PROGRAM: SONDHEIM SONGBOOK MAY 20 / 7:30 PM BING CONCERT HALL ARTISTS PROGRAM Betsy Wolfe, vocals Love Is in the Air (Ted, Betsy, Clarke) Clarke Thorell, vocals Love I Hear (Clarke) Paul Masse, piano What More Do I Need? (Betsy) Ted Sperling, music director and piano Barcelona (Clarke, Betsy) Moments in the Woods (Betsy) What Can You Lose? (Clarke) We gratefully acknowledge the generous support The Girls of Summer (Betsy) of Bonnie and Marty Tenenbaum. Honey (Clarke, Betsy) Getting Married Today (Ted, Clarke, Betsy) Pleasant Little Kingdom/Too Many Mornings (Clarke, Betsy) INTERMISSION By the Sea (Betsy, Clarke) Not a Day Goes By (Betsy) Good Thing Going (Ted) Buddy’s Blues (Clarke) Could I Leave You? (Betsy) A Little House for Mama (Clarke) Children Will Listen (Betsy) Finishing the Hat (Clarke) There Won’t Be Trumpets (Betsy) It Takes Two (Betsy, Clarke) PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Please be considerate of others and turn off all phones, pagers, and watch alarms, and unwrap all lozenges prior to the performance. Photography and recording of any kind are not permitted. Thank you. 26 STANFORD LIVE MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2015 He has gone from cult figure to national with the New York Philharmonic and The icon. His melodies, which have been labeled King and I at the Lincoln Center Theater. “unhummable,” get under your skin and linger for days. He is perhaps the greatest English- In the opera world, Mr. Sperling has language lyricist of any age. Every brilliant conducted The Mikado, Song of Norway, lyric and crystalline melody will be audible and Ricky Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath in Bing Concert Hall when Ted Sperling, at Carnegie Hall; Kurt Weill’s The Firebrand one of Broadway’s most in-demand music of Florence at Alice Tully Hall; and a double directors, is joined at the piano by Betsy bill for the Houston Grand Opera and Wolfe and Clarke Thorell, two of Broadway’s Audra McDonald: La voix humaine by freshest singers. Spend an evening with Francis Poulenc and the world premiere Stephen Sondheim, “the greatest living of Send (Who Are You? I Love You) by American composer after Copland.” Michael John LaChiusa. Mr. Sperling has conducted concerts with many of the major Betsy Wolfe American symphonies, including the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra; soloists “There are few things that have included McDonald, Deborah Voigt, remain constant in life, but Victoria Clark, Patti LuPone, Kelli O’Hara, Nathan Gunn, and Paulo Szot. Mr. Sperling’s for me one of them is this: TV appearances include a Saturday Night Stephen Sondheim’s work Live performance with Michael Bublé. has touched me for more than half a century.” Mr. Sperling conducted the world premiere recordings of Ragtime and Dream True; songs Ted Sperling —Frank Rich, writer for the animated film Anastasia; and the film scores of The Manchurian Candidate, Everything Is Illuminated, and the recent TED SPERLING Other Josh Cohen, See What I Wanna See, The music director, conductor, actor, pianist, and Striking 12. His off-Broadway credits Sundance Award–winning 3 Backyards. He violinist, singer, director, and arranger Ted as music director include A Man of No made his film directorial debut with the short Sperling has been active in the New York theater Importance, Stephen Sondheim’s Wise musical film Love, Mom, for which he won the and concert world for 30 years. He was music Guys, Saturn Returns, Floyd Collins, A New Director’s Choice Award at the Black Maria director and conductor of the Lincoln Center Brain, and Romance in Hard Times. He has Film Festival, and he appears in the film One Theater production of South Pacific. Mr. Sperling directed many programs for the American Night Stand. won the 2005 Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Songbook series at Lincoln Center, for the his orchestrations of The Light in the Piazza, for Lyrics and Lyricists series at the 92nd Street Mr. Sperling received the 2006 Shen Family which he was also music director. Mr. Sperling Y, at Joe’s Pub, and at The Town Hall. His Foundation Award for leadership in the was music director and arranger for Guys and regional directing credits include the world musical theater, and he is the director of Dolls, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty, premiere of Charlotte: Life? or Theater? and the Musical Theater Initiative at The Public and How to Succeed in Business Without Really a revival of Lady in the Dark starring Andrea Theater as well as the creative director Trying. His other Broadway credits include My Marcovicci at the Prince Music Theater in of The 24 Hour Musicals. For more Favorite Year, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Angels in Philadelphia. He has directed three gala information, please visit www.cami.com America, Falsettos, Les