MetroStage at the Lyceum

Find Your Light - The Music of Conner & Smith

A song cycle celebrating the Matt Conner & Stephen Gregory Smith Songbook.

Mon, Feb 6, 2023 @ 7:00 PM

Three contemporary women navigating life, love, and relationships with an eclectic mix of songs ranging from classic Broadway to Contemporary Pop Rock. Featuring an all-star cast of Natascia Diaz, Susan Derry, and Katie Mariko Murray, accompanied by Paige Austin Rammelkamp, piano; Aron Rider, cello; Jeff Thurston, violin; and Dakota Kaylor, percussion. 

Bios

Matt Conner - Composer Matt Conner has been performing, composing, teaching, and directing in the DC area for twenty years. He was the recipient of the  2008-2009 AMERICAN MUSICAL VOICES PROJECT: THE NEXT GENERATION. His produced commissioned works Include: Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA; Nevermore (2006), Partial Eclipse (2009), The Hollow (2011), Crossing (2013) and Silver Belles (2016). Matt was also commissioned for a Five Year Initiative at Creative Cauldron in Falls Church, VA.  They include Turn of the Screw (2015), Monsters of the Villa Diodati (2016), Kaleidoscope (2017), W.I.T.C.H. (2018) and On Air (2019).  Matt was awarded the Helen Hayes Award for Best Direction for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast produced at Creative Cauldron (2020). 

Stephen Gregory Smith – BOOK/LYRICS: The Christmas Angel, Ichabod: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, On Air, WITCH, Kaleidoscope, Monsters of the Villa Diodati, The Turn of the Screw  - a 5 year commission(Creative Cauldron), Silver Belles (Signature Theatre, VA) , The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Shenandoah Conservatory; Creative Cauldron 2022), Night of the Living Dead the musical (Richmond Shepard Theatre; NYC, Kensington Arts Theatre, MD, New Line Theatre, MO), Edgar Allan Poe Academy (Creative Cauldron, VA, Riverside Children’s Theatre, FL). Finalist in the Bernard Ebb Songwriting Award. www.connersmithmusicals.com 

Susan Derry’s Broadway credits include Wonderful Town and 14 productions with City Center's Encores! series.  She played Christine in The Phantom of the Opera  in Hamburg, Germany, and has graced numerous stages around the country. Here in DC Susan has appeared at  Signature, Shakespeare Theatre, in Creative Cauldron's Bold New Works Series among many others; at the Keegan Theatre she starred as Francesca in The Bridges of Madison County. Susan is the creator of six one-woman shows and was nominated for a Best Cabaret Debut Show Award in 2021 by BroadwayWorld. She is also the co-founder of UrbanArias, DC’s contemporary opera company. Concert work includes Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Utah Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and the New York Philharmonic.  Adjunct Prof of Voice at American University.  Northwestern University; Manhattan School of Music. susanderry.com.

Katie Mariko Murray (she/they) Metro Stage debut! Katie was born and raised in the DMV. Most recently she played Cinderella in Into the Woods at Signature Theatre. Favorite theatre credits include Maureen in Rent at Signature Theatre, Simply Sondheim at Signature Theatre, and Janet Van De Graaf in The Drowsy Chaperone at Pittsburgh CLO. In NY she was in the developmental workshop of KPOP at ARSNova as well as Dave Malloy's most recent immersive piece Love Around the Block. BFA Penn State. IG: @ktpotaty katiemarikomurray.com

Natascia Diaz Most widely known for her impact in the acclaimed documentary Every Little Step, this 3 time Helen Hayes Award winner has been called a “magnetic performer” by The New York Times, “riveting” by The Washington Post, “a standout….a remarkable performer” (Michael Reidel of the New York Post), with a “powerful, crystalline voice” (The Daily News). “…an extremely versatile singer, equally at home delivering a punk rock composition as she is with a delicate score from Stephen Sondheim or John Kander.” (Variety) 

Winning her first Helen Hayes Award in a tie with the legendary Chita Rivera, and her second in 2013 for her critically acclaimed turn in Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris at MetroStage she also holds a Chicago Jeff Award, and a St. Louis Kevin Klein Award for her “mesmerizing” (Peter Marks, Washington Post) turn as Anita in West Side Story. Most recently Ms. Diaz won another St. Louis Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her turn as Gloria Fajardo in ON YOUR FEET, and made her Carnegie Hall debut in January in concert with New Kid, Joey McIntyre. She is featured in recordings of Sondheim’s Saturday Night, Man of La Mancha, Seussical, and the recording of the 2006 Off-Broadway hit revival of Jacques Brel. For more, visit www.natasciadiaz.com. 

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