By Elizabeth Montgomery When Jean Webster published Daddy Long Legs in 1912, critics warned it wasn’t something women should be reading. The novel was considered radical for its time: a story about a woman pursuing education, independence, and a voice of her own. More than a century later, that story is heading to The Phoenix Theatre Company as a…
Before You Walk in the Room: Audition Advice from Resident Music Director Kevin Robert White By The Phoenix Theatre Company Auditions are just days away, and that means performers are running material, second-guessing choices, and trying to figure out what the room is actually looking for. We asked The Phoenix Theatre Company’s Resident Music Director to break down what he’s looking…
By Elizabeth Montgomery One moment he’s the Doctor, the next he’s Frank Sinatra. Then Rosemary’s mother, then someone else entirely. In Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Story, Tony Blosser* makes it feel effortless, even as the work underneath it is anything but simple. That kind of transformation doesn’t come from quick costume changes or theatrical tricks. It comes from precision, instinct, and…
The Phoenix Theatre Company Announces Ambitious 107th Season Featuring Eleven Productions Across Three Stages By The Phoenix Theatre Company The Phoenix Theatre Company’s 107th Season is the most ambitious in the company’s history: eleven productions across three stages, five Tony Award–winning musicals, one world premiere, and one regional production. From the razor-sharp wit of…
By Elizabeth Montgomery In Come From Away, the story unfolds at a relentless pace. Twelve actors portray dozens of characters, scenes shift in seconds, and emotions move from humor to heartbreak and back again. Beneath it all is a score that keeps the story moving. For the show’s Music Director Alan J. Plado, guiding that momentum requires the same level of…
By Shelina Elyse From the height of fame to collapse then reinvention, Tenderly is an introspective jukebox musical like no other. We sat with director Jodie Weiss to explore the unique storytelling of the show and the remarkable talent required to portray Clooney and the many figures in her life. The musical showcases timeless classics that may surprise you to find that Clooney originated. Read…
By Elizabeth Montgomery In a photo from 1969, a little girl stands between her parents in the back of a kitchen, smiling like she runs the place. She doesn’t know it yet, but she will. That girl is Jill Garcia, and 56 years later, she and her husband George and their son Josh are still running the Miracle Mile Deli in Phoenix. Still slicing up…
By Shelina Elyse In a world that often feels divided, Come From Away explores a true story of compassion and community that feels more necessary than ever. We spoke with Michael Barnard, Producing Artistic Director and director of Come From Away, about bringing the uplifting story of rerouted passengers and Gander residents during September 11, 2001 to our stage. At its heart, the…
“The Greatest Live Show” & The King of Rockabilly: Meet the Actors Bringing Them to Life https://youtu.be/AeF6vr6Rato By The Phoenix Theatre Company Get to know Brady Wease* and Kurt Jenkins* who play Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, respectively, as they share their history with their characters and Million Dollar Quartet! When Wease* isn’t hyping…
By Theresa Kellar Tonner What do you do when you love someone? Movie musical director, Rob Marshall, says, “When movement isn’t enough, you dance, or when speaking isn’t enough, you sing,” and a musical does both. When Tony is so full of his love for Maria, he can’t do anything else but sing out…
Amanda D’Archangelis and Sami Horneff met in the world-renowned BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Recent work includes: THE RADIUM GIRLS, co-written with Lisa Mongillo and directed by Tony-Winner Marissa Jaret Winokur, which is eyeing a world premiere production in the 26-27 season (also a 2022 NAMT Finalist, a 2019 Eugene O’Neill NMTC Semi-Finalist, and five-time winner at The 2021 National Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival); SINGLE RIDER (Off-Broadway 2018); COMING ATTRACTION (Wilbury Theatre Group 2019); and THE BREAK (Omaha Creative Institute 2018). Upcoming: BANDIT QUEEN, a new pop-Americana musical about Pearl Hart, the Wild West’s most notorious female bandit, which has been developed through artist residencies at The Legacy Theatre in Branford, CT and Drama Club Camp in Mount Vernon, ME; PANDORA IN BLUE JEANS with book by Adam Morrison, which explores the life of controversial “Peyton Place” author Grace Metalious; and PSYCH, a 90’s spin on the myth of Cupid & Psyche commissioned by Wichita State University. Amanda and Sami’s songs have also been performed at concert venues and educational institutions across the country. They are proud to be 2019 York Theatre Company New/Emerging/Outstanding Writers, 2024 Playbill Songwriter Series Featured Artists, and 2025 Write Out Loud Contest grand prize winners! For more, visit: @darchangelisandhorneff on instagram | www.amandadarchangelis.com and www.samihorneff.com
