Phillipa Soo and Bryce Pinkham Will Star in Of Thee I Sing as Part of MasterVoices’ 2017–2018 Season | Playbill

Classic Arts News Phillipa Soo and Bryce Pinkham Will Star in Of Thee I Sing as Part of MasterVoices’ 2017–2018 Season The new lineup also features Elizabeth Stanley, David Pittu, and Tony winner Victoria Clark.
Phillipa Soo Monica Simoes

MasterVoices, a New York-based organization with a focus on classic vocal performance, will kick off its 2017–2018 season with a presentation of George and Ira Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing. Tony nominees Phillipa Soo (Hamilton) and Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) will star in the November 2 performance at Carnegie Hall, plus a November 4 encore at the Tilles Center at LIU Post.

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Bryce Pinkham Monica Simoes

Pinkham takes on the role of John P. Wintergreen in the 1931 musical, with Soo playing Mary Turner. Joining the two in the cast will be Elizabeth Stanley (On the Town) as Diana Devereaux, Tony nominee David Pittu (The Front Page) as the French Ambassador, and the MasterVoices Chorus and Orchestra.

Featuring a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, the musical was the first to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The satire explores the absurdity of American politics; fittingly, the MasterVoices presentation takes place the week before the New York City mayoral election.

The season continues with Our America, a celebration of immigrants’ influence on American music. The one-night-only concert from the chorus and orchestra will take place March 7, 2018, at the Great Hall of the Cooper Union.

Orphic Moments—a double bill of two works inspired by the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice—will be presented at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater May 6 and 7. The program consists of composer and librettist Matthew Aucoin’s The Orphic Moment and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. Taking the stage are countertenor Anthony Roth Constanzo and soprano Kiera Duffy, who will be joined by violinist Keir GoGwilt.

The season concludes June 17 with a free public performance of the Marisa Michelson and Royce Vavrek oratoria Naamah’s Ark, presented in partnership with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for the 2018 River to River Festival. The piece tells the story of Noah’s Ark from the perspective of Noah’s wife. Tony winner Victoria Clark will take on the title role.

Discussing the season’s politically-driven themes, Artistic Director Ted Sperling said in a statement, “In designing this year’s programs, I wanted us to wrestle with the issues that face us in the newspapers every day. At a time when the country can seem so divided, MasterVoices' mission is ever more relevant: using the power of the human voice to connect, unite, and inspire. Our 2017-18 season is an opportunity for our audience to examine the impact of the human voice and the effects of choice, against the landscape of growing political and social concerns of our time.”

Clark is a MasterVoices alum, having appeared opposite her The Light in the Piazza co-star Kelli O'Hara in the 2016 presentation of Dido and Aeneas. Take a look at rehearsal footage below.
For more information, visit MasterVoices.org.

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