Larry Raiken

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.

BIG NEWS in the world of Broadway Podcasts: Natalie Noack, freshman Musical Theatre major at The Hartt School at the University of Hartford will releases her new podcast 'On My Way to a BFA'. The show will chronicle Noack's experience obtaining her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree for Musical Theatre, while getting to hear from other performers or individuals that she admires.

NO MORE WAITING, a new musical with music by David Christian Azarow and book and lyrics by Chris Widney opens Wednesday, June 1, 2005 at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre.