Behind the Scenes
MAGAZINE Spring/Summer 2020
ESCAPE TO THE THEATRE RESILIENCY PLANS CREATIVE CONNECTIONS Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory Spring/Summer 2020
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Behind the Scenes MAGAZINE
Dear Reader,
This is obviously a time of rapid change and uncertainty in many ways. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to our audiences, artists, supporters and partners as we continually strive to bring the highest caliber of performances to our stage. Over the last month, our staff made it a priority to reach out to every one of our subscribers and many of our donors personally. We love connecting with you and are inspired by the commitment that 82% of our seven-show Broadway subscribers demonstrated by renewing their seats before we announced our season.
Spring/Summer 2020
It’s likely that things are going to change in the days, weeks and months ahead, but we want everyone to know that we will continue to remain vigilant about staying up to date on the evolving recommendations and proactively implementing best practices. We simply can’t wait to responsibly enjoy shared experiences in this new COVID-conscious era with you again. It has never been clearer that relationships matter and we take our responsibility seriously in doing what’s right for our staff, volunteers, students, supporters and partners. I hope you enjoy getting a deeper glimpse into the innovative solutions and creative connections found in this very special issue of Behind the Scenes. We look forward to sharing the joy of Broadway, music and so much more with you again soon. Until then, stay safe and healthy. My best,
Lisa K. Condit, Director of Marketing & PR
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Inside Online Learning in the Arts..........................................4 The Show Must Go On.................................................6 Calendar of Upcoming Events...................................7 Youth Acting Company: A New Opportunity..........8 Still Blue...The Rest is New!..........................................10 Escape to the Theatre...............................................11 CATS Has a New Spring in its Step............................12 The Band’s Visit Helps Strangers Tell the Truth.........14 It’s So Fetch!................................................................15 Stay Tuned for Two More Broadway Tours................16 Jazz at Sunset Returns................................................17
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Put Your Event Center Stage....................................18 Inspirational and Uplifting.........................................19 A New Theater for the Theatre District.....................20 Proud of Our Partners................................................21 The Benefits of Broadway in Worcester...................22 Subscribing Made Easy.............................................23
Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory Spring/Summer 2020
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Online Learning in the Arts
Zoom Master Class with Taylor Okey, an actor from the national tour of Bandstand, in a session titled “Life of a Working Actor.”
When it became clear that in-person conservatory classes would have to be suspended for a while due to COVID-19, the question was not if classes would continue, but how they would continue. Our education team quickly developed a plan of action for moving to an online learning model and, within one week, all conservatory classes were up and running on Zoom, an industry leader in online video conferencing platforms. “We knew that so many of our students would be counting on their classes for some sense of normalcy, not to mention the community that comes with taking part in a conservatory class,” said Meghan Montaner, director of education at the theatre and conservatory. “It was important to us to maintain that community for our students and faculty, regardless of distance.” Prior to classes going live online, conservatory faculty received extensive training on the Zoom platform and conducted rehearsal classes to ensure that students would receive the highest quality of instruction possible. Faculty members also participated in researching best practices for effectively teaching performing arts curriculum online and leveraged their professional networks to gather ideas. According to John Minigan, who teaches Adult Acting and Adult Acting: Performance at the conservatory, “Like most teachers, I was worried at first about finding ways to teach classes online. The education staff has been amazing, getting us training and bringing us together for department meetings to share best practices, and other conservatory teachers have page 6
reached out with resources to make the going smoother. It’s also been great to connect with friends and colleagues facing the same questions in their classes and sharing ideas amongst a broader network.” While the task of reworking classes so heavily dependent on physical presence was daunting at first, many teachers have found that the virtual environment offers unique opportunities that are not typically available to them in the classroom. For example, students in drama classes have had the opportunity to test out their on-camera acting skills and work on scenes in pairs or small groups using Zoom’s breakout room feature rather than just selecting a corner of the studio to work in. The new medium has also pushed students and teachers to think about acting in different ways. “It’s been an opportunity for creative thinking,” says Minigan, “How does the prop move from one person to another in a scene? When does the camera see your face as opposed to your profile? How do you handle an entrance when it’s on screen?” For dance classes, special consideration was taken when restructuring curriculum to ensure that all instruction is safe for dancers to execute at home in whatever space they are working with. This means that while students may not be doing elaborate jumping or turning combinations at home, they are working through other exercises that will maintain their strength so that they will be prepared to revisit those combinations once they return to the studio. One particular benefit of conducting live,
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interactive classes as opposed to pre-recorded sessions is the ability for faculty to continue offering personalized corrections based on what they are seeing from their students in real time. “Conducting classes through an interactive platform enables us to give personal corrections to our students in classes and rehearsals, and maintains the value of our dance program during this challenging time,” says Jennifer Agbay, director of dance at the conservatory. “The ability to continue providing corrections and feedback to our students allows them to maintain and develop new skills in both a technical and artistic capacity.”
through online classes,” says Moy, “but more important than the physical work is the emotional support the conservatory is providing her by allowing her to maintain a mentally healthy routine doing what she loves to do. . . dance!”
