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Home , Alan Jay Lerner, Alfred Uhry, Marsha Norman, Nathan Gunn, Street Scene (opera)

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NATHAN AND JULIE GUNN AND FRIENDS AN EVENING ON BROADWAY Saturday, October 6, 2018, at 7:30pm Foellinger Great Hall PROGRAM NATHAN AND JULIE GUNN AND FRIENDS AN EVENING ON BROADWAY FEATURING PRODUCTION CREDITS Molly Abrams Sarah Wigley, dramatic coordinator Lara Semetko-Brooks Elliot Emadian, choreography Colleen Bruton Michael Williams, lighting Elliot Emadian Alec LaBau, audio Olivia Gronenthal Madelyn Gunn, production assistant Ryan Bryce Johnson Adeline Snagel, stage manager Nole Jones Savanna Rung, assistant stage manager Gabrielle LaBare J.W. Morrissette Logan Piker Andrew Turner Rachel Weinfeld

ORCHESTRA Zachary Osinski, flute Emma Olson, oboe J. David Harris, clarinet Robert Brooks, saxophone Ronald Romm, trumpet Robert Sears, trumpet Michael Beltran, trombone Trevor Thompson, violin Amanda Ramey, violin Jacqueline Scavetta, viola Jordan Gunn, cello Lawrence Gray, bass Mary Duplantier, harp Ricardo Flores, percussion Julie Jordan Gunn, piano

2 , music (1946) , lyrics Ice Cream Sextet , book Ryan Bryce Johnson, Molly Abrams, Nole Jones, Gabrielle LaBare, Elliot Emadian, Andrew Turner Wouldn’t You Like to Be on Broadway? Lara Semetko-Brooks, Nathan Gunn What Good Would the Moon Be? Lara Semetko-Brooks, J.W. Morrissette Moon Faced, Starry Eyed Logan Piker, Elliot Emadian , music and lyrics Guys and Dolls (1950) Jo Swerling and , book Fugue for Tin Horns Nathan Gunn, Andrew Turner, Nole Jones Adelaide’s Lament Colleen Bruton Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat Nole Jones, Andrew Turner, Ryan Bryce Johnson, Elliot Emadian, Logan Piker

Richard Rodgers, music Carousel (1945) Oscar Hammerstein II, book and lyrics Bench Scene Rachel Weinfeld, Nathan Gunn Carrie/Mr. Snow Molly Abrams, Ryan Bryce Johnson Soliloquy Nathan Gunn You’ll Never Walk Alone Gabrielle LaBare , music and lyrics (1998) , book Big News! Ryan Bryce Johnson You Don’t Know This Man Nathan Gunn , music (1991) , script and lyrics Lily’s Eyes Frances Hudgson Burnett, book Andrew Turner, Nathan Gunn

3 , music (2013) , book and lyrics House on Maple Street Alison Bechdel, graphic novel Gabrielle LaBare, Olivia Gronenthal, Nathan Gunn Changing My Major to Joan Olivia Gronenthal Edges of the World Nathan Gunn , music (1956) , book and lyrics On the Street Where You Live , play Andrew Turner I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face Nathan Gunn Jason Robert Brown, music and lyrics Songs For A New World (1995) King of the World Nole Jones Andrew Lippa, music and lyrics The Addams Family (2009) Happy/Sad Nathan Gunn John DuPrez, music Spamalot (2004) Eric Idle, music, book, and lyrics I’m All Alone Nathan Gunn, Ensemble

This performance is brought to you in partnership with Shot in the Dark Productions Inc.

4 THE ACT OF GIVING THANK YOU FOR SPONSORING THIS PERFORMANCE With deep gratitude, Krannert Center thanks all 2018-19 Patron Sponsors and Corporate and Community Sponsors, and all those who have invested in Krannert Center. Please view their names later in this program and join us in thanking them for their support.

