Seniors Participate in Staged Readings of Three New Musicals At Hartt

The Seventh Annual Goodspeed Festival of New Artists features staged readings of brand new works for the American Music Theatre in this creative gathering of authors, actors, artists, and musical theatre lovers. The Festival, which is open to the general public, will take place at the historic Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT, from Friday, January 13, through Sunday, January 15. For reservations, call or visit the Goodspeed Box Office 860.873.8668 or order online at http://www.goodspeed.org/tickets.aspx.

This year’s Festival also includes a Friday night New Artists Cabaret; Saturday Morning Breakout sessions with some of theatre’s most influential people; New Musical Preview: A Preview of a New Musical Headed for The Norma Terris Theatre in 2012; Festival Dinner; The Noel Coward Symposium featuring Broadway luminaries; Saturday Night Festival Cabaret; and a special Meet the Writers Reception. For more information about Goodspeed and the Festival, visit www.goodspeed.org.

Hartt senior Music Theatre students participating in the Festival of New Artists include Scott Caron of Shrewsbury, MA; Eileen Conneely of Little Ferry, NJ; Alexandra Cutler of Forrestburgh, NY; Joel Dommel of Allentown, PA; Donald Gersonde of Imperial Beach, CA; Keisha Gilles of Waltham, MA; Nicholas Giuliani of Tampa, FL; Laura Helm of Southborough, MA; Lauren Hill of Southborough, MA; Jayce Johnson of Las Vegas, NV; Elise Murphy of Lowell, MA; Lea Nardi of Southington, CT; Michael O’Brien of Hyde Park, MA; David Raposo of Dartmouth, MA; Charles South of Pembroke Pines, FL; Kristin Tarczynski of Vernon, NJ; Danielle Westhead of Mount Laurel, NJ; and Emily White of Fort Worth, TX.

Being presented during the Festival:

Harmony, Kansas
A new musical with a lively, soulful score that follows Heath, a farmer in rural Kansas, and his city-born partner, who talks him into joining a group of gay guys who get together to sing. Heath discovers a love for making music and unexpected kinship. But when the group decides to perform in public, his world is turned upside down and all that matters to him is threatened.
Music by Anna K. Jacobs
Book and Lyrics by Bill Nelson

Not Wanted on the Voyage
A housewife, her husband, their three sons, and a talking cat – just an ordinary family living ordinary lives in the turbulent days before the Great Flood. Their ordinary lives are turned upside-down when they learn that they alone will survive the coming deluge. Filled with magic, mythology and, above all else, hope, Not Wanted on the Voyage is a provocative new musical about the first time the world ended.
Music and Lyrics by Neil Bartram
Book by Brian Hill
Based on the novel by Timothy Findley

The Dogs of Pripyat
USSR, 1986. As all humans are evacuated from Chernobyl, their pets are left behind to fend for themselves. This is the story of those animals. Boychik is a gentle mutt who pines for his masters’ return. But when a pair of alphas take control, Boychik learns how to hunt, kill and ultimately form a new kind of family. Based on true events, The Dogs of Pripyat is a story about hope and survival when they seem least possible.
Music by Aron Accurso
Lyrics by Jill Abramovitz
Book by Leah Napolin & Jill Abramovitz
Based on the play by Leah Napolin

The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts school of the University of Hartford that offers innovative degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. With more than 400 concerts, recitals, plays, master classes, dance performances, and musical theatre productions a year, performance is central to Hartt’s curriculum. For more information on The Hartt School visit www.hartford.edu/hartt.

Pictured: Hartt students perform during the 2011 Festival of New Artists.