In addition to regularly scheduled classes, students have also been able to attend master classes, a benefit that conservatory students enjoy throughout the year. Students had the chance to speak with Taylor Okey, an actor from the national tour of Bandstand that was set to visit the theatre in March, in a session titled “Life of a Working Actor.” Boston Ballet kftselios Full load of classes tonight principal dancer Ashley Ellis held @thehanovertheatre from home. Thankful the For students of all ages, online a virtual ballet master class, as technology and hard work by the teachers exists to connect the kids with the thing they love so much! classes have offered structure did Telmo Moreira, ballet master #thtc #keepondancing. and a sense of normalcy to an at The Rock School for Dance otherwise uncertain time. After Education in Philadelphia and the first day of online classes Andrea Carlson, a Stephen Hanna, Broadway performer and former student in Adult Improv II, said, “Thanks to The New York City Ballet principal dancer. Hanover Theatre Conservatory my improv class took place online tonight. What a boost I got from a tiny Even though this was not how we expected bit of normalcy. I went from sobbing most of the day the conservatory’s spring semester to play out, to full-fledged laughing. Surprising how regularity our commitment to igniting creativity, inspiring can make sense of chaos.” Parents of younger confidence and offering high quality arts education students have seen the benefit of online classes as for students of all ages has not changed. Although well. “My daughter was so happy to be back to her we would prefer to be in the studio together, this regular classes and teachers,” said Sharon Macrelli, process has opened our eyes to new possibilities whose twelve year old daughter takes ballet classes and challenged us to find new ways to connect at the conservatory, “Any part of the routine that we and create together. “While we know that social can keep going right now goes a long way for kids.” distancing is prescribed as the best protective factor right now, it is also true that the arts and culture are Lusvit Moy, whose daughter Hanna is a member a powerful source of healing in these times of high of the conservatory’s Youth Ballet Apprentice stress and anxiety. We are committed to ensuring Company, also recognizes the value in maintaining that our students have a place to learn and grow a normal class schedule. “We know it is important through arts education now, and in the future,” says for Hanna’s body to keep up her physical training Montaner.
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Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory Spring/Summer 2020
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The Show Must Go On: A Conversation with Troy Siebels Troy Siebels, president and CEO of The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, reflects on the importance of the arts while prioritizing public safety. The most common question people ask him these days is a tentative “…so how are you guys doing?” with a pretty clear expectation that the answer will be dismal. Ticket sales and fees account for 85% of our nonprofit’s earned revenue, and 100% of event related revenue dried up overnight. The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory is also a young organization without an endowment to fall back upon. Between mid-March and an anticipated reopening in October, more than $5 million will be lost in ticket sales, a big hit to the bottom line. “We have received a great deal of support from our audiences and members, though, as well as funding from the federal government’s CARES Act. It’s a pretty hard hit, but we are resilient and will recover from this crisis stronger,” asserts Siebels. Q: In the past, you have shared the personal importance of the performing arts for you and your family. How have recent events affected your perspective about why the arts are important? A: Finding the world of theatre gave me a sense of belonging and purpose when I was young, and made me who I am today. At age 12, my son is taking theatre classes through our conservatory and performing in shows at his school and elsewhere. As a result, I see him gaining confidence, selfawareness and team-building skills each month. The performing arts are transformational and open our eyes to new perspectives every day. On a larger scale, the worldwide theatre community demonstrates amazing resiliency and creativity during this pandemic that has shuttered all of our major institutions. The internet is brimming with examples of artists sharing their performances virtually. Some theatre companies have completed a run of performances by streaming video of their last live show, or shared video of past shows. Those page 8
are great ways to keep our audiences engaged and to bridge this terrible gap when we must keep our doors closed, but to accept them as the “new normal” would be to lose the thing that makes our art form unique, powerful and relevant. The performing arts are about bringing people together for shared experiences. The “live-ness” of the performance is an integral piece of its power. The energy and responses from a live audience change the performance on stage in a very real and material way. COVID-19 has only exacerbated the polarization that has taken hold of our world, and we need that social connection now more than ever if we are to move beyond it. Q: The pandemic has an impact on everyone and cultural nonprofits, particularly those whose business model depends on bringing together crowds for a shared experience, are hit especially hard. For those that are able to help, what is the best way? A: This pandemic has impacted everyone, and there are many people with uncertainty about where the money will come from for next month’s rent bill or groceries. I am so grateful that even against that backdrop, so many of our audience members donated the value of their tickets to shows that were cancelled this spring to ensure the longterm survival of our theatre. With those donations we created The Hanover Theatre COVID-19 Resiliency Fund to help us bridge this gap. Then on May 1, our board of directors stepped up in a big way and came together to pledge a generous dollar-for-dollar match to all contributions through June 30, up to $60,000. That means if you are able to make a contribution at any level, its impact will be doubled and help us bridge the gap until we can come together again. There’s a prominent link on the home page of the theatre’s website showing people how to contribute. Q: We know that many people are nervous about committing to events in the future. In the past,
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sporting events, concerts and live performances have had strict exchange and refund policies. In a new era where we want to discourage people who are ill from going out in public, are tours and artists willing to relax their guarantees? How are we looking to make our audiences comfortable and confident when they return to one of our events? A: Many of our events are presented by outside promoters, all of whom are revising their own policies around refunds and exchanges, so there are a lot of moving pieces. We have worked hard to build relationships with the more than 200,000
theatregoers who come through our door each year, and we will not ask them to choose between their own safety and enjoying a performance. We will work with those outside promoters to give our audiences options, and to be transparent about those options. We must and will prioritize the health and safety of our audience, and when our doors do open again, we will be following an aggressive set of cleaning and disinfecting protocols as well as rethinking our ticketing and lobbies to provide for a more sociallydistanced and “touchless” visit.
