West Side Story Community Outreach

NCT applied for (and received!) an Arts & Audiences Grant from the North Carolina Arts Council (NCAC), seeking to engage new and diverse audience members through outreach activities to the Latino community in the Triangle area. We are thrilled to have the following outreach opportunities in place for West Side Story:

1. Learn the 'Mambo' at the North Carolina Theatre Conservatory - Friday, November 13, 6-7 PM!

NCT is offering a free master dance class taught by NCT Conservatory Dance Department Head & Broadway veteran, Tito Hernandez! Come learn the 'Mambo' from West Side Story - Tito will lead the class in Spanish with assistance by Conservatory student (& WSS cast member) Carly Jordan! The class is open to the first 75 people who enroll.

2. See West Side Story at a Discounted Price!
Calling ALL students & teachers of ANY age - come to Target Student Preview Night on Friday, October 16th at 7 PM and see the show for only $10! After the show, there will be a Q&A with the cast and crew with a translation in Spanish. We will also provide a study guide as well.

3. Attend the FREE dress rehearsal for West Side Story on Thursday, October 15th at 8 PM.

NCT is targeting young, Latino professionals (age 18-40) by opening up dress rehearsal to a limited amount of guests. This gives a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the NCT process - seeing the production during a rehearsal and then coming back for another performance!

We are excited about these opportunities and hope to have a good turn out!

2nd Annual BFA Showcase at the NC Theatre Conservatory

It’s amazing how much stress and anxiety can ooze from five teenagers in one room. This past weekend, five of NCT Conservatory’s top students performed in the BFA Showcase for three professors from top performing arts schools. Professors include Aubrey Berg from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Gayle Seaton from Florida State University and Mark Madama from theUniversity of Michigan.

Lydia Leggett, Jessica Koons, Logan Williamson, Carly Jordan & Meredith Davis were the lucky few who would be running through a mock audition with these professors.

First, they learned a new dance routine taught by Tito Hernandez. Then, they were given group feedback and changed to prepare for their individual audition. They sang one song and performed one monologue for the panel and were then critiqued individually. All of the professors had great criticism and the students each went away knowing what they needed to work on. While the overall mood was anxious and nervous, they all received priceless advice that will help them when they start auditioning for colleges.

This was the second year that the NCT Conservatory has provided a BFA Showcase and all the parents, students, and professors had nothing but positive things to say about the program!

If you are interested in learning more about this program, please click here for more details or call NCTC program director, Heather Patterson King, at 919-855-0015.

Dinner on Stage Performers Announced!

Dinner on Stage with NCT is a very special event for our leading role donors*. This year's event will take place on Monday, October 19th on the stage of Raleigh Memorial Auditorium. Dinner on Stage is always on the dark Monday during our last show of the season, and our donors have cocktails, appetizers, dinner and delicious desert among the set on stage! It's a very unique event - and is a great excuse to get all dressed up to come to the theater for a special occasion.

For our 5th year - we are very fortunate to have three talented performers grace the stage for a fun-filled evening of entertainment. They are:

Ray Walker - NC Theatre Conservatory Artistic Director and Broadway veteran (Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease, Les Miserables)

Lauren Kennedy - Broadway Veteran (Sunset Boulevard, Side Show, Spamalot & Les Miserables)

John Arthur Greene - former NCT Kids on Broadway and main stage alum, now starring as Riff in Broadway's West Side Story

Stay tuned for pictures from the event - and if you want to be a part of this special evening or future Dinner on Stage events, please contact the Devlopment Department at 919-831-6941 x6948. Contributing to our Annual Fund at all different levels gives you a host of benefits at NCT! Click here for more details.

*Leading role donors give $1,500 or more to the Annual Fund.

West Side Story & Romeo & Juliet

West Side Story was choreographed by Jerome Robbins and written by composer Leonard Bernstein, librettist Arthur Laurents and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, and opened on Broadway in 1957.

Past NCT production of West Side Story

WSS is the modern adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, written in the late 1590s by William Shakespeare. Where Romeo & Juliet were star-crossed lovers in Verona, Italy, Tony & Maria (of WSS) are star-crossed lovers in the violent streets of New York, doomed by social conditions they cannot control. Like Romeo & Juliet, Tony & Maria are from opposite groups and this poses major problems in their relationship.

