On this episode of West of Broadway, Lara Scott and Will Armstrong are back from break and sitting down with Musical Theatre Guild members Will Collyer & Wendy Rosoff to discuss this remarkable organization and the work that goes behind producing their one night only musicals.
The Musical Theatre Guild, a nonprofit membership company of theatrical professionals, is devoted to preserving the unique American art form of musical theatre by presenting seldom-seen musicals, and by offering education for both the current and next generations of musical theatre audiences.
Since 1995, MTG has presented countless concerts of lesser-known and forgotten gems from the canon at such venues as the Pasadena Playhouse, Alex Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and Moss Theatre at New Roads School. In addition, our extensive youth outreach program has brought thousand of students into our theaters, (often for the every first time) and in association with the Music Center Education Division, directly into the classroom.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE:
Musical Theatre Guild is operated under agreements with Actors' Equity Association and AFM Local 47.
Sunday, September 24, 2017 at 7:00 PM
Alex Theatre
216 North Brand Boulevard
Glendale, CA 91203
Phone: 818-243-ALEX (2539)
Email: boxoffice@alextheatre.org
LINK: http://www.musicaltheatreguild.com/
http://www.alextheatre.org/event/musical-theatre-guild-presents-sugar
Meet the Guests:
Wendy has performed on Broadway, in National and European tours, as well as many of our great regional theatres around the country. She has performed at Carnegie Hall and was recorded for theGreat Performances Series in the PBS televised special My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies of Broadway as one of Broadway's up and coming leading ladies, directed by Scott Ellis. Other favorite credits include Irving Berlin's White Christmas (Rita) under the direction of Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Mrs. Claus), A Christmas Carol on Broadway, under the direction of Tony Award winner Mike Ockrent and legendary choreographer Susan Stroman, and was in the original revival cast of the Tony Award winning Broadway revival of 42nd St choreographed by Randy Skinner. In addition, she's been seen singing and dancing on The Tony Awards, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and The Today Show among others. Wendywrote, co-choreographed and starred in a full-length multimedia one-woman show calledConfessions Of A Christmas Banshee, which premiered at the Lankershim Arts Center, and was met with critical acclaim. Recently she made her debut with Los Angeles' beloved Musical Theatre Guild performing in Promises, Promises at The Alex Theatre. A few other favorite regional theatre credits include: Falsettos (Cordelia), The Full Monty (Vicki), Crazy For You (Patsy), Disenchanted! (Belle), Back To The Future,The Musical Parody (George McFly), and 4 seasons as a Guest Artist with the multiple award winning Transcendence Theatre Company in Sonoma, CA.
TV credits include: Shameless, Scorpion, Criminal Minds, Castle, and the ill fated ABC pilot, Good Behavior starring Jeffrey Tambor and Catherine O'Hara. FILM: Breakup/Fixup, Love and Light, Cross, Cabin Fever 2 (also served as choreographer), The Prestige, Getting To Know You, Digital Content: Groupthink (co-creator and series regular), Goodnight Burbank as series regular Zoe Travis, The Temp Life, Killer Robots (BBC), and Two Peas In Your Pod.
As a director/choreographer, Wendy's work has been seen Off-Broadway and regionally in shows including Transcendence Theatre's concert series, (2015 Broadwayworld.com Best Theatre Event), national tour of Baby, It's You, The Full Monty, Rocky Horror Show, West Side Story, Little Shop Of Horrors, Side Show, Glory Of Love, Funny Thing...Forum, Seussical, Grease, and Once On This Island as well as crossing mediums, and directing for film and the web, most recently directing a multi-spot campaign for marketing analytics company, Visual IQ.
As an educator, Wendy is currently on faculty at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, She has also taught at The Strasberg Institute, The Youth Academy of Dramatic Arts, Millennium Dance Studio's professional children's program, Bring It To Broadway, and the Broadway Arts Camp. On the other coast, Wendy was a part of the Broadway Big Brother/Big Sister program at Broadway Dance Center, and was an educator for the Broadway Teachers Workshop and has taught privately all over The New York Tri-State area.
Social Media: www.wendyrosoff.com, Facebook: Wendy Rosoff, Twitter: @wendyrosoff, Instagram: wrosoff.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2260983/
A critically acclaimed actor, singer, and composer, Will Collyer has frequently guest-starred on prime-time TV (most recently guest starring on TNT's Rizolli & Isles and recurring on ABC's The Middle), lent his voice to dozens of feature films and TV series, appeared onstage at the Mark Taper Forum (Parade), Kirk Douglas Theatre (Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson), and Pasadena Playhouse (Breaking Through), and composed the scores for three full-length stage musicals and numerous short films.
He holds a degree in theatre from UCLA's School of Theatre, Film & Television, where he studied with Joe Olivieri, Karen Morrow, Nancy Dussault and John Hall, as well as Carol Burnett, who directed him in a leading role in Once Upon a Mattress.
As a voiceover artist, he can be heard in Disney/Pixar's Cars 3 and Finding Dory, Marvel's Avengers Assemble, Disney Jr's Doc McStuffins, as well as narrating multiple audiobooks (most recently the best selling thriller The Killing Kind), and as the voice behind commercial campaigns for Chase Credit Cards, KFC and Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance.
Outside of acting, Will is a published composer and songwriter. He and songwriting partner Emily Thompson released their debut EP, ifsoever, in January of 2016, while his original musicals The Gingerbread Pimp (2013 New York Musical Theatre Festival) and Right Together, Left Together, have received numerous workshops and developmental productions in Los Angeles and New York. Additionally, he composed the theme song for the feature film Bounty Killer, "The Kill", which was recorded by Sara Bareilles.
http://www.willcollyer.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thewillcollyer/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1181407/
ABOUT: WEST OF BROADWAY
Theater veteran Will Armstrong and theater enthusiast Lara Scott discuss the vibrant musical theater scene on the West Coast, covering movie musicals, region productions, national tours, and more with the cast, crew, producers, and supporters who make it all happen. If you want a lighthearted celebration of musical theater, you can find it all West of Broadway!
West of Broadway Site: http://www.westofbroadwaypodcast.com/
Lara Scott | @RadioLara
When she's not co-hosting West of Broadway can be heard on the radio in Southern California on K-Earth 101. Lara is also the host of The World Chart Show, an internationally syndicated Top 40 countdown, and her voice has been used on programs for Bravo, VH-1, the Olympic Encore on Universal Sports, and in-flight programming for Delta Radio and Air Force 1. She is also a weekend lounge host on www.MartiniInTheMorning.com, where she plays Standards from The Great American Songbook.
Born in Southwest Florida, Lara headed to Oregon after high school. She got into radio in Bend, Oregon, after calling a local station on a dare from a friend, and then continued her broadcasting career in Portland. After graduating with a B.S. in Philosophy from Portland State University, she moved to San Francisco to become the music director and nighttime air personality at KZQZ/95.7. She then spent almost seven years as the midday host at KYSR/Star 98.7 in Los Angeles, followed by almost a decade in mornings and middays at KFSH/95.9 The Fish.
Her passion for preservation and history led her to Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, a historic theater that shows classic films on the big screen every weekend, and she now serves on their advisory board. The theater was also featured in her first book, From the Corner of Hollywood and diVine: Your Guide to 30 Old Hollywood-Inspired Spots in Southern California. She is the co-host, along with Oscar-winning filmmaker James Moll, of the Classic Movie Recall podcast, and reviews films from the Golden Age of Hollywood every week.
Lara was a 2008 President's Volunteer Service Award winner, which was presented by recording artist Michael W. Smith on behalf of President George W. Bush for her charity work. In her free time, she can be found hanging out with her young son and daughter, snowboarding, shopping at vintage and thrift stores, chanting at yoga class, and attending lots of concerts and films.
Will Armstrong | @WillArmstrongPR
Will Armstrong started dancing at the age of 2. He started working professionally at Walt Disney World fresh out of High School. After several years in Orlando he set sail with Norwegian Cruise Lines performing in Will Rogers Follies, Greese, Crazy for You and 42nd Street.
When he returned to land, he joined the 1st national tour of Victor/Victoria with Toni Tennille of Captain and Tennille fame. At the end of his 52-week American tour, Will traveled east to perform at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea in various stage productions where he danced, sang and made wonderful friends.
Will's Broadway debut was in 2002 as a chorus member in the Broadway revival of 42nd Street with Tom Wopat of The Dukes of Hazard and Tony Award winner Beth Leavel from the Drowsey Chaperone. After 42nd Street closed, Will filmed Susan Stroman and Mel Brooks movie musical The Producers before taking his final performing job as an ensemble member of The World Famous Radio City Christmas Spectacular. After Will stepped away from performing he joined the support team of the 1st National tour of Wicked before bringing it to the Pantages Theater for a 5 year residency.
Will now owns his own public relations agency where he puts the skills he learned in the entertainment industry to work creating exciting and original strategies that put smiles on his clients faces.
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