Music Theatre Wichita Announces Creative Teams for Its 2018 Season

Music Theatre Wichita, entering its 47th summer season, today announced the roster of artistic teams who will be guiding the five large-scale summer productions.

One of the few remaining musical theatres in the U.S. to exclusively self-produce Broadway-sized productions each year, Music Theatre Wichita has been internationally praised for its consistently high quality, as well as for the debut opportunities it offers to up-and-coming artists. The current New York season boasts the work of over 40 MTWichita alumni, from Tony-winning luminaries such as Kelli O'Hara and Kristin Chenoweth, to the new stars of A Bronx Tale, Adam Kaplan and Christiani Pitts, all who began their professional careers at this Midwestern theatrical center.

Artistic leaders for the 2018 season include a core of award-winning artists with long tenures at MTWichita, including Producing Artistic Director Wayne Bryan (31 years), Associate Producer Nancy Reeves (30), Guest Director Mark Madama (30), Musical Director Thomas W. Douglas (19), Lighting Designer David Neville (32), and Costumer Deborah Roberts (25) - a total of 177 seasons represented by those six individuals.

Guest artists for the upcoming season include director-choreographers Al Blackstone and Linda Goodrich and choreographers Mara Newbery Greer, Brian J. Marcum and Robert Hartwell, along with scenic designers J Branson and Adam Koch and costume designers Dixon Reynolds and Leon Dobkowski. Other key participants include Production Manager Mitchell Southerland, Associate Musical Director Chuck Koslowske, and Sound Designer David Muehl.

Over the course of 10 weeks from June 13 to August 18, the five locally produced musicals will be attended by more than 70,000 patrons at the Century II Concert Hall in downtown Wichita, KS.

Sister Act opens the season, directed by Mark Madama and choreographed by Robert Hartwell. Mr. Madama is Associate Professor of Musical Theatre at the University of Michigan, with a host of directing credits, both in the U.S. and internationally. Mr. Hartwell's numerous Broadway performing credits include Motown, Nice Work If You Can Get It (Astaire Award nomination) and Bette Midler's original company of Hello, Dolly!, and he is the founder and director of "The Broadway Collective." Scenic designer Adam Koch will join the team to consult on the sets he designed for the Ogunquit Playhouse.

Mark Madama will also helm Guys and Dolls, choreographed by Mara Newbery Greer, whose body of work includes the National Tour of A Christmas Story and a rapidly growing number of productions at such theatres as Paper Mill Playhouse, 5th Avenue Theatre, Tuacahn, Pittsburgh CLO, and the Fulton Theatre.

The new Disney musical Freaky Friday will be directed by Wayne Bryan and choreographed by Brian J. Marcum. Mr. Marcum is currently a professor of dance within the musical theatre program at Syracuse University. He performed in six Broadway shows including 42nd Street, The Boy from Oz, and The Drowsy Chaperone, and his many directing and choreographing credits include Associate Choreographer for the Broadway production of Elf, The Musical. This will be the third MTWichita collaboration of Bryan and Marcum, following their teaming on Mamma Mia! in 2016 and Disney's Newsies in 2017. A multimedia scenic design for Freaky Friday is being created by Chicago-based J Branson, with costumes by Dixon Reynolds, a professor at SUNY Fredonia who also designed Bryan and Marcum's two previous collaborations.

Pippin will feature brand new choreography and co-direction by Al Blackstone, partnering with Wayne Bryan as co-director. In addition to Oklahoma! and Hairspray at MTWichita, Mr. Blackstone's work is regularly featured on "So You Think You Can Dance." Other original work includes Freddie Falls In Love at NYC's Signature Theater, the Off-Broadway musical The View Upstairs, and various creations for regional theatres and dance companies across the country.

season finale, Disney's Little Mermaid, will be directed and choreographed by Linda Goodrich. Ms. Goodrich has choreographed for theatres across the nation and several international tours, and her directing credits include atreworks, Sacramento Music Theatre, Pittsburgh CLO, MTWichita, and the University of Michigan, where she is Associate Professor of Musical Theatre. J Branson (sets) and Leon Dobkowski (costumes) will adapt and refurbish their 2011 designs. Mr. Dobkowski's creations are frequently seen at theatres such as the Paper Mill Playhouse and the MUNY.

Roy Lightner will join the team as Music Theatre Wichita's first Festival Producer, a newly created position designed to provide opportunities for artists who have the potential to become theatrical producers. He will be responsible for creating several ancillary events for MTWichita's Summer Festival of Musical Theatre. Mr. Lightner is a director and choreographer whose credits include assisting Peggy Hickey at New York City Opera, directing for Transcendence Theatre Company, and choreographing at several other regional theatres. In demand as an educator, Mr. Lightner is currently Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Music Theatre Wichita has earned a reputation as one of the foremost summer opportunities for young upcoming talents. This year's Broadway season features nearly forty MTWichita alumni, including cast members of Hello, Dolly!, Come from Away, Anastasia, A Bronx Tale, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Mean Girls, My Fair Lady, Spongebob Square Pants, and many more. Founded in 1972, MTWichita has produced the world premiere of the revised Good News!, the U.S. premiere of Betty Blue Eyes, and the regional premieres of such Disney titles as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and High School Musical. MTWichita has also created cast albums for Honk! and Good News!

Season tickets and gift certificates are on sale now, either online at mtwichita.org, or by calling 316.265.3107. More information, including biographies, histories, and videos, can be found at www.MTWichita.org, and on social media sites Facebook (Music Theatre Wichita), Twitter (@MTWichita) and Instagram (MTWichita).

Photo: Mara Greer

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