WSS takes place over two days, with the song and dance pushing the plot along at a rapid pace. In Shakespeare's story the Capulets and Montagues are the feuding families, and in WSS the Jets (who consider themselves "American") and the Sharks (who are Hispanics, mainly of Puerto Rican ancestry) are two feuding neighborhood gangs. I won't give away the ending, but if you are aware of how Romeo & Juliet concludes, that should be some indication - this is a tragic love story.

Romeo & Juliet

Although WSS debuted on Broadway in the 1950s, it is still relevant today and is currently playing on Broadway, but with a new twist. Their version has some songs and dialog in Spanish, to make the story more authentic. However, they have recently changed some of these songs back to English so that the audience can better understand what is going on in the story.

Our version of WSS being produced for Triangle audiences only (running Oct. 17-25 in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium) will be spectacular! Josh Bergasse, the director and choreographer, is going to bring a lot to the table to keep the story fresh and exciting, and showcase the Jerome Robbins choreography as well.

WSS director, Joshua Bergasse

Tickets are on sale now - call the NCT Box Office at 919-831-6941 x6944, Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or visit www.nctheatre.com for more information.

West Side Story Leads Announced

NC Theatre is thrilled to produce West Side Story! We held auditions in Raleigh and NYC and have assembled a very talented cast. Here are the leads in the show:

Josh Young - Tony

Josh was in the National and International Tours of Les Miserables and starred as Tony in West Side Story. He was also in the Off-Broadway productions of The Woman Upstairs, Alice and Heaven Knowns and has been in the regional productions ofHairspray, Les Miserables, A Chorus Line and Othello.

Catherine Cheng Jones - Maria

Catherine is known to NCT audiences from her experience in Miss Saigon (Mimi), Jesus Christ Superstar, Dreamgirls and Beauty and the Beast. She was also in Camelot at New York Philharmonic, The King & I in Broadway Asia.

Leo Ash Evens - Riff

Leo starred in The West End production of West Side Story as Riff. Off-Broadway, he was in Wanda's World, Signs of Life and I Prefer to Dream. He also starred as Riff in the National Tour of West Side Story and was in the National Tours of Disney's on the Record, 42nd Street and Casper The Musical.

Asmeret Ghebremichael - Anita

Asmeret was in the Broadway productions Legally Blonde, Spamalot, Wicked and Footloose. She was in the original company of In the Heights Off-Broadway and was in the World Premiere of A Little Princess.

Freddy Ramirez - Bernardo

Freddy was in Grease on Broadway, and in the National Tours of Grease, A Chorus Line, Peter Pan and Tangol. Regionally, he was in West Side Story (Bernardo/Action), Godspell (Lamar), Anything Goes (Billy), Cabaret (Victor) and others.

Rehesarsals start October 5th and the show runs October 17-25th in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium. Full cast list to be posted soon - stay tuned!

First Annual Producer Trip to the Big Apple

I was honored to be a part of the first annual Producer Trip to New York August 5-7! As part of our annual fund, Producer level individual donors to the NCT are invited to attend auditions in New York and see a Broadway show (or two!). The inaugural trip included Walter Powell and Melody Fountain, Debbie and Mary Beth Woody, Edythe Poyner and Florence Lumsden along with staff members Lisa Grele Barrie, Carolee Baxter and me! Our guests were invited to sit in and watch as Carolee busily worked with director Josh Bergasse, musical director Edward G. Robinson and artistic director Casey Hushion to audition over 400 men and women for West Side Story. Those of us non-production folks were very impressed with the outstanding talent we saw and very glad to not have to make the tough decisions about who would and would not be in the show.

Lisa Grele Barrie and Mary Beth Woody watching auditions at Equity Audition Center in NYC

We were fortunate to see two shows while in New York. The group saw Raleigh-native Lauren Kennedy as "Mary" in Vanities at 2econd Stage and loved it. Lauren's smile is infectious and we were grateful to have the chance to see her after the show and thank her for a great night of theatre!

