Spivey's RODGERSANDHART Plays Radford University

Radford University's Department of Theatre and Film presents a concert reading of Rodgersandhart written and performed by Broadway actor and jazz pianist Jonathan Spivey on Sunday, March 18th at 8 PM in the Hawes Studio Theatre on the Radford University campus. Assistant Professor of Performance Molly Hood is the producer for the one night only event.

In this one man tour-de-force, Spivey plays Lorenz Hart, the brilliant but tortured lyricist of American standards Blue Moon, My Funny Valentine, and The Lady Is A Tramp, legendary composer and Hart's collaborator Richard Rodgers, as well as the flamboyant Milton "Doc" Bender, Hart's confidante and lackey at New York City's gay nightclubs. Weaving three distinct characterizations with Rodgers and Hart's songs, the play is set in Hart's apartment during the late night hours after the opening of Oklahoma on Broadway in March 1943. Oklahoma marked the beginning of the professional collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein and the end of Rodgers and Hart. The bewildered lyricist stumbles home after the opening to wrestle with his decision not to collaborate on the musical with Rodgers.

Rodgersandhart was originally conceived and performed as Spivey's thesis in April 2012 as the culmination of his graduate studies at The Old Globe in San Diego where he earned his Master of Fine Arts in Acting. An expanded version of the play received a developmental workshop in New York City as part of Dixon Place's Hot Festival in July 2014.

"I am so excited to bring this play to Radford University," says Hood, who first became aware of the piece when she attended the NYC workshop at Dixon Place. "The Radford Department of Theatre is producing the musical Oklahoma! this Spring, so the timing could not be more perfect. Theatre history, music, song, and a dynamite performance converge in Jonathan Spivey's brilliant one-man show, and give our students the opportunity to interact with material they know in a new and unique way."

Jonathan Spivey resides in New York City. As a performer, his Broadway credits include the 2016 revival of The Front Page, and Lincoln Center's Act One, later televised for PBS. Regional acting credits include performances at Yale Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Barrington Stage Company, Syracuse Stage, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Geva Theatre, Virginia Repertory Theatre, Heritage Repertory Theatre, Phoenix Theatre, and The Old Globe. He is the co-author of the musical comedy Murphy's Law which received its professional premiere in Pittsburgh last spring.

The Hawes Studio Theatre is an intimate blackbox located in Porterfield Hall on the Radford University Campus in Radford, Virginia. Maps and directions are available at radford.edu. Admission is complimentary, and no tickets or reservations are required. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. The show runs one hour with no intermission and will be followed by a talkback.

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