Blackhurst Blackhurst

Klea
Broadway Star
Blackhurst
Blackhurst
Everything the
Traffic Will Allow
The Songs and Sass of
Ethel Merman
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Main Stage Theatre
School of the Arts
FRIENDS OF
FRIENDS OF
Presents
Klea
Blackhurst’s
EVERYTHING THE TRAFFIC
WILL ALLOW
Starring
KLEA BLACKHURST
featuring
The Pocket Change Trio
Bruce Barnes, Piano
and
School of the Arts Students:
Gary Crocker, Drums
Zach Minier, Bass
Music Supervision & Arrangements by
MICHAEL RICE
Music Direction by
BRUCE BARNES
Presented by Special Arrangement with Denise Cooper
Everything the Traffic Will Allow Will Be Performed Without an Intermission.
WHO’S WHO…
KLEA BLACKHURST (Author and Performer) is best known for her acclaimed tribute to Ethel
Merman, Everything the Traffic Will Allow, that has been charming audiences and critics alike
nationwide since its New York debut in 2001. Among many accolades the production earned
her the inaugural Special Achievement Award from “Time Out New York” magazine. The
recording of Everything the Traffic Will Allow was named one of the top ten show albums
of 2002 by Talkin’ Broadway.com. Klea next turned her passion for musical-theatre history
toward the Broadway career of composer Vernon Duke and debuted Autumn in New York:
Vernon Duke’s Broadway at New York’s Café Carlyle with a subsequent sold-out engagement
at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater. Klea’s concert appearances include Jerry Herman’s Broadway with Angela Lansbury at London’s Palladium Theatre, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,
Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall with Michael Feinstein, Oklahoma! at London’s Royal
Albert Hall, New York’s 92nd Street Y (Leo Robin & Cole Porter), and the Chicago Humanities
Festival. Klea’s theatre credits include: In New York - Bingo, By Jupiter, Radio Gals, Oil City
Symphony; Regional – Call Me Madam, Chicago, The Great American Trailer Park Musical,
Red Hot and Blue, Anything Goes. Film: “Andy Across the Water”. TV and radio: “Law and
Order: SVU,” “The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” “Sesame Street,” “A Prairie Home Companion.”
Klea is featured on Jule Styne in Hollywood on the PS Classics label. Klea can also be heard
on the original cast recordings of Bingo and Radio Gals as well as “Lost in Boston IV,” “Unsung
Irving Berlin,” and “The Best of Off Broadway.” The recordings, “Autumn in New York: Vernon
Duke’s Broadway,” and “Everything the Traffic Will Allow” are on the Ghostlight Records label.
Klea’s most recent show, Dreaming of a Song: The Music of Hoagy Carmichael, for which she
teamed up with Billy Stritch, received a 2007 Backstage Bistro Award and was recently released
on Ghostlight Records.
MICHAEL RICE (Music Supervisor and Arranger) is the Music Supervisor of Klea Blackhurst’s
Everything the Traffic Will Allow and Autumn in New York: Vernon Duke’s Broadway. Michael
first worked with Klea in the Off Broadway production of Radio Gals. He has also performed
opposite her in various regional productions of Oil City Symphony. Michael was the original
Music Supervisor for the Off Broadway hit Nunsense. Recent credits include The Light in the
Piazza (Pioneer Theatre); Porgy and Bess (American Portrait Gallery); And the World Goes
Round, directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. Michael’s Broadway and National Tour credits
include Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby, Me and My Girl, Grand Hotel, Camelot, Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar. As composer-lyricist, he adapted,
with Eric Bentley, Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Woman of Setzuan that premiered at New York’s
Raw Space, and American Beauty written with Jack Heifner and Romulus Linney which has
been produced around the country. Currently, he is musical directing 42nd Street at Pioneer
Theatre and the upcoming production of Oklahoma! at Sacramento Music Circus.
BRUCE BARNES (Music Director/Piano Accompianist) Musical Director, Conductor, Arranger
and Pianist recently returned to NYC from a year touring as Musical Director of Happy Days.
He can be seen on HBO’s Cathouse, The Musical as The Vocal Coach, attempting to teach
prostitutes how to sing. In 2007, Bruce arranged and musically directed Stormy Weather starring Leslie Uggams. He made his Broadway debut conducting Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby,
and regularly substituted as Associate Conductor of the Sam Mendes production of Cabaret at
Studio 54. Off-Broadway, Bruce was Musical Director for Class Mothers ‘68 starring Priscilla
Lopez. Internationally, he has toured with La Scala’s production of West Side Story and as a
Musical Ambassador for Lincoln Center’s “Meet the Artist” program. National tours include
Kiss Me, Kate; Cats; Jesus Christ Superstar; Cabaret starring Andrea McArdle; and Peter Pan
starring Cathy Rigby. As a pianist, Bruce has accompanied Patti LuPone, Penny Fuller, Ruthie
Henshall, Beverly Sills, Billy Porter & Eartha Kitt.
