A Glee - ful experience with Babes in Arms.

Glee. Let’s face it, it’s become a phenomenon.

Whether you like it, love it, or hate it, it looks like it’s going to be around for a while.  Personally, I love it.

I love the storylines. I love the song choices. I love the characters. I love that it’s making household names out of Broadway stars.   I love what it’s doing for Musical Theatre.

Glee is introducing legions of children and young adults (and some older adults, too!) to classic Broadway shows.  Shows from West Side Story to Wicked, from The King and I to, yes… Babes in Arms, have all had their spot to shine on Glee.

Here is Mark Salling (Noah “Puck” Puckerman) performing “The Lady is a Tramp.”

This jazzy version of “Tramp” is not the only connection between Glee and 42nd Street Moon, nor between Glee and Babes in Arms.

In 1999, 42nd Street Moon produced a concert version of Babes in Arms at The New Conservatory Theater.  The young man who played Beauregard Calhoun was a 12 year old aspiring actor by the name of Darren Criss.  Here is his bio:

Darren and Marsha Merchant
from Do I Hear a Waltz?

Darren Criss (Beauregarde) is currently attending ACT (the American Conservatory Theater) for his 3rd year.  Darren is happy to be back at 42nd Street Moon, having appeared in Fanny and Do I Hear a Waltz? He has also been a part of ACT’s production of A Christmas Carol, along with other productions such as A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream, and The Voyzee Inheritance.  Darren is in the seventh grade at Stuart Hall for Boys, and he enjoys music, writing, reading, drama, and art.  He plays the violin and also enjoys the piano and guitar.  When he grows up, he hopes to become a successful actor. 

Now here is Darren Criss and Chris Colfer singing “Baby It’s Cold Outside” on last week’s episode of Glee, where Darren has become a regular cast member. (Incidentally, Darren also sang "Where or When" for his audition for Glee.)

I was so proud when I found out that the newest cast member of this show got his start right here at 42nd Street Moon. We were Darren’s first professional acting job, but he isn’t the only one.

42nd Street Moon has a long history of helping young actors start their performing careers.



Isaiah Boyd



Gabriel Stephens



Our current production of Babes in Arms has a bevy of young talent. Our youngest cast member, Gabriel Stephens is only 16, Isaiah Boyd -- who has been garnering a lot of attention for his dancing abilities -- is only 18, and Annie Donahey is a tried and true Moonie at 17.  Annie, who recently was awarded the National Youth Theatre Award for Outstanding Actress, also made her professional stage debut with Moon, seven years ago.



This past summer a number of our brightest and most talented young ensemble members moved to New York to further their careers: Andrew Willis-Woodward, Sarah Kathleen Farrell, Giana De Geiso, Jimmy Robertson, Robbie Cowan are just some of the phenomenal talent 42nd Street Moon has helped nurture.  We look forward to seeing their name in lights on 42nd Street soon!



Annie Donahey



This is also why you should come and see all the shows at Moon!  You never know who you’ll be able to say “oh my, I saw him in his first show ever… he was just 10 years old then,” or “She was so fantastic when I saw her do…”

And if you want to catch Annie or Gabriel in Babes in Arms, click here for tickets.

If you want to help 42nd Street Moon give more of these young, aspiring actors a chance, consider making a contribution to our end of year campaign by clicking here.

Until then, see you at the theatre!

Cast of Thousands (well dozens, anyway.) - Update

For a small theatre company, 42nd Street Moon definitely boast some pretty large casts.  This fall 31 actors will grace the Eureka's stage.

Considering that our second show, Murder For Two, has only has two actors in it.  That leaves 30 actors for A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (16 actors) and Babes In Arms (14 actors).  For those of you who are trying to figure out how 16 + 14 + 2 = 31, you'll see below.

I thought I'd share with you the casts for the Fall 2010 Season. There is only one role left to be  cast, but once it is, you my dear readers will be the first to know.

As I'm sure most of you know, Moon shows generally have about a 50/50 split between new and returning cast members. Next season, we're gonna be seeing a whole lot of new faces!

Twenty of the 31 actors comprising the casts A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Murder For Two, and Babes In Arms are new faces to Moon. (They are denoted below with a double asterisk.)

But that doesn't mean there won't be some Moon favorites as well!

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
PSEUDOLUS – Megan Cavanagh, our Moonie favorite from Jubilee, High Spirits, and Out of This World, will be heading our Forum Cast. Megan has also appeared in the major blockbusters A League of Their Own, and Mel Brooks' Robin Hood Men in Tights. Currently touring in Menopause: The Musical, she will be joining us this October for her fourth show with 42nd Street Moon.

HYSTERIUM – Mike Rhone**

PHILIA – Meghan Ihle**
HERO – Luke Chapman
SENEX – Bob Greene
DOMINA – Chris Macomber
MARCUS LYCUS – Rudy Guerrero
MILES GLORIOSUS – Rob Hatzenbeller
ERRONIUS – Elmer Strasser**
GYMNASIA – Kate Paul**
VIBRATA – Christine Bagube**
TINTINABULA – Janine Burgener**
FIRST PROTEAN – Isaiah Boyd**
SECOND PROTEAN – Jack Sale**
THIRD PROTEAN – Tyler Costin**


Murder For Two

ALL 13 SUSPECTS - Joe Kinosian**
Joe isn't just starring as 13 different characters (the Peter Sellers of our day perhaps?) But he also co-wrote the book, composed the music, and created 13 character backstories for Murder For Two. This is truly a tour de force and you won't want to miss it. Look for a multi-part series of interviews with Joe and co-writer/lyricist Kellen Blair, here on the blog. There will be additional footage of the interview exclusively on facebook.

