his many, many hit songs, but he was not considered relevant in the world of musical theater. When asked to write the music for Kiss Me, Kate, Porter knew he had to change how he wrote. While previous shows worked fine with just Porter's usual witty lyrics, critics were now looking for more in a musical's score. For the first time, Porter wrote with plot in mind and, as a result, Kiss Me, Kate is widely considered his best work. Why Can't Anyone Behave? Though consummate professionals, the private lives of Cole Porter and Bella and Sam Spewack, Kiss Me, Kate's book writers, found their way into the show. Surprisingly, they both come primarily in the role of showgirl turned actress, Lois Lane. Porter, though gay (it was an open secret in Hollywood), was married for years in a seemingly healthy and loving marriage. He and Linda had an understanding that worked for the two of them. This arrangement worked its way into Lois' song, "Always True to You (In My Fashion)", which could be a treatise on Porter's role in his marriage. Porter, and perhaps Linda, carried on affairs, much like Lois. But each always returned to the other, always staying true. On a less loving note, Lois as a character also reflected the declining state of the Spewack marriage. They were divorcing while Bella began writing the show, due to Sam's indiscretion with an actress. Bella did not take it well, and apparently badmouthed both Sam and the actress. It's not a far jump from the wedge in the Spewack marriage to the ditzy and loose Lois. Ultimately, Lois emerges as a smart, savvy, and loving woman. Wunderbar There has been so much to discover in Kiss Me, Kate, it's truly wunderbar - I hope you'll discover some great things yourself when you see it!

May 2-10 Tickets $16-25

Behind the Scenes with Kiss Me, Kate Director Anna Waldron - Part 2!

We're back with Part 2 of our interview with Anna Waldron, the director of our spring musical Kiss Me, Kate. If you missed Part 1, check it out here! What made you choose to direct Kiss Me, Kate? This is one of my all time favorite musicals. I grew up watching the film version. I always loved the battle of wills between Lilli and Fred and the idea that for them, love is not about things being easy or simple, love is complicated and rough, but oh so much fun. It's a very sexy show in that way. And it's based on one of my favorite Shakespeare comedies, The Taming of the Shrew, which is again about a battle of wills and finding that love is not simple, but is worth fighting for. Why have you referred to Kiss Me, Kate as Cole Porter's "love letter to the theater"? This musical was first produced in 1948, which is really a high point for American theater. But what I love about this particular show is the way it incorporates so many different styles with the intersection of two very distinct kinds of theater: Shakespeare and the American musical. Then within the music there are so many styles: Operetta, jazz, ballads, patter songs. It's a lovely meeting place of some of the best that the stage can offer. And then, of course, there's the story itself. We open the show with a song about the incredibly nerve wracking process of producing a show, "Another Op'nin', Another Show". We meet these people whose love lives are a mess, but they're putting everything they have into this play because it's what they do. If you look at the end [Spoiler Alert!], there's always been a lot of concern over Katherine's final monologue in The Taming of the Shrew (which is a song in Kiss Me, Kate). She offers to place her hand beneath her husband's foot, a gesture of subservience. There's a lot of debate about what Shakespeare really intended with that, though one has to wonder how a loyal subject of Queen Elizabeth I could really suggest, openly and in public, that women should be subservient to their men and NOT have some double meanings, but that's another subject. I think the Spewaks and Cole Porter have kind of skirted the issue a little by making Lilli's return to finish the show not just a return to Fred, but a return to the theater. Lilli is choosing a life in the theater, which also means a life with Fred. And being in love with theater means putting up with a lot of abuse. I'm paraphrasing someone here when I say, "Theater is a harsh mistress". There's a line in the song "So in Love" (which gets sung twice): "So Taunt me, and hurt me/ Deceive me, desert me/ I'm yours til I die." I think that line applies to theater as well. Being an artist means putting up with a lot of heartbreak and disappointment, but we keep coming back for more. And like I said before, love