GARY CROCKER (Percussion) – Gary is a senior Instrumental Music major who musically realizes his oneness with the universe.
ZACHARY MINIER (Bass) – Zachary is an eleventh grade Instrumental Music major. He has
been playing bass almost 6 years. He is a self-taught. Previous musical endeavors include performing with The Kittens, Barns of the Past, Hate Fish, and the High Five Guitar Squad. Zachary
lives in the city with his cat Sam. “Let Freedom Roll.”
WHY MERMAN MATTERS...
Until recently, whenever I was asked the proverbial “who influenced you most as a singer,” I
could never arrive at an elemental response. The question always caught me by surprise, so
I’d furrow my brow and start to name singers I truly enjoy and deeply respect: Ella Fitzgerald,
Rosemary Clooney, Freddie Mercury, Donny Osmond. But as the opportunities for this question
being asked of me became more frequent, I knew I needed to define what felt indefinable. I
was ready to pinpoint who was instrumental in actually forming my view of a song; my love
of certain sounds. “Why doesn’t the answer just pop into my head? Why don’t I know this,”
I thought. Then it came to me. I realized I couldn’t point to the singer because it wasn’t the
singer - it was the song.
My mom has been an actress appearing in shows all over Salt Lake City since before I was
born. As a little kid, I would tag along to rehearsals for Madame Butterfly or Bells Are Ringing,
falling asleep between rows of the theatre seats. Her collection of Broadway Original Cast Albums was a sort of magical soundtrack to my childhood. My sister and I played them in every
room of the house on one of those plastic portable phonographs with three speeds and one
tiny speaker. That was the music I loved the most; those are the songs that influenced my tiny
view of the world. By the second grade, I knew every lyric to Half A Sixpence and I Do! I Do!
But my personal favorite had a gal on the cover in a buckskin dress with a squirrel rifle and
really, really red lips. Her huge voice reminded me of my mom’s and I loved her long before I
knew she had a name other than Annie Oakley.
At ten, I was cast in a production of The King and I, starring John Cullum and Patricia Kies. At
last I got my chance to step into that world where songs actually came to life. It was during that
production that I began to experience the balance and beauty of musical theatre structure for
the first time. I saw how music could move a story forward. I could see the differences between
the starring roles, romantic leads and character roles; the ballads, up-tempos, and specialty
numbers. And the BIGGEST discovery was that not all women sounded like my mom and Annie Oakley; a defining realization as I was finding my own voice on the stage. I’d never heard
anything like Mrs. Anna! There were sopranos, and I was not one.
The summer after seventh grade I was paid $35.00 a week to babysit Wally Nelson and his sisters. On Fridays, the money and I went straight to the mall, where I faithfully added to my own
budding Broadway collection. I then spent the entire week listening to the new show, memorizing it, going to the library to dig up anything I could find about it. Sometime that summer I
bought Gypsy... and the world has never been the same. Suddenly, there was Annie Oakley
coming out of nowhere to knock the wind out of me as Mama Rose. Suddenly, I saw the scope
of what was possible, and I knew if I was going to make theatre and singing my life, there was
someone I needed to know more about - Ethel Merman.
Once I was old enough to realize the full impact of Merman’s talents on the Broadway stage,
I kept her close to my heart and championed everything about her. According to people who
were there, it is impossible to describe the relationship she had with her audience. They say
a good comparison doesn’t remotely exist. She is famous for being heard in the last row of
the balcony at a time when there was no amplification. Songwriters adored writing for her
and worshipped her ability to deliver their lyrics with beautiful phrasing, stunning style, and a
wicked sense of comedy. Her lack of stage fright and unwavering professionalism are legendary. She was dazzling and gutsy, raising the bar to a new level for actresses and songwriters
alike. Broadway became her home. She lived to perform for her audience and they would
virtually crackle with excitement when she stepped onto the stage.
As Merman sang in Anything Goes, times have changed. The songs, the sounds, and the stars
are very different now than they were in 1930, when she burst onto the scene in Girl Crazy. But
her unabashed, larger-than-life style and brassy voice are constantly memorialized in various
ways, from drag parodies to cabaret themes to cocktail party quips. She’s an icon on many
levels, and they are all tributes in and of themselves.
