South Bay Musical Theatre | Noteworthy Entertainment

2018-19 Season

Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musicals

By |2023-07-30T13:06:05-07:00July 30th, 2023|2018-19 Season, 2023-2024 Season, Behind The Scenes, Blog-erviews!, Opinion|

Timeless Tales of Artistic Triumph: Comparing Rent with other Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musicals In the 105 years since the first Pulitzer Prize for Drama was awarded in 1918, only 10 Broadway Musicals have won that honor. SBMT’s upcoming production of Jonathan Larson’s RENT will be the fifth Pulitzer-winning musical to be staged by the company. In this blog post, we will attempt to examine some of the reasons RENT was so honored, and compare it to other musicals in the same elite group.   From the political satire Of Thee I Sing years ago, to last year’s winner, A Strange Loop, [...]

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Board Meeting Minutes for August, 2022

By |2022-09-08T11:14:35-07:00August 16th, 2022|2018-19 Season|

SBMT Board Meeting Minutes for August 16, 2022 Board Members present: Barbara Heninger, Braden Taylor, Dan Singletary, Ed Hunter, Elizabeth Matthews, Michael Hirsch, Nicole Tung, Soni Kapoor, Steve Sammonds, Tipu Purkayastha Ex Officio: Doug Hughes, Kama Belloni, Jeffrey Henson, Sara Dean Not present: Aly Suleman, Stacy Levin Meeting Agenda & supporting information: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1LlIXuvCq9YSkEKTMii_l8iJtzXxWhdIiUy6SNJB9ggY/edit#slide=id.p1 Summary of Motions and Actions Board members added themselves to committees Looking for carpenter and truck driver for Company load-in; also need light board programmer Moved to increase performer and crew compensation. Motion passed. Sara and Braden will meet to discuss details of budget changes to support [...]

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2020 Members Meeting video highlights

By |2020-04-20T20:33:27-07:00April 19th, 2020|2018-19 Season, 2019-2020 Season, Awards, Board meetings, Video Link|

On April 11, 2020, the South Bay Musical Theatre Board of Directors conducted its annual Members Meeting. The event was held online over Zoom, due to the shelter-in-place restrictions from the coronavirus pandemic. We have edited the video recording (see below) to provide a quick summary of the key topics that were discussed. The meeting normally takes place in January, along with a formal unveiling of the slate of shows for next season. The date was delayed this year, however, due to a number of unusual circumstances combining to throw obstacles in the way of our plans. Each of these obstacles [...]

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Spotlight on: Anita Carey, Vocal Director for Gentleman’s Guide

By |2019-09-19T16:47:58-07:00September 19th, 2019|2018-19 Season|

What's the difference between "legit" and "belted" voices? How can you make the tedious task of vocal warm-ups fun? What's your favorite song in Gentleman's Guide? And why should people come to see the show? Vocal Director Anita Carey answers these questions and more in the latest interview in our continuing series examining "The Art of Theatre." Watch the six-minute video below, or read the transcript. What’s the difference between a Vocal Director and a Music Director? My name is Anita Carey, and I am the vocal director of A Gentleman’s Guide To Love & Murder. The person who teaches the [...]

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Spotlight on: Props Designer Patricia Bilello

By |2019-09-04T19:08:33-07:00September 4th, 2019|2018-19 Season|

We continue our series of video interviews with the creative staff behind A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder with this look at the 200 props being assembled or built for the show. Props designer Patricia Bilello talks about where she finds props for a show that is set in the early 1900s, and gives a few sneak peeks at the ones currently in use at rehearsals. Watch the video below, or read the transcript. https://youtu.be/ruNdA8fowZA   TRANSCRIPT What’s your role in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder? My name is Patricia Bilello, and I am the props designer [...]

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Spotlight on: Costumer Michael Johnson

By |2019-08-27T20:20:28-07:00August 27th, 2019|2018-19 Season|

Our "Art of Theatre" video series continues with a look at the elaborate costumes for A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder. Lead costume designer Michael Johnson, last seen as Pap Finn in Big River, tells us about the 120 costume pieces for the 15 actors in this fast-paced show filled with challenging quick changes. Watch the video interview by clicking on the embedded YouTube link, or simply read the transcript below. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A8Dqq344sw INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT My name is Michael Johnson. We are now in charge of approximately 120 costume pieces that we need to either create or purchase. A [...]

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Spotlight On: Set Designer Heather Kenyon

By |2019-07-29T22:41:23-07:00July 29th, 2019|2018-19 Season|

As SBMT looks excitedly toward its 2019-2020 season, we wanted to give you a sneak peek at the artists who work behind the scenes to make the magic happen. To that end, we have created a series of video interviews with the design team for our first show of the season, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder. In this first installment, Heather Kenyon shows off a scale model of the set she has designed. Watch the video below (or read the transcript). https://youtu.be/W9XVrbFVQaw Who are you, and what is your role in this production? Hi. I am Heather Kenyon. [...]

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Awards bestowed on Millie cast and crew

By |2019-05-22T23:01:16-07:00May 22nd, 2019|2018-19 Season, Awards, Behind The Scenes, Photos|

Following SBMT’s Preview Night performance for Thoroughly Modern Millie on May 18, 2019, Executive Director Sara Dean 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. The Gypsy Robe was renamed the Legacy Robe, following the adoption of that name by Actors Equity. Traditionally, the robe is presented by the previous recipient, but Big River winner Libby Moore Schroeder was unable to attend because she had just given birth to a new baby! (Audiences may remember her as visibly pregnant in last January’s production.) Filling [...]

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Are stereotypes acceptable in today’s theatrical productions?

By |2019-05-15T00:06:03-07:00May 15th, 2019|2018-19 Season, Behind The Scenes, Blog-erviews!|

Justin Fan, Karyn Rondeau, and Edmond Kwong play the villains. Photo by Steve Stubbs. In the irreverent musical Avenue Q, one of the songs purports that “Everybody’s a little bit racist,” as it skewers contemporary attitudes regarding race, religion, political correctness, and humor based on exaggerated stereotypes. The point hits home, because as much as we hate to admit it, we all have biases. Those of us in the theatre community are forced to confront these issues whenever we dip into the well of past Broadway productions to pick a slate of shows to revive. The stereotypical characters and [...]

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The cast of Big River brings a classic back to life

By |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 [...]

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