With only one weekend left of Broadway Under the Stars, Stephan Stubbins, the executive director (and a featured performer, at center of photo) of the Transcendence Theatre Company, reflects on the 2105 season.
Your end-of-summer Gala Celebration concert is coming up soon (Sept. 11-13). Can your audiences look forward to anything special with this show?
We’re excited that this year’s Gala Celebration features many of the communities favorite Broadway Under The Stars performers from seasons past, including several who haven’t been in one of our shows yet this summer, including Leah Sprecher, Carrie Manolakos, and Stephanie Cadman (all who have had one-woman shows for us in the past). One stand-out performance from last year’s Gala Celebration was Evan Ruggiero (the phenomenal one-legged tap dancer that lost a leg in his battle with cancer). Evan wowed our audience last year and we’re excited to share even more of what his inspiring talent is capable of.
What are some stand-out moments from this summer?
We created so many memories this summer, it’s hard to pick. Our first ever performance at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts was an explosion of energy, having our own Meggie Cansler singing the National Anthem for the San Francisco Giants was big, our special outreach performance for the Sonoma Developmental Center touched our hearts, Brad Surosky’s cameo appearance with a baby camel in our Fantastical Family Night was priceless, the surprise dove-release in our Oh What A Night concert brought tears to many of our audience members, and our emotional performance of the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” on the day of the historic Supreme Court decision on gay marriage was a moment many of us will never forget.
What is something that surprised you about your season this summer?
We are actually delighted about how welcoming and excited our audiences are about engaging with new performances and new works. We feel like we’ve really made a step forward with shows like our latest “Imagine” concert at Paradise Ridge Winery (that showcases the new works of Transcendence songwriters along with arrangements of well-known classics re-imagined in meaningful ways). We’re excited about this direction. As we continue to deliver favorite well-known works, we look forward to also becoming a place where new works can be explored, embraced, and given life.
As many Sonoma locals know, Transcendence is very active in the community. What are some of the community projects you did this summer?
In addition to participating with our Transcendence Kids Campers in the Red & White Ball recently, through the generous support of Sonoma Wine Country Weekend, Sonoma Valley Rotary, and Gary and Marcia Nelson we’ve been able to partner on outreach projects with the Sonoma Developmental Center, the Boys & Girls Club of Sonoma Valley, the Stand By Me Mentoring Alliance, and Wells Fargo Center for the Arts. As we do every year, we hosted free community open-mic nights at four different wineries throughout the summer where many community members performed for and with our artists. With our total contribution to Jack London State Historic Park exceeding $165,000 this year, we’re so proud of all that our community of supporters have done to keep the treasured park thriving.
What’s next for Transcendence ?
For the first time ever we’re producing a holiday show. Like a traditional Broadway Under The Stars concert, it will feature about 20 performers, highlighting Broadway and popular music (as well as holiday music, of course), only it will take place indoors… at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts. It’s on December 4th & 5th right in the heart of the holiday season. Tickets for that holiday performance can be purchased at transcendencetheatre.org/transcendence-wells-fargo-center-arts
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