August 6,7 & 8, 2020
Join us for an evening with the stars, under the stars!
A fabulous lineup of Mason Street Warehouse alumni shares the outdoor stage for this “best of” evening featuring hot songs from 17 years of past MSW productions.
You’ll groove to musical theater hits from Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Cabaret, Beehive, Mamma Mia, Kinky Boots and more. Plus we’ll have a cash bar as you “put your chair in a square” for this intimate performance by professional actors and musicians.
“Oh What a Night” features vocalists Kelly Carey, Marya Grandy, Joseph Anthony Byrd, and Ellie Frances plus musicians Tom Vendafreddo, Chris “Red” Blisset and Alex Hamel. Don’t miss this very special evening of music with some of the best vocalists and musicians in the business, directed by SCA and MSW artistic director, Kurt Stamm.
Meet the Stars
CHRIS “RED” BLISSET
Chris calls MSW/SCA his favorite place to work. You may recognize Chris from his previous roles on the MSW stage including: Once (Wilde Award for Music Direction, Wilde Award Nomination for Supporting Actor), Million Dollar Quartet, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Full Monty, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Honky-Tonk Highway, Unnecessary Farce, and several concerts (including last Summer’s tribute to Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie). Chris has also been Off-Broadway in RockShow (actor, musical director, composer) and Bloodsong of Love (orchestra). He performed in the National Tour of Stand by Your Man: The Tammy Wynette Story (Actor, Music Director). Chris lives in service of actor-musicianship, teaching, directing, researching, and casting such work whenever possible. He met his wife, Amanda Ryan Paige at MSW, and they married in the SCA lobby 12 years ago. www.chrisblisset.com.
JOSEPH ANTHONY BYRD
Joseph is honored to be celebrating 17 amazing seasons at Mason Street Warehouse! He has been seen as Lola in Kinky Boots on Broadway, Simba in the Broadway tour of The Lion King as well as Eddie in Mamma Mia Las Vegas! Other credits include Cab Calloway in Shout Sister Shout at Seattle Rep and Annas in Jesus Christ Superstar at Chicago Lyric. Joseph’s television credits include Proven Innocent, and Boardwalk Empire.
KELLY CAREY
Kelly Carey is a singer-actress and voice instructor from Grand Rapids, Michigan. After studying musical theater and music education at Western Michigan University, her professional career includes credits in musical theater, concert vocalist, and headlining her own show for Norwegian and Celebrity cruise lines. Favorite professional roles include: Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Patty/DeeLee), ….Trailer Park Musical (Pippi), Into the Woods (Witch) and Next To Normal (Diana). Kelly has been a voice teacher for 10 years and is currently a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire finishing her Masters Degree in Speech and Language Pathology.
ELLIE FRANCIS
Ellie is a singer-actress whose genres span Opera, Musical Theatre, and Modern Theatre to Improv and Immersive work; she has performed with symphonies, big bands and rock bands. Ellie’s Off Broadway credits include Ziegfield’s Midnight Frolic (Liberty Theater); you’ve seen her in the Mason Street Warehouse productions of Evita, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, and It Shoulda’ Been You. She has appeared as a soloist in Opera Grand Rapids’ productions The Marriage of Figaro, Romeo & Juliet, and Madama Butterfly.
MARYA GRANDY
Marya is an actor and vocalist based in Chicago. She received Jeff Nominations (Chicago’s Emmy Award) for her roles in Holiday Inn, On the Town, and The Water Coolers, A Grand Night for Singing. Marya’s appeared in the Broadway and New York productions of Closer Than Ever (2012 Revival), Les Misérables (2006 Revival), Damn Yankees, Bells Are Ringing (City Center Encores!), The Great American Trailer Park Musical (Drama Desk Nomination), and The Water Coolers (co-author). Her television and film credits include “Chicago P.D.”, “Rescue Me”, “Conviction”, “Law & Order”, “Law & Order: SVU”, “Denis Leary’s Merry F***ing Christmas”, and “Love Streams”. Marya can be heard on the original cast recordings of The Great American Trailer Park Musical, The Manhattan Transfer’s Bodies and Souls, and Superwoman, with her band Five Floor Monica.
ALEX HAMEL
Alex is a West Michigan-based multi-instrumentalist and actor who has played in the pit orchestra for numerous Mason Street Warehouse productions. He also appeared as Fluke, the drummer, in MSW’s production of Million Dollar Quartet. Alex performs extensively year-round in the Grand Rapids area and serves on the faculty of Grand Valley State University accompanying all of their modern dance courses. He also freelances as a recording and live sound engineer.
TOM VENDAFREDDO (MUSIC DIRECTOR)
Tom is thrilled to return to Mason Street Warehouse! In addition to many concerts (2019 SCA/Aware Fundraiser, Hempy Keyboard Series, Summer in the Studio Series, etc.), Tom also played The Suspects in Murder for Two (2017 Wilde Award Nomination – Lead Actor) and music director/conducted last summer’s smash, In the Heights. He is a Jeff Award-winning music director/actor with Chicago credits at Paramount Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, Writers Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Porchlight Music Theatre, and Bohemian Theatre Ensemble. Regional credits include: Signature Theatre (DC), Old Globe Theatre, Capital City Theatre, Musical Theatre Heritage, San Diego Musical Theatre, and Red Mountain Theatre Company. Tom is the proud founding Artistic Director of the Chicago Artists Chorale. BM: Eastman School of Music. MFA: San Diego State University.
KURT STAMM (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & DIRECTOR)
Kurt is Mason Street Warehouse’s founder and the Artistic Director of Mason Street Warehouse and the Saugatuck Center for the Arts. Kurt worked on Broadway, on national tours and at numerous regional theatres across the country before making Saugatuck his theatrical home. At the SCA and MSW, Kurt has directed and choreographed 30+ productions in his 18 years here. When he’s not at the SCA, he directs theatrical and corporate shows across the country, throws pottery and spends time at his home in Colorado with his husband Joe, and the newest addition to their family, a 7-month-old toy Australian Shepherd named Brody.
DANNY KUENZEL (STAGE MANAGER)
Danny has made Mason Street Warehouse & the SCA her summer home for the past 16 seasons (if fact, she has done 55 productions with MSW!) Danny’s regional credits include the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Northern Stage, Pioneer Theatre Company, Alley Theatre, Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival.
EN 
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