Children's Musical Theater San Jose | |
Formation | 1968 |
---|---|
Founder | John P. Healy Jr. |
Type | Nonprofit |
23-7235146 | |
Purpose | Musical theater education and training |
Headquarters | CMT Creative Arts Center |
Location | |
Coordinates | 37°19′04″N121°55′00″W / 37.31778°N 121.91677°W |
Artistic director | Kevin R. Hauge |
Managing director | Dana Zell |
Students (2023) |
|
Award(s) | 12 grants from the National Endowment for the Arts |
Website | www |
CMT San Jose (Children's Musical Theater San Jose) founded in 1968 as Cabrini Community Theater, is a performing arts organization based in San Jose, California.
One of the largest youth musical theater and training programs in the US, the organization produces eleven full-scale musicals per year, in addition to classes, workshops, and summer camps. Nine of their productions cast every child who auditions in three different age groupings from the ages of 7–20. Two are showcases for more professional performers who donate their time and talents to benefit the organization. [2]
CMT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is the oldest performing arts organization in San Jose. It was the first non-professional company in the country to stage the musicals Aida and Miss Saigon , and the first to produce a number of others on the West Coast including A Christmas Carol , Billy Elliot , Sister Act and American Idiot . The company has earned 12 grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and as of 2024 has put on over 400 musical theater productions. [2] [3]
CMT's founder John P. Healy Jr. was born in 1951 in New York City and moved with his family to San Jose in 1963. He started learning Musical Comedy in 1965 at the Santa Clara Youth Village and started performing and co-directing in musicals in the following years. [4] [5]
Healy was a graduate of Bellarmine College Preparatory and went to Stanford University from 1969 to 1972 where he double majored in music and theater. He played the cello and at age 16 became the youngest member of the San Jose Symphony.
Healy would run CMT from its beginnings in 1968 until 1982. In addition to his work with CMT, in 1972 Healy founded the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of San Jose, now known as the Lyric Theatre of San Jose. [6]
After he left CMT, Healy became a drama coach at Lincoln High School. In 2000, he started a new children's musical theater in El Dorado Hills. [7] He died in 2007 at age 55 after complications from a fall and head injury.
Originally, John Healy was part of the Young People’s Operetta Tour Group, but created a new tour group made of 15 of his friends known as the Entr'actes in May 1968. [5] This group would perform scenes from various musicals at local churches, rest homes and hospitals. They also performed operettas, including Hansel & Gretel , produced and directed by Healy. [4]
By the summer of 1969 the group had become the Cabrini Community Theater, attracting 50 youngsters to perform three operettas: Hansel & Gretel, Don Quixote and The Emperor's New Clothes , the first two of which also written by John Healy.
In 1970 the Cabrini Community Theater started a youth branch called the San Jose Children’s Musical Theater (SJCMT). By the end of 1972 the entire organization had adopted this as its new name. [8]
By 1972 over 300 children were involved in performances. SJCMT offered workshop classes and ran five touring groups. It was also in this year that rehearsals started in an old building designed by Willis Polk that previously housed the First Church of Christ, Scientist. This building then became known as the Palace of Performing Arts or POPA. CMT rehearsals would continue here until 1981. [9]
CMT continued to grow in size and by 1975 they reported that over 1,000 children would be involved in a year. [10]
Healy directed, choreographed, musically directed and designed most of the 150 shows produced by CMT by the time he left in 1982.
Between 1982 and 1993 the organization was largely run by parents.
CMT's artistic director Kevin Hauge majored in musical theater at Illinois Wesleyan University. Afterward, he worked as a performer [11] and later a manager and dance captain at Marriott’s Great America in Chicago, then moved to work for Great America in San Jose in 1980. [12] [11] He continued to go on to help collaborating on musical productions at a large variety of venues across the world, including Tropworld, Harrah’s, Six Flags Parks, and Royal Viking Cruise Lines. [13]
Hauge started working at CMT in 1982, directing a number of shows, starting with Bye Bye Birdie. After a few years he left for other opportunities, but returned to San Jose and directing for CMT in 1994.
