Faith U.P. to host ‘Night of Broadway’
Matt Webster, a graduate of West Virginia University, plays the piano during a rehearsal for “Propoganda! The Musical” in New York City. Webster, who co-wrote the musical with fellow WVU grad Taylor Ferrera, will perform “A Night of Broadway” June 12 at Faith United Presbyterian Church in Washington.
Matt Webster
Taylor Ferrera
Three cast members and the assistant music director of the national Broadway touring company of “West Side Story” will present a free concert June 12 in Washington.
“A Night of Broadway” will begin at 7 p.m. at Faith United Presbyterian Church, 900 E. Beau St. It will feature songs from “West Side Story” and other Broadway shows, as well as a new musical that will premiere in New York City this summer.
Matt Webster and Taylor Ferrera, both graduates of West Virginia University, co-wrote “Propaganda! The Musical” that was selected from among hundreds of submissions for five performances in July at the New York Musical Theater Festival.
“It’s a great honor to be in the festival. It’s the biggest festival in the world for musical theater,” Webster said.
“West Side Story” ends its two-year tour Sunday in Washington, D.C. Webster’s fiancee, MaryJohanna Grisso, has the lead role of Maria. She also will perform at Faith U.P. along with Michelle Alves, who plays Anita in “West Side Story.” Webster joined the cast nine months ago to portray Gladhand, who serves as comic relief in the romantic tragedy.
Ferrera and accompanist Andre Cerullo, assistant musical director for “West Side Story” and music director for “Propaganda! The Musical,” also will perform at Faith U.P.
Webster said they plan to tell stories about living on a tour bus in addition to performing familiar tunes, and he will encourage the audience to sing along.
Although the concert is free, donations will be accepted to help fund the performances of “Propaganda! The Musical” this summer. NYMF provides the venue, which is the Pearl Theater in the heart of Times Square, some marketing and staff, but Webster and Ferrara must assume the cost of the production, which is $65,000.
“We have a ways to go,” Webster joked, but added he is confident they will meet their goal.
“Propaganda! The Musical” is about a secret government bureau that covers up political scandals. A satire similar to a Mel Brooks or Monty Python production, it also contains moments that will be meaningful to the audience, Webster said. He and Ferrera completed their first draft of the show in 2012, and it has undergone two readings and about a dozen revisions since.
Speaking by phone from New York City, where he was taking a break from auditioning actors for the cast, Webster said he prefers writing to performing on stage.
“What I like best about writing is I can give life to many other characters, where, as an actor, you only have one life,” he said.
Webster’s parents are Bill and Linda Webster of Martins Ferry, Ohio. Linda Webster is the coordinator of Disciple Making Ministries at Faith U.P.
Webster’s first musical, “Kingdom Come,” was an extension of a university class assignment. Webster said he took it much further than the assignment, giving two performances while in college and casting Ferrera as the lead actor. It later won Best Play at the 2012 Downtown Urban Theatre Festival in NYC.
More information is available at http://www.nymf.org/tickets/2014-events/propaganda-musical/.