Right now on Broadway, Adam Rodgers is in American in Paris, Daisy Hobbs is in Aladdin, Okieriete Onaeodowan was in Rocky and is now in Hamilton, said Cynthia Meryl, Artistic Director of New Jersey Youth Theatre (NJYT) listing several NJYT alumni who are successfully progressing in their theatrical careers. She added, “NJYT students not only have gone on to Broadway, but also to prime-time television, film, and to major regional theatres across the country. As important, many have entered first-rate theatre arts programs at major colleges and universities. We are proud of all our alumni and hope to continue to educate and, motivate students, and to instill in them the self confidence they will need to move on to college and then to make their theatrical dream a reality. This past summer, NJYT presented Kander and Ebb’s classic musical, Cabaret at the Algonquin Arts Theatre in Manasquan and the Westminster Arts Center in Bloomfield. The players in this show were mostly youthful, committed performers. What do they all have in common? Every single one of these young performing artists studies performing arts in class: acting, voice and/or drama – in high school, college, and many at the NEW JERSEY YOUTH THEATRE PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL at 172 West Westfield Avenue in Roselle Park.
Starting its 24th season, registration for NJYT classes in drama, voice, ballet, jazz, tap, and musical theatre for ages 8 – 21 will take place at the Roselle Park Studio on Fridays, September 11 and 18 from 4PM-8PM and on Saturdays, September 12 and 19 from 10AM-2PM. Semester I classes will begin October 5, 2015 and continue through January 20, 2015; Semester II classes will run from January 25, 2015 until May 4, 2015.
Ms. Meryl, Stage Director of this past summer’s Cabaret, returns to teach Advanced Acting, Musical Theatre, and Private Voice. A veteran Broadway actress with over 40 years on the professional stage, Ms. Meryl has spent 24 years as stage director of NJYT’s professional youth-theatre productions. James Campodonico, Musical Director/Accompanist, is an accomplished composer and teacher of vocal music for over 34 years and musical director to over 100 productions. His original new musical, What Critics Don’t Know, was presented as part of the New York Musical Theatre festival this past summer.
Morgan Mack will be back this year to teach Beginners’ Acting. A graduate of Centenary College, Ms. Mack also studied theatre in London with the University of Roehampton. She has performed on Equity stages all around New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including in the NJYT productions of West Side Story, Oklahoma!, and The Music Man. Currently she is employed as a professional dancer/choreographer for Warner brothers Six Flags Corporation.
Andrew Martinez, also an NJYT veteran from Oklahoma! and The Music Man will be teaching the Intermediate I Acting Class for high school students. A graduate of Rutgers, Mr. Martinez has performed in numerous plays and musicals including most recently Javert in Les Miserable at the MAYO Performing Arts Center in Morristown and Curly in Oklahoma! at Plays in the Park in Edison.
NJYT’s dance instructors, Alonzo Hall and Susan McNulty, both studied ballet, jazz, and modern dance and earned their B.F.A.s in dance at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. Mr. Hall was a featured dancer in NJYT’s 2014 production of Oklahoma! He is currently a faculty member teaching dance at Orange Preparatory Academy. Susan McNulty is earning her Masters degree, also at Rutgers. She and Mr. Hall studied with and performed the works of NJYT choreographer, Sherry Alban (Cabaret, Oklahoma!, West Side Story), Keith Thompson, and Randy James, among others. A member of the Body Language Dance Theatre, Ms. McNulty performed as the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Snow Queen, and as the Arabian Queen in The Nutcracker.
Ms. Meryl, NJYT Executive Director Ted Agress, and our dedicated teaching staff look forward once again to another productive year in providing quality theatrical training. NJYT theatre students gain the self-confidence, competency, and skills they need to pursue a career in theatre. At the least, NJYT training will instill in each student a life-long appreciation of the arts.
New Jersey Youth Theatre programming is made possible in part by the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Westfield Foundation, the Lillian Pitkin Schenck Fund, the Blanche and Irving Lurie Foundation, the Edelman Foundation, and individual contributions.
