South Bay Musical Theatre | Noteworthy Entertainment

Behind The Scenes

Songs to be performed during “Let It Show”

By |2025-11-14T10:27:03-08:00November 14th, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Announcements, Behind The Scenes|

Here's a list of the songs (in no particular order) that will be performed during Let It Show: A Broadway Holiday Celebration. Medley from White Christmas including "Sisters," "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," "Snow," "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing," "Blue Skies," and, of course, "White Christmas." "Christmas Time Is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" from Frozen "Christmas Song" from Elf "You're a Mean One, Mister Grinch" from How the Grinch Stole Christmas "We Need a Little Christmas" from Mame "Twelve Days to Christmas" from She Loves Me "Who Would [...]

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The Cost of Live Theatre

By |2025-11-03T16:34:01-08:00November 3rd, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Behind The Scenes, Blog-erviews!, Fundraising, Opinion|

by Michael Paul Hirsch, Executive Director I occasionally like to post answers to questions asked from the community. You can always ask your question using this convenient anonymous form. This question came in the other week: “I think it would open a lot of eyes and maybe inspire a few more donations to have a blog outlining all the costs associated with putting on a show and what percentage of ticket sales cover those costs. I don't think many of our patrons know we pay our musicians, creative staff, the cost of show royalties, etc.” I am frequently asked about [...]

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The Show Must Go On!

By |2025-10-20T16:49:45-07:00October 20th, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Announcements, Behind The Scenes, Blog-erviews!, Opinion|

SBMT Understudy, Standby, and Swing Policy by Walter M. Mayes, Artistic Director At South Bay Musical Theatre, we honor the long-standing tradition that the show must go on. At the same time, our top priority is the health and safety of our performers, crew, staff, and audiences. Illnesses and unforeseen emergencies are an unavoidable part of live theatre, and canceled performances can bring both artistic disappointment and economic hardship. To address this, SBMT has created a policy that establishes clear guidelines for the use of understudies, standbys, and swings. Our goal is to ensure that performances can continue safely, responsibly, [...]

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Behind the Curtain with Selina Hsu

By |2025-10-04T11:00:59-07:00October 4th, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Behind The Scenes, Meet The Cast, Video Link|

We sat down with Selina Hsu, who is part of "the nuns ensemble" in SBMT's production of The Sound of Music. In this short interview, she tells us there are no puppets in the stage version of this iconic musical—but "The Lonely Goatherd" still makes an appearance, with "Uncle Max" playing an expanded role. She also reveals why she auditioned for the show.  Watch the video (runtime 2:43), or read the transcript below.   My name is Selina and I'm a part of the Nuns Ensemble. What does the Nuns Ensemble do in the show? The Nuns set the scene [...]

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Behind the Curtain with Janet Miller

By |2025-09-29T10:25:53-07:00September 29th, 2025|Behind The Scenes, Blog-erviews!, Meet The Cast, Video Link|

We sat down with Janet Miller, who plays Baroness Elberfeld and one of the nuns in SBMT's production of The Sound of Music. In this interview, she tells us how the stage musical differs from the Julie Andrews movie, how history repeating itself brings renewed relevance to the story, and what brought her back to the stage for the first time since before the pandemic. Watch the four minute video, or read the transcript below. My name is Janet Miller and I'm a nun and I am the Baroness Elberfeld in this production. Is this show any different than the [...]

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Behind the Curtain with Maura Goetzke

By |2025-09-24T14:32:07-07:00September 24th, 2025|Behind The Scenes, Blog-erviews!, Meet The Cast, Video Link|

We sat down with Maura Goetzke, who plays the Louisa in SBMT's production of The Sound of Music. In this interview, she radiates excitement as she describes all the fun she's having. She tells us why she auditioned, what she's learning in rehearsal from choreographer Francesca Cipponeri and vocal director Rachel Michelberg, what it's like being part of a double cast of children, how she got started in theatre—and what she aspires to, and offers advice for anyone else who shares the dream of being a performer. Watch the five minute video, or read the transcript below.  Hi, my name [...]

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Behind the Curtain with Mohamed Ismail

By |2025-09-19T11:30:24-07:00September 19th, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Behind The Scenes, Blog-erviews!, Meet The Cast|

We sat down with Mohamed Ismail, who plays the role of Max Detweiler in our upcoming production of The Sound of Music, to talk about the expanded role Max has in the stage play (with two songs that are not sung in the movie), where we've seen him most recently, how he got started, and how he and his real-life wife Jessica Whittemore are looking forward to playing opposite one another in this outing. He tells us why he doesn't look like his headshot, introduces us to the large cast, and makes an urgent plea to each of us to [...]

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Behind the Curtain with Lauren D’Ambrosio

By |2025-09-08T16:28:40-07:00September 8th, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Behind The Scenes, Meet The Cast|

We sat down with Lauren D’Ambrosio, who plays the lead character in our upcoming production of The Sound of Music, to talk about her character, the show's current relevance six decades after its debut, and how the stage musical is significantly different from the Oscar-winning film adaptation. We learn about Lauren's start as a musician before she ever started acting—and she names a couple of shows where you may have last seen her. She describes her favorite songs in the show and encourages you to come see it from Sept. 27 - Oct. 18, 2025. Tickets are available at SouthBayMT.com [...]

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What It Takes To Plan a Season

By |2025-07-24T11:09:16-07:00July 24th, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Behind The Scenes, Blog-erviews!, Opinion|

by Walter M. Mayes, Artistic Director What if I told you that the next season’s story begins before the curtain rises on this one? While audiences are anticipating the Abbey bells, singing nuns, and adorable Von Trapp children of our 2025/26 season-opener, The Sound of Music, I’m already deep in the next act—reading scripts, tracking rights, and assembling the puzzle that will become South Bay Musical Theatre’s ‘26-’27 season. At first glance, planning a season might seem like picking your favorite shows and hoping for the best. In truth, it’s a nuanced, months-long process—one that blends artistic passion with financial [...]

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How’s It Going?

By |2025-07-06T18:18:36-07:00June 27th, 2024|2023-2024 Season, 2024-2025 Season, Behind The Scenes, Blog-erviews!, Opinion|

by Walter M. Mayes, South Bay Musical Theatre Artistic Director As we close the books on SBMT’s 61st season, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to reflect on our work, our challenges, and our triumphs in bringing musical theater enjoyment to our patrons during the past year. When I stepped into the role of Artistic Director, my predecessor had already selected the season. Covid was still affecting us, and we were dealing with staff changes and a dwindling number of board members. With the support of Board Chair Michael Hirsch and the outstanding core of SBMT staff and [...]

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