Misérables, Drood, Roza, evenings for The Public Theater: Cabaret, and www.tedsperling.net. and Sunday in the Park with George. Mr. Sperling starring Anne Hathaway, Linda Lavin, and was an original cast member of Titanic, playing Harvey Fierstein; The Pirates of Penzance, BETSY WOLFE bandleader Wallace Hartley. starring Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, Martin Betsy Wolfe’s Broadway credits include Short, Eric Idle, Jonathan Groff, and Anika Bullets Over Broadway; The Mystery of Off Broadway, Mr. Sperling directed the Noni Rose; and a behind-the-scenes look at Edwin Drood; Everyday Rapture with Sherie world premieres of Red Eye of Love, The the creation of A Chorus Line. Mr. Sperling’s Rene Scott, a show she also performed off upcoming projects include Show Boat Broadway; 110 in the Shade at Studio 54; The encoremediagroup.com 27 PROGRAM: SONDHEIM SONGBOOK 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; as Harry Bright; and starred opposite Megan and A Wonderful Life. Off Broadway, Ms. Hilty in the New York City Center Encores! Wolfe starred in the revival of Jason Robert production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Brown’s The Last Five Years at Second Stage Mr. Thorell’s off-Broadway credits include Theatre. Prior to that, she played Beth Satellites; Lone Star Love; Sondheim’s in Merrily We Roll Along at Encores! and Saturday Night; and the New York Theatre created the role of Mary Ann Singleton in Workshop’s developmental production of the American Conservatory Theater’s world Sondheim’s Wise Guys, directed by Sam premiere of Tales of the City, a musical Mendes with musical direction by Ted based on Armistead Maupin’s novels. She Sperling. Among his regional credits are can also be heard on the 110 in the Shade Orsino in Twelfth Night, directed by Jack and Everyday Rapture recordings. She made O’Brien at The Old Globe in San Diego; her Metropolitan Opera debut in Douglas Charles in The School for Scandal, directed Carter Beane’s adaptation of Die Fledermaus. by Mark Lamos at the McCarter Theatre in Ms. Wolfe starred in the San Francisco Princeton, New Jersey; and Homer in Floyd Paul Masse and Boston companies of The 25th Annual Collins, directed by Tina Landau, with musical Putnam County Spelling Bee. Regional credits direction by Ted Sperling, in San Diego, Mr. Thorell has performed with artists such as include Tommy (Mrs. Walker) at the Dallas Philadelphia, and Chicago. Sting, Dave Brubeck, Liza Minnelli, Abba, Theater Center and Ragtime (Evelyn Nesbit) The Red Clay Ramblers, and Pete Townshend, at Paper Mill Playhouse. She has been a Film and television credits include The Knick, and he is a proud member of Michael guest artist for more than 25 symphony, House of Cards, The Good Wife, Men in Black McElroy’s Broadway Inspirational Voices. pops, and philharmonic orchestras across III, The Winning Season, Boardwalk Empire, Mr. Thorell maintains a lifelong dream of the United States and internationally. At 23, 30 Rock (“Meet The Woggels!”), NYC 22, becoming the next voice of Donald Duck. she made her concert debut at Carnegie Rescue Me, Kings, Law & Order: Special Hall as a headliner with the Cincinnati Pops Victims Unit, and The Sopranos. PAUL MASSE under maestro Erich Kunzel. Ms. Wolfe was Paul Masse’s Broadway conducting credits a guest soloist for the New York City Ballet, include The Scottsboro Boys, It Shoulda Been with which she performed at Lincoln Center Yo u , Holler If Ya Hear Me, The Gershwins’ and the London Coliseum. Recent recording Porgy and Bess, and Avenue Q. Mr. Masse releases include Stage Door Canteen, has also participated in more than 20 other 35mm: A Musical Expedition, and Merrily Broadway shows as a pianist and accordionist. We Roll Along. Ms. Wolfe will be seen in the In addition, he served as musical supervisor for upcoming film adaptation of The Last Five London’s West End premiere of The Scottsboro Years. She holds a BFA in musical theater Boys. His off-Broadway credits include Fun from the University of Cincinnati College- Home, The Landing, Inner Voices: Borrowed Conservatory of Music. Learn more at Dust, The Scottsboro Boys, and Jacques Brel www.betsywolfe.com. Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. Regional credits include Sense and Sensibility and First CLARKE THORELL You Dream. He also participated in the first Clarke Thorell most recently welcomed boos national tour of Wicked in Los Angeles. Mr. and hisses in the role of Rooster Hannigan Masse has contributed to various film and TV Clarke Thorell in the Broadway revival of Annie. A San soundtracks and is featured on the original cast Diego native, Mr. Thorell made his Broadway albums of The Landing, The Gershwins’ Porgy debut in The Who’s Tommy, directed by and Bess, The Scottsboro Boys (the original Last fall, Mr. Thorell debuted his first New Des McAnuff.