Help Musical Theatre West keep shining

By Patty Marsters

pattym@lwsb.com

Musical Theatre West (MTW) hopes to “Keep the Lights On” with its virtual benefit series, which features concerts by Broadway and local stars.

Founded as the Whittier Civic Light Opera in 1952, Musical Theatre West now produces shows at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach and offers outreach programs to the community. But, as is the case with most entertainment providers worldwide, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has kept its doors locked.

“These are challenging times in the theater community, and benefit concerts that allow audiences an intimate concert experience have become vital for theaters across the country,” said MTW executive director Paul Garman.

Partnering with streaming and ticketing platform Stellar, MTW brings its stage magic to your computer or smart TV for $27.50 per performance. All proceeds benefit the theater company in its mission to “enrich the community with Broadway-quality productions, preserve musical theater as a unique American art form and expose people of all backgrounds to the excitement of musical theater,” according to its website.

Until Sunday, March 28, viewers can catch an encore broadcast featuring Terron Brooks, the star of MTW’s “Ragtime,” Broadway’s “The Lion King” and TV’s “The Temptations.”

Popular MTW and Broadway performer Cynthia Ferrer joins forces with Emmy Award winner Randy Rogel for a concert filled with music and humor that streams April 1-11.

Starting April 15, Jason Graae presents “Perfect Hermany,” a tribute to Broadway composer Jerry Herman, who was best known for “Mame,” “La Cage aux Folles” and “Hello, Dolly!” Graae hilariously portrayed Cookie in MTW’s “Nice Work If You Can Get It” and has appeared in such Broadway shows as “A Grand Night for Singing” and “Stardust.” This concert, filmed at the Musical Theatre West Reiner Rehearsal Hall, is presented in partnership with 42nd Street Moon, San Francisco.

From Broadway’s “Wicked” and MTW’s “Sunset Boulevard” comes David Burnham. The encore broadcast of his 2020 show streams April 29-May 9.

Anna Mintzer first appeared on the MTW stage as Alice Murphy in “Bright Star” and was part of the national touring company of “The Sound of Music.” She can now be seen on Amazon’s “New Dogs, All Tricks” and, starting May 13, as part of the “Keep the Lights On” fundraiser.

MTW celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a special concert that streams May 27-June 2. A list of performers will be announced.

A stage veteran of 11 Broadway productions, Grasan Kingsbury has won Grammy and Emmy awards and has been part of Tony and Grammy awardwinning revivals. His concert runs June 10-20.

The series concludes with an encore broadcast June 24-July 4 featuring David Engel, Larry Raben and Bets Malone, who have been part of more than 50 MTW productions.

Tickets for the concerts, all of which are closed captioned, can be purchased via www.musical.org.

Cynthia Ferrer and Randy Rogel's performance streams April 1-11.