”Just Upstage of Downtown” brings you behind the scenes at Music Mountain Theatre in Lambertville, New Jersey, which opened in 2017 near the site of the former Lambertville Music Circus. MMT is now in its sixth season entertaining the communities of Hunterdon and Mercer counties in NJ, and Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Host Patrick Lavery is a member of MMT’s Resident Company, and was a news anchor and reporter for 10 years at New Jersey 101.5 FM.
As Music Mountain Theatre celebrates Pride Month, ”Just Upstage of Downtown” discusses issues related to acceptance, inclusivity, gender nonconformity, and progress within the theatrical world. Joining the podcast for this episode are MMT co-artistic directors Jordan Brennan and Louis Palena and performers John Dwyer, Olivia Frankenbach, Grace Paulicelli and Bill Weir in a revealing roundtable discussion that crosses many decades and generations leading up to the present day.
7 Jun 2023
Episode 8: I Wanna Be A Producer
Have you ever been ”bitten by the bug?” Did it happen as a kid or as an adult? In this episode of ”Just Upstage of Downtown,” stand-up comedian and bestselling author Aidan Park talks about his journey to ”make it” as a professional musical theatre actor, a quest he set aside almost a decade ago -- before a cross-country engagement to play Leo Bloom in Music Mountain Theatre’s 2022 run of ”The Producers” rekindled his love of musicals. Aidan also discusses the need to be versatile and develop a wide range of skills as an artist, and what he’s been doing to further his career as a content creator while overseeing his own charitable foundation.
18 May 2023
Episode 7: The Play That Goes Wrong
In May 2022, a COVID-19 outbreak knocked out nearly one-fifth of the cast and some of the crew of Music Mountain Theatre’s production of ”The Producers.” Almost exactly one year later, ”Just Upstage of Downtown” reunites several of those cast members to discuss how an already chaotic run was thrown into sudden mayhem -- including a Saturday night performance unlike any other MMT has been witness to in its six-year history.
30 Apr 2023
Episode 6: Take A Left
Whether you have appeared onstage at Music Mountain Theatre, been an audience member, or a little of both, you have probably wondered: How is a musical actually written? In this episode of ”Just Upstage of Downtown,” host Patrick Lavery and MMT performer Jason Kohn reflect on when they met in high school, a friendship which resulted in the 2005 production ”Life is a Musical,” for which Kohn wrote the book based on an original idea and Lavery composed the music and lyrics. The history of bringing ”LIAM” to life is also part of a more general discussion about the theatrical writing process.
13 Apr 2023
Episode 5: Putting It Together
As Music Mountain Theatre prepares to present its annual ”By Popular Demand” concert this Sunday, co-artistic directors Jordan Brennan and Louis Palena tell ”Just Upstage of Downtown” about the upcoming ”fishbowl” fundraiser and how it relates to the process of planning an entire MMT season -- from guaranteeing enough opportunities for all performers, to dealing with rights and licensing issues, to presenting a slate of productions that satisfies a diverse audience.
31 Mar 2023
Episode 4: Here’s To The Ladies
CW: sexual/anatomical references, including sexual assault
To celebrate Women’s History Month, ”Just Upstage of Downtown” interviewed 12 veteran Music Mountain Theatre performers about their experiences in the all-female casts of MMT’s productions of ”Jesus Christ Superstar” (2018), ”Steel Magnolias” (2019), and ”The Vagina Monologues” (2022), and their thoughts about supporting and spotlighting women in community theatre performances everywhere.
13 Mar 2023
Episode 3: Though It’s Fearful
On the three-year anniversary of Music Mountain Theatre shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MMT co-artistic directors Jordan Brennan and Louis Palena and producing director Ginny Brennan reveal the discussions that led to that decision being made only several hours before a performance of ”Into the Woods,” the creative ways in which the theatre survived the summer of 2020, the reopening production of ”Dracula” that October, the YouTube-to-stage journey of Louis’ original ”Murder at Cheltenham Manor,” and MMT’s current efforts to keep everyone safe and healthy.
26 Feb 2023
Episode 2: Ain’t Misbehavin’
As Black History Month draws to a close, ”Just Upstage of Downtown” speaks with the cast of the first production of Music Mountain Theatre’s 2023 season, ”Ain’t Misbehavin’.” In a revealing discussion, performers Tia Brown, Justin Derry, Siiyara Nelson, Jazzy Thomas, and Shan Williams II share their thoughts on bringing this revue to the MMT stage, and the ways in which community theatre as a whole can better elevate and celebrate Black culture and visibility.
11 Feb 2023
Episode 1: Back To Before
In the premiere episode of ”Just Upstage of Downtown,” Music Mountain Theatre co-founder and producing director Ginny Brennan shares the history of how MMT came to be: from her son Jordan getting involved in theatre as a child to her years running the children’s program at the Bucks County Playhouse, leading to the formation of Downtown Performing Arts Center and summers spent at the Open Air Theatre at Washington Crossing State Park and finally, the opening of MMT in October 2017.
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