Cast Announces for THE 2017 TONY AWARDZ at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre

Upright Citizen Brigade presents The 2017 Tony Awardz, a musical parody by Stephanie Streisand and Rocco Privetera.  Evan Greenspoon directs a cast of seven including Stephanie Streisand, Michael Hartney, Richard "Big Rich" Armstead, Adam Bozarth, Caroline Cotter, Matthew Frazier, and Douglas Widick.  The 2017 Tony Awardz will run at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, 307 West 26th Street, in New York City Monday, December 17th at 9:30pm with future dates to be announced shortly.

See the future of Broadway today! The 2017 Tony Awardz parodies everything about today's Broadway trends. The nominated musicals in 2017 have all the clichés and trends you love and love to hate! What musical will win? Will it be the Jukebox musical, the new musical based on a historical figure, the musical based on a movie, or the musical that rebels against all musicals? Find out at The 2017 Tony Awardz!

The 2017 Tony Awardz is presented by Upright Citizens Brigade. Writer, Lyricist, Producer: Stephanie Streisand; Composer, Lyricist, Producer: Rocco Privetera; Director: Evan Greenspoon; Choreographer: Meagan Robar; Lighting and Sound: Alex Adan; Video Segments director: Matthew Braunsdorf; Graphics: Adam Bozarth; Associate Producer: John Robert Wilson; Publicist: Paul Siebold/Off Off PR.

Stephanie Streisand (book, lyrics, performer) has performed Off-Broadway in Alice (March Hare), Hidden Voices (Liz), and Songs for a New World. She was a past host of "Fangoria TV" and has also appeared as various characters on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." Stephanie is also a performer/writer at the UCB Theatre. Her past UCB credits include "The Improvised One Act Play Festival," "Immortal Kombat," "Hogwarts," "The Hipster Show," "UCBW Cage Match" and the musical comedy "Newsadoozies."

Rocco Privetera (composer, additional lyrics) is a jazz pianist and composer from the University of the Arts, a working musician and actor, and a veteran of the NYC improv scene. His past music composition credits include: Twice Upon a Time and Roe vs. Wade: The Musical. Rocco has also directed stage musicals (In The Flesh, E-TV), was the musical director for a Second City touring company show, has directed musical improv shows (Los Banditos del Canto, Cherub Improv) and is a regular accompanist for the PIT and Magnet Theater's Musical Improv team nights.

Evan Greenspoon (director) is a writer, performer, and director at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. He writes for Stone Cold Fox, UCB's first-ever weekend sketch team. He co-created and stars in The Unbreakable Gun: A Live-Action Action Movie. He also co-wrote and starred in the long-running 2Pac: The Musical! He's appeared in numerous shows on the UCB stage, including Dusty Springfield: Live in Heaven, Celebrity Funeral, and others. Outside of UCB, he writes for Story Notes on AMC. His writing has appeared in McSweeney's, on the front page of Funny or Die, and in the forthcoming UCB Magazine. He's also a contributing writer for Jest. Evan grew up in West Virginia and now lives in Brooklyn. He studied theatre and English at NYU.

The Upright Citizens Brigade (Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh) came to New York, from Chicago, in 1996. After staging their award winning sketch comedy show, and introducing the long form improvised structure of the "Harold" to New York audiences the UCB soon began their training program.  The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre is dedicated to fostering both an appreciation and education of the arts through affordable and high quality comedic performances and classes.  Our all ages venue offers big names for small change: Robin Williams, Mike Myers, Will Ferrell, Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey and Conan O'Brien have each appeared in shows at UCB Theatre for no more than $8 per ticket. UCB Theatre's improv, stand-up and sketch comedy shows also regularly feature rising talent culled from our signature training center.

Additional Bios

Meagan Robar (choreographer) is thrilled to have been choreographer of this project! She is currently performing Off-Broadway in 'My Big Gay Italian Wedding' as Connie Scuccifuffio at the St. Luke's Theatre.  An actress/comedienne/dancer, Meagan has earned her BFA from the University of the Arts as well as having trained in London at The British American Drama Academy.  She can be seen on CollegeHumor, The Onion News Network, and Karmaloop TV's comedic series "Girlhattan."

Matt Braunsdorf (video director) is a filmmaker in New York. Currently an editor and DP for the UCBComedy Beta team "The Punch." His most notable videos are "TNT's The Closer" and "Jim Lehrer: Badass Moderator." Matt is also the Associate Producer at iDeal Partners Film Fund. In his time there he has overseen the production of many films including "Dirty Girl" and "The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete."

Michael Hartney is an actor/writer/comedian in New York City. He is a member of the house sketch team The Prom at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, where he also created So I Like Superman: A One-Nerd Show. Michael can be seen on 30 Rock, the upcoming feature film Small Time, and national spots for Hanes, AT&T, and many more.

Richard "Big Rich" Armstead is an actor/improviser from NJ. His favorite roles include Jeremiah (Zipperface!!?!: The Hobo Musical) and Tank (Hanksylvania). Richard would like to thank his family and friends (old and new) for their love and support.

Adam Bozarth is an actor and writer trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade. He has been a performer on Harold Night and has fake-wrestled in the UCBW on Cage Match. Offstage, he is a writer for truTV's hit show Impractical Jokers. Adam has been a contributing writer for Onion News Network, McSweeneys Internet Tendency, and MakeBlank.com. He also writes and performs sketches each month on the podcast Left Handed Radio. He can also be seen in web videos by Jest.com, Dr. Coolsex, and Mister Clark. He lives in Brooklyn.

Caroline Cotter is an actress and writer living in NYC. She performs with Rocks, a UCB Harold Team, every Tuesday night. She started doing sketch comedy and improv at Fordham Univerisy, where she received a BA in Film Studies. She has been in multiple musicals, plays, and films. Favorite past roles include Izzy (Rabbit Hole) and Annie (Evil Dead the Musical).

Matthew Frazier graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Matthew has performed around the country in such shows as The King and I (Lun Tha), Suessical (Wikersham Brother), Story Park (Jeff London) and several productions of Miss Saigon. Matt has as well had the pleasure of studying and performing improv and sketch at the UCB theatre.

Douglas Widick is an actor, comedian, and musician in New York City. He is a graduate from the Tisch School of the Arts Acting Program. He has studied Improv at the UCB theater, and Musical Improv at the Magnet Theater, UCB, and the PIT. Douglas can be seen in North Coast, Legend (a Magnet Musical Megawatt tean), and Dumpster Tequila around NYC in addition to many other teams. He is a member of the viral comedy team Forklift Comedy. www.DouglasWidick.com