Arts news: Pazakis to lead Harwich theater, Will Swenson becomes Neil Diamond in Boston, new Beach Road Weekend acts
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Transition at the Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre is underway, as Kate Pazakis begins to take over as producing artistic director from Nina Schuessler, who is retiring after 25 years in that job.
The choice of Pazakis, who grew up on Cape Cod and at the West Harwich theater, was announced Friday following a national search by the CCTC/HJT board of directors.
“Like so many of Nina’s protégés, Kate has achieved great success far beyond our shores,” said board president Chris Powicki in announcing the choice. “We are excited to welcome her back and see her creativity, empathy, talent and passion applied to benefit families and local communities.”
He noted that Schuessler had “entertained, inspired, and trained generations of children and students” — including Pazakis. She went on to become producing artistic director of Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Angeles, where she created “The UMPO Series” (for “unauthorized musical parodies of…”); was co-producer of the Green Day musical “American Idiot” in London’s West End; and appeared on and off Broadway, in national touring shows, on TV’s “South Park” and in multiple commercials.
Pazakis recently returned to the Cape with her husband and two young children, settling in Barnstable Village. She has since created an “UMPO” show and others, and performed, with Cape Rep Theatre in Brewster.
“In 1986, at the age of 9, I was cast in ‘Rags to Riches,’ my first HJT show and the beginning of a lifelong love affair. I spent my childhood into my early 20s deeply involved with the theater, including many classes and shows,” Pazakis said in a written statement. “When I imagined my future, it always included coming home to HJT. The opportunity to continue in the footsteps of my mentor, Nina Schuessler, is an honor.”
Schuessler has similar praise for her successor. "Handing the reins of our beloved theater over to my luminous and talented friend Kate Pazakis feels like completing the circle,” she said in her statement. “She is an inspiration to all who know her,” noting “her vision and dedication will bring CCTC/HJT far into the future.”
While Schuessler leaves her post March 31 after a month-long transition, she will continue there directing “Red Swans,” a new work that will open in April based on the real-life experiences of Lisa Gervai Egler — Schuessler’s mother — and Katja Caselles. The two became friends in Berlin during World War II and then part of a resistance group dubbed “The Red Orchestra,” and their story explores the power of art as a means of defiance and survival.
A “Standing Ovation” gala will be held on June 30 to celebrate Schuessler’s career and contributions to Cape Cod’s theater community. Information and tickets: www.capecodtheatrecompany.org.
Beach Road Weekend adds Taylor, Baker
VINEYARD HAVEN — What will be the region’s largest music festival in recent memory last week added Vineyard musician Livingston Taylor and folk singer-songwriter Julien Baker to the late August lineup.
The Beach Road Weekend Music Festival is due to take place Aug. 26-28 in Veterans Memorial Park, with two side-by-side stages for all-day music. Taylor’s 50-year-plus career spans performing, songwriting and teaching in folk, pop, gospel and jazz — including writing top-40 hits for brother James Taylor, and appearing with Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac and Jimmy Buffet. Memphis native Baker is an acclaimed indie singer-songwriter whose third album topped U.S. folk charts last year.
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The list of already announced Beach Road performers, who have more than 35 Grammy Awards and dozens of gold and platinum albums between them, include Beck, Wilco, The Avett Brothers, Khruangbin, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Billy Strings, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, and dozens of other acts.
Tickets and information: www.beachroadweekend.com.
Will Swenson to lead Neil Diamond musical in pre-Broadway Boston premiere
Red Sox and other Boston-area music fans rejoice: The new musical about Neil Diamond will play in Boston before Broadway, and Tony Award nominee Will Swenson has the title role.
Tickets went on sale Friday for the June 21-July 31 for the world-premiere run at the Emerson Colonial Theatre at www.emersoncolonialtheatre.com.
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Swenson just finished starring in Classic Stage Company’s revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Assassins” in New York City; earned Tony Award, Drama Desk, and Drama League nominations for his portrayal of Berger in “Hair” (directed by American Repertory Theater’s Diane Paulus); and received an Obie Award for “Jerry Springer: The Opera.” Other Broadway credits include “Waitress” opposite Sara Bareilles, creating the role of Javert in the 2014 revival of “Les Misérables,” and starring in “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert” and “110 in the Shade.”
Swenson has also performed in Provincetown for the “Broadway @” shows, both with and without wife Audra McDonald, six-time Tony Award winner who is again on this summer’s roster to join shows led by Sirius XM radio star Seth Rudetsky. In a 2018 show, Swenson sang Diamond's "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," comically dueting with Rudetsky singing the Barbra Streisand part.
In the announcement of his casting, Swenson said he can’t remember not having most of Neil Diamond’s songs permanently imprinted on his brain. And he’s “super happy” about that.
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“A Beautiful Noise” will tell the personal and professional story of acclaimed singer/songwriter Diamond, who has sold more than 130 million albums and played arenas worldwide over five decades. He has charted 39 Top 40 singles and 16 Top 10 albums both in the U.S. and internationally. His award recognition includes one Grammy Award, 13 more nominations, and a Kennedy Center honor. He is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Known for songs that include “Song Sung Blue,” “I Am, I Said,” and “Longfellow Serenade,” Diamond first played in Revere in 1967 and has since played in Boston or surrounding areas almost 40 times. Diamond’s song “Sweet Caroline” has become an anthem to Red Sox fans and is played at every home game for an eighth-inning singalong at Fenway Park. Diamond took to the field to sing it himself in the immediate aftermath of the 2013 Marathon Bombing.
The new musical will include a score of Diamond songs, with a book written by four-time Academy Award-nominee Anthony McCarten (“Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Darkest Hour,” “The Theory of Everything,” “The Two Popes”); direction by Tony winner Michael Mayer (“Funny Girl,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “Spring Awakening”), and choreography by Olivier Award winner and four-time Tony nominee Steven Hoggett (“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” “Once,” “Black Watch”).
Contact Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll at kdriscoll@capecodonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @KathiSDCCT.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Kate Pazakis leads Harwich theater, Will Swenson becomes Neil Diamond
