Kate Fahrner News

As part of Maine State Music Theatre's 60th Anniversary season, and as a thank to you the community that has supported it, the theatre will present a free concert - in collaboration with Brunswick Downtown Association - on the Brunswick Mall today, August 15 at 5:30 PM.

Anniversaries are times to reflect, to evaluate, but also to celebrate. Yesterday with its 60 Years of Musical Theatre: The Best of Maine State Music Theatre gala concert, the Brunswick theatre pulled out all the stops with a big, beautiful Diamond Jubilee gala that proved a stunning culmination to this milestone season. And indeed, six decades after Victoria Crandall launched her dream at the Pickard Theater on the Bowdoin College campus, MSMT can boast numerous reasons to celebrate its history, as well as its present accomplishments and future aspirations. In a matinee and evening stagings that featured musical performances by twenty-one soloists and an ensemble of ten, as well a number of spoken tributes, Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark architected a program that was classy, heartfelt, and rich and deep in the talent it showcased. As with any commemorative event, the program tapped into nostalgia and memory but blended these with a strong sense of the vigorous, energetic, imposing presence this company has become - not only in Midcoast Maine but also as a force in national regional theatre.

As its main stage finale in this Diamond Jubilee season, Maine State Music Theatre chose to present the stage version of one of the most beloved musicals of all time, Singin' in the Rain. With its book by Betty Comden/Adolph Green, and songs by Nacio Herb Brown/Arthur Freed), based on the famed MGM musical, this iconic classic receives a production that recreates the glitter of Hollywood's Golden Age on a dazzlingly grand scale. MSMT's staging, directed/choreographed by Marc Robin, sparkles with the effervescence of fine champagne, bubbles with energy and originality, exudes sunshine and joy, and offers its audiences an exhilarating, entirely magical entertainment experience.

Maine State Music Theatre closes its 60th Anniversary season with the smash hit, Singin' in the Rain. This classic hit runs from August 8-25.

As part of Maine State Music Theatre's 60th Anniversary season, and as a thank to you the community that has supported it, the theatre will present a free concert - in collaboration with Brunswick Downtown Association - on the Brunswick Mall on Wednesday, August 15 at 5:30 PM.

'I think the audience is going to eat up Singing' in the Rain. It is live theatre where anything can happen, and the talent in this cast is really amazing,' enthuses the star of Maine State Music Theatre's new production of the beloved classic, which begins its run at Brunswick's Pickard Theater on August 8th. For Nicolas Dromard, the opportunity to play Don Lockwood is a dream come true. 'It's taken me thirty-one years, but here I am,' he says with a big grin.

Maine State Music Theatre closes its 60th Anniversary season with the smash hit, Singin' in the Rain. This classic hit runs from August 8-25.

Blackbird is not an easy show to watch, but it is an important one.  It tackles complex themes and, like life, promises no simple resolutions.

Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap marks the welcomed return of drama to the Fulton Theater's mainstage. For far too long, the company has produced one big, splashy musical comedy after another. It is good for a theater to have some variety, something different now and then, and The Mousetrap fits the bill.

The nationally regarded Fulton Theatre is proud to present the classic murder mystery Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, January 16 through February 11. Check in to the Monkswell Manor and stay the night as murder is the name of the cruel game played with inside these walls.

The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.

The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.

The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.

The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.

In a season that continues to top itself, one show after the other, Maine State Music Theatre's fourth and final main stage production of Disney's Newsies is an epic accomplishment for the company and one that firmly establishes it as one of the finest regional theatres in the country. As one of only three companies to get the regional rights to this mega Broadway hit, MSMT has mounted a thrilling, large scale production that is an electrifying, heart wrenching, and profoundly uplifting theatrical experience that will leave you in what Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark has called a state of “ecstatic exhaustion.”

Maine State Music Theatre closes out its 2017 season with the New England Regional Premier of the all-singing, all-dancing, high-energy show, Disney's Newsies. Featuring a score by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken, Newsies runs from August 9 - 26. A matinee performance has been added on August 19 at 2 PM.

“She a woman standing up in a man's world, and she won't take no for an answer,” Kate Farhner says admiringly of her current role in Maine State Music Theatre's new production of Disney's Newsies. “Katherine is one of the principal storytellers in the show, and [as a writer], she is unique because she is a woman modeling herself after a man.” The actress who created a sensation last season as Eva Peron returns to the Pickard Theater to work once again with director/choreographer Marc Robin and her Evita co-star Matt Farcher. Farhner recounts how she came to be cast as the young journalist, Katherine Plumber, who becomes involved with strike leader, Jack Kelly, and helps the newsboys win their objectives. “I had gone in to audition for Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls, and Marc Robin asked me if I knew Katherine's song “Watch What Happens.” I didn't, but I prepared it and sang it for them at the callback. When Matt walked in, I knew this was going to be a dream to play this part. We didn't get to interact much in Evita, but we do as Katherine and Jack, and there is a little more of ourselves in these roles.”

'It has been a very cool year for me!' Matt Farcher exclaims, as he reminisces about the last twelve months since he made his Maine State Music Theatre debut as Che Guevara in Evita last summer. The actor, who will star as Jack Kelly in the upcoming production of Disney's Newsies that begins performances at Brunswick's Pickard Theater August 9, has had a very busy and artistically stimulating year - 'working back to back shows for most of the time' - appearing as the Beast in Beauty and the Beast and in his role debut as Jack Kelly at the Fulton Theatre in Lancaster, PA.

Maine State Music Theatre closes out its 2017 season with the New England Regional Premier of the all-singing, all-dancing, high-energy show, Disney's Newsies. Featuring a score by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken, Newsies runs from August 9 - 26. A matinee performance has been added on August 19 at 2 PM.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature THE LITTLE MERMAID, RAGTIME, NEWSIES, and more!