August 31 & September 1, 2024
CIRQUE GOES BROADWAY
SEASON PARTNERS
CONCERT SPONSOR
CIRQUE GOES BROADWAY
Saturday, August 31, 2024, at 7 PM
Sunday, September 1, 2024, at 7 PM
Akron Symphony Orchestra
Cirque de la Symphonie
Lucas Waldin, conductor
Morgan James, vocals
Hugh Panaro, vocals
ARTHUR SCHWARTZ
That’s Entertainment! (1900–1984) from The Band Wagon (arr. John Williams)
COLE PORTER
Another Op’nin’, Another (1891–1964) Show from Kiss Me Kate
JOHN KANDER Medley from Chicago (b. 1927)
STEPHEN SCHWARTZ Defying Gravity from Wicked (b. 1948)
FRANK WILDHORN This Is the Moment (b. 1958) from Jekyll & Hyde
JOHN KANDER Cabaret from Cabaret
MEREDITH WILLSON Seventy-Six Trombones (1902–1984) from The Music Man
MEREDITH WILLSON Ya Got Trouble from The Music Man
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER Memory from Cats (b. 1948)
MAURICE RAVEL Boléro (1875–1937)
INTERMISSION
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Overture to Candide (1918–1990)
NACIO HERB BROWN
Singin’ in the Rain (1896–1964)
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER
The Jellicle Ball from Cats
ROBERT LOPEZ & Let It Go from Frozen KRISTEN-ANDERSON LOPEZ (b. 1975, b. 1972)
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER
CLAUDE-MICHEL SCHÖNBERG
Overture to West Side Story (arr. Maurice Peress)
The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera
Selections from (b. 1944) Les Misérables (arr. Bob Lowden)
Total approximate running time: 1 hour 20 minutes
The Cleveland Orchestra is grateful to these organizations for their ongoing generous support of The Cleveland Orchestra: National Endowment for the Arts, the State of Ohio and Ohio Arts Council, and to the residents of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.
© 2024 The Cleveland Orchestra and the Musical Arts Association Program books for Cleveland Orchestra concerts are produced by The Cleveland Orchestra and are distributed free to attending audience members.
EDITORIAL
Kevin McBrien, Publications Manager
The Cleveland Orchestra kmcbrien@clevelandorchestra.com
DESIGN
Judy Barabas, Red Swing Creative
ADVERTISING
Live Publishing Company, 216-721-1800
Sunday evening’s performance is dedicated to The Seven Five Fund in recognition of their generous support of music. PLEASE RECYCLE
LUCAS WALDIN
conductor
LIMITED TIME ONLY
Lucas Waldin is a dynamic and versatile conductor whose performances have delighted audiences across North America. He has collaborated with some of today’s most exciting artists including Carly Rae Jepsen, Barenaked Ladies, Crash Test Dummies, Ben Folds, The Canadian Brass, and Buffy Sainte-Marie, in addition to conducting presentations such as Disney in Concert, Blue Planet Live, Cirque de la Symphony, and the groundbreaking symphonic debut of R&B duo Dvsn as part of the global Red Bull Music Festival.
Waldin has been a guest conductor for numerous orchestras in the US and Canada, including The Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Grant Park Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and National Arts Centre Orchestra.
A native of Toronto, Waldin holds degrees in flute and conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Photo: courtesy Lucas Waldin
MORGAN JAMES
vocals
Morgan James is a classically trained vocalist, Broadway veteran, and recording artist
James recently performed her brand-new show, Symphonic Soul: The Magic of the Memphis Sound, with the Virginia and Wheeling symphony orchestras. She also paid tribute to Judy Garland for her centennial, performing “Get Happy” with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia Gulf Coast. Other appearances include the Sun Valley Music Festival, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Cleveland Pops, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and many more.
A Leonard Bernstein aficionado, James has performed her solo Bernstein show with several orchestras and was featured in The Philadelphia Orchestra’s concert production of West Side Story, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. James has also had the honor of performing Bernstein’s MASS four times, with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
On Broadway, James has appeared in five original Broadway productions: Motown: The Musical, Wonderland, The Addams Family, Kristin Chenoweth: For the Girls, and the Broadway revival of Godspell. She routinely tours Europe and the US with her own soul band and also toured Europe, Australia, and the US with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, and is featured in several of their videos.