The whole group with Vanities star Lauren Kennedy after the show

The second night we were there we saw In the Heights and thanks to our Aritstic Director Casey Hushion (who just happens to be the Assistant Director for In the Heights) we were able to get a "backstage" tour. We quickly saw that there was no backstage (actors have to run up and down a steep flight of stairs to change clothes between numbers) and instead admired the set up close. We said hello to a few of the actors, including everyone's favorite graphitti artist "Graphitti Pete" played by Seth Stewart and had our pictures taken...repeatedly. After all, how often do you get a chance to stand on a Broadway stage?

Carolee Baxter & Lisa Grele Barrie on stage at In the Heights

On stage at In the Heights

It was a very successful trip...thank you to Walter and Melody, Debbie and Mary Beth and Edythe and Florence for trusting us to "produce" an excellent adventure for you!

John Arthur Greene in Broadway's West Side Story

Congrats to John Arthur - a former Kids on Broadway and NCT performer! He has landed the role of "Riff" in the Broadway revival West Side Story - recently nominated for 4 Tony Awards. The News & Observer did a neat article on him, and he talks about NCT - where he got his start! We wish him nothing but the best of luck with West Side Story and all of his future endeavors!

To read the full article, click here.

Up Next...Bat Boy!

Our next production is BAT BOY, August 6-9, in Meymandi Theatre at the Murphey School. This is our youth production and is a part of the Master Summer Theatre Arts School program, which is a continuation of our Kids on Broadway program.

BAT BOY is a classic love story with some serious "bite!"This delicious twist on the modern-day musical comedy tells the amazing story of a strange boy with pointy ears, his struggle to find a place in a world that shuns him, and the love that can create both miracles and madness.

Tickets are $10-$15 and are available by calling the NCT Box Office at 919-831-6941 x6944. Meymandi Theatre at the Murphey School is Burning Coal Theatre Company's new theatre located in downtown Raleigh at the corner of Person and Polk Streets. (Please note that there is also a PG-13 rating on this show).

Performance Schedule:

Thursday, August 6 at 8 PM

Friday, August 7 at 8 PM

Saturday, August 8 at 2 and 8 PM

Sunday, August 9 at 2 and 7 PM

Cast List:

Hillary Aarons (Ensemble)
Rachel Akin (Ensemble)

Amarachi Anakaraonye (Reverend Hightower)

Jackson Bloom (Ron Taylor)

Allison Bonner (Mayor Maggie)

Kathleen Bottomley (Mrs. Taylor)

Jonathan Cobrda (Bat Boy)

Jason Cooper (Dr. Parker)

Patrick Cyzewski (Bud)

Meredith Davis (Meredith Parker)

Elizabeth Galbraith (Ensemble)

Matthew Harvey (Clem)

Anna Higginson (Ensemble)

Aneesa Johnson (Ensemble)

Shelby Kurtzman (Ensemble)

Lydia Elaine Leggett (Ruthie Taylor)

Connor Lillis (Pan)

Courtney Poland (Ensemble)

Lily Rashid (Ensemble/Young Meredith)

Haley Richardson (Ensemble)

Morgan Richardson (Ensemble)

Tyler Betts Rollins (Ensemble)

Emily Schmid (Ensemble)

Mary Simmons (Loraine)

Joey Stephens (Rick Taylor)

Adam Stern-Rand (Roy)

Alex Tobey (Sheriff Reynolds)

Kelsey Walston (Shelley Parker)

The Sound of Music Reviews

The reviews are in and The Sound of Music is a hit! If you haven't seen our production yet, come see for yourself! Both audiences and critics alike are loving the show and our talented actors who take the stage night after night to entertain Raleigh patrons.

Check out the glowing reviews here:

The News & Observer: 'A Favorite Thing On So Many Levels'

Indepenent Weekly: 'The Sound of Music'

Classical Voice of NC: 'The North Carolina Theatre Revival of The Sound of Music is Effervescent'

The Sound of Music Dress Rehearsal Photos

Kate Fisher as 'Maria' sings 'Do Re Mi' with the von Trapp children

Kate Fisher as 'Maria' and Tom Galantich as 'Captain von Trapp' sing 'Edelweiss'

Captain von Trapp and Maria sing 'Something Good'

Finale scene

Kate Fisher as 'Maria' and Suzanne Ishee as 'The Mother Abbess' during 'Climb Every Mountain'

Photo Credit: Curtis Brown Photography