This event is supported by:

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INGRID & BRUCE HUTCHINGS IRIS & BURT SWANSON Two Previous Sponsorships Nineteen Previous Sponsorships Four Current Sponsorships

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DENA & JIM VERMETTE ANONYMOUS in Memory of One Previous Sponsorship GINGER TIMPONE & RAYMOND TIMPONE III Four Previous Sponsorships

*PHOTO CREDIT: ILLINI STUDIO

5 CORPORATE & COMMUNITY SILVER SPONSORS THE ACT OF GIVING OF ACT THE

CORPORATE & COMMUNITY BRONZE SPONSOR

HELP SUPPORT THE FUTURE OF THE ARTS. BECOME A KRANNERT CENTER SPONSOR BY CONTACTING OUR ADVANCEMENT TEAM TODAY: KrannertCenter.com/Give • [email protected] • 217.333.1629

6 PROGRAM NOTES Tonight, Nathan and I want to celebrate American from two perspectives. First, looking back at what we now see as “classical” Broadway: Carousel, Street Scene, Guys and Dolls, and My Fair Lady—musicals written when our grandparents were younger than we are now and drawn from the literary giants of the early 20th century. Secondly, looking at that legacy in our children’s generation and the works written in their lifetimes: Secret Garden, Fun Home, Parade, The Addams Family, and Spamalot—drawn sometimes from those same early 20th-century books, but also from television, film, and graphic novels, and featuring vivid characters, stirring scores, and an equally uncanny ability to depict the human condition.

—Julie Gunn

7 PROFILES NATHAN GUNN is widely acclaimed for his Gunn believes that music is a living art form diverse performing career bridging genres of and, therefore, needs to be relevant. He has , musical theatre, and recital. Gunn grew championed dozens of new songs and , in South Bend, Indiana, doing what most and sung theatre in a multitude of venues. His Midwestern boys do: playing sports, working newest project is a one-man show produced and hard at school, and spending time with family. written by Hershey Felder called Flying Solo, His interest in music became a his junior which has been lauded for its “powerful and year in high school when he was introduced to reflective response to father/son relationships.” Mozart’s opera, Die Zauberflöte. Consumed by a This coming year Gunn and his partner Julie desire to learn more, Gunn went to the University Gunn’s production Shot in the Dark of Illinois, the third generation to do so in his will produce and perform shows such family, to study music and was mentored by John as Nathan and Julie Gunn and Friends: An Wustman and William Miller. Evening on Broadway and Drytown, which help to entertain and educate the public while giving As a performer Gunn is respected as an artist, talented young artists and hometown celebrities a musician, and as a singing actor. He has a platform to show off their talents. The Gunns performed on the greatest stages in the world as are also often seen in recital and cabaret settings well as television, radio, video, and live simulcast where they enjoy creating programs unique to the performances. Gunn’s famous portrayal of the special event. character Papageno () was brought to the world stage in the first-ever live, Gunn is a professor and Swanlund Chair at the HD broadcast performed at the Metropolitan University of Illinois where he is co-director Opera. In addition to Papageno, Gunn has of Lyric Theatre @ Illinois, a comprehensive reinvented classic roles such as , Figaro, program embracing a broad continuum of and Don Giovanni, garnering many awards opera and musical theatre while supporting the including a Grammy award for his portrayal of development of new works. Gunn developed and Billy Budd and the coveted award. He founded the first Bachelor of Musical Arts in lyric has also been widely acclaimed for his ability to theatre curriculum in the nation. It is part of the cross over into musical theatre. Performances of School of Music at the University of Illinois and Billy Bigelow and Lancelot (Live at Lincoln Center), housed in Krannert Center for the Performing and in the New York Philharmonic’s celebration Arts. of ’s 80th birthday led to collaborations with musical theatre stars such as In addition to life as a performer, educator, and Mandy Patinkin, Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald advocate, Gunn is an avid patron of the arts. The and . Gunns consistently support pre-college music education and sponsor cultural events in order to secure the future of the art form. Gunn and his family reside in Champaign, Illinois.

