Social: Go Behind The Scenes Of Wolf Trap's BERNSTEIN 100 With Tony Yazbeck Today!
By: Alan Henry Jul. 27, 2018
Go behind the scenes of Wolf Trap's Bernstein 100 celebration today as Tony Yazbeck takes over our Instagram account to give you a behind the scenes look at rehearsal!
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Yazbeck was most recently seen on Broadway in the Susan Stroman/ Harold Prince helmed Prince of Broadway after appearing in the original Japan production (Chita Rivera Award, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations). Yazbeck was recently seen in Manhattan Concert Productions 25th Anniversary concert of Crazy for You, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman. Prior to that, he starred in the Broadway production of Finding Neverland. For the 2014 Broadway revival of On The Town, he won the coveted Astaire Award and was nominated for Tony, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his virtuosic performance.
His other Broadway credits include Chicago (Billy Flynn), Irving Berlin's White Christmas (Phil Davis), Gypsy opposite Patti LuPone (Tulsa; Outer Critics Circle nomination), A Chorus Line (Al), Oklahoma!, Never Gonna Dance, and Gypsy with Tyne Daly. Off-Broadway credits include Beast in the Jungle (Vineyard Theatre), Fanny Hill (at the York), and for City Center Encores!, he has appeared in Little Me, On The Town, Gypsy, The Apple Tree, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Pardon My English. Regional credits include Alliance, Barrington, Williamstown, Hartford Stage, Goodman, St. Louis MUNY, Goodspeed (Connecticut Critics Circle Award), Signature (Helen Hayes Award), Trinity Rep, Paper Mill, and Old Globe. Yazbeck was seen internationally in Kiss Me, Kate at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
TV/Film credits include Billions, Smash, and the feature documentary Every Little Step. Concert appearances include the San Francisco Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas and Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops and Steven Reineke. Yazbeck also stars in his own song and dance show, The Floor Above Me, which has been released digitally and on CD by P.S. Classics.
Wolf Trap honors the memory of one of America's musical geniuses, Leonard Bernstein, with an unparalleled celebration marking his 100th birthday year on Fri., July 27 at the Filene Center. The evening's program features music from some of his most beloved compositions and Broadway musicals including Chichester Psalms; Songfest; Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs; Candide; On The Town; West Side Story, and more, bringing together stars of screen and stage such as Misty Copeland, Tony Yazbeck, Paquito D'Rivera, George Takei, The Manhattan Transfer, Take 6, and the National Symphony Orchestra. See below for complete casting and ticketing information. High resolution production images are available upon request.
"Amidst the wealth of Bernstein celebration concerts this year, we wanted to offer a wide-ranging performance that captures the essence of this American icon," said Kim Pensinger Witman, Vice President, Opera and Classical Programming at Wolf Trap Foundation. "Conductor Michael Barrett - a Bernstein protégé and collaborator - has crafted an evening that represents the amazing breadth of the composer's output and shines a light on his passion for social justice."
Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He took piano lessons as a boy and attended the Garrison and Boston Latin Schools. At Harvard University, he studied with Walter Piston, Edward Burlingame-Hill, and A. Tillman Merritt, among others. In 1940, he studied at the Boston Symphony Orchestra's newly created summer institute, Tanglewood, with the orchestra's conductor, Serge Koussevitzky. Bernstein later became Koussevitzky's conducting assistant. Bernstein was appointed to his first permanent conducting post in 1943, as Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic. On November 14, 1943, Bernstein substituted for the ailing Bruno Walter at a Carnegie Hall concert and received critical acclaim. Bernstein became Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in 1958. From then until 1969 he led more concerts with the orchestra than any previous conductor. He subsequently held the lifetime title of Laureate Conductor.
As a composer, conductor, and educator, Bernstein's contributions left an indelible impact on American music. Bernstein's most famous works include Candide and West Side Story. His orchestral works, including his symphonies, brought popular music styles, jazz, and a previously unintroduced theatricality to the concert hall. Mass, commissioned in 1971 for the opening of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, is a musical-theater work that was composed for choir, pit orchestra, and onstage bands. From West Side Story and Candide to On the Town and Chichester Psalms, Bernstein's diverse works reflected his skill at combining multiple traditions to craft a sound that was distinctively his own invention and distinctively American.
Bernstein at 100: A Celebration is a part of the international celebration of the birth of Leonard Bernstein.
Michael Barrett conducts the National Symphony Orchestra for Bernstein at 100: A Celebration. The associate producer is Jonathan Estabrooks, arranger is Mark Dibble, Chip Abbott is assistant choreographer, music preparation by Joseph Li, and lighting by Martha Mountain. Kristin Kelley is the stage manager.Videos