Upcoming Broadway, Music & More July 10 Jazz at Sunset featuring Roomful of Blues* August 7 Jazz at Sunset featuring Grace Kelly* October 10 Ricky Duran October 11 Nosferatu Silent Film accompanied by Clark Wilson on the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ* October 19 David Sedaris* October 20 Sarah Brightman: HYMN In Concert October 21 The US Air Force Band* October 23 Get the Led Out* October 24 Bert Kreischer: The Berty Boy World Tour* November 1 Cookies and Tea with Clara from The Nutcracker* November 6 Dorrance Dance presented by Music Worcester* November 14 Menopause the Musical November 27-29 The Nutcracker Sponsored by Berkshire Bank* December 2 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical* December 3 Neil deGrasse Tyson* December 5 Boston Pops 2020 Tour sponsored by The Hanover Insurance Group* December 15 A Christmas Celtic Sojourn with Brian O’Donovan presented by WGBH* December 17-27 A Christmas Carol* Sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Assumption College January 14-17 Blue Man Group Sponsored by Berkshire Bank** January 23 Piff the Magic Dragon* January 28-31 Escape to Margaritaville Sponsored by The Club at Rockland Trust Bank** February 18 The Moth Mainstage sponsored by FLEXcon February 25-28 CATS Sponsored by Country Bank** March 6 Masters of Illusion* March 13 Red Hot Chilli Pipers* March 18-21 The Band’s Visit Sponsored by The Club at Rockland Trust Bank** March 25 Brian Regan April 2 Straight No Chaser - The Open Bar Tour April 8-11 Broadway tour announced August 17 Sponsored by Bay State Savings Bank** May 1-2 Shen Yun* May 6-9 Broadway tour announced July 20 Sponsored by Cornerstone Bank** May 16 The Kid Brother Silent Film accompanied by Clark Wilson on the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ* June 22-27 Mean Girls Sponsored by Fidelity Investments** New date TBA Jerry Seinfeld (originally scheduled for April 10, 2020) Please understand that all shows, dates, times and pricing are subject to change. * Show may not be on sale at the time of printing. ** Tickets to our 2020-2021 Broadway Series are only available as subscription packages at this time. See page 22.
October 19 David Sedaris
Photo © Adam DeTour
Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory Spring/Summer 2020
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Youth Acting Company: A New Opportunity
Youth Acting Company members attend their first table reading for Romeo + Juliet. Photo by UnityMike, Michael Hendrickson.
In Fall 2019, the conservatory launched the Youth Acting Company (YAC). The company, comprised of students between the ages of 12 and 19, was created to give young, capable actors performance opportunities throughout the year. Actors are selected for the YAC by invitation only, and students rehearse for three performances a year in the fall, winter and spring. In addition, students must attend two or more rehearsals per week while in session and must be enrolled in at least two conservatory classes.
performed in June. In October 2019, company members debuted in Roald Dahl’s The Witches, a Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) show directed by Sharon Hart, an instructor in the conservatory since its opening in 2017. As Hart describes, “experimenting with different styles of acting outside of the classroom is immensely valuable for theatre students and contributes to a holistic approach of learning from doing. TYA is a presentational style of theatre that draws upon a different set of performance skills.” The YAC members had the chance to put these skills to the test as they visited and performed “The entire artistic for three different schools in the team pushes us and Worcester area, in addition to two public performances of the show exposes us to things at The Hanover Theatre. For many we wouldn’t find YAC members, this was their first anywhere else.” experience performing in the TYA style and touring a show.
The YAC allows actors to perform more frequently than they might at school and exposes them to multiple directors and styles of theatre. “Our conservatory focuses on training and educating students in the arts, but we also understand how important performance opportunities are in order to put that training into practice,” says Meghan Montaner, director of education at the theatre and conservatory. “Together with our Youth Summer Program, YAC students are exposed to four different directing styles in three or more spaces in a single year. It’s a rare experience for a local teen and certainly pushes them to grow and adapt.” To date, the YAC has presented two productions and is currently rehearsing for a third to be page 10
According to YAC member Denali Herbert, taking part in a traveling production was a new and exciting opportunity. “One of my favorite experiences I have had in YAC was during The Witches. I have never experienced a touring production and hadn’t known how fun it could be performing in new and different places,” says Herbert. “I especially loved the excitement of each audience and watching their enjoyment as we performed.”
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The company’s second performance took place in February 2020 and was a collection of original monologues entitled Acts of Love directed by Jenna Lea Scott, a Boston-based actress and director who recently joined the conservatory faculty. For this performance experience, company members were tasked with writing and performing their own stories about love. Company members learned firsthand about the hard work, time and effort involved in creating a show from scratch. “YAC is a fantastic opportunity for teens,” says Scott, “unlike community theatre or high school drama club, YAC focuses on the ensemble. It was a joy to foster this talented ensemble who support each other and work so well together.” Currently, YAC members are in Zoom rehearsals for a staged reading of Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, directed by Olivia Scanlon, managing director of Worcester’s new BrickBox Theater and a classicallytrained actor herself. Scanlon works with YAC members to demystify Shakespeare’s language and make it their own. “If they can act Shakespeare,” Scanlon claims, with a smile, “they can act anything.” In tandem with her management of the BrickBox, Scanlon will manage a new initiative called The Hanover Theatre Repertory, or THT Rep, for short. Under its auspices, THT Rep will create homegrown plays and theatrical events to be performed at this new, more intimate venue. Scanlon and Montaner plan to further develop the relationship between THT Rep and the YAC, with an ultimate goal of providing the youth actors perennial opportunities to learn from and work with professionals in fully realized THT Rep productions. For now, the YAC has already proved enormously beneficial to its members. According to company member Maggie Mussler, “I’ve learned how to improve my acting abilities and have been able to work with some of the best performers I’ve ever met. I am truly grateful to have gotten the opportunity to be a part of this group.” For company member Sophie Szydlik, YAC has offered her unique experiences and taken her training to a new level. “The entire artistic team pushes us and exposes us to things we wouldn’t find anywhere else, allowing us to grow as performers and people,” says Szydlik. In the future, the hope is to expand the company and continue to offer students exciting opportunities in Worcester’s growing arts scene. “We are so proud of all eight of our inaugural Youth Acting Company members. Getting to know them and watching them take advantage of this opportunity has been an incredible experience for all involved,” says Montaner.
Top: YAC members pose with director, Jenna Lea Scott, after their performance of Acts of Love in February. Bottom: Students at Rice Square Elementary School enjoy a performance of Roald Dahl’s The Witches by the Youth Acting Company as a TYA show.
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Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory Spring/Summer 2020
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Still Blue...The Rest is New!
Blue Man Group January 14-17 Sponsored by Berkshire Bank Blue Man Group New Tour, photos by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2019.
More than 35 million people around the world have experienced the smash hit phenomenon that is Blue Man Group and now it’s your turn! Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987, known worldwide for its stage productions which incorporate many kinds of music and art, both popular and obscure, in its performances. The Blue Men have continuing shows in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York City and Orlando. Get ready as Blue Man Group will be stopping in Worcester for a limited engagement on their new North American tour. It’s everything you know and love about Blue Man Group: signature drumming, colorful moments of creativity and quirky comedy, the men are still blue but the rest is all new! Featuring pulsing, original music, custommade instruments, surprise audience interaction and hilarious absurdity, join the Blue Men in a joyful page 12
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experience that unites audiences of all ages. Blue Man Group is part of our 2020-2021 Broadway Series coming January 14-17. Visit TheHanoverTheatre.org/subscriptions or call the box office at 877.571.7469 for more information. Please see page 22 for the many benefits of subscribing.
