Matthew Scott's Brings His Touching Show THE JESUS YEAR: A LETTER FROM MY DAD to The Blue Strawberry on November 18th

On Saturday, November 18th, The Blue Strawberry Showroom and Lounge welcomes Matthew Scott for an evening of music and stories with his cabaret show “The Jesus Year: A Letter From My Dad.” Critics have called Scott’s show “Miraculous musical storytelling.” A veteran of Broadway and Regional Theatre, Scott has worked alongside some of the biggest names in theatre and was hand-picked by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine for their production of SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM with Barbara Cook and Vanessa Williams. In addition, he was in the original Broadway company of Jersey Boys and performed in AN AMERICAN IN PARIS on Broadway and with the National Tour. 

Scott told Broadway World that he got his first professional experience at The Muny in St. Louis when he was in college at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He said, “Every time I came to St. Louis, I looked so forward to it because there is nothing like playing a venue of that size.” He returned to The Muny twice between his Junior and Senior years to work in the ensemble in a few shows. In 2005 he had the opportunity to lead a show at The Muny when he played Tony in WEST SIDE STORY. Scott said, “The Muny is an excellent training ground for young people, especially St. Louis youth through The Muny Teen Program.”  

In addition to performing, Scott mentioned that he is currently on the faculty at New York University’s Tisch School of The Arts and The Manhattan School of Music. It is at NYU where he now has the privilege of teaching a young St. Louisan, Ainsley Burns, in his ‘Scene into Song’ class. Burns, now a Sophomore at NYU, was a member of The Muny Teens during her senior year in high school at Cor Jesu Academy. Both Scott and Burns had the opportunity to learn at The Muny. Now, he has the chance to share his professional skills and cultivate a young actor with whom he shares that St. Louis connection. Scott said that he tells his students that he is one voice in their formation and that he hopes his student can take something from their time with him, but he reminds them to take everything he says with a grain of salt.  

Scott has worked on the solo show he brings to Blue Strawberry for over two decades. He lost his father when he was a young teenager. Several years after his father’s death his family uncovered letters that he had written to his four sons to share his thoughts on life with his children. Scott discussed how he built a unique cabaret show with a narrative driven by his father’s appreciation for life and the lessons he taught his children. He shared that audiences have found his show to be deeply funny and moving. He said, “I knew this show would sing and I decided I wanted to pull from the songs that I remembered as a kid riding around in the car.” He explained that even though he is known for doing Broadway that he landed in more of a pop, folk, and rock ‘n roll genre. “Many of the songs landed in the ilk of Cat Stevens, Paul McCartney, Harry Chapin, and Billy Joel,” he said. Scott conveyed that the songs really work in the show because they move the story forward like a play.  

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