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Olney, MD
Olney Theatre Center revealed its 83rd season on July 20, 2021, fulfilling ambitious commitments made prior to the pandemic, and
furthers its vision of reflecting the whole community. In addition to its six-play membership season, the Montgomery County institution returns with an equally busy schedule of concerts, special productions, presentations, and even more curated programming to build off of the success of its summer series: Olney Outdoors.
As previously announced, OTC will produce three musicals on its Mainstage beginning with the Marcia Milgrom Dodge-helmed production of
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (November 5, 2021 – January 2, 2022),
featuring local breakout star Jade Jones as Belle and
Conrad Ricamora steps into the spotlight in Signature’s “Simply Sondheim”
The LGBTQ actor talks about his time on How to Get Away with Murder and why he d like to see more roles for both gay and Asian-American actors.
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Conrad Ricamora Photo: Ricardo Birnbaum
Audiences craving the all-too-distant thrill of live musical theater should lose their minds over Signature’s new production of
Simply Sondheim. Filmed over three days on the company’s Max main stage, without an audience, the theatrical concert transcends the bounds of its digital presentation to capture the genuine feeling of a live event.
Blazing through a spirited revue of over 30 Sondheim songs, the 16-piece orchestra and 12 talented singers performing director-choreographer Matthew Gardiner’s production transmit such excitement, perhaps because they too have been missing that live thrill. Certainly, one of the show’s stars, Conrad Ricamora, of Broadway’s
Halfway through
Simply Sondheim comes a one-two punch of timely resonance, and in a way that’s far more impactful today than when the musical revue premiered at Signature Theatre six years ago. Sagely leading the group number “Now You Know” from
Merrily We Roll Along, Awa Sal Secka might as well be commiserating with all those whose views about life, people, or society writ large have become appreciably less optimistic as a result of the pandemic and the related social ills it has exacerbated. “Alright, now you know: life is crummy,” Secka sings briskly. “I mean, big surprise; people love you and tell you lies. Bricks can tumble from clear blue skies.” The moral? “So life lays you low; learn to live with it…. It’s called letting go your illusions, and don’t confuse them with your dreams.”
change volume WTOP s Jason Fraley previews Simply Sondheim (Part 1)
He was the first Black actor to play “The Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway before recently starring as one of the four Vietnam vets in Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” (2020).
Now, Norm Lewis headlines the musical revue concert “Simply Sondheim,” which streams on the Signature Theatre website via Marquee TV now through March 26.
“We closed our doors in the middle of March like everybody else,” director Matthew Gardiner told WTOP. “We pivoted to a digital season, which will include five shows. The first of those is ‘Simply Sondheim.’ … We filmed it over the course of three days [in the fall]. We spent several months editing it and perfecting it and finally it’s available.”