8 JULIE JORDAN GUNN is a pianist, educator, Houston Grand Opera Studio, Interlochen and music director. She has performed on many Center for the Arts, Guild, of the world’s most prestigious recital series, Opera Theatre St. Louis, the Ryan Young Artists’ including the Aspen Festival, Auckland’s Aotea Program, , Ravinia’s Steans Centre, Boston’s Celebrity Series, Brussels’ Institute, and Vanderbilt University. She enjoyed La Monnaie, Cal Performances, the Carnegie tenures as artist-in-residence at Cincinnati Hall Pure Voice Series, the Cincinnati Chamber Opera, the Glimmerglass Festival, and Ontario’s Music Society, Cliburn Foundation, the Dallas Highlands Opera Studio. Gunn is the founder of Opera, Melbourne’s Hamer Hall, Krannert Center the Illinois School of Music Academy, a program for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center Great for talented pre-college chamber musicians and Performers, ’s Café Carlyle, McCallum composers. Theatre for the Performing Arts, Metropolitan Opera Summerstage, Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Gunn enjoys working at the intersection of Center, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, different disciplines and collaborates with the , St. Paul’s Schubert Club, artists in the fields of theatre, dance, and design Performances, Sydney Opera whenever possible. She has served as a coach or House, Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, University conductor at Chicago Opera Theater, Highlands of Chicago Presents, Washington’s Vocal Arts Opera Studio, the Metropolitan Opera Young Society, Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Artist Program, , Opera Theatre Hills, Washington National Opera, 92nd Street of St. Louis, Southern Methodist University, Y, and the Supreme Court. She Theatreworks!, and Wolf Trap Opera. She is has been heard with William Burden, Richard committed to new works and in recent seasons Croft, Michelle De Young, , has been part of several world premieres as a co- Isabel Leonard, Stefan Milenkovich, Kelli O’Hara, producer, a pianist, or as a conductor, including Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone, Yvonne Gonzales concert works by Augusta Read Thomas, Jennifer Redman, Alek Shrader, the Pacifica and Jupiter Higdon, and Harold Meltzer; staged works Quartets, and her husband and artistic partner like Polly Peachum (Scheer/Van Horn), Letters Nathan Gunn. In the upcoming season she looks from Quebec to Providence in the Rain (Gill), forward to recitals and cabarets in Vail, Colorado; Black Square (Demutsky), PRISM (Reid), The Bridgehampton, New York; South Bend, Indiana; Surrogate (Macklay), and Bhutto (Fairouz), often and at ’s Wigmore Hall. in collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects and American Opera Projects. Director of lyric theatre studies at the University of Illinois, Gunn produces three mainstage operas A member of the American Society of or musical theatre works a year at Krannert Composers, Authors and Publishers, she is Center for the Performing Arts. A faculty the author of many arrangements of songs member at the School of Music, she enjoys for chamber groups and orchestras. Her teaching singers, pianists, chamber musicians, arrangements have been heard at Carnegie and songwriters, and conducting new works and Hall, Chicago’s Symphony Center, DeBartolo musical theatre. She has given masterclasses at Center, Ithaca College, Interlochen Center for the universities and young artists’ programs all over Arts, Kennedy Center, Krannert Center for the the US, including the Aspen Festival, Cincinnati Performing Arts, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Conservatory of Music, Florida State University, and in Sun Valley, Idaho. 9 MOLLY ABRAMS is originally from Maine and ELLIOT EMADIAN is a gender non-conforming is currently a Master of Music student in vocal dance and multimedia artist operating out of performance and literature at the University of Urbana, Illinois. They began singing in order to Illinois, studying with Yvonne Redman. Abrams be just like their older sister, and this annoying, appeared as Gretel last year in Lyric Theatre @ sibling copycatting led them to release a full- Illinois’ production of Hansel and Gretel. She length album, selftalk, in 2016 (Elliot Reza). They most recently performed the role of Antonia continued their musical education taking a course in Les Contes d’Hoffmann with The Midwest on songwriting under Dr. Stephen Taylor and Institute of Opera. Last spring Abrams won first Dr. Julie Gunn. Emadian is incredibly excited to place in her division at the Chicago Chapter NATS perform in An Evening of Broadway. Classical Competition. OLIVIA GRONENTHAL is a senior studying vocal LARA SEMETKO-BROOKS is a doctoral performance with Dawn Harris. Most recently, she candidate in jazz studies-voice at the University appeared as Hansel in the Vancouver Summer of Illinois, where she also received her Master of Opera Workshop’s production of Hansel and Music in voice performance and literature. She Gretel. Last year Gronenthal appeared in Lyric has performed such roles as Clara Johnson in Theatre @ Illinois’ production of Hansel and The Light in the Piazza, Musetta in La Bohéme, Gretel as Hansel and in the ensemble of Don Lily Vanessi/Kate in Kiss Me, Kate, and Tytania Giovanni. in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to name a few. Semetko-Brooks is a lecturer in applied voice and RYAN BRYCE JOHNSON, tenor, is currently opera studies at Washburn University. pursuing a master’s degree in vocal performance and literature at the University of Illinois where he COLLEEN BRUTON is a senior receiving her studies with Jerold Siena. Johnson also holds a Bachelor of Musical Arts in lyric theatre at the bachelor’s degree in vocal performance at Texas University of Illinois this spring. She will be Tech University and has sung multiple operatic the first graduate of this new program offered and musical theatre roles with Texas Tech Opera through the School of Music. Bruton studies Theatre and Lyric Theatre @ Illinois. Johnson under Sarah Wigley and previously under Yvonne recently appeared as Don Ottavio in Lyric Theatre Redman. Highlights of her previous stage credits @ Illinois’ production of Don Giovanni. include She Loves Me, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Joseph and the Amazing NOLE JONES is an actor and singer from Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Light in the Piazza, Birmingham, Alabama. Favorite appearances and Don Giovanni. Bruton is also a member of the include She Loves Me (Georg Nowack) and The UI Chamber Singers, with whom she premiered a Light in the Piazza (Fabrizio) with Lyric Theatre work at Lincoln Center this past spring. @ Illinois and and with the . Jones teaches musical theatre voice at Illinois Wesleyan University. He recently completed his Master of Music in voice performance at the University of Illinois, and holds degrees in both music and theatre from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

