musical theater

Mandy Gonzalez_header

By Cassie Schauer, Guest Blogger

Who needs to fight for Hamilton tickets when Mandy Gonzalez is in town? Currently starring as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton on Broadway, singer Mandy Gonzalez chose Lone Tree for the closing night of her week-long tour to promote her debut CD, Fearless. In her words, this CD and tour are a “dream come true.”

I have never heard her sing live, so I was immediately blown away with the power of her jazzy voice. She opened with the classic “On a Clear Day” sung with a sultry Latin beat. Her voice is huge — I imagine it could be heard from the parking lot. Mandy created an intimate connection with the sold-out audience throughout the performance, waving to the people in the balcony and sharing her connection to each of the songs she chose to perform for us. By the end of the evening, I felt I had been listening to someone whose career I had been following for years. She was so excited and genuine and having so much fun.

She added a personal twist to each song she performed and referred to several as being “from her first album.” Her rendition of “I Only Have Eyes For You…and you…and you…and you…” was performed with a playful Latin beat.

As an original cast member of Lin-Manual Miranda’s In the Heights, “Breathe” is arguably the first song that Mandy is known for. She told us how returning to the Richard Rodgers Theater for Hamilton brought back such good memories, as if she’d never said goodbye to the theater. “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from Sunset Boulevard paid tribute to that time in her life.

Mandy sang “Get Ready Cuz Here I Come” in honor of her father’s singing career. It was the first song she remembers hearing him sing. She followed with “Born to Run,” an ode to her husband’s New Jersey roots. Next was “Life is Sweet,” which she performed on her CD with original Hamilton cast member and her In the Heights co-star, Christopher Jackson.

She then told us the tale of “the Green Girl,” Elphaba from Wicked: the 20 pound dress, the raked stage. Would she ever do it again? No, she said, the green doesn’t come off! She followed with a tongue-in-cheek rendition of “It’s Not Easy Being Green,” before singing the powerful “Defying Gravity” from Wicked.

The Fearless CD tour began in Florida. Performing so soon after the shooting in Parkland, Mandy decided that she wanted to honor and celebrate every city she performed in by inviting a community choir to sing with her. For tonight’s show, Mandy was joined by a group from Denver’s award-winning Phamaly Theater Company, comprised of performers with diverse disabilities of every nature. “Starts Right Now” is a powerful ballad about the ups and downs in life, about being fearless, and about having the courage to let go. The result was strong and positive, the performers clearly enjoying their time to perform together.

Finally, Mandy performed the title song from Fearless, written for her by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It was inspired by the story of how her mother and father overcame huge personal obstacles and found the courage to stand up for forbidden love. She ended the performance with a very passionate rendition of “Que Sera Sera,” her grandmother’s favorite and her best advice.

Mandy was backed by a talented group of musicians. Seeming like old friends who had been playing together for years, they provided a rich and energetic compliment to her voice. Lead by pianist and musical director, John Deley, the band included Richard Hammond on bass, Abe Fogel on drums, and Oscar Rodriguez on guitar.

There is something different about a Broadway singer performing on her own. A different vibe. Different connection with the audience. Mandy seemed somewhat in awe of her position now as a solo artist. She was having a blast and so were we.

by Katie Konishi, Marketing Specialist

In April, LTAC is taking on a challenge like nothing we’ve quite tackled before–we’re producting a fully-staged, big name musical. EVITA, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, is the story of Eva Perón, one of Argentina’s most controversial First Ladies. It’s our biggest endeavor to date, and we’ve put together an all-star team to make it happen.

EVITA opened in London’s West End in 1978 and the show follows Eva Perón throughout her life, from her humble beginnings to her rise to power and through the upper echelons of society. Just recently, there were revivals of the show in both London and New York. There was also a film version of the musical, starring Madonna, Jonathan Pryce, and Antonio Banderas in 1996.

The film version is how our director, Gina Rattan, came to know the musical. But her interest in the story of EVITA wasn’t just a passing fancy–it ignited a passion for the story of Argentina’s former First Lady. So much so, that Gina traveled to Buenos Aires to immerse herself in Eva’s world. Gina heard about our production of the show from her friend Ben Klein, an associate director on Broadway and the keynote speaker of our 2015 Sensory Friendly Summit, who put her in touch with our executive director, Lisa Rigsby Peterson. The rest, as they say, is history!

Gina has directed the second national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and been the associate director of the same show on Broadway, as well as being the associate director of Matilda the Musical on Broadway and NBC’s Peter Pan Live! and The Sound of Music Live! Most recently, she directed Pace University’s production of another Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Jesus Christ Superstar. Something that she enjoys about Webber’s musicals is that they’re complete stories–there isn’t a lot of exposition and you get to see everything play out on stage. The challenge that this presents for the creative team, of course, is how to make sure that they’re telling the fullest, clearest, most exciting version of the story as possible.

Gina Rattan

EVITA is one of Gina’s favorite shows and she’s excited to tackle the challenges of directing a show that she knows and loves. “First of all, it’s such a great show as a piece of musical theater. The complicated protagonist is female…she’s not oversimplified, she presents a real person,” Gina says of the show. “It’s a very political show, but it doesn’t play out like a history lesson. All the characters are so passionate and involved in the politics of the show. And that’s not exaggerated — the people of Argentina are really like that!”

One of the characters that Gina is most excited about is the city of Buenos Aires itself. The show is imbued with the vibrancy of the city and it becomes like a character of its own. Every bit of the creative team is responsible for creating the city–from the scenic and sound designers, to the costumes and choreography, we’ll be bringing Buenos Aires to life on stage, as well as the characters themselves.

EVITA is a show that is political and personal, entertaining but thought-provoking. It’s substantive and escapist. It will be a beautiful piece of theater that’s unlike anything that we’ve ever done at the Arts Center, and everyone involved in the production, including Gina, can’t wait to share it with you!

EVITA runs at the Lone Tree Arts Center April 13-29, 2017.