CATSKILLS CABLAB
Featuring Sidney Dupont, “I Gotta Be Me” - Tony Award Nominee Sidney DuPont serves as a guiding voice through the life and legacy of icon Sammy Davis Jr.
Directed by Greg Kamp
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Featuring, Alyssa Payne, “Extra Crispy” - Humor and heart collide in this cabaret showcasing the original musical theater songs by Alyssa Payne. "Extra Crispy" serves up a deliciously entertaining feast for the soul.
Directed by Robin Levine
Greg Kamp
(Director for SD)
Producing and Management highlights include How to Dance in Ohio on Broadway and work with National Alliance for Musical Theatre, Theatre Communications Group, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat and more. He is the lead agent for LML Music Presents, representing concerts for a roster of leading Broadway and Cabaret artists where he also co-created and produced L’Chaim: A Toast to the Jewish Legacy of Broadway and Sincerely, Sondheim. Greg is the Co-Founder of MT Shorts, an award-winning production company dedicated to producing original musical films (mtshorts.com). Greg is a graduate of University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). gregkamp.com
Sidney Dupont
(Performer #1)
Sidney DuPont is a 2022 Tony Award nominee and Chita Rivera Award nominee, originating the role of Washington Henry in Paradise Square at the Barrymore Theater. Originally from Philadelphia, he began training at the Creative & Performing Arts High School (2009) where stars like Questlove, Boyz II Men, Leslie Odom Jr., and Jazmine Sullivan all got their start. He made his Broadway debut in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical in 2015 and continued with the 1st National Tour and Australian Company. Other National Tours include Memphis: the Musical and A Chorus Line. Regional: The World premiere of Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical (A.C.T). Paradise Square at Berkeley Repertory Theatre (TBA nomination), Man of La Mancha (The Shakespeare Theater), In the Heights (The Geva Theater), and Gypsy (North Carolina Theater). Television/Commercial: FBI: Most Wanted (CBS) & Cartier. DuPont has also stepped behind the scenes as a director, choreographer, cinematographer, and award-winning screenwriter. “Who am I?… I am the conclusion of my Ancestors’ story and I am the prologue to my descendant’s wildest dreams.”
Balint Varga
(MD for Sidney Dupont)
BÁLINT VARGA Originally from Budapest, Hungary, Balint is a NY-based composer, conductor, orchestrator, and immigration advocate. He started playing piano at age 4. At 17, he moved to Paris where he started his first professional work at the Bastille Opera House. First, he graduated from Béla Bartók Jazz Conservatory, later he moved to America and studied composition and conducting at Berklee College of Music. His work has been performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Birdland, Symphony Hall, Strathmore, Joe's Pub. He received his US Green Card for extraordinary abilities based on his achievements in his field. Notable writing credits: Yasuke - The Legend of the Black Samurai, d'ILLUSION - The Houdini Musical, Hypatia and the Heathens, Reflections, Where We Rush To Disappear, Why Don't I Have A Girlfriend? He’s a proud member of the Dramatists Guild and the Lehman Engel BMI Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop. Balint also collaborated on Broadway workshops such as Elton John’s Tammy Faye, Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell, Mariah Carey’s Christmas Show, and Forest Whitaker’s Benefit Concert. He wrote special choral arrangements for Josh Groban. BALINTVARGA.COM
Alyssa Payne
(Performer #2)
Alyssa Payne is a multi-hyphenate artist best known for her EP, Patiently Waiting, and musical Tik Toks. In the last year, she has been a Write Out Loud Finalist, Johnny Mercer participant, and lyricist for The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. An alumni of The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Alyssa earned her BFA in Musical Theater with an emphasis in songwriting. She was the recipient of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Scholarship through the American Theater Wing, which connected her to mentor, Shaina Taub, who Alyssa recently assisted on Suffs on Broadway. Through her new musical, F Word, Alyssa aims to support and uplift the organizations dedicated to helping teens in the foster care system. Alyssa’s compositions are a joyous celebration of the human experience, painted with melodies that range from whimsical to soul-stirring. Don’t miss seeing her this September at the 2024 In The Works~In The Woods New Works Festival at the Forestburgh Playhouse! She can’t wait to see you there.
Robin Levine
(Director for AP)
Robin Levine (Director) - Credits include - CONSTELLATIONS, THE LAST FIVE YEARS, MEAN GIRLS, 9 TO 5, THE WHO'S TOMMY, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, BELLS ARE RINGING and Azamara Club Cruises, to name a few. She is a member of A Broken Umbrella Theatre, an award-winning, non-profit theatre company dedicated to the creation of new works, located in New Haven, CT. Performance credits include MAMMA MIA! (Broadway, Las Vegas), THE RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR, The Tony Awards, City Center and The Joyce Soho. As a guest lecturer, Robin has taught at universities and conservatory programs, including Montclair State University, Nazareth College, CAP21 and AMDA, and has been on faculty at Steps on Broadway in NYC. Robin holds a BFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC). www.robin-levine.com
Erik Wakar
(MD for AP)
Erik Wakar (she/her): Music Director this season for The Prom, Rock of Ages, five of the season cabarets, and the "Extra Crispy" CabLab. Erik is grateful to the catskills community for their warm welcome for her first season at Forestburgh Playhouse! Regional credits include: Something Rotten, 9 to 5. Collegiate credits include: The Light In The Piazza, Fun Home, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Ordinary Days, The Last Five Years. She is excited to be moving to NYC following the end of this season. Away from the stage she keeps up with an eclectic collection of hobbies and loved ones near and far.
Grace Di Natale
(PSM CabLab)
Grace DiNatale (Production Stage Manager) is thrilled to be working in the woods at the Forestburgh Playhouse for the first time! Previous credits include: Summer Theatre of New Canaan: Once On This Island, The Wizard of Oz. Emerson Stage: The Impracticality of Modern-Day Mastodons, The Wolves, Three Romances for the Unwell and Otherwise, Marisol. Emerson College: The 42nd Annual EVVY Awards, The 43rd Annual EVVY Awards. She recently graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in Stage & Production Management. She thanks her family for their unwavering love and support!