is not simple -- it is complicated and rough, but the passion keeps us coming back! You've made it your mission to honor Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew in our production of Kiss Me, Kate. Why is getting the Shakespeare right so vital to this show? It's tempting to just let the play within the play be a bad play. Bad plays can be fun, and I do think the Spewacks and Cole Porter make a few jokes at Shakespeare's expense. But to be perfectly honest, I've seen plenty of bad Shakespeare in my life -- we don't need anymore! And I think that the Spewacks are smarter than that. They chose the scenes from The Taming of the Shrew very carefully, because they serve their story so very well. I think that in order for that story to be told, we have to be true to Shakespeare's words and intentions. There are some great resources out there about Elizabethan theater practices, and when you start exploring how the actors of Shakespeare's day would have prepared, it gives you so many clues as to how Shakespeare would have helped his actors out within the text he wrote for them. Did you know that Elizabethan actors didn't rehearse? In many cases they never read the whole play? This is unbelievable to a modern actor, but there's a lot of evidence that a professional actor would be given their lines and their cues, told the general story, and then they'd have to wing it. The only way you can survive on stage is if you LISTEN very attentively to everyone else on stage. You're going to find out that your wife cheated on you, that you're twin brother is still alive, that your long lost daughter has been living as a shepherdess for the last 16 years, right in front of the audience! Shakespeare knew this of course, and he wrote his plays very carefully to serve the actors who are taking on this incredible feat. Iambic pentameter might seem weird to modern audiences, but it's actually easier to learn lines quickly when they're spoken in rhythm, and there's a lot of other tricks and clues woven into the text. Once you start finding those connections, suddenly Shakespeare isn't big and scary, he's actually trying to help the actors and the audience out a lot. Sure, there are a few words we may have to look up (what is a bodkin?!) but when you are true to the original intention of Shakespeare's words, you start to forget that there's anything funny or different about the way the people are talking at all. As a sidebar here, we tend to let Shakespeare's plays be very big and scary to us -- we see them as "high brow", but in Elizabethan England, plays were considered low brow entertainment. You wanted something fun to do? You would either go hear a play, or you could head down the street to the bear-baiting. That's where they would put a bear in a pit, and then sick dogs on it until the bear killed the dogs or vice-versa. Yeah, these are comparable entertainments! Shakespeare is not writing just for the educated elite, he's got to include the groundlings, the guys in the cheap seats. How does he do that? Sex of course! Shakespeare's work is rife with double entendres. I think the truer you are to Shakespeare's work, the funnier your play is. He meant it to be funny and bawdy, and that will always keep an audience interested, whether its 1594 or 2014! Why should audiences come to see Kiss Me, Kate? If you like Shakespeare, you will love the play within the play. If you like music, this show has some of Cole Porter's greatest songs. If you like romantic comedies, this is one for the ages. If you have ever worked on a play ever, you will see yourself in the off-stage shenanigans. This show is fun and funny, and I really think it has something for everyone. You've been involved with a number of shows in The Longwood Players' history. What keeps you coming back to this company? The first play I ever did with Longwood was one of my favorite plays, The Importance of Being Ernest. I love Oscar Wilde, and playing his women is so much fun. I got a chance to work with Artistic Director Kaitlyn Chantry on that show, and she's actually the only director I've ever worked with here at Longwood. I keep coming back to work with Kaitlyn! She chooses smart shows with wonderful language, how can I resist? But one of the things that I really appreciate with Longwood, having worked with companies of all sizes, is that Longwood is very respectful of its artists. They really try to cultivate a supportive environment and give actors the room to focus on their work as actors, which is not always possible in smaller theater companies. Come see Kiss Me, Kate! May 2-10. Tickets $16-25.

