Richard Jay-Alexander Introduces You To Matt Berman, Who Can Hook You Up With Better Lighting & Sound For Your Online Needs

If you Google the name Matt Berman you'll find many, but the only one you need to know about is the one who has been part of our theatre, club and concert community, since we were all baby dinosaurs roaming into New York City, hoping for careers.

He has worked with a myriad of performers on stages and in venues that span the globe and, disclaimer, we are the very best of friends, resulting from our earliest cabaret nightclub beginnings, when there were endless clubs to play and endless nights of music, mirth and laughter.

The list of names that Matt has worked with, and for, includes Nancy LaMott, Billy Stritch, Karen Mason, Jim Caruso, Sally Mayes, Terri White and straight up through Liza Minnelli, Sam Harris, Lorna Luft, Alan Cumming, Deborah Voigt, Well-Strung, Barbra Streisand, Kristin Chenoweth, Meow Meow, Lea Salonga and who could ever forget entertainment lawyer Mark Sendroff's now legendary 50th Birthday Party (Production), back in February of 2001, NIGHT OF 1,000 STAR CLIENTS, which was aptly named and lauded. It was a LIST of WHO'S WHO celebrating the iconic Birthday Boy and, yes, Matt ran the show.

What makes Berman so unique is all the skill sets he possesses. He is consummate with sound and lighting, has great taste and knows how to treat talent. Matt has been around long enough to witness and learn the ever-changing landscape of the technology available to us, all while on his feet and in the trenches. He's also one of the most affable guys one could ever hope to meet and gets along with every crew member and management team in every venue, large or small, not just across America, but around the world. I know this because I have witnessed it.

And ... he's super smart with number-crunching, possessing an abundance of technical knowledge. I will never forget how he saved us about $18,000.00 on a load-in at Carnegie Hall, for Brian Stokes Mitchell's solo concert debut, benefitting The Actors Fund. How do you forget that??? And he accomplished that just by controlling the "call times" for which it was all scheduled to happen. Yeah, so he's pretty much with me whenever I am facing a large or daunting task, such as opening Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center For The Performing Arts or Kristin Chenoweth's solo shows on Broadway or Film Society of Lincoln Center's Annual Chaplin Award Honors. He also, masterfully, delivered a beautiful PORGY & BESS for me, with the South Florida Symphony, in 2019. Matt is so collaborative that it feels akin to having a directing partner. We discuss ideas and he'll counter with what's possible ... or not. It works. He is also part of the faculty of Kristin Chenoweth's Broadway Bootcamp.

Matt is no stranger to Broadway and its denizens and whenever I think of him, I cannot help but think of his legendary friendship with Bea Arthur and when he did her Broadway solo show and tour. Bea was also the Maid of Honor at his wedding, when he married Olaf van Hedel in 2004, whom he later lost in 2010. They had met in Amsterdam, which became a second home for Matt, when he was working with LA GRAN SCENA Opera.

But my main reason, on this day, for sharing my love of Matt Berman, is that when the pandemic hit and isolation began, so did the proliferation of online communication and presentation and all the challenges that came along with this immediately essential tool.

Matt was invited to view or join a number of online situations and was quietly becoming frustrated with what he was seeing and how easily he thought it could be remedied. We were catching up on the phone one day and he told me he was going to start a new business to better people's lighting and sound situations at home, starting with friends like Billy Stritch, Kristin Chenoweth and, I must say, I immediately became one of his first customers and insisted on paying ... friendship or not. And, it's surprisingly affordable.

He has named it, Matt's TechBox. Needless to say, the results were excellent and his new business is booming! Not surprising. You don't have to be a star to want good sound and lighting, whether you're singing, self-taping or attending an important ZOOM call. We've all seen those bad, shadowy situations, with dreadful backgrounds and, if I'm being honest, "YOU NEED MATT!"

Matt's back-story is a roller coaster ride with all the ups and downs one might expect. After getting out of school (studying theatre at Drew University, in New Jersey), his journey through the years has taken him from The Duplex and Eighty-Eights to Steve McGraw's to The Rainbow Room, the Sydney Opera House, Joe's Pub, P'town, The Carlyle, The Algonquin, Feinstein's at the Regency, Royal Festival Hall and everywhere in between. Clubs came and went and Matt was always there, learning the boards at each one and working them all. He is resident sound designer for Lincoln Center's American Songbook series at Jazz at Lincoln Center and, just there, has worked with everyone under the stars, with that stunning view. He also has a special place in his heart for Richard Maltby, Jr., who had faith in him early on in his theatrical growth. I can relate, as Maltby was there for me, too, back in 1985 (SONG & DANCE).

So, while Matt continues to "hook-up" so many people you've heard of and just as many people you haven't heard of, here's the best way to find him and check him out! Matt can tell you all about Matt's TechBox and how he can help YOU, working with what you've got or helping you get that upgrade. He comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, not just by me, but by many.

Just click below for more information.