*** UPDATE (7/20/2010)***

Adam Overett has been cast as Detective Marcus.

*** END UPDATE***

Babes In Arms
[Babes is an extra special case. Not only are there a number of new actors, but there is some amazing young talent in this show. Starting at age 10, Annie Donahey first joined Moon for Finian's Rainbow. She is now a seasoned actress at age 17!  At at age 13, Gabriel Stephens will be the youngest actor to work with Moon since Ben Franklin in Paris. We are so happy to have so many wonderful young actors working with us on Babes In Arms.]

VAL – Michael Scott Wells **
BILLIE – Alexandra Kaprielian
GUS – Caleb Haven Draper
BABY ROSE – Sophia Rose Morris **
MARSHALL – Joshua James **
DOLORES – Tyner Rushing **
PETER – Jonathan Shue**
IRVING DE QUINCY – Isaiah Boyd (making his debut in Forum)
LEE CALHOUN/FLAMBEAU – Zak Franczak
SAM REYNOLDS – Ben Euphrat **
PENNY – Maeve Martin **
BEAUREGARDE – Gabriel Stephens **
MAIZIE – Annie Donahey
SHERIFF REYNOLDS/DAN LaMAR – Dirk Leatherman **


We are so happy to have all these new actors become Moonies (no Kool-aid needed). If you'd like a chance to see them all next season, consider a season subscription. Click here.

A New Dawn, a New Day, A New Moon - 42nd Street Moon's 2010-2011 Season

While the first of our spring 2010 shows, Lady, Be Good!, is already rehearsing at MoonSpace, the 2010-11 Moon season, “Lovers, Liars and Clowns!” is also officially “off and running.” The Early Bird subscription campaign for our eighteenth season has moved into high gear, and the press announcement has found its way into the San Francisco Chronicle and several New York theatre websites.

Interestingly, the plans Stephanie and I had for next season took several twists and turns before we arrived at A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Murder for Two, Babes in Arms, Strike Up the Band, and Silk Stockings.

Remember the ballot from last spring? Sure you do. Our intent was to include two of the top vote-getting shows in 2010 -11, Gigi and Forum, but alas, the rights to Gigi were unavailable (a major revival is in the works for the show). Gigi, then, gave way to Cole Porter’s Silk Stockings – probably my favorite “underrated” Cole Porter show, and one I’m so glad to have a chance to revisit.

Our complete reconstruction of the Kern-Hammerstein Three Sisters (which has absolutely nothing to do with Chekhov’s same-titled play!) is delayed till the fall of 2011, so Rodgers and Hart have moved into that slot although our Jerome Kern celebration continues with the Jerome Kern Salon in October.

Strike Up the Band was always targeted for Moon’s Ira Gershwin multi-year salute, but we moved it up to 2010-11 because George S. Kaufman’s deft anti-war satire seems particularly timely.

The first two shows of the season are perhaps the most unusual for Moon. Since we focus on “uncommon musicals,” we normally wouldn’t do a show as widely seen as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Forum, however, is consistently one of the most-requested shows from our audiences (you!), which won it a place on the ballot last season.

This is Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday year, so this is the year that Forum will land on the Moon!

Taking our cue from the 1996 revival, in which Whoopi Goldberg followed Nathan Lane in the role of Pseudolus, we decided we could give the show a fresh twist with Megan Cavanagh taking on the role. If you’ve seen Megan’s comic turns in Out of This World, High Spirits, or Jubilee, you know what a treat we’re all in for.

When we founded 42nd Street Moon in 1993, Stephanie and I did not necessarily see it as a home for new musicals. Our productions were strictly bare bones, script-in-hand concerts at the time. It seemed to us that new work deserved a shot at a full production before going the “concert route.”

Seventeen years later, the theatrical climate has evolved dramatically, as have our shows.

Murder for Two represents a first for 42nd Street Moon – a brand new musical which will be making its West Coast debut on the Eureka Stage, following a summer run in Glens Falls, New York. [Bonus points to anyone who can name the musical – which Moon has done! – that takes place in Glens Falls.]

Two dynamically talented young writers, Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, have written this spoof of the Agatha Christie murder mystery genre: a murder in an old house, a group of eccentric and enigmatic suspects, and a body count that keeps rising. The book is so funny and the score is so fresh – as if Jerry Herman and Cole Porter had given birth to a score midwifed by Stephen Sondheim – that we couldn’t resist giving our Moon audiences the chance to enjoy this before it gets snapped up for a major production.

Is it a dramatically different turn for us? Not really – it’s certainly an “uncommon” musical, just not a “vintage” musical. (It does share many qualities with the great old musicals of the Golden Age). Although we have focused heavily on 1920s through 1970s musicals, we’ve never had a strict “time frame.” Murder for Two is the precursor to a dazzling surprise we have in store for our 20th season in 2012-13 – but rest assured that Porter, Gershwin, Kern, Berlin, Rodgers, Hart, and Hammerstein will always be on the bill at 42nd Street Moon.

Thank You to Guest Blogger Artistic Director Greg MacKellan.


If you'd like to take advantage of the Early Bird Pricing for your subscription, click here.  Hurry, offer ends March 25, 2010.