Eventually, I was compelled to construct a homage of my own, working with the conviction that
it is critical to remember not just what she looked like or sounded like, but what she inspired
in those who were propelling theatre and music forward at the time. Her Broadway career
starts with George Gershwin and ends with Jerry Herman. The roles written for her are brilliant
and classic. The list of songs associated with her name is astounding – enough to fill several
evenings. And believe me, it was not easy deciding on the selections for this show. It is truly a
joy and an honor to sing these songs and to tell this part of her story.
Given all this, how could I answer anything other than “Ethel Merman” when asked who
influenced me most? She embodies the music, the legend, and the style that I was practically
weaned on; and that I long to express as a performer.
- Klea Blackhurst
The CD recordings of Klea Blackhurst’s “Everything the Traffic Will Allow,” “Autumn in
New York: Vernon Duke’s Broadway” and “Dreaming of a Song: The Music of Hoagy
Carmichael” are available at www.ghostlightrecords.com.
Please visit Klea’s website at www.kleablackhurst.com
The photographing or sound recording of any performance or the possession of any
device for such photographing or sound recording inside this theatre is strictly prohibited.
SPECIAL THANKS…
Friends of School of the Arts thanks the students who worked so diligently to make
tonight’s event special either by performing, working as the stage crew, or assisting
with the reception and parking. We applaud your hard work, talent, dedication
and enthusiasm for SOTA. We also thank the administration, faculty, staff, parents
and caring adults who gave of their time to make Klea Blackhurst’s Everything the
Traffic Will Allow a memorable experience for all. Bravo!
PRESENTING OUR STUDENTS…
SOTA COMMUNITY SERVICE STUDENTS
Medina Abdi
Jeanette Betancourt
Chandel Correa
Yunoka Fair
Joachim Fleischmann
Kaheem Fortune
Nastalsia Hall
Taylor Hall
Asonte Harris
Michelle Houghtaling
Naita Howell
Willie Jones III
Trenton Jones
Willie Keglar
Alexandria Mewborn
Taaquia Morrow
Connie Perez
Elaine Stewart
Amanda Thomas
Denisha Walker
Marissa Webbe
Jala Wilson
Trenton Weaver
THE SOTA JAZZ COMBO
Jose Encarnacion
Music Director
Louis Ressel
Matthew Sieber-Ford
Yusuf Abdi
Justin Blake
Harriett Davis
Zthoeri Marshall
Gary Crocker
Alto Sax
Tenor Sax
Trumpet
Trombone
Piano
Bass
Drums
SOTA SINGERS - 2009-2010
Lorie Dengler Dewey
Artistic Director
Daniel Lauritzson
Vocal Music Director
Chelse Chambers
Julia Hermanson
Jessica James
Emma Marshall
Yvana Melendez
Kamaran Moss
Sarah Mullen
Ben Northrup
Katy Rebholz
Taylor Rugg
Emmett Tross
Cameron Tyson
Whitney White
Tatiana Williams
SOTA STAGE CREW
George Comes
Technical Director
Chris Dake Jr.
George Verhagen
FRIENDS OF
Friends of School of the Arts
Board of Directors
Nanette Elliott
Cheryl Bianchi
Scott Cresswell
J. Charmaine Bennett
Shawanda D. Evans
Adele M. Fico
Elizabeth Franz
LaMarr Jackson
J.D. Jackson
Christine Monteferrante
Brenda L. Pacheco
Rick Packard
Alice K. Smith
President
Vice President and
2010 Gala Co-Chair
Secretary and Treasurer
Alumni Committee Chair
Development Committee Chair
Nominating Committee Chair
Principal School of the Arts
Mette Stromnes
Alan A. Tirre
Adrianna White Eagle
Allocations Committee Chair and
2010 Gala Co-Chair
Faculty Representative
Vice Principal of the Arts
Student Representative
Jean M. Graupman
Linda A. Melendez
Executive Director
Finance Director
Friends of School of the Arts is a not-for-profit, community-based 501(c)(3) organization that
raises money to support the academic, artistic and humanistic success of our students.
Whether it is dance shoes, special lessons, a pair of glasses, registration fees, or emergency
assistance, Friends of School of the Arts quietly offers invaluable financial support.
Thank you for sharing your evening with us.
Friends of School of the Arts regrets any errors or omissions from this program.
Thank You!
For More Information Contact:
Friends of School of the Arts
45 Prince Street • Rochester, New York 14607
585-242-0290