Students Will Take to the Performing Arts Center Stage This Fall

By Joanna Reid

If you’re looking for some entertainment this fall, look no further than Adelphi’s Performing Arts Center (PAC). The PAC was named one of the 35 Best University Performing Arts Centers in the United States by Clickitticket.com and now has a variety of exciting new shows lined up for this season, with discounted tickets available for Adelphi students, alumni, faculty and staff.

Adelphi students were the stars of the Best of Broadway in fall 2022 and they'll take to the stage again in October. Photo by Peter Frutkoff

PAC executive director Blyth Daylong said that he’s looking forward to bringing another exciting season of dance, music and theatre performances. “Our music students will be bringing the music of Broadway to the Westermann Stage of the Concert Hall. Our theatre students will be telling a tale of how an episode of `The Simpsons’ becomes folklore in an apocalyptic future. And our dance students will be presenting a dance by acclaimed choreographer Doug Varone,” he said.

In addition, Daylong said that world-renowned guest artists will take the stage to present a variety of genres of music, including the world premiere of a piece written by faculty member Sidney Boquiren, a celebration of the music of Stephen Sondheim by a singer known for her beautiful interpretations of his music, and a special holiday celebration featuring several Broadway stars.

“Thanks to the generosity of Mary Jane and Thomas Poole, our Poole Family Broadway Series continues to bring some of the most talented Broadway performers right here to Garden City,” Daylong said.

Adelphi will hold its annual Larson Legacy Concert with the 2022 Jonathan Larson grant recipient. This year’s concert will feature playwright and composer, Christie Baugher. Baugher’s work has been put on in venues all over New York City and her musical entitled “The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul” was selected to take part in the 2020 Pacific Playwrights Festival. “The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul,” to be directed by Danny Mefford (“Dear Evan Hansen,” “Kimberly Akimbo” and “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson”), is about the lives of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald and is set to a score reminiscent of 1920s jazz. A concert reading of the musical will be held at Adelphi on Sept. 9.

From Sept. 27-Oct. 1, Emily Lyon brings “A Taste of Shakespeare” to the PAC. Lyon is a seasoned director with experience directing multiple Shakespeare plays. She’ll stage shortened versions of three different Shakespeare plays in only one hour including “The (Tiny) Tempest,” “One Twelfth-Night” and “Midsummer: Tedious & Brief.”

On Sept. 30 the PAC will host “The Princeton Singers: Inspirations” conducted by composer Steven Samtez. The choir has been making music for nearly 40 years and has performed various styles of music. According to their website, their show has been described as “a look at how living artists engage with works by masters of the past.”

On Oct. 22, “Best of Broadway” returns. Adelphi’s talented students from the Department of Music will perform numbers from various Broadway and off-Broadway musicals. The show incorporates both classical and contemporary showtunes. In the past students have sung songs from shows like “Funny Girl,” “Wicked” and “In The Heights.”

Adelphi’s Dance Department will showcase both ballet and modern dance in November. Photo by Peter Frutkoff

Next up in October will be Philip Edward Fisher: “The Romantic Piano” on the 27th. Fisher attended Juilliard and has performed in some of the most acclaimed venues like Lincoln Center, Denmark’s Tivoli Koncertsalen and Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland. Fisher has performed at Adelphi in the past and he will be back playing songs from famous classical composers such as Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninoff.

There are even more shows to look forward to in November, especially for theater fans. First up is “Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play.” The dark-humored play is written by Anne Washburn and features music by Michael Freidman (“Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson”). It centers around a group of survivors who recently shared an apocalyptic event. In order to take their mind off things they try to act out a Simpsons episode from memory, which leads to the characters creating their own theatre troupe. Their theatre troupe makes huge impacts in the post apocalyptic world. The play will run from Nov. 1-5.

Then there is no better day to see Tony Award nominee Melissa Errico sing some of Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant discography than on a Sunday, in this case, Nov. 12. She’ll be accompanied by music director Billy Stritch and a jazz trio.

As usual, students of Adelphi’s Dance Department will showcase dance numbers in the style of ballet and modern dance. This will take place Nov. 15-19.

The season will finish with “A Slightly Wicked Holiday Show” on Dec. 17. The show will feature Alli Mauzey, who is currently starring in Broadway’s “Kimberly Akimbo,” Dee Roscioli, who was last seen on Broadway in “The Cher Show,” and Sam Gravite who has recently played Fiyero in “Wicked.” Together they will sing timeless holiday classics, as well as beloved Broadway hits.

For more information and a full list of shows and dates visit: https://www.adelphi.edu/pac/