Escape to the Theatre and Don’t Forget Your Sunglasses! Jimmy Buffett’s
Escape to Margaritaville January 28-31
Sponsored by The Club at Rockland Trust Bank
Welcome to Margaritaville, where people come to get away from it all and stay to find something they never expected. Get ready for Escape to Margaritaville, a hilarious and heartwarming new musical with the most unforgettable songs from one of music’s greatest storytellers, Jimmy Buffett. This is the story of a part-time bartender, part-time singer and full-time charmer named Tully who thinks he’s got life all figured out until a beautiful career-minded tourist steals his heart and makes him question everything. Imagine a place where the sun is hot, the ocean’s warm, and the drinks are as cold as they are plentiful. USA Today calls Escape to Margaritaville “a little slice of paradise” and Entertainment Weekly raves, “it will knock your flip-flops off!” After premiering on Broadway in February 2018, Escape to Margaritaville launched the first national tour in Providence, RI in 2019 to rave reviews. So, don’t let the party start without you. Just when the winter blues are about to hit, Escape to Margaritaville will be bringing Island time to The Hanover Theatre January 28-31. Please see page 22 for more information on becoming a Broadway subscriber or call the box office 877.571.7469.
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Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory Spring/Summer 2020
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Hamilton Choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler Gives CATS a New Spring in its Step
CATS February 25-28
Sponsored by Country Bank Dan Hoy as ‘Munkustrap’ and the North American Tour of CATS. Photo by Matthew Murphy 2019.
“So many millions of people have a love affair with this show; I feel it is important to give them what they remember,” says Andy Blankenbuehler, who is choreographing the first Broadway revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS, the musical phenomenon that has captivated audiences since the 1980s and will return to The Hanover Theatre for the 2020-2021 Broadway Series. Blankenbuehler, who is best known for creating the dazzling kinetic moves in this decade’s musical phenomenon Hamilton, will base his work on the original choreography by Gillian Lynne. The new production of CATS also retains director Trevor Nunn, and set and costume designer John Napier, both of whom won 1983 Tony® Awards for the original production. “I don’t want to break the DNA of the show, but I want to move it a little more quickly, deepen the storytelling and strengthen the characterizations, so that when audiences see the show, it will be something they remember, but which happens in a way that is not familiar.” Letting the memory live again, to quote from the musical’s popular hit song, could be a challenge. “I think the millions of people who saw CATS took away from it very different things,” notes Blankenbuehler. “As an audience member, you have romantic memories that moved you, but decades later you only remember the impact of the show.” He reports page 14
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that he recently talked to a young woman who recalled seeing the show when she was a preteen. “She remembered how she was sitting on the aisle, and the white cat, which is a sort of idealized vision of feline beauty [physically] touched her. That image of theatrical beauty stayed with her through her entire childhood. She now works in the entertainment business and she swears it was that moment that changed her creative life.” Blankehnbuehler himself was just 12, a Cincinnati preteen bitten by the theater bug, when CATS first opened on Broadway. As an aspiring dancer in 1990 at age 20, he says, he was inspired by the extraordinary success of the dance-focused megamusical when he moved to New York City to pursue his dream. “I literally had a photo of the Winter Garden [theatre] CATS billboard over my bed,” he recalls. “More than anything else, the impact the show made on me was that a historic thing could happen because of dancers — that dance could touch the lives of so many people every night and make a difference. It made the sacrifices of making no money and living in a five-flight walk-up in New York worth it. The irony was that I never got to dance in CATS,” he adds. In the mid-1990s, the young dancer went on tour with Lloyd Webber’s Music of the Night, but he got to know the composer personally only after he took
on the job of directing and choreographing the recent national tour of Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. By this time, of course, Blankenbuehler had received a Tony Award® for In the Heights and two subsequent Tony® nominations for 9 to 5 and Bring It On. “Andrew reached out to me and asked me to fashion and write a new concert retrospective of his work, and that’s really how we got to know each other,” he explains. And then, not long after Hamilton began its charmed life at the Public Theater at the beginning of 2015, Lloyd Webber asked Blankenbuehler if he would like to choreograph the Broadway revival of CATS. A new, slightly tweaked production had just opened in London the previous fall, but the creators were looking for a fresh take for Broadway.
long and sweeping,” Blankenbuehler continues. “I’m rhythmically based, and so my pictures are always about syncopation and shapes that crunch down, as opposed to shapes that expand up. I wanted to take her bible and meet it with my bible; I think in that we are going to be great partners.” In the 30-plus years since CATS opened, not only have audiences changed, we have shorter attention spans, are open to more stimulation and frequently multitask, but the tools available to a choreographer are also more varied. Blankenbuehler notes that today’s young performers’ abilities have been broadened by dance competition TV shows like “So You Think You Can Dance.” “You have these dancers coming to us with tremendous skills that range from ballet to tap to [streetdance styles like] krumping and popping or [hip-hop’s] locking, to modern and contemporary dance.”
