Gary John La Rosa News

'Try to Remember' a time when this romantic charmer wasn't enchanting audiences around the world. The Fantasticks is the longest-running musical in the world and with good reason: at the heart of its breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication is a purity and simplicity that transcends cultural barriers. The result is a timeless fable of love that manages to be nostalgic and universal at the same time.

Directed & Choreographed by Gary John La Rosa and featuring Broadway's Ken Prymus (Cats, The Wiz), this moving tale of young lovers who become disillusioned -- only to discover a more mature, meaningful love -- is punctuated by a bountiful series of catchy, memorable songs, many of which have become classics. Now through September 29th.

BroadwayWorld has a first look at THE FANTASTICKS at ArtisTree Music Theatre Festival! Check out the photos below!

BroadwayWorld has a first look at THE FANTASTICKS at ArtisTree Music Theatre Festival! Check out the photos below!

'Try to Remember' a time when this romantic charmer wasn't enchanting audiences around the world. The Fantasticks is the longest-running musical in the world and with good reason: at the heart of its breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication is a purity and simplicity that transcends cultural barriers. The result is a timeless fable of love that manages to be nostalgic and universal at the same time.

'Try to Remember' a time when this romantic charmer wasn't enchanting audiences around the world. The Fantasticks is the longest-running musical in the world and with good reason: at the heart of its breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication is a purity and simplicity that transcends cultural barriers. The result is a timeless fable of love that manages to be nostalgic and universal at the same time.

'Try to Remember' a time when this romantic charmer wasn't enchanting audiences around the world. The Fantasticks is the longest-running musical in the world and with good reason: at the heart of its breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication is a purity and simplicity that transcends cultural barriers. The result is a timeless fable of love that manages to be nostalgic and universal at the same time.

The ArtisTree Music Theatre Festival offers a season of live, professional musical theatre productions that run from August to October each year. Our Festival is modeled after the 'summer stock' tradition of staging shows: we use a resident company of actors and artists to create a series of musicals, with an all-new production presented every few weeks across our three-month season.

"As an actress I believe in pounding the pavement with positivity. One of my biggest things is knowing that I am a whole person with family, friends, and interests. Theatre is a passion and a life style, but it is one piece of the pie. My job is to make sure all the other pieces of the pie are just as delicious. So I keep a home for myself, surrounded by loved ones; yoga is a big thing for me in maintaining mental clarity and spiritual health, and I am a vegan because I feel that is a kinder way to eat. It may sound corny, but if you put out positive vibrations, they will come back to you."

Q. Smith, featured cast member of Broadway's Come From Away, hosted the 10th annual New York City August Wilson Monologue Competition, sponsored by LEAP (Learning through an Expanded Arts Program, Inc.). Two winning students, first place Teslyne Junior of Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, and second place Victoria Lino, of Repertory Company High School for Theater Arts in Manhattan, will move on to the National August Wilson Monologue Competition on Broadway in May. Anthony Perez, also from Repertory Company High School, took third place and is the alternate. The presentation was held March 5 on Stage 2 of New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St., New York, N.Y.

Q. Smith, featured cast member of Broadway's Come From Away, is set to host the 10th annual New York City August Wilson Monologue Competition, sponsored by LEAP (Learning through an Expanded Arts Program, Inc.). A total of 16 LEAP students from eight New York City high schools in four boroughs will inhabit Wilson's extraordinary characters and provide their unique interpretations. Tony Chiroldes, original Broadway cast member of In the Heights, will be a featured singer as well. The exciting presentation begins at 7 pm on Monday, March 5, and will be held on Stage 2 of New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St., New York, N.Y., off 8th Avenue. The event is free to the public.

ArtisTree Music Theatre Festival will bring this small off-Broadway hit, THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES, to the Grange Theatre.

ArtisTree Music Theatre Festival will bring this small off-Broadway hit, THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES, to the Grange Theatre.

