Tag: theatre

Original work WELCOME WANDERERS premiering at Shakespeare in the Canyon

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While a midsummer night may bring dreams, this year it will also bring laughs. The historic Texas Outdoor Musical, performed now for 58 seasons in Palo Duro Canyon, introduces Shakespeare in the Canyon with a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream premiering on July 9 at 8pm at the Pioneer Amphitheater and running Tuesdays in July. Just before that at 7:20pm on the Margaret Harper Terrace, arriving patrons will be able to see the premiere of the new work Welcome Wanderers, a mini-musical commissioned for Shakespeare in the Canyon with Music, Lyrics, and Book by Bradley J. Behrmann.

Inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream, we meet the Fairies of Palo Duro Canyon, just convened from their day of adventures where some of them met up with the mischief-maker, Puck, having observed a group of “rude mechanicals” rehearsing a play. Delighted by these amateur actors, the Fairies decide for themselves that they can do better and declare a contest for the best story right then and there.

This creative process has been an incredible assignment to write, compose, arrange, and direct this piece with (to paraphrase Leonard Bernstein) “a plan and not quite enough time.”

Performers include members of the Texas cast and orchestra including:

  • Peyton Hastings as WAXWING
  • Bradley Seals as BOBCAT
  • Mary Lantz as SNAKEBITE
  • Anna Martin as DUSTHEAP
  • Allie Meredith as TICKSEED
  • William Kielwasser as LONGGRASS
  • Kaeclyn Tenorio as SHORTGRASS
  • Brayden Mahetekar as STUMBLEWEED
  • Claire Newey as SODPOODLE
  • Amryn Cowen as SNEEZEBLOSSOM
  • Alexa Teleki as BLUEBONNET
  • Alyssa Haken as WINDALONG
  • Mitchell Hernandez as HEMP/GUITARIST
  • Lyric Foster as GUITARIST
  • Indra Aguirre as VIOLINIST
  • Tanya Kolesnik as VIOLINST
  • Carson King as BASSIST
  • Ray Barber as VOCALIST
  • Allison Brueggeman as VOCALIST
  • Lucas Dickson as VOCALIST
  • Joshua Moreno as VOCALIST
  • Grace Philipbar as VOCALIST
  • Darcy Golla, Stage Manager
  • Bradley J. Behrmann, Director
  • Stephen Crandall, Artistic Director

Welcome Wanderers performs at 7:20pm on July 9, 16, 23, and 30. Procure tickets to A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 8pm on Tuesdays in July on texas-show.com!

While green shows are a staple of Shakespeare festivals the world over and typically feature variety acts (What is a green show?), this 25-minute musical lives squarely between musical theatre, vaudeville, and children’s theatre.

WT’s Theatre Program Receives National and Regional Awards

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CANYON, Texas—One of six invited collegiate productions in a competitive regional field of sixty-eight from Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and Arkansas, WT Theatre’s production of Musical of Musicals: The Musical performed for a regional audience and national critics at the Abilene Civic Center, February 25-28, during the Region VI Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). In addition, WT theatre students competed in individual events for national and regional awards and commendations.

National Awards:

Outstanding Musical Theatre Performer and Kennedy Center National Musical Theatre Fellow – Zachary Perrin
Distinguished Musical Theatre Performance- Macy Watts
Distinguished Musical Theatre Performance- Caleb Aguilar
Distinguished Performance and Production – The Ensemble of Musical of Musicals
Zach Perrin Macy Watts Caleb Aguilar

National Commendations:

Christine Lisa Basse- Musical Theatre Performance
Micaela Grenier- Musical Theatre Performance
Royal R. Brantley- Direction of Musical of Musicals
Crystal Bertrand- Choreography for Musical of Musicals
Bradley J. Behrmann – Musical Direction of Musical of Musicals
Christine Lisa Basse Micaela Grenier

This is the third year in a row that WT theatre has advanced a production to the regional competition. A rare achievement, the “three peat” appearance by WT Theatre is their seventh overall regional performance since starting competition in the KCACTF in 1994: The Homage That Follows (1997), The Old Boy (2005), Rabbit Hole (2009), Iphigenia 2.0 (2013), Brooklyn (2017), Luna Gale (2018) and Musical of Musicals (2019).

Originally published on WTAMU News on April 12, 2019: https://www.wtamu.edu/news/wt-s-theatre-program-receives-national-and-regional-awards.aspx 

Ben Vereen Awards commissions second piece, honors students

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The Ben Vereen Awards has commissioned Bradley J. Behrmann as composer for the 2017 Wellness Through the Arts (WTA) program.  This is the third year of the program and the second commission for Behrmann.  In conjunction with the esteemed musical theatre competition, the WTA (a pet project of Mr. Vereen himself) solicits essays from San Diego area high school students who have faced issues with bullying and obesity.  Five winning essays became the raw material for a new piece of musical theatre.  Members of the J*Company Youth Theatre rehearsed the piece and performed it at the Ben Vereen Awards on May 28, 2017 at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego.

“This year, the five essay winners told us stories of their struggles, and the issues they’re wrestling with challenged their very identity,” said Behrmann.  “Each of them, however, found a home in the arts, and through that, they realized they didn’t need to be defined by outside forces.  The theatre helped them find the strength inside.  As I read their essays, the phrase that kept repeating in my head was ‘You are enough.’ That became the main hook of the song.”

Read about the 2016 Ben Vereen Awards here.