While working with CMT he received the Lin Wright Special Recognition Award by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. [14] He was also the guest speaker at the International Association of Theater Educators Conference in Washington D.C. and at the Education and Technology conference in New York City. In 2016 Hauge received an honorable mention by the Tony Awards for Excellence in Theater Education. [15] [13]
Hauge will continue in his role until his planned departure in 2025, which will mark 30 years. [16]
Michael Mulcahy was brought on as CMT's first executive director in 1993. In 1996, he hired Kevin R. Hauge to be the company's first full-time Artistic Director. Hauge continues in this role today and by many accounts has increased the production value of the organization's performances. [17] Mulcahy, a former CMT performer himself, continued as executive director until 2001 and is still on the board today.
CMT went through a number of executive directors after 2001, some shorter-lived than others. People with longer terms have included Jennifer Sandretto Hull from 2001 – 2006, [18] Michael Miller from 2012 – 2016 [19] and Dana Zell from 2016 until today. [20]
In 1991 CMT began an annual "Cabaret Night" as a fundraiser event.
To engage the theater community in emerging technologies, in 1998 CMT started the unique "Theater As Digital Activity" program, which lasted until 2003.
Because of its widening reach beyond its origins, in 2001 the organization changed its name to Children's Musical Theater San Jose, which puts the location last instead of first. [21]
In 2004 CMT started its "Marquee" program with one Marquee production per year. In 2011 they exchanged one of their Mainstage shows for Marquee, bringing Mainstage down to three a year and bumping Marquee up to two.
To keep children performing and maintain their sense of community during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, CMT Mainstage rehearsed and performed In the Heights remotely. This performance included 200 performers recorded from their homes with the recording presented at a drive-in theater. [22] [16]
In 2021 the organization moved its headquarters to a new 25,000 sq ft building to be used for rehearsals, classes, prop/costume storage and office space. It also set up the side parking lot for its three outdoor summer productions while indoor productions were prohibited. [23]
CMT increased their total annual shows to 11 by adding a second Junior Talents show in 2022.
In 2024 it was announced that Kevin Hauge would retire from his position as artistic director at the close of CMT's 57th season in 2025. [16]
CMT's original performance venue was the St. Frances Cabrini Hall. Over the years the organization occasionally performed in a few other locations as well, including various high schools and the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts.
Since 1973, CMT's performances have almost exclusively occurred at the Montgomery Theater, which shares a building with the San Jose Civic. [24]
The musical productions CMT puts on every year are separated into four different named categories, based on different age ranges. [2] [25] Occasionally the age range may be adjusted for a given performance.
Youngest age range (7–11). Currently two performances every season, though not every season has included Junior Talents shows.
Age range 8–14. Currently four performances every season.
Age range 14–20. Currently three performances per season (four performances before 2011). High quality shows that usually include a live orchestra.
Introduced in 2005, Marquee performances can include children as well as adults from the Bay Area across all age ranges, including many CMT alumni. Equally high production value as Mainstage shows. [25]
Unlike other performance groups, casting is not guaranteed for those who audition for Marquee shows. Two performances every year (one before 2011). [26]
In 1996, CMT started an online program to allow children from around the world to collaborate and fully create musicals to be produced by CMT and performed by their members. The program ended after its last production in 2003.
A website called ConvoNation, which was a communications platform for sick and disabled children created by Apple’s Worldwide Disabilities Solutions Group, [27] collaborated with CMT to create TADA's first project, the original musical "Pulse: The Rhythm of Life." It was released and performed in 1998, featuring Alex Brightman in a lead role. In 1999 PBS made a documentary about the development of Pulse, hosted by Annette Benning. [28] [29]
Other projects developed under the TADA program included Our Tree: The Family Chronicles, released in May 2000, 2101 in 2001, A Little Princess in 2002 and Persephone in 2003. Of these, three were written and composed in part by Richard Link. [30]
CMT offers classes for recital, dance, acting, improv, vocal and auditions for ages ranging from 4 to 20. Occasionally, professional guest artists are brought in to teach classes. The following notable artists have taught or presented at CMT: Thomas Schumacher, theatrical producer, Anthony Rapp, broadway & film actor, Jason Robert Brown and Drew Gasparini, broadway composers and Jacob Brent, actor and choreographer.