The Axelrod Performing Arts Center (APAC) will be the first theater in the nation to present "The Next Big Thing," a new musical by composer Gerald H. Bailey and lyricist/book writer J. Laurence Lowenstein. "The Next Big Thing," a musical that has been in development around the East Coast for the past five years, will be directed and choreographed by Gary John La Rosa with musical direction by Thomas Conroy, who also has orchestrated the score and will conduct.

Pushed to their boiling points, coworkers Violet, Judy, and Doralee concoct a plan to get even with their sexist, egotistical, and bigoted boss. In a hilarious turn of events, they live out their wildest fantasies - giving their boss the boot! While their boss remains "otherwise engaged," the women give their workplace a dream makeover taking control of the company that had always kept them down. Set in the late 1970s, this hilarious story of friendship and revenge in the Rolodex era is outrageous, thought provoking, and even a little romantic.

There was a buzz of excitement in theatres across the country on Wednesday, January 4, as Broadway World Regional Managing Editor Christina Mancuso announced each region's winners in the 2016 Broadway World Audience Choice Awards. Here in Maine within seconds of the postings, congratulations and comments poured in on social media and websites. Hoping to get a measure of the reaction, we contacted all the winners and took a sampling of responses to share with everyone.

Having had the privilege to serve as Broadway World's Maine Editor for more than three years now, I can say with pride that the state, though remote as it may seem from the epicenter of the theatre world, Broadway, is blessed to be home to so many thriving theatre companies who produce exciting, vibrant seasons. As I compiled my list for 2016 with many familiar names, I was also struck by the extraordinary consistency of excellence these companies maintain. Here are my personal choices of the best in Maine, grouped by theatre and show.

'We are excited to have the audience open its eyes to some sunshine. [Artistic Director] Curt Dale Clark and I were just saying this morning that this has been an intense season so far, and Fiddler on the Roof and Evita cannot let in much sun. But we stream that light in Mamma Mia, and we hope it will provide a chance to breathe in the joy of the Greek Isles. If we do it right, we will all feel an uplift.' Director/choreographer Mark Martino is waxing eloquent about his latest project and one which constitutes his Maine State Music Theatre debut: a new production of the 2001 Broadway smash it musical Mamma Mia, based on the songs of ABBA. Martino has what he calls 'a very short history' with the show, having mounted a production for the first time in June of this year at the Theatre Aspen. 'The two will be staged very differently,' he explains. 'Aspen is a 200-seat thrust stage, and here they have a 600-seat proscenium theatre. The Pickard Theater gives me an opportunity to expand the show. Our cast at MSMT is about one third larger than in Colorado - some twenty-seven actors - which is even a bit larger than the twenty-four in the original Broadway production. The production values are going to be large and lavish, and the cast has a huge amount of energy, so for me it is an opportunity to revisit the show and make different pictures and entirely different choreography.'

"I haven't specifically counted," the dynamic actress sitting opposite me replies. "Somewhere between 1000-2000 performances, I think. I've done the role with Theodore Bikel and Harvey Fierstein, on both national tours, and in regional and stock houses all over the country." Susan Cella is speaking of her signature portrayal of Golde, the vehicle which has brought her to the latest stop in her artistic journey, Maine State Music Theatre in a new production of the Bock-Harnick musical, Fiddler on the Roof, that opens July 20.

'This is like a real homecoming. The last time I worked at Maine State Music Theatre was in 1995, and it was also Fiddler on the Roof,' says nationally acclaimed director-choreographer Gary John LaRosa. La Rosa, who is widely considered one of the reigning authorities on the beloved 1964 Bock-Harnick bitter-sweet musical about Russian Jews confronting a changing world, has in his own words, 'literally done dozens' of Fiddler productions throughout his vibrant, busy career. 'I've actually stopped counting,' he says with a smile, though we note that among all these, he staged the 50th anniversary Fiddler gala on Broadway, as well as at least four of these won prestigious theatre awards and nominations. This month he finds himself in Brunswick, Maine, directing a thirty-six person cast in MSMT's third main stage show of the 2016 season.