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On December 8, Palm Beach Dramaworks launches the third season of its highly successful Dramalogue - Talking Theatre! series with Paul Gemignani: Musical Theatre's Master Maestro. The program features the esteemed Broadway musical director in conversation with Sheryl Flatow. Gemignani, recipient of the 2001 Lifetime Achievement Tony Award, will discuss a remarkable career still going strong after more than 40 years, and talk about how he helps shape a show and bring a score to life. The program will be presented twice, at 2pm (limited seating available) and 7pm at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre.
Earlier that day Mr. Gemignani will teach a master class to a select group of talented South Florida students from 9am to noon at Palm Beach Dramaworks. Gemignani will work one-on- one with each of the participants on material they've selected and prepared.
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Dramalogue is a series made up of six programs that explore all aspects of theatre in conversations with or about the industry's top professionals and master artists. Gemignani, renowned for his long association with Stephen Sondheim, has, in fact, been musical director for shows or concerts featuring scores by most of Broadway's great composers and lyricists, including Cy Coleman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Marvin Hamlisch, John Kander and Fred Ebb, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. A very short list of the performers he's worked with includes Alec Baldwin, Len Cariou, John Cullum, Nathan Gunn, George Hearn, Sally Ann Howes, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Reba McEntire, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Faith Prince, and Chita Rivera.
Among the more than 45 productions on Broadway and the West End for which Gemignani has served as musical director/conductor are Follies, Pacific Overtures, Candide, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Evita, Sunday in the Park with George, Dreamgirls, Merrily We Roll Along, Into the Woods, On the Twentieth Century, Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Crazy For You, Passion, High Society, Kiss Me, Kate, Assassins, The Frogs, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Later this season, he will be the musical director for the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of She Loves Me.
Gemignani won a 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction for his work on the
Great Performances'
broadcast of
South Pacific in Concert from Carnegie Hall
. In 1989, he was honored with a special Drama Desk Award for "consistently outstanding musical direction and commitment to the theatre," and in 1985 the Drama League of New York recognized him with the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award.
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Mark Perlberg is the executive producer of Dramalogue, which is sponsored by Nancy and Jay Parker. Presentations may include videos clips and/or scene readings. Audiences are invited to participate in a Q&A at the conclusion of each event. A subscription to the entire series is $90. Individual tickets are $20.
Palm Beach Dramaworks is a non-profit, professional theatre and is a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the South Florida Theatre League, Florida Professional Theatres Association, and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.
The Don & Ann Brown Theatre is located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street. For ticket information contact the box office at (561) 514-4042, or visit www.palmbeachdramaworks.org.
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The five Dramalogue programs to follow are:
Monday, 1/4/16
Tommy Tune: Broadway's One and Only
Live Interview, followed by Q&A
Hosted by J. Barry Lewis
One of the most celebrated artists in Broadway history, multi-talented Tommy Tune has been delighting, surprising, and mesmerizing audiences for 50 years as a performer, director, and choreographer. The recipient of 10 Tony Awards, including the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award, Tune will discuss his illustrious career. Please note, this program will not include a performance.
Tuesday, 2/2/16
The O'Neill Family: A Long Day's Journey
Presentation, followed by Q&A
Hosted by Mark Perlberg
Eugene O'Neill had a painful relationship with his tortured family and was himself a tormented soul, as is evident in the semi-autobiographical Long Day's Journey Into Night. Join Mark Perlberg as he shines a light on all the O'Neills and examines the family dynamic. He will also discuss another revelatory O'Neill play, the one-act Exorcism, a "lost" work written in 1919 and rediscovered in 2012.
Tuesday, 3/1/16
William Ivey Long: Creating Character Through Costumes
Live Interview, followed by Q&A
Hosted by Sheryl Flatow
Go behind the scenes with six-time Tony Award-winning costume designer William Ivey Long, who has helped define characters for more than 70 Broadway shows. Long will discuss the craft of costume design, and talk about his work on such iconic shows as
Nine
, Guys and Dolls, The Producers, Hairspray and Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, as well as some of his many upcoming projects.
Tuesday, 3/29/16
Theatre Roundtable: Directly Speaking
Live Interview, followed by Q&A
Hosted by William Hayes and J. Barry Lewis
What, exactly, does a director do? Be honest; you've asked yourself that question numerous times. Yes, you know they're responsible for illuminating the playwright's vision and melding the cast into a cohesive unit. But what does that entail? Four veteran directors - Joseph Adler, David Arisco, William Hayes, and J. Barry Lewis - will supply the details and discuss their responsibilities in taking a play from page to stage.
Tuesday, 4/12/16
Rodgers & Hammerstein: The Golden Age of Musical Theatre
Presentation with Live Music, followed by Q&A
Hosted by J. Barry Lewis
The team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II was perhaps the most innovative force in Broadway musical history. Beginning with Oklahoma!, they repeatedly defied theatrical convention and developed a new kind of fully integrated, dramatic musical that has influenced generations. J. Barry Lewis takes you on a journey through their shows, including Carousel, South Pacific, and The King and I, and reflects on their lasting impact.
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Paul Gemignani
Joseph Adler
David Arisco
William Hayes
J. Barry Lewis
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