Announcing The Longwood Players' 17th Season

We're thrilled to announce the shows for next season at The Longwood Players! For the 17th season, we've chosen to focus on the theme of community. Stay tuned right here for more to come about auditions, performances, and other ways to be involved.

Behind the scenes with Kiss Me, Kate director Anna Waldron

Leading up to our production of Kiss Me, Kate, opening on May 2nd at the Cambridge YMCA Theater, we caught up with director Anna Waldron to learn about her vision for the show. Stay tuned here for more to come!

Classic plays and musicals are rarely produced in the greater Boston theater community. Why do you think it's important to stage classic works for modern audiences? I think it's funny that people ask that question, because it seems kind of obvious to me. A well balanced theater community is like a well balanced diet. If you have only one kind of theater, then no one is getting a solid cultural experience. As an audience member and as an artist I love new plays, Shakespeare, musicals, modern classics. A really good play will keep resonating to audiences, generation after generation. And I think if you want to appreciate where we are now as a culture and as an art community, it's important to remember what came before. Plus, Cole Porter? He's a saucy guy with a wicked sense of humor. Who doesn't love that? Audiences in the 1940s and '50s had very different expectations from today's audiences when going to see a musical. What challenges does that present when directing Kiss Me, Kate?

The dancing has actually been a challenge. In the 1930's and into the 1940's, musicals were more like reviews. You had vignettes, songs, and big splashy dance numbers. Sometimes there would be a loose story that connected it all, but a lot of the time there wasn't. You'd have songs and dances that were just there for entertainment value, and didn't move the story at all. Oklahoma was a big game changer, because it integrated the songs and the dance into the story, and a lot of people see Kiss Me, Kate as Cole Porter's response to that. Every song in this show is here for a reason. But you still have long dance sequences, because that's where musical theater was at the time. As a modern audience, we've got less tolerance for things that slow down the story, and modern musicals tend to be a lot less dance heavy. How many musicals written in the last twenty years had a kick line of 20 chorus girls? One of the things I really wanted to do for this production was recreate the experience of going to the theater in 1948. Boston used to be a big Broadway try out town, so it's absolutely possible that the original try-out run of Kiss Me, Kate could have happened here instead of Philadelphia. But sometimes when you're trying to recreate the "feeling" of something, you have to fudge the facts a little bit. Audiences back then had different expectations than an audience today. For example, audiences today expect pre-show music, but we haven't been able to find evidence that they had that in 1948. I think we've come up with a pretty clever way of letting those two worlds overlap. And I think a modern audience has a different expectation when it comes to dance sequences. We've tried to honor the "feeling" of seeing these wonderful dance pieces, without letting them slow the story down, so that has meant making a few cuts in the music. It's also meant finding places where we can weave the story into the dance in a way that maybe was not done in 1948. But that's the fun of doing a modern classic like Kiss Me, Kate -- finding all the places where the world of 1948 and the world of today overlap, because, as much as things change, so much stays the same. We may have different clothes, and different technology, and better recycling programs, but the basic things we need -- food, love, passion, expression, connection -- these are still the same. "Too Darn Hot", "So In Love", "Why Can't You Behave", these all could have been written yesterday. Every word and feeling is still true today. And "Brush Up Your Shakespeare?" Well, that is just timeless comedy! Come see Kiss Me, Kate! May 2-10. Tickets $16-25.

Chess receives four IRNE nominations!

We're thrilled to announce that our 2013 production of Chess has received four award nominations from the Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE):

Best Director of a Musical - Kaitlyn Chantry Best Music Director - Stephen Peters Best Supporting Actor - Athan Mantalos Best Musical - Chess

Based on the 1972 "Match of the Century" between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, Chess details the trials of two champions and one female assistant who become pawns wrapped up in political plots, competitive gamesmanship, and romantic rivalries. Follow the cast from Bangkok to Budapest as players, lovers, politicians, and spies manipulate and are manipulated to the pulse of a monumental rock score by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA. There are so many people who made this production a success! Thank you and congratulations to everyone involved: PRODUCTION TEAM Kaitlyn Chantry, Director Stephen Peters, Music Director Vilas Sridharan, Executive Producer Steven Kelch, Production Manager Matthew Ciborowski, Stage Manager Becky Schall, Set Designer Chris Bocchiaro, Light Designer Heather Oshinsky, Costume Designer Lisa Coviello, Props Designer Kelsey Jarboe, Sound Designer, Sound Board Operator Dominic Nahous, Projections Designer Catherine Moniz, Hair and Makeup Designer Arielle Lipshaw, Dramaturg Lydia Anderson, Study Guide and Outreach Alix Strasnick, Lead Technical Director Meg Dolben, Technical Director (Sets) Nick Tosches, Master Carpenter Steve Schwartzberg, Sounds and Projections Engineer, Spotlight Operator Michael Chateauneuf, Assistant Director Bethany Aiken, Assistant Music Director / Rehearsal Pianist Brian Choninsky, Assistant Lighting Designer Annika Blake-Howland, Assistant Stage Manager Leah Haas, Assistant Stage Manager, Spotlight Operator Jason Luciana, Orchestra Manager Claire Wilms, Wardrobe Manager Liz Smith, Box Office Manager

CAST Kevin Hanley, The American Athan Mantalos, The Russian Rachel Savage, Florence Eliza Xenakis, Svetlana James Aichison, Molokov Matthew Zahnzinger, Arbiter Chelsea Ashton, Ensemble Christopher Benoit, Ensemble Michael Corrigan, Ensemble Susan Johnston, Ensemble Stephanie Masline, Ensemble Madeline McCord, Ensemble Aaron Moronez, Ensemble James Neufeld, Ensemble Nicole O'Keeffe, Ensemble Susan Rubin, Ensemble Renee Saindon, Ensemble Anni Satinover, Ensemble Jamie Wielgus, Ensemble ORCHESTRA Bethany Aiken, Piano Wayne Wylupski, Guitar James Kirtley, Bass Alan deLespinasse, Drums Clara Kebabian, Violin Anna Katherine Barnett-Hart, Violin Elizabeth Main, Cello Marsha Turin, Cello Brian Van Sickle, Flute / Piccolo Brie Frame, Clarinet Julia Dombek, French Horn Mitchell Gordon, Percussion Congratulations to everyone involved! We look forward to the award presentations on April 7th.

