“45 Minutes From Broadway” is Newport Theater Arts Center’s summer musical and will be playing only this weekend and next.
Rae Cohen, president and executive producer of the NTAC, calls “45 Minutes From Broadway” a “high-energy show, that Kyle Myers and Cathy Petz are doing a bang-up job with directing, choreographing. Love those old George M. Cohan flag-waving tunes!”
Dick Foster is facing major problems as his Broadway show is about to open: money problems, a high-maintenance leading lady, and gangsters to name a few.
Kyle Myers returns to Newport Theater Arts Center to direct this all-youth show.
“Many kids from Newport Beach participated in the NTAC summer youth workshop prior to the play, so they built up the confidence to audition and gained experience that they could build on,” Myers said.
Newport Beach resident Emma Seely-Katz, 13, is excited to be in her first production at NTAC. Katz, who plays Vivian, one of the chorus girls, says her mom, Susan Seely, has performed at NTAC and that is how she knew about it. Of the show, Katz says it is very “Americana” with a lot of patriotism.
“The entire cast is great. Everyone is so nice and working with talented actors, singers and dancers has been awesome,” she said.
Katz will be a freshman this year at Orange County High School of the Arts.
Also from Newport Beach, 11-year-old Nick Halphide will be making his debut at NTAC. He says it is “a great place for a young actor to become more professional and have a great time.”
Avery Lahodny, who plays Flossie, says, “I’m very excited to do my second musical directed by Kyle Myers. It’s a pleasure to work with him. This is a musical filled with family-friendly patriotism, and a great way to spend your afternoon. I hope you will come down and see it.”
Myers says part of what makes directing this show fun is that the music “is so infectious you can’t help clapping along. It is the perfect show to bridge the gap between generations, as it features the music of George M. Cohan: American favorites such as ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy,’ ‘Grand Old Flag,’ and ‘Give My Regards to Broadway.’”
Myers, who teachers third grade and runs a drama club at a school in Fullerton, loves being able to concentrate on youth theater during his time off in the summer.
In addition to having fun working with the kids, Myers says of NTAC, “It is a great atmosphere down there. I don’t know of another theater with a better view. It’s a very nice place to work, everyone involved in the show and the workshop are there because they want to be there. I get to work with incredibly talented kids, and they are able to show their stuff.”
More season ticket holders have bought tickets to this summer show than any past summer shows and part of the charm of NTAC is the intimate setting. Tickets will be selling out quickly, so plan accordingly.