CMT alumni have also returned in a teaching capacity, including Alex Brightman, Aaron Albano and Matt Hill, among others.
For each of its shows performed in a season, CMT offers special discounted matinée (morning) performances exclusively for schools and other local community groups. These will include a Q & A session during intermission and a study guide for teachers to help their students and prepare them for their experience. [31]
From its beginnings continuing up until 1999 CMT had one or more tour groups, in which members would perform at various community events as well as for private parties, organizations, hospitals and schools.
Originally starting out as the "Entr'Acts", additional groups added in the 1970s were known as the "Finales", the "Melodear" and the "Reprises". From the early 80s through the 90s there was a single touring group known as "The Neighborhood Kids". [32] [11]
CMT San Jose holds the following annual events:
Gala – Fundraising event early in the year during which alumni and current performers put on multiple show numbers during a brunch and dinner. Includes auctions and raffles. This event started in 1991 and was originally known as Cabaret Night. [33] [34]
Preview Night – Free outdoor potluck event in the summer that includes several live preview performances of musical numbers from the remainder of the season and the announcement of all of the musicals for the next season. [35]
Honors Night – Free event in December with presentations and performances in which outstanding performers receive awards for various categories. [36]
While not relating to CMT's own shows, the organization also hosts the Rita Moreno Awards (Rita Moreno California High School Musical Honors) – A competition in May co-hosted with Broadway San Jose to recognize outstanding achievements in high school musicals. The Lead Actor and Actress winners go on to the Jimmy Awards in New York City. [37]
Junior Talents | Rising Stars | Mainstage | Marquee | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Season 57 2024 – 2025 [16] |
| |||
Season 56 2023 – 2024 | ||||
Season 55 2022 – 2023 |
| |||
Season 54 2021 – 2022 [38] |
| |||
Season 53 2020 – 2021 [39] | ||||
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic only 3 productions were produced this season. They were performed outdoors in the summer at CMT's Creative Arts Center. | ||||
Season 52 2019 – 2020 [40] | ||||
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic only 5 productions were produced this season. In the Heights was performed remotely. | ||||
Season 51 2018 – 2019 | ||||
Season 50 2017 – 2018 [41] | ||||
Season 49 2016 – 2017 [42] | ||||
Season 48 2015 – 2016 [43] | ||||
Season 47 2014 – 2015 [44] |
| |||
Season 46 2013 – 2014 [44] | ||||
Season 45 2012 – 2013 [44] | ||||
Season 44 2011 – 2012 [45] | ||||
Season 43 2010 – 2011 [46] | ||||
Season 42 2009 – 2010 [47] | ||||
Season 41 2008 – 2009 | ||||
Season 40 2007 – 2008 |
| |||
Broadway theatre, or Broadway, is a theatre genre that consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theaters, each with 500 or more seats, in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Broadway and London's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world.
Opera San José is an American opera company founded in 1984 by Irene Dalis (1925-2014) based in San Jose, California.
The San Jose Repertory Theatre was the first resident professional theatre company in San Jose, California. It was founded in 1980 by James P. Reber. In 2008, after the demise of the American Musical Theatre of San Jose, the San Jose Rep became the largest non-profit, professional theatre company in the South Bay with an annual operating budget of $5 million. In 2006, it was saved from impending insolvency by a $2 million bailout loan from the city of San Jose; this was later restructured into a long-term loan similar to a mortgage.
The Ritz Theatre is a theater located in Haddon Township, New Jersey. The venue is owned and operated by The Ritz Theatre Company, a nonprofit organization. The theater was added to the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
Stephen Moorer is an American stage actor, director, and producer based on the Central California Coast. He founded the GroveMont Theatre in 1982, renaming the non-profit organization Pacific Repertory Theatre in 1994, when the group acquired the Golden Bough Playhouse in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As the nation's first professional Asian American theatre organization, East West Players continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American experience today.
