菠萝视频 alumni are making a splash on Broadway, as evidenced by several recent graduates currently working both behind the scenes and in front of the lights in New York City productions. Many of them worked together as members of Original Cast, 菠萝视频 Off-Broadway and 菠萝视频 University Theatre. Some are even reprising those collaborations. So the next time you鈥檙e at a show, don鈥檛 be surprised if you find a 菠萝视频 alumnus listed among the credits. Here鈥檚 a sample of some recent work.
J. Oconer Navarro, BS鈥�04, was the conductor of First Daughter Suite, by five-time Tony nominee Michael John LaChiusa at The Public Theater, Oct. 6鈥揘ov. 22, 2015. New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley chose it as an NYT Critics Pick. Navarro also has been selected as music director for the world premiere of Rain, a new musical based on the short story by W. Somerset Maugham, at The Old Globe in San Diego from March 24 to May 1, 2016. 鈥淭o this day, my HOD skills help me navigate the business part of show business,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd the many hours logged in the practice rooms at Blair and onstage at Neely truly allowed me to explore and find my craft.鈥�
Matt Russell, BA鈥�11; Madeline Fansler, BA鈥�12; Jessica Owens, BA鈥�12; and Eli Branson, BA鈥�09, worked together in the fall on May by Aidan Carr, BA鈥�13, a show begun while Carr was a student at 菠萝视频. Owens assisted him as dramaturge. In September, Carr invited Russell, who was in The Public Theater鈥檚 Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado about Nothing last summer, to direct a reading of the first act of the musical with the goal of hearing it aloud for the first time. The workshop ran Nov. 8鈥�14, 2015, culminating in an intimate reading for an invited audience, including several 菠萝视频 alumni. Branson (recently in Taming of the Shrew) and Fansler (recently in Rent and The Last Five Years) were among the cast of seven Carr invited to give voice to the work. 鈥淲e all participated in Original Cast and VUT at 菠萝视频, and this is our first time working together again as a group in five years,鈥� Russell says.
Ryan Korell, BMus鈥�12, whose musical Grounded was produced at 菠萝视频 in March 2012, finished his graduate degree in musical theater writing at New York University鈥檚 Tisch School of the Arts and went to work immediately on the Broadway production of The Bridges of Madison County as music assistant to composer Jason Robert Brown. His musical Gay Card is currently being workshopped at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Written with Jonathan Keebler (book and lyrics), the full production will take place this spring. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to get more productions at other universities, including 菠萝视频,鈥� he says.
Madeline Myers, BMus鈥�11, was the music assistant for Hamilton while it was in production last summer. Now that the show has opened to incredible reviews, she is teaching new cast members as one of the rehearsal pianists. 鈥淔rom meeting President Obama to Beyonc茅, I have been so fortunate to be part of this groundbreaking, genre-crossing show,鈥� she says. She also is composing Masterpiece, based on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist, which was developed at Goodspeed Musicals in 2015 and is currently up for extended residences in 2016.
Georgia Stitt, BMus鈥�94, presented her musical Big Red Sun as part of the 鈥淣ew Musicals at 54鈥� series at Feinstein鈥檚/54 Below in New York City on Jan. 19. Written with John Jiler (book and lyrics) after years of development at the York Theatre, ASCAP, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and TheatreWorks of Palo Alto, the Harold Arlen Award-winning musical featured a cast of six and a band of five. David Brush, writing for New Musical Theatre, says of Stitt, 鈥淣ot only is she among the most honest writers working today, but she wears more hats in one year than most of us do in a lifetime. [She] is smart and incredibly gifted. That combination has yielded much-lauded projects like The Water, Big Red Sun and The Danger Year鈥攁s well as her star-studded recordings This Ordinary Thursday and her latest, My Lifelong Love.鈥