LET THE MEMORY LIVE AGAIN
When preparing for the Broadway revival, Blankenbuehler met regularly with director Nunn and other members of the original creative team. “It’s an amazing “The creative team talked to collaboration,” he reports, talking me a lot about the musical about the creators of CATS. not just being about cats, but “Maybe I am being boastful, about finding the common but it is a similar feeling that I ground where the audience have when I am around my can see themselves in the cats,” Hamilton friends. There was a Blankenbuehler continues. “So feeling during In the Heights and for me as a choreographer, it’s Hamilton — we are all at the top a great opportunity to further of our craft and all our cylinders deepen the individual cats are firing — that we were in the within the tribe. As Andrew’s sandbox and we just had to get musical styles change, I have our hands dirty because we had them move in different ways. I nothing to lose. One person feeds am also making choreographic off the other and things that you adjustments for Rum Tum Tugger, LOCALIZATION don’t anticipate happen,” he Mistoffelees, for the Macavity GOES HERE explains. “I think that’s how CATS was made, that fight and for our younger cats. One thing that’s they got into this room and it was this mad, crazy going to be substantially different is the connective ORIGINALLY PRODUCED BY CAMERON MACKINTOSH AND THE REALLY USEFUL GROUP LIMITED science experiment. So it is a huge flattering gestureTM © 1981 RUGtissue between moments. The archetypal characters LTD to me to just be in the room with these guys.” are the same but I want to make sure, as I have always done, that in the transitions, the storytelling Blankenbuehler particularly treasures his continues in a very dynamic way.” conversations with Lynne, the original choreographer, who turned 90 earlier this year. The design elements of the CATS revival are pretty “There are lyrics in the show, but there is a lot of much the same as the original and, apart from a music without words, a lot of ballet gestures,” he few cuts and some reshuffling of scenes, the show explains. “Gillian, with Trevor, obviously, did a great remains structurally the same. But the production has amount of work creating the storytelling. In many a new lighting designer in Natasha Katz. “The lighting ways she wrote the book, as the choreographer of a is the doorway that the audience walks through, danced-through piece does. So it was important for so with her changes and my staging changes, me to hear what she had to say and to understand I think the show will unfold in a different way,” why, for instance, she chose to make one section says Blankenbuehler. “The big gamble is to take in unison and another with one person. Ultimately, something that feels familiar and make it unfold in a the difference between Gillian and me is that she is deeper and more colorful way.” balletically and lyrically based, so the pictures are by Gerard Raymond Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory Spring/Summer 2020
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The Band’s Visit March 18-21
Sponsored by The Club at Rockland Trust Bank The company of The Band’s Visit North American Tour. Photo by Matthew Murphy.
In The Band’s Visit, Playwright Itamar Moses Helps Strangers Tell the Truth Sometimes, you can only be honest with strangers. “It’s much safer to talk about things with someone you don’t know and will never see again,” says playwright Itamar Moses. “They don’t know the story you’ve built up around yourself.” That curious freedom shapes The Band’s Visit, the new Broadway musical about a group of Egyptian musicians you get lost on their way to a concert in Israel. Stranded in a small town, they pass the time with the locals, eating at their tables and sleeping in their spare rooms. To Moses, who wrote the musical’s book, that’s a perfect catalyst for drama. “Everything that happens is only possible because they two groups of people don’t know each other,” he says. Take Iris, an Israeli wife and mother who finds her own birthday party crashed by musicians her husband brings home. After years of mute frustration with her marriage, she suddenly reveals everything. “The eyes of these strangers on her life make it impossible to ignore what she’s been trying to suppress,” Moses says. page 16
The same is true for characters who confess their dreams, regrets and loves. Ironically, they may be even more honest with each other because they don’t share a language. The Egyptians speak Arabic and the Israelis speak Hebrew, but when they talk to each other, they use halting, tentative English. “When you don’t have unlimited language as a tool, you really have to get to the point right away,” Moses says. “People aren’t going to talk around the truth, because they don’t have the words.” Naturally, that limited vocabulary affected Moses’ playwriting. “But I never lamented it as a limitation,” he says. “I really enjoyed the tension between the simplicity of the language and the depth of the emotion. Sometimes, there’s nothing better than having a constraint.” By Mark Blankenship The multi-Tony® Award-winning show, The Band’s Visit is part of our 2020-2021 Broadway Series coming to The Hanover Theatre next spring. More info is available on the subscription series on page 22.
TheHanoverTheatre.org • 877.571.SHOW(7469)
Mean Girls June 22-27
Sponsored by Fidelity Investments The national tour of Mean Girls. Photos by Joan Marcus 2019.
It’s So Fetch! Direct from Broadway, Mean Girls is the hilarious hit new musical from book writer Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), composer Jeff Richmond (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), lyricist Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde) and director Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon). Based on the 2004 film written by Fey, the Chicago Tribune proclaims Mean Girls is “by far the funniest musical of the year!” Mean Girls takes you through the story of a naïve high school newbie who falls prey to a trio of lionized frenemies, led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. The Mean Girls musical premiered in Washington, D.C. in October 2017 before opening on Broadway in April 2018. Currently, the show continues to dazzle audiences on Broadway, as well as on the national tour, which launched in September 2019. We’ll let you in on a little secret, because we’re such good friends. Don’t miss this show…it’s super fun and SO fetch.