Broadway by the Bay, is a community-based musical theatre company located in the San Francisco Bay Area and performing in Redwood City. It also provides a "Theatre Arts Academy" offering performing arts experiences to local children. After beginning in with productions of three annual Gilbert and Sullivan productions, the company shifted its focus to modern musicals in 1966. Since then, it has produced musicals continuously in San Mateo County. In 1983, the group changed its name to Peninsula Civic Light Opera, and again in 1999, to Broadway by the Bay.
The San Diego Repertory Theatre was a performing arts company in San Diego, California, United States.
Theatre Three occupies Athena Hall in Port Jefferson, New York as a fully functioning, non-profit theatre company. Begun in the late 1960s, Theatre Three has become one of the premier theatre houses on Long Island.
The Temple Theatre is an historic performance center in Sanford, Lee County, North Carolina. The Temple Theatre was built in 1925 by Robert Ingram, Sr., at a time when Sanford had a population of only 3,500. The name "Temple" comes from being located next door to what was once Sanford's Masonic Lodge. The following quote ran in a 1925 issue of the Sanford Express, "In erecting this modern theater, he has spared no expense to make it an up-to-date playhouse." The two-story, brick building is 50 feet wide and 92 feet deep and is decorated with cut stone details in a blend of Colonial Revival and Art Deco styles.
Diablo Theatre Company, formerly known as Diablo Light Opera Company, is a non-profit theatre and arts organization based in Walnut Creek, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1959 by a group of local theater enthusiasts, it has evolved over its many years, from its inception as a small theatre group, to a million dollar regional theatre company, to its current iteration as a sponsor of youth and young adult theatre education, through its SingOut! Musical Theatre for Bay Area Children and Young Adults program.
Lamplighters Music Theatre is a semi-professional musical theatre company based in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1952 by Orva Hoskinson and Ann Pool MacNab, the Lamplighters specialize in light opera, particularly the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as such works as The Merry Widow, Die Fledermaus, Of Thee I Sing, My Fair Lady, Candide, and A Little Night Music.
Richard Link is a Canadian composer, musical director, teacher, and performer presently living in London, England. An accomplished pianist, he often music directs, conducts, and plays for his own productions.
The American Musical Theatre of San Jose (AMTSJ), previously known as the San Jose Civic Light Opera (SJCLO), was a major professional nonprofit musical theatre company in San Jose, California. Founded in 1934 as the San Jose Light Opera Association, it became the second largest theatre company in the Northern California, with an annual budget of $9.8 million and an attendance exceeding 150,000, including 15,000 season ticket holders. The company performed at the 2,677-seat San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. The organization incurred debts after a 2002 agreement to become a receiving house for touring Broadway productions. It closed in December 2008.
The Covina Center for the Performing Arts is an historic theater located in Covina, California, dedicated to the advancement of theatre.
The Sofia, Home of B Street Theatre is a non-profit live entertainment venue and arts education hub, producing fresh, contemporary, adventurous new plays for adults and families since 1991. Award-Winning B Street Theatre now also presents concerts, stand-up comedy, ballet, and other exciting performing arts events year-round.
San Francisco Playhouse is a non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano. The theater stages nine plays yearly, including Broadway plays, musicals, and world and regional premieres.
Broadway Rose Theatre Company is a musical theatre company based in Tigard, Oregon. It presents a variety of mainstage productions throughout the year. The company also organizes summer children's musicals, educational camps for children and teens, and a technical internship program for developing theatre professionals.
The Sydney Theatre Awards are annual awards to recognise the strength, quality and diversity of professional theatre in Sydney, Australia. They were established in 2005 by a group of major Sydney theatre critics. The awards recognise mainstage and independent plays and musicals.
Village Theatre is a major regional theatre located in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. The theatre was founded in Issaquah, Washington, in 1979 and built a second location in Issaquah in 1994. Village Theatre was contracted by the City of Everett, Washington, in 1998 to be the resident performing and management company of the Everett Performing Arts Center.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)