Tribute to Stephen Schwartz previews "Seance," features AOP vets
Composer Stephen Schwartz was honored with a concert of his works in Los Angeles that featured many AOP veterans including Lauren Flanigan, Michael Marcotte, and Nathan Lee Graham led in song by frequent AOP music director Charity Wicks. Scattered among hits from Mr. Schwartz's musicals Pippin, Wicked, and Godspell (to name only a few), audiences got to hear a preview of the AOP-developed opera "Seance on a Wet Afternoon" that will have its premiere at Opera Santa Barbara on Sep. 26. From Broadway World:
On Sunday, Aug 23rd 2009, Upright Cabaret's incredibly popular "Wicked Summer Nights" series at the Ford Amphitheatre drew to a close with a spectacular concert entitled 'Stephen Schwartz: Making Good' which set out to celebrate the works of the man who inspired the series, Mr. Stephen Schwartz.
With Mr. Schwartz in attendance and narrating the first half of the concert, Director Billy Porter along with Music Directors Chris Bratten and Charity Wicks, guided the audience through the composers famed hit songs which included 'Magic to Do,' 'Defying Gravity,' and 'I Guess I'll Miss the Man,' and then provided the audience with a sneak peek into Mr. Schwartz' new work "Séance on a Wet Afternoon" set to debut in Sept 2009 in Santa Barbara, CA.