10 GABRIELLE LABARE is currently a second-year LOGAN PIKER is a sophomore at the University master’s degree student at the University of of Illinois, studying lyric theatre. Her past credits Illinois under the tutelage of Yvonne Redman. include Ayah in Prairie Fire Theatre’s production She most recently performed as Donna Elvira in of The Secret Garden, Marcellina in Viterbo Mozart’s Don Giovanni under the direction of University’s 2016 Opera Scene Intensive, and Nathan Gunn. Previous performances include the Ilona Cover/ensemble member in Lyric Theatre Mother in Little Red’s Most Unusual Day, Terentia @ Illinois’ production of She Loves Me. Piker in Captain Lovelock, and the Sandman/Dewfairy is extremely grateful to be working alongside in Hansel and Gretel. LaBare has performed as such a talented group of artists and can’t wait to a soloist with the Nazareth College Symphony continue growing with the lyric theatre program! Orchestra and Nazareth College Wind Symphony. ANDREW TURNER has performed a variety J.W. MORRISSETTE is the associate head of of lead and supporting roles including Camille the department of theatre at the University of de Rosillon in and Frederick Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has served as Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein. He recently chair of the BFA theatre studies program and the debuted his role as Don Ottavio in Lyric Theatre assistant head for academic programs as well @ Illinois’ spring production of Don Giovanni. as the assistant program coordinator for INNER Currently Turner is finishing his master’s degree VOICES Social Issues Theatre. He currently serves in performance and literature at the University of as the associate head of the department. He Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he studies completed his BFA in acting at Otterbein College with Jerold Siena. in Westerville, Ohio, and both his MFA in acting and MA in theatre history at the University of RACHEL WEINFELD has found a home for Illinois. While attending Otterbein, Morrisette herself as a versatile crossover singer in both the worked for Stuart Howard and Associates Casting opera and musical theatre worlds. Originally from in New York, interning as a casting assistant Lansing, Michigan, Weinfeld is currently pursuing for many Broadway productions and television her master’s degree in voice performance and commercials. Morrisette has taught and directed literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana- for the past 20 years with the summer theatre Champaign where she studies with Yvonne department at Interlochen Center for the Arts. Redman. This past summer she performed Mabel For the University of Illinois, his classes include in The Pirates of Penzance with the Midwest acting, directing, introduction to theatre arts, Institute of Opera and she made her Lyric Theatre and broadway musicals. He has been integral in @ Illinois debut in the spring as Amalia Balash developing components for the online course in She Loves Me. In 2017 Weinfeld received her offerings in the department as well as supervising undergraduate degree in music from Ball State all senior theatre studies thesis projects. He University where she performed many mainstage has spent several summers acting with the roles with the Ball State Opera Theatre, including Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Interlochen Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Belinda in Dido and Shakespeare Festival and directs professionally Aeneas, and in Die Fledermaus. Weinfeld when time allows. He has received the Provost’s also performed in Salzburg, , as Bastienne Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award at (Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne) with the Franco- the University of Illinois. American Vocal Academy.

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