Feature: Stephen Schwartz Joins Long Island Musical Theatre Festival As Guest Artist

The Long Island Musical Theatre Festival (LIMTF) is making its triumphant return. The beloved celebration of art has not had a full run since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the directors of LIMTF have embraced creativity and flexibility through abridged and virtual versions of the festival, Long Island is excited to welcome back such a wonderful opportunity for aspiring theatre makers for the first time in three years.

Each summer the LIMTF runs, a guest artist is brought in to educate and inspire. This year, the festival attendees are lucky enough to perform for and learn from theatre legend Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell, Pippin).

The students will spend just two weeks putting on two productions. The advanced intensive will perform Pippin while the intermediate intensive will put on Godspell. Through the music and lyrics he composed, Schwartz will act as a guide through the two productions.

"I'm very pleased to be joining. I grew up on Long Island, and I always like working with young people and particularly students who are aspiring to be involved in musical theatre, so it's kind of a homecoming for me," Schwartz said. "In addition to myself, my book writer on Wicked Winnie Holzman also grew up on Long Island."

While Schwartz no longer lives on Long Island, his parents and kids, whom he frequently visits - still do. He anticipates not only the opportunity to be a part of LIMTF this year, but also to visit his family.

Steven Altinel, founder and artistic director of LIMTF, is ecstatic that Schwartz will be joining him on Long Island this summer.

The shows LIMTF put on are decided based on that year's guest artist. With Stephen Schwartz being this year's artist, Altinel was ready to put on productions of Pippin and Godspell for multiple reasons.

"For me, the educational aspect is just as important as the performance element, and I feel like that is lacking in a lot of other community theaters in which students are needed to just fill roles. I want them to learn about these composers," Altinel said.

Altinel looks forward to having Schwartz walk the students through such detailed shows.

When Schwartz was approached by LIMTF and asked if he would like to join as a guest artist for the summer, he said he would be more than happy to do so. He recalls how a few years back LIMTF put on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, for which he is the lyricist.

"These shows are really being done for these students. I hope that these students gain experience in craft in terms of their learning about what they want to do, which is to be involved in musical theatre," Schwartz said.

During the 2016 LIMTF, Altinel brought in Heidi Blickenstaff (Something Rotten!, [title of show]) while the students were working on a production of Cabaret. Blickenstaff was able to offer her expertise and guide students through an entire Kander and Ebb song review, ultimately honing in the style.

Altinel has been working in the summer musical theatre camp space since graduating college with his best friend Nathan Brewer, Executive Director of LIMTF. He recalls observing theatre programs and feeling inspired.

"I wanted to do it on a larger scale. I wanted to do pieces of musical theatre that kids weren't exposed to for various reasons. Whether that be they were too difficult, not popular titles, or titles public schools maybe were not open to doing," Altinel noted.

Altinel has been a high school choir director for seventeen years and has an equal passion for students in the choral space as he does for students in the musical theatre space. He aimed to bridge the two communities together in a way Long Island had never seen before.

"It has evolved into what it is now more of a summer stock model. We do two productions in two weeks for the high school and college students," Altinel said. "What this does is it gives students who are not principal roles in the mainstage a solo opportunity to have something to work towards. So it was really important for me that every member of the festival has some kind of moment to shine."

The LIMTF has certainly grown since its first production of The Secret Garden in 2013, gaining recognition and community support over time.

"I think this is a really good organization. I like what they do. I like how they support their students. I was fortunate enough when I grew up on Long Island to be in an area in which I received a lot of support for my own aspirations and I think it's great that this organization exists to do that, so I am happy to be a part of that," Schwartz said.

Schwartz recognizes the advantage students on Long Island hold with their location.

"Long Island with its proximity to New York has always been fertile ground for people who are interested in musical theatre as well as professions in music in general," Schwartz said. "I think that the Long Island Musical Theatre Festival is perpetuating a tradition. But of course with its pre-professional training program now, it's providing a resource that didn't exist prior to this."

Altinel is proud of the opportunities being provided to his students and recognizes how fortunate his students are.

"My kids sang the finale of "Light" from Next to Normal with the woman who won the Tony Award for that show, which is not happening anywhere else on Long Island," Altinel said.

Altinel hopes that with the training being provided and the support behind these students, they will feel ready to go into a career in theatre.

"These kids that decide to pursue this further I feel are really ahead of the game," Altinel said.

Even when the world shut down and training in person was impossible, the LIMTF was determined to proceed.

In the summer of 2020, a fully virtual program was held with singing, acting, and choreography training.

"Clearly it wasn't optimal, but we adapted as best we could," Altinel said.

This past year, the students were lucky enough to learn from Andrew Lippa (The Addams Family, Big Fish) who taught a masterclass during an abridged one-week version of LIMTF. Lippa gave students directions as they performed, providing an invaluable learning opportunity and experience.

Altinel recalls the momentum LIMTF had before the pandemic and notes how recruiting can be difficult coming back from such a difficult time.

"It really was kind of like starting over in regards to recruiting. But now I'm happy to say we're at our optimal number. We still have a few spots remaining but it is exciting to get back into it and I can tell you just having Stephen Schwartz involved is thrilling not just for me, but for students as well. I think things are going to be really exciting and thrilling once we get it on its feet," Altinel said.

Altinel notes that of course, there is always work to be done.

"We're trying to really bring a community together, I feel like Long Island is so vast. I am really working hard towards recruiting a more diverse cast, so that is something we really look forward to changing in the next few years."

Altinel is proud of the work LIMTF has done to come back from the pandemic and is excited for this summer. Schwartz feels the same way after multiple years of theatre and training programs having to be creatively abnormal.

"I can see the shows that have come back now on Broadway etc. and just the ability to see live performances in general, I think this was something we all took a lot for granted, I certainly did prior to the pandemic," Schwartz said. "It's an especially good feeling to have live theatre back and this training program back."

The Long Island Musical Theatre Festival begins on Aug. 1, 2022. You can see the mainstage production of Pippin on Friday, Aug. 12, and Saturday, Aug. 13, and the Junior production of Godspell on Saturday, Aug. 13.

For more information on The Long Island Musical Theatre Festival, visit http://limtf.org/.

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