MetroStage at the Lyceum Presents

Celebrating America’s 250th
July 27 at 7pm at The Lyceum

The House I Live In: An American Songbook for an American Birthday

Featuring Bob McDonald with accompanist Tony Nalker and special guest Susan Derry

The House I Live In: An American Songbook for an American Birthday celebrating America's 250th will feature DMV favorite, SGM (Ret) Bob McDonald.  From the Golden Age of Broadway to modern American classics to patriotic favorites and more, Bob celebrates our nation’s 250th birthday through some of the beloved songs that shaped it. SGM (Ret) Tony Nalker will accompany on the piano with special guest Susan Derry. Both Bob and Susan have performed for MetroStage in the past.

Bios

BOB MCDONALD served as Group Leader and a member of the U.S. Army Chorus for over 26 years, retiring in 2020. In this role, he performed regularly at the White House, and for visiting dignitaries from across the globe. Bob has performed locally at such venues as The Kennedy Center, the Folger Theatre, AMP by Strathmore, Wolf Trap, Signature Theatre, MetroStage and The Interact Theatre Company. He has also performed regionally in many opera roles, with symphony orchestras, and with his popular Sinatra tribute. Bob is a familiar face to Washington Capitals fans, now approaching his 34th season of singing the National Anthem for the team. He has also sung the National Anthem for many other professional sports events across the country, including the Super Bowl, and for Game 5 of the 2019 World Series. At MetroStage Bob has celebrated Charles Dickens’ 200th birthday in Dear Mr. Dickens, has celebrated the holidays in Christmas at the Old Bull and Bush and several more recent cabarets at The Lyceum, and was also seen in George Don’t Do That!

SUSAN DERRY is a Broadway veteran and a DC stage regular. She dazzles as a leading lady, singer, storyteller and recording artist. 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, and 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. At MetroStage Susan has performed her cabaret I Wish It So and also two cabarets celebrating the music of Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith, all at The Lyceum. 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.

TONY NALKER (Pianist) performs widely in Washington, D.C., currently serving as jazz pianist with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra Pops. From 1989-2016 Tony was the pianist in the Army Blues, the premiere jazz ensemble of the U.S. Army, and served as the group’s enlisted leader. Nalker played for the highest levels of the U.S. government and military and performed on USO tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as State Department sponsored musical diplomacy tours to Russia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Nalker has also composed works for various settings, including a commission by The National Gallery of Art for a children’s multimedia work about Henri Matisse, a Jazz Mass commissioned by St. Paul’s Nantucket which premiered in August 2022, and a musical adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. He received his undergraduate degree from James Madison University and an M.A. from the University of Iowa.