Broadway to touch down in Port Washington

Stephen Romano

Stephen DeAngelis said when it comes to the arts, Port Washington residents are at a big buffet.

“Everyone can select the things they want a put them on their plate, because everyone in Port Washington takes advantage of the shows and concerts in the area and in New York City,” he said.

DeAngelis, a producer and casting director, assembled a mix of Broadway stars, some with backgrounds in contemporary and classic performances and others with backgrounds in comedy, to perform at the Landmark on Main Street on Friday in his show “Broadway on Main Street.”

During the first act of the show, Broadway performers will recreate signature musical moments from their roles in Broadway and off-Broadway musicals.

The performers include Alice Ripley, a best actress Tony Award winner for her role in “Next to Normal”; Jeanna De Waal, from “Kinky Boots,” “American Idiot,” