By Doug Hughes|2019-02-14T18:21:58-08:00February 14th, 2019|Awards, Behind The Scenes, Photos|
The unveiling of our 2019-2020 season may have garnered the most attention, but the emotional heart and soul of SBMT's January Members Meeting was the surprise announcement of the past year's award winners. Here's what transpired.
By Doug Hughes|2019-01-30T00:36:54-08:00January 29th, 2019|2019-2020 Season, Announcements, Board meetings|
At SBMT's semiannual members' meeting on Jan. 28, 2019, Board Chairman Jay Steele and Executive Director Sara Dean unveiled next year's slate of shows and concerts to an appreciative audience. The shows were revealed in reverse chronological order with characteristic fanfare and showmanship. Seven of SBMT's past performers sang songs from each of the shows as a projection screen showed a summary of the show's plot. The season begins with our fall production of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder in September 2019. This knock-'em-dead, uproarious hit was Broadway's most-nominated show of 2014. With ten Tony nominations and four wins—including Best [...]
By Doug Hughes|2019-01-28T07:36:19-08:00January 28th, 2019|Awards, Behind The Scenes, Meet The Cast, Photos|
Award winners, from left: Raiña Parks, Libby Moore Schroeder, Brian Bonarti, Alexandra Maissonneuve-Teixeira, and Ellie Brownson. Following SBMT's Preview Night performance for Big River on Jan. 25, 2019, producer Jay Steele invited the audience to stay for a few extra minutes as the staff conferred special awards to outstanding members of the cast, crew, and orchestra. It's always a difficult decision, because just about everyone can be described as “outstanding,” but in the end, these are the winners who took home the awards. Newcomer Award: Raiña Parks Gypsy Robe Award: Libby Moore Schroeder Orchestra Award: Brian Bonarti Technical Award: [...]
By Doug Hughes|2019-01-02T06:46:18-08:00January 2nd, 2019|2018-19 Season, Behind The Scenes, Meet The Cast, Photos|
Big River is a 1985 musical based on Mark Twain’s beloved 1884 novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This is the first time SBMT has staged the show, and the cast and staff have turned it into a passion project that is shaping up to be another in a long list of outstanding productions. The show took Broadway by storm in 1985, winning Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score. In a period dominated by British imports, this was a uniquely American story, and it ran for more than 1,000 performances, featuring catchy bluegrass and country music by [...]
By Doug Hughes|2018-12-17T18:10:01-08:00December 16th, 2018|Awards|
Once upon a time, in the sleepy town of Saratoga, a throng of thespians in the Saratoga Drama Group made merry by mounting a multitude of magnificent musicals to excite, enrich, entertain, and enlighten South Bay citizens. As the seeds of Silicon Valley were sown, and the theatre’s success story spread, a talented team tackled the task of continuing the town’s tradition. There were many, many volunteers who made the magic happen on the South Bay stage. One of them was named Carol Srigley. Carol was a dancer—with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen. She loved performing, and it showed. She [...]
By Doug Hughes|2018-11-26T22:42:18-08:00November 26th, 2018|2018-19 Season, Announcements, Meet The Cast|
South Bay Musical Theatre is proud to announce the cast for our spring 2019 production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. The winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie was the 2002 season’s most awarded new show on Broadway, and is a fun show to watch—or to perform in! Our production staff reports that we had a wonderful turnout of very talented actors, making casting decisions very difficult. We appreciate all who auditioned, and hope you will turn out again for next season's shows, which promise to be equally exciting. Thoroughly Modern Millie Cast Millie: Jessica Maxey Jimmy: James Jones Dorothy: Felicia [...]
By Doug Hughes|2018-11-08T20:56:43-08:00November 8th, 2018|Awards, Behind The Scenes|
South Bay Musical Theatre was proud to have performers and staff recognized at the recent Theatre Bay Area awards ceremony, held at Herbst Memorial Theater in San Francisco on Monday, Nov. 5, 2018. Members of SBMT's Board of Directors as well as cast and staff from our nominated productions, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Bridges of Madison County, joined to "whoop" for the nominees and cheer on other Bay Area theatre organizations. We'd like congratulate all of our South Bay friends who were honored. A special shout-out to Lee Ann Payne for winning Outstanding Direction of a Play, for [...]
By Doug Hughes|2018-10-02T02:38:20-07:00October 2nd, 2018|2018-19 Season, Blog-erviews!, Video Link|
Audiences for South Bay Musical Theatre's first show of the 2018-19 season, Mame, continue to send positive feedback about their experiences. We have compiled highlights of their comments in the video and text below. If you are sitting on the fence, we encourage you to act quickly to get your tickets for one of the remaining performances of this Broadway classic from the sixties that Life magazine called, "America's Best Musical." Call our box office at 408-266-4734 or pick your tickets on this website. https://youtu.be/xiIFWceU_9M “We have been going to your performances for quite some time now, and we rank [...]
By Doug Hughes|2018-09-25T18:25:00-07:00September 25th, 2018|Announcements, Behind The Scenes, Photos|
Congratulations to South Bay Musical Theatre’s seven finalists competing in the fifth annual Theatre Bay Area (TBA) Awards, which take place November 5, 2018. Theatre Bay Area is the third-largest regional theatre service organization in North America, and the TBA Awards, now in its fourth year, honors the excellence of professionally-oriented theatre in the Bay Area by offering a peer-based adjudication process and awards celebration. This year, more than 400 adjudicators cast approximately 10,000 ballots to evaluate over 300 productions staged by 122 participating Bay Area arts companies. With that much competition, this is indeed a great honor, and SBMT is [...]
By Doug Hughes|2018-08-28T01:12:05-07:00August 28th, 2018|Announcements, Blog-erviews!, Board meetings, Photos|
On Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018, the South Bay Musical Theater Board of Directors hosted its semi-annual Members Meeting at the Saratoga Civic Theater. Nine of the 12 board members attended, and a full agenda kept the meeting rolling for 90 minutes—and beyond. The lively discussion then adjourned to the lobby, where complimentary mimosas and light snacks were served. The lobby TV displayed a slideshow demonstrating the new SBMT website. What follows is a brief summary of what took place: Newly elected board chair Jay Steele greeted attendees and introduced new and returning board members. Kevin Brownstein gave a preview of “My [...]
