Bridgetown Conservatory to Present SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM

Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre has announced the cast of its July 2022 in-person live production of Side by Side by Sondheim. The production will take place July 28, 29, 30 & 31, 2022 at The Tiffany Center's Crystal Room in downtown Portland, Oregon.

Rick Lewis, Artistic Director of Bridgetown Conservatory said: "This past November, the musical theatre world lost one of its greatest contributors to story and song - Stephen Sondheim. We are very excited to present 'the first' musical revue of Stephen Sondheim's enormous catalog - Side by Side by Sondheim, originally produced in 1976. Arguably one of the leading composers of musical theatre for the past fifty years, Sondheim is credited with 'reinventing musical theatre.' Side by Side by Sondheim and features a lot of somewhat overlooked Sondheim pieces from Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Pacific Overtures and more. Originally conceived for a cast of four adults, we are excited to enlarge the show to a cast of eight performers: four adults and four young performers, allowing a broader perspective and life experience (or lack thereof) to influence the storytelling."

Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre prides itself in being the premier training ground for young performers with an eye on a professional musical theatre career. Bridgetown offers "triple-threat" training (Acting, Dance and Vocal Performance) for young professional ages 12-19, preparing for college entrance into top-tier musical theatre programs and professional careers in musical Theatre. Bridgetown Conservatory's musical theatre triple-threat program is taught by former Broadway and NYC professionals, providing experienced and thoughtful insight into the training of young performers.

Over the past few years, Bridgetown Conservatory's graduating high school seniors have garnered spots in such prestigious musical theatre programs as: The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London), The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Manhattan School of Music, Marymount Manhattan, NYU/Steinhard, NYU/Tisch, Boston Conservatory, Chapman University, Pace University, SCU Dramatic Arts, AMDA, Molloy College/CAP21 among others.

Side by Side by Sondheim had its premiere on May 4, 1976 at London's Mermaid Theatre where it ran for 59 performances. It then moved to Wyndham's Theatre and then to the Garrick for a total of 806 performances. The musical revue is comprised of music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, with music (set to Sondheim's lyrics) by Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers and Jule Styne. In 1977, Hal Prince produced the Broadway version (with the original British cast) where it ran for 384 performances. The Broadway production is unique in that all of the cast members were nominated for the 1977 Tony Award (Featured Actor in a Musical). The original London production was nominated for the 1976 Laurence Olivier Award (Best New Musical) and the Broadway production was nominated for the 1977 Tony Award (Best Musical).

The Bridgetown Side by Side by Sondheim cast includes: Justine Elise-Beall, Kerie Darner, Martin Hernandez, Josephine McGehee, Jeremy Anderson-Sloan, Jeremy Southard, Lori Van Dreal and Brock Woolworth. The show will be directed by Del Lewis, with music direction by Mak Kastelic, and music supervision by Rick Lewis. Side by Side by Sondheim will perform Thursday July 28, 2022 through Sunday July 31, 2022 at 7:30PM nightly. Performances will be at The Crystal Room at The Tiffany Center, 1410 SW Morrison Street, Portland OR 97205. Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Tickets are available online.

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