Performer Spotlight: Katie Pickett

In the lead-up to our Annual Winter Cabaret Fundraiser on January 25th (this Saturday!), we’ll be shining the spotlight on some of the Longwood legends you can see on stage! Today we’re featuring:

Katie Pickett

Katie Pickett, right, as Ilona Ritter in She Loves Me, 2008

What was your first show with TLP? Company, 2004. What keeps bringing you back to TLP? Professionalism, great show selection, convenient location, awesome people...Oh, and they kept casting me! That helps. Why do you think it's important to continue to perform the classics Well, I'm really only making a "guest appearance" this year [in the fundraiser], but I love the concept and wish I could do more. I like to think of musical theater as a continuous evolution. It's amazing to me to hear very new shows that play with tropes from the classics, making them fresh but also being very reverential. It's one of the best things about musicals! What's one classic show you couldn't live without? Oy...So difficult to choose. I would have to say West Side Story. It's been part of my identity since I was seven, and I still cry every time I hear the music.

See Katie on stage in S’wonderful: A Salute to the Classics on January 25th!

Performer Spotlight: Jason Luciana

In the lead-up to our Annual Winter Cabaret Fundraiser on January 25th, we’ll be shining the spotlight on some of the Longwood legends you can see on stage! Today we're featuring:

Jason Luciana

Jason Luciana as Snoopy in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, 2009

What was your first show with The Longwood Players? You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown What keeps bringing you back to The Longwood Players? The company's organization, professionalism and emphasis on quality. Why do you think it's important to continue to perform the classics? There is still much to be said about humanity and the human condition in the classics. One of the things I love most about them is their simplicity in dealing with complex themes like love, death, betrayal and how we relate to one another.

What’s one classic show you couldn’t live without? West Side Story. Bernstein at the height of his genius, Sondheim just getting his feet wet, and an eternal story with controversial issues with which we still grapple today. See Jason on stage in S’wonderful: A Salute to the Classics on January 25th!

Performer Spotlight: Susan Johnston

In the lead-up to our Annual Winter Cabaret Fundraiser on January 25th, we'll be shining the spotlight on some of the Longwood legends you can see on stage! First up:

Susan Johnston

Susan, center, in The Secret Garden, 2011

What was your first show with The Longwood Players? She Loves Me (2008). Since then, I've done The Secret Garden (2011) and Chess (2013).

What keeps bringing you back to The Longwood Players? TLP is a well-run organization fueled by an army of talented, hard-working, creative people. I appreciate that although we do this as a side project, everyone takes the rehearsal process very seriously so there's very little wasted time but lots of fun along the way. During "She Loves Me," there was one gentleman who seemed very reserved, then (I think it was on opening night), he busted out a very detailed poetic tribute to the cast with lots of inside jokes and rhyming couplets. We were shocked and delighted to discover this hidden sense of humor and knack for rhyming! I love how theater brings out this wonderful other side of people. Why are you excited to bring your classic piece to life at this year's cabaret? I'm singing "It Might as Well Be Spring," which is an overlooked Rodgers & Hammerstein gem, in my opinion. It's from State Fair and it's a beautiful ingenue ballad about those first stirrings of love (or possibly lust, it's a fine line). Kaitlyn [Chantry, TLP's Artistic Director] and I are excited to introduce the audience to this song. I just hope every other soprano doesn't start using as an audition piece! What's one classic show you couldn't live without? I'm a total sucker for Brigadoon. We did it senior year of high school and the experience was positively magical: The music, the love story, the Scottish brogues. I still get nostalgic when I hear bagpipes (we had a live bagpiper for the funeral scene) or see a kilt (the boys had to be repeatedly reminded not give the audience "two shows for the price of one," as our drama teacher kept saying). I wish it were produced more often because I'd love to play Fiona again now that I've gained a little more life experience.

See Susan on stage in S'wonderful: A Salute to the Classics on January 25th!

Join The Longwood Players for our Winter Cabaret Fundraiser!

S'wonderful: A Salute to the Classics

Saturday, January 25th, 2014 at 8:00pm Cambridge YMCA Theater at 820 Mass. Ave. in Central Square Join us for a very special evening where we celebrate 16 years of theater with songs, scenes, laughs, a silent auction and even a few surprises. Mingle with friends old and new while enjoying a night of stellar performances! The fundraiser continues the theme for Season 16: Reviving the modern classic. This year's cabaret will feature your favorite Longwood legends performing songs and scenes from classic plays and musicals that debuted before 1960. S'wonderful! Featured Performers include James Aitchison, Fran Betlyon, Dave Carney, Michael Chateauneuf, Paul Giragos, Susan Johnston, Jason Luciana, Athan Mantalos, Siobhaun Maus, Anthony Mullin, Katie Pickett, April Pressel, Renée Saindon, Rachel Savage, Todd Yard, and Matthew Zahnzinger.

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

The Longwood Players