Usdan Center Opens VOICES OF BROADWAY Series with Alysha Umphress & More

Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (www.usdan.com), the renowned Long Island summer arts day camp which has just begun its 48th season, presented its annual "Voices of Broadway" musical performance today. This is a special revue by Broadway performers, part of Usdan's special "Festival Concerts" series, exposing students to the best of the arts.

Featured this year were Alysha Umphress (Hildy in "On the Town"), Cody Williams ("On the Town"), Bernard Dotson (recently in "Chicago," also in "Finian's Rainbow" and "Ragtime") and Nathan Lee Graham (most recently in "Priscilla" and also the films Zoolander and the upcoming Zoolander 2). The Musical Director was Nate Buccieri. The show featured many songs from classic musicals.

In recent years, "Voices of Broadway" artists have included Heidi Blickenstaff ("Something's Rotten"), Seth Rudetsky (national Sirius Radio host and Usdan alumnus) and Tony Award-winner Cady Huffman.

These private performances are special educational experiences running through the first weeks of the season. After that, student classes take over, and every day features a different music, dance or theatre student ensemble in Usdan's 1,000-seat McKinley Ampitheater.

The 2015 series features jazz star/Usdan alumna Jane Monheit, the Limon Dance Company, the Chameleons Mime Theater, cellist Edward Arron and pianist Jeewon Park, Metropolitan Opera soprano Monica Yunus, jazz singer/instrumentalist Camille Thurman with her quartet, and many more.