As part of the ongoing alliance between Geva Theatre Center and the Department of Theatre and Music Studies at SUNY Brockport, Stage Whispers: Conversations with Theatre Professionals will once again welcome members of the Geva family to the Brockport campus. The first of this year’s talks will take place at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 14, in the Tower Fine Arts Center Black Box Theatre, 180 Holley Street. It is free and open to the public, and will feature Barnaby Reiter and Jennifer Sánchez, currently starring in Geva’s production of The Wizard of Oz.
Long familiar to audiences around the world, The Wizard of Oz has been adapted to the stage numerous times. The Geva production, based on the movie, was adapted for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Director Zi Alikhan has re-imagined the material to explore what it means to go “over the rainbow” to discover your true self in the Land of Oz. Geva’s Acting Education Director, Lara Rhyner, adds that the production is a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community with themes of self-acceptance, identity journeys, social justice, and chosen family.
Originally hailing from the other Oz (Australia), Reiter has found a new home in New York. However, it was during his final year of training at the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts that he made his professional debut, joining the ensemble of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. After that he embarked on Australasian tours of Hairspray and Grease, and appeared on The Voice/Australia. Reiter made his American debut in the national tour of Jersey Boys and is thrilled to be back on stage in this innovative new production. Reiter has also showcased his talents as a writer and composer, receiving accolades for his original, award-winning musical comedy, Suitcases, Baggage & Other Synonyms.
A Brooklynite by way of Albuquerque, Sánchez is honored to terrorize such a beautiful Oz. Her Broadway credits include The Rose Tattoo, Pretty Woman, Sunday in the Park With George, On Your Feet, Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, Ghost, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, West Side Story (Arthur Laurents’ bilingual revival). Off-Broadway, she was seen in The Alchemist, Little Miss Sunshine (Second Stage), I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road (Encores! Off-Center). Sánchez is also an award-winning songwriter and musician.
The “Stage Whispers” series is sponsored by SUNY Brockport’s Department of Theatre and Music Studies as part of their alliance with Geva Theatre Center. The series gives community members insight into the process of professional theatre artists. For more information, please call 585-395-2496.
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