July 8-18, 2021
July 8-18, 2021 Val Underwood Artistic Director ExecutiveFrom Directorthe Dear Friends: to offer a world-class training and performance program, to improve Throughout education, and to elevate the spirit of history, global all who participate. pandemics have shaped society, We are delighted to begin our season culture, and with Stars of Tomorrow, featuring institutions. As many successful young alumni of our we find ourselves Young Singer Program—including exiting the Becca Barrett, Stacee Firestone, and COVID-19 crisis, one pandemic and many others. Under the direction subsequent recovery that comes to of both Beth Dunnington and Val mind is the bubonic plague—or Black Underwood, this performance will Death—which devastated Europe and celebrate the art of storytelling in its Asia in the 14th century. There was a most simple and elegant state. The silver lining, however, as it’s believed season also includes performances that the socio-economic impacts of by many of our very own, long- the Plague on European society— time Festival favorites, and two of particularly in Italy—helped create Broadway’s finest, including HPAF the conditions necessary for what is Alumna and 1st Place Winner of arguably the greatest post-pandemic the 2020 HPAF Musical Theatre recovery of all time—the Renaissance. Competition, Nyla Watson (Wicked, The Color Purple). Though our 2021 Summer Festival is not what was initially envisioned, As we enter the recovery phase and we are thrilled to return to in-person many of us eagerly await a return to programming for the first time in 24 “normal,” let’s remember one thing: we months.
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