Mean Girls is part of the 2020-2021 Broadway Series coming to The Hanover Theatre June 22-27, 2021. Visit TheHanoverTheatre.org/subscriptions or call the box office at 877.571.7469 for more information. Please see page 22 for the many benefits of subscribing.
Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory Spring/Summer 2020
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Stay Tuned for Two More Award-Winning Broadway Tours We Know You’ll Love! By now, you know that we have restrictions placed on when we announce each show for the upcoming season so that our runs don’t compete with other markets. We know that you will be thrilled about these two new and powerful musicals that we are bringing to Worcester for the first time. Get ready for these summer announcements and the fun events that we are planning to celebrate our 2020-2021 Broadway Series. Sponsored by April 8-11, 2021, Show TBA Dust off your dancing shoes for this sensational show that illuminates the life of a musical legend. Announcement on August 17.
May 6-9, 2021, Show TBA Get ready for a romantic and adventure-filled lush new musical with historic roots. Announcement on July 20.
Sponsored by
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Photo: Michael Patrick Lefebvre
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July 10
Jazz at Sunset Returns At the time of printing, The Theatre District Alliance and WICN 90.5 FM are exploring options for responsibly presenting a safe and socially distanced return of Jazz at Sunset this summer in the lot behind The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory. The series consists of two fabulous performances. The first features the winning combination of jump, swing, blues, R&B and soul from Roomful of Blues on Friday, July 10. The second performance features saxophonist, singer and songwriter Grace Kelly on Friday, August 7.
August 7
Both shows begin at 6:30 pm. Details on the events and setup will be updated on our website with safe social distancing guidelines. We anticipate a cash bar, food trucks and a limited number of VIP stage-front tables. Since safety is our main priority, seating will be very limited and advance ticket sales may be necessary.
Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory Spring/Summer 2020
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Put Your Event Center Stage
Whether you’re looking to create an intimate cocktail party or a large-scale corporate event, we have options to fit a wide variety of needs. The Hanover Theatre, winner of a National Trust for Historic Preservation Award for its renovation and restoration, combines the best of both worlds here in the heart of New England. Experience grand elegance in a sophisticated setting where old-world charm meets stateof-the-art technology to entertain and engage 40 to 2,300 guests. Our function rooms can accommodate social groups and gatherings as well as corporate meetings and private events including: • pre- & post-show cocktail parties • fundraisers • holiday gatherings • appetizers, buffets, dinners • networking or staff socials • donor & client appreciation events • weddings & celebrations • Bar/Bat Mitzvahs • corporate meetings For more information contact Christina, function coordinator, at 508.471.1799 or christina@thehanovertheatre.org TheHanoverTheatre.org/function-spaces page 20
TheHanoverTheatre.org • 877.571.SHOW(7469)
Inspirational and Uplifting
Sarah Brightman recently released her much anticipated fifteenth full-length album, “HYMN,” which she will perform on our stage October 20. “I’m so excited to share this album with everyone. ‘HYMN’ is excitingly eclectic, encompassing many different styles, and I’m looking forward to performing the new songs on my world tour. Every project I’ve done has come from an emotional place, and I wanted to make something that sounded very beautiful and uplifting. To me, ‘HYMN’ suggests joy, a feeling of hope and light, something that is familiar and secure, and I hope that sentiment resonates through the music,” says Sarah Brightman. To enhance her world of enchantment, Sarah Brightman has partnered with Swarovski on her world tour. Her elaborate costumes and dazzling tiaras will be composed of over 600,000 Swarovski crystals. Known for her three-octave range and for pioneering the classical-crossover music movement, she is the only artist to have simultaneously topped Billboard’s dance and classical music charts, and racked up more than 180 gold and platinum awards in over 40 countries. She is also known for her iconic star turn in The Phantom of the Opera, whose soundtrack has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. Her duet with Andrea Bocelli, “Time To Say Goodbye,” became an international success selling 12 million copies worldwide.
Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory Spring/Summer 2020
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A New Theater for the Theatre District
Top left: Troy Siebels, president and CEO of THT, and Erin I.Williams, cultural development officer for the City of Worcester, at the opening celebration of JMAC. Bottom right: Olivia Scanlon, managing director of the BrickBox Theater. Photos by UnityMike and JMAC instagram
Around the corner from The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, a project seven years in the making, is on the brink of its exciting debut. At 20 Franklin Street, in the back of the building, a space that once housed the sports department of the Telegram & Gazette, has slowly but surely been transformed into the BrickBox Theater, an intimate performance venue operated by The Hanover Theatre on behalf of the Worcester Cultural Coalition. Together with its sister-space, the Worcester PopUp, the BrickBox is housed in the Jean McDonough Arts Center (JMAC), named on March 5, 2020, in honor of arts philanthropist Jean McDonough, who gifted $2 million to support the completion of the venue and subsidize its first years of operation. The BrickBox can seat up to 290 audience members and comes fully loaded with state-of-the-art page 22
equipment. Support spaces include well-appointed dressing rooms, a palatial green room and a private rehearsal hall. The venue will serve as a performance space for the Worcester Cultural Coalition’s myriad member organizations, including The Hanover Theatre itself, which will use the BrickBox for conservatory performances and to launch a new initiative called The Hanover Theatre Rep, or THT Rep, for short. Helmed by Olivia Scanlon, who also serves as managing director of the BrickBox, THT Rep will produce homegrown plays and theatrical events for the BrickBox, with a heavy emphasis on staging classic works. To keep up to date with the BrickBox, please visit jmacworcester.org and follow @jmacworcester on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
TheHanoverTheatre.org • 877.571.SHOW(7469)
Proud of Our Partners performance or anytime in between! To see a complete listing and for more details including their special offers, please visit TheHanoverTheatre.org/ gourmet-partners. If you need a place to stay, transportation or attire, our Hospitality Partners are here to serve you, so please reach out to them at TheHanoverTheatre.org/ hospitality-partners.
We are so proud to partner with over 100 businesses throughout the Worcester community that cover an array of industries and offer a variety of services. When we raise our curtains again and their doors are wide open, we’d like to ask that you support their continued success. Over 25 local restaurants participate in our Gourmet Partner Program and provide our theatre goers special discounts and offers. Make time to enjoy a meal, appetizer or beverage before or after a
Also, please visit one of our many retail, lifestyle and service Promotional Partners and let them know that you not only appreciate their support of our theatre and the arts, but that you also appreciate them. Visit TheHanoverTheatre.org/promotional-partner for more information. And of course, we’d also like to acknowledge our Corporate Partners and Sponsors for all they do, listed at TheHanoverTheatre.org/corporate-sponsors. A big thank you to all of these amazing businesses! We are all in this together and look forward to enjoying everything our vibrant community offers!
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Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory Spring/Summer 2020
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Best Seats. Best Value. Best Benefits. Available ONLY to Broadway Subscribers.
TBA August 17
TBA JULY 20
Jan 14-17 Jan 28-31 Feb 25-28 Mar 18-21 April 8-11 May 6-9 June 22-27
Blue Man Group Sponsored by Berkshire Bank Escape to Margaritaville Sponsored by The Club at Rockland Trust Bank CATS Sponsored by Country Bank The Band’s Visit Sponsored by The Club at Rockland Trust Bank Broadway tour to be announced August 17 Sponsored by Bay State Savings Bank Broadway tour to be announced July 20 Sponsored by Cornerstone Bank Mean Girls Sponsored by Fidelity Investments
*Shows and dates subject to change.
Get the Best Benefits. . . Subscribe Today to Broadway in Worcester! Only subscribers have access to the BEST SEATS in the theatre. We offer subscription seats in all price levels IN THE ORCHESTRA.
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NEW! Only seven show subscribers receive the ability to EXCHANGE YOUR TICKETS INTO ANY 2020-2021 BROADWAY SERIES SHOW OR PERFORMANCE.
Subscribers are FIRST TO GUARANTEE OR IMPROVE SEATING each year before the Broadway Series goes on sale to anyone else.
SAVE UP TO 15% off regular individual ticket prices. That adds up to savings between $50-$98 per adult and even more ($98-$219) on student subscriptions!
Enjoy every Broadway performance from your GUARANTEED, SELECTED SEATS. Share the joy and purchase ADDITIONAL TICKETS for any show in the 2020-2021 Broadway Series AT THE SAME GREAT ADULT OR STUDENT SUBSCRIPTION PRICE.
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Make memories at our beautiful and historic theatre! We have your seats reserved.
Behind the Scenes
Magazine is published twice a year by The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts. All rights reserved.
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Editor: Lisa K. Condit Designer: Monica Wagner Elefterion Contributors: Lilly Irwin, Meghan Montaner, Diane Pieciak, Kelly Rourke, Olivia Scanlon, Troy Siebels, Harmony Wheeler. Advertise in our next magazine: Call Diane 508.930.2424. All images, unless otherwise noted, copyright ©2020. The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts.
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TheHanoverTheatre.org/subscriptions • 2 Southbridge Street • Worcester, MA 01608 page 25
TheHanoverTheatre.org
2 Southbridge Street • Worcester, MA 01608
Worcester Center for Performing Arts is a registered not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, which owns and operates The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
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Cover image: Company of the National Tour, Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville © Matthew Murphy.
