ABOUT THE SHOW
Elegies is a cycle of songs created by William Finn, composer and lyricist for the musicals Falsettos, A New Brain, and the recent Broadway production The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The setting is simple: accompanied only by solo piano, a group of five singers perform 20 loosely connected songs, each providing a unique perspective on the rollicking subjects of death, loss, mourning, and life.
The score is touching, characteristically quirky, and - here you’ll just have to believe us - surprisingly upbeat and funny.
The original cast album featured Betty Buckley, Carolee Carmello, Keith Byron Kirk, Michael Rupert, and Christian Borle, and may be purchased through Amazon.com. The album preserved the original production, which played at Lincoln Center from March 2, 2003, through April 18, 2003, and was directed by Graciela Daniele.
The Kelsey Theatre production will be directed by Frank Ferrara, with musical direction by Nicholas Cheng and choreography by Jillian Potash.
Brian Meltzer is very excited to be playing “let’s put on a (non-rock musical) show” with his friends Frank, Nick, Vicki, Pat, Kitty, Nancy and Ruth! Kelsey Theater: Bat Boy – The Musical (Dr. Parker), The Who’s Tommy (Captain Walker), The Scarlet Pimpernel, Here’s Love – Miracle on 34th Street, Jack and the Beanstalk. Washington Crossing Open Air Theater: The Secret Garden (Archibald Craven), Into The Woods. NYC: Improvisational Comedy training and performance workshops with Chicago City Limits, soloist at Don’t Tell Mama. Professional productions: Associate Producer, Evil Dead – The Musical (Off Broadway 2006-2007) Jewtopia (Off Broadway 2004-2007), Steel Magnolias (Broadway 2005). As always, love to Stacy, Ransom and Isabel and Eli! (Nice short rehearsal schedule, huh?)
Stearns Matthews is finishing his senior year at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ where he will graduate in May with a BM in Music Theater, under the tutelage of Dr. Christopher Arneson and Nova Thomas. He spent the 2007 summer season at College Light Opera Company on Cape Cod, where he enjoyed such roles as Albert Peterson (Bye, Bye, Birdie!), Billy Crocker (Anything Goes), and Albert Lennox (The Secret Garden), to name a few. Other favorite roles include Rapunzel's Prince (Into the Woods) and Seymour (Little Shop of Horrors). Stearns has also performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Riverside Church, NJPAC, and Spoleto Festival USA with the Westminster Symphonic Choir and the esteemed Westminster Choir. Stearns lives in Princeton with his partner, Michael, and their dog, Philly.
Patricia Bartlett is thrilled to be working for the first time with Cheng/Ferrara Productions. Patricia received her Bachelor of Music from the North Carolina School of the Performing Arts, her Masters in Music from Manhattan School of Music and has studied opera at The Juilliard School. She has performed with the Banff Center for Performing Arts in Canada and sung the role of Pamina in The Magic Flute with the Brevard Summer Festival. Recent performances include Follies (Sally), The Sound of Music (Mother Abbess), Mame (Sally MacDougall / Mrs. Upson), Meet Me in St. Louis (Mother), Carousel (Nettie), The King and I (Lady Thiang), Into the Woods (Jack’s Mother), and Sweeney Todd (Mrs. Lovett). She has been nominated for an AVY award (now known as the Perry Award) for her lead role in Sugar Babies at the Franklin Villagers Theater. Long ago and far away (when she lived and worked as an actress/singer in Manhattan), she performed as Joanne in Godspell at The Lamb’s Theater, toured the US Virgin Islands with Godspell and did a season of summer stock at the Thomas Playhouse in Maine. She has taught voice at the Mercer County High School of Performing Arts and now teaches voice privately. Ms. Bartlett works for Young Audiences of New Jersey, presenting the assembly program OperaWorks to children throughout the state. She lives in Hamilton with her husband Fred and two children, Liz and Alex, all of whom are thespians.
Vicky Czarnik has appeared with Cheng/Ferrara Productions in The Last Five Years (Cathy), The Who’s Tommy (Mrs. Walker), and For the Glory (The Mother - Perry Award nomination). Other onstage experience, variously at Kelsey, the Washington Crossing State Park Open Air Theatre, and ActorsNET of Pennsylvania, includes: Lucky Stiff (Rita), Seussical (Mayzie), Into the Woods (The Witch), The Secret Garden (Martha), Oliver! (Mrs. Sowerberry), It’s a Wonderful Life (Mary Hatch Bailey), Cats (Grizabella), Beauty & the Beast (Babette), and High Society (Liz Imbrie). She will next perform as Lina Lamont in Singin’ in the Rain with Maurer Productions Onstage.
Timothy Walton makes his second appearance at Kelsey Theatre, having previously appeared as a soloist in Cheng/Ferrara Productions’ For the Glory: The Civil War in Song. Tim hasn’t submitted a bio for the website yet, so we’re writing one for him until we get his. Unfortunately, we don’t know a lot about Tim. He went to college with our wife, where we saw him play The Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Tood, but that was a pretty long time ago. We’re also pretty sure he played Old Deuteronomy in Cats. He’s a high school music teacher in real life, and he sings very, very high. We’re almost certain he has never wrestled an alligator. Tim doesn’t do push ups; he pushes the Earth down.