As a recording artist, James released her fifth studio album of original soul music, Nobody’s Fool, in 2023. Other releases include Memphis Magnetic, A Very Magnetic Christmas, Reckless Abandon, Hunter (her debut studio album), and a live album dedicated to the music of Nina Simone. She also recorded several full album covers, including The Beatles’ White Album and Joni Mitchell’s Blue, all available for purchase and streaming.
James received her voice training at The Juilliard School. For more information and tour dates, visit her website at morganjamesonline.com or follow her on Instagram @morganajames.
Photo: courtesy Morgan James
HUGH PANARO
vocals
Hugh Panaro is perhaps best known for having played the title role in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway over 2,000 times, including the 25th anniversary production. He also recently starred in the New York production of Sweeney Todd.
Panaro made his Broadway debut in the original production of Les Misérables as Marius. He created the roles of Buddy in Side Show, Julian Craster in The Red Shoes, and the title role in the American premiere of Martin Guerre. Panaro made his West End debut in the original London company of Harold Prince’s Show Boat as Gaylord Ravenal, the role he previously played in the Broadway and Toronto productions. Other performance credits include Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park with George, Robert in Company, and Fagin in Oliver!
Panaro was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance in the title role of Elton John’s Lestat and has been twice nominated for the prestigious Barrymore Award. In 2012, he was honored with the Edwin Forrest Award for his long-term contributions to the theater.
An active concert artist, Panaro has performed with numerous symphony orchestras including The Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, New York Pops, and London Sinfonietta, among many others. He had the privilege of performing in the world premiere of Penderecki ’s Te Deum at Carnegie Hall and was a guest soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Marvin Hamlisch. His recordings include The Jerome Kern Treasury, the original cast recording of Side Show, Tap Your Troubles Away!, and Kurt Weill: The Centennial. In addition, he toured throughout Europe with the legendary Barbra Streisand
A native of Philadelphia, Panaro graduated from Temple University and was awarded the Boyer College of Music Certificate of Honor. His first solo CD, Man Without a Mask, was recorded live at 54 Below and released in 2023.
Photo: courtesy Hugh Panaro
AKRON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Christopher Wilkins Music Director
FIRST VIOLINS
Quingzhuo Li
Cory Smith
Susan Britton
McKenna Glorioso
John Fawcett
David Kempers
Sara Beam
Jessica Schmidt
Leah Burtnett
Jorie Butler-Geyer
SECOND VIOLINS
Amy Glick
Ruoyao Li
Hadar Zaidel
Steve Ostrow
Sarah Husak
Angelina Dong
Ryan Kearns
Cara Garofolo
Katherine O’Neill
Jennifer Cluggish
VIOLAS
Jack Kehril
Breana Lang
Mark Heinzen
Jerry Miskell
Lara Dudack
Keith Holliday
Ann Smith
Michael Strauss
CELLOS
Yu-Wen Wang
Julie King
Nathanael Matthews
Alyssa Baljunas
David Ellis
Christina Rosser
BASSES
Ann Gilbert
Remy Howard
Ole Latham
Brian DelBianco
HARP
Mary Duplantier
FLUTES
Kyra Kester
Alex McGuire
Jenny Robinson
PICCOLO
Jenny Robinson
OBOES
Terry Orcutt
Mary Kausek
Johanna Pennington
ENGLISH HORN
Johanna Pennington
CLARINETS
Matthew Rosen
Ben Chen
Tom Reed
BASS CLARINET
Tom Reed
BASSOONS
Todd Jelen
Thomas English
CONTRABASSOON
Cynthia Cioffari
SAXOPHONES
George Shernit
HORNS
Lisa Fink
Sam Hartman
Ken Wadenpfuhl
Sean Yancer
TRUMPETS
Justin Kohan
Jay Villela
Jack Brndiar
TROMBONES
John Gruber
Tom Pylinski
Jack Noble
TUBA
Kenneth Heinlein
TIMPANI
John Curtis
PERCUSSION
Matthew Dudack
Matt Larson
Tom Roblee
DRUM SET
Joe Beam
KEYBOARD
Daniel Overly
GUITAR
Andy Poxon
ELECTRIC BASS
Tim Powell
