Bonnie Milligan and J. Harrison Ghee Will Host Maestra's AMPLIFY 2024

Maestra Music, the Obie Award-winning nonprofit organization founded by Georgia Stitt to support the women and nonbinary musicians in the musical theater industry, will present the much-anticipated Amplify 2024, directed by Jessica Ryan (Between Riverside and Crazy Live Broadcast). This fourth-annual concert and fundraising event features stories, conversations, and musical performances from an impressive array of Broadway stars, composers, music directors, and more. Amplify 2024 will take place on Monday, March 25, 2024, at 8:00 pm at Sony Hall (235 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036). 

The evening will be hosted by 2023 Tony Award winners Bonnie Milligan and J. Harrison Ghee, and will feature performances by Rheanna Atendido, Santino Fontana, Amanda Green, Brooke Ishibashi, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Mary Kate Morrissey, Liam Pearce, Jasmine Amy Rogers, Sushma Saha, Ariella Serur, Jordan Tyson, Joy Woods, Nicole Zuraitis. The Amplify House Band will be made up of: Monica Davis, Clerida Eltimé, Ann Klein, Mary Ann McSweeney, Julianne B. Merrill, Noelle Rueschman, and Shirazette Tinnin.

​Amplify 2024 celebrates the rich creativity and ingenuity of Maestras in musical theater, ranging from legendary to emerging talents. The event will showcase the musical brilliance of renowned composers and lyricists such as Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Frozen), Susan Birkenhead (BOOP! The Musical), Amanda Green (Female Troubles), Rebekah Greer Melocik (How to Dance in Ohio), Brandy Hoang Collier, Clare Fuyuko Bierman and Erika Ji (Yoko’s Husband’s Killer’s Japanese Wife Gloria), Christine Lavin, and more exciting names to be announced. Music Director Julianne B. Merrill (My Son’s A Queer) leads a band made up entirely of Maestra members: Monica Davis (violin), Ann Klein (guitar), Mary Ann McSweeney (bass),  Merrill (piano), Noelle Rueschman (reeds), Shirazette Tinnin (drums), and Melissa Westgate (cello). Kristy Norter serves as the Music Coordinator.   

​Amplify 2024 is a pivotal event for Maestra Music, contributing to its mission of providing support, visibility, and community for women and nonbinary music makers in the theater industry. The concert represents a unique opportunity to witness the diversity and talent of Maestras in musical theater, highlighting their crucial role in shaping the industry.

According to Stitt, "This is our fourth annual Amplify concert, and we get bigger and better every year. I love how this concert feels like the embodiment of our mission statement -- providing support, visibility, and especially community for everyone who is part of the Maestra ecosystem. Amplify audiences come for the amazing performances but leave empowered to take Maestra's work back into their own communities. It really is a celebration that starts at the end of Women's History Month and continues for the next eleven months of the year!"

Ryan added, “In 2018/19, 75% of Broadway orchestras were entirely male. In 2022/23, there were 0.  When I saw these staggering statistics from Maestra, my jaw quite literally dropped. So many of us are hungry for change in our industry. And so often, it takes an enormous amount of time to see any real progress. Maestra's relentless commitment to upskilling, advocating for, and amplifying female and non-binary musicians in our musical theatre is helping to make a healthier, more diverse American theatre. Amplify 2024 is a chance for us all to celebrate that change and gear up for another year of this industry-shifting work."

ABOUT MAESTRA

Maestra Music, Inc. was founded by composer/lyricist and music director Georgia Stitt to provide support, visibility, and community to the women and nonbinary people who make the music in the musical theater industry. Maestra envisions a world in which women and nonbinary people have equitable access, visibility, and creative impact in the musical theater industry. In this future, at least half of all music-related theater jobs and leadership roles are filled by qualified women and nonbinary musicians, decidedly inclusive of people of color. These musicians are historically and consistently under-represented in musical theatre. By delivering on our mission, we will be a catalyst and driving force to help achieve gender equity in our business. Maestra Music Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization based in New York. www.maestramusic.org

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski