“Live theatre” becomes even more “Alive” with a live orchestra! Thanks to a generous grant from the David Lee Foundation, Musical Theatre Guild’s APPLAUSE will feature an expanded 17-piece orchestra, under the leadership of Musical Director Brad Ellis. “Charles Strouse brought a very progressive sound to Broadway, while maintaining a connection to traditional musical styles. He wrote stuff that was very fresh, without getting too far from the Broadway sound” says Ellis, a longtime Southern California theatre and television (“Glee”) mainstay. “The great advantage of having a larger orchestra is that the orchestra is often the inner life that the actor is conveying, and it helps them amplify that in a large auditorium.” Adds Ellis, “Musical Theatre Guild is populated by very experienced actors who’ve done a whole lot of different kinds of styles, and know how to put themselves in the milieu of a wide variety of musicals. APPLAUSE is a show with a lot of youthful energy, but it is best displayed with a cast that has a depth of understanding.”
The David Lee Foundation seeks to incentivize Los Angeles professional theaters to take bold steps and push limits, not just artistically but financially.