FORT SALEM THEATER ANNOUNCES ITS MUSICAL SUMMER SALEM, NEW YORK – Fort Salem Theater, Washington County’s Theater Home for Music, Musicals, and Cabaret, has announced its summer schedule of productions, which features a classic musical, two original book musicals, and two musical revues. The Fort’s roster of performers includes Broadway veterans, California professionals, exceptional local talent, and at season’s end, the triumphant return to the Mainstage by the theater’s former artistic director, Kathy Beaver. For one weekend, beginning June 20, the repertory company from the Rose Center Theater in Westminster, California, presents the Maury Yeston/Arthur Kopit musical, Phantom, based on the classic French tale, Phantom of the Opera. The following weekend, four Broadway singer/dancers strut the stage in Echoing Back: The Songs of Johnny Mercer, saluting the Oscar winner (“Moon River” and “Days of Wine and Roses”) who wrote many of the great hits of the twentieth century. Former CBS6 news anchor Jerry Gretzinger returns to the Fort starring in Women in My Life, an original musical about a fading star who faces challenges in his personal and professional lives. A favorite of Capital Region audiences, the singing anchor, currently vice-president in charge of Communications and Public Relations for Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, will be supported by three beautiful women, who back him up with vocals and back him into some unexpected corners. Women runs for two weekends, July 11-20. Shushan’s Al Budde teams up with Fort artistic director, Jay Kerr, with the world premiere of their seventh musical together, this one borrowing identity from a Verizon slogan: Can You Hear Me Now?, running August 1-10. Returning for a fourth Mainstage season, film and television performer Jesse Liebman, star of last year’s Winning the Lottery, leads an accomplished cast in a light look at personal loss and triumph, discovering that his problems and solutions are only as far away as the nearest phone. Women in My Life and Can You Hear Me Now? are sponsored in part by WAMC, Northeast Public Radio. Wrapping up the schedule for the final weekend, August 15-17, Broadway singer Bill Carmichael, whose Broadway credits include Cats, Les Misérables, and Mamma Mia!, is joined by Kathy Beaver to present Signature Songs: The Songs That Made Famous Singers Famous, including Beaver’s take on Patsy Cline singing “Crazy.” They are joined by Brendan Dailey, Lynne Kerr and Carolyn Shields, from last year’s No Boundaries. Fort Salem is collaborating for a third year with Gardenworks to offer Farm-to-Table Dinner Theater on July 12, and August 2 and 16. Pricing for individual shows and season tickets, plus more detailed descriptions of the shows, are available online at fortsalemtheater or by calling the theater’s box office, (518) 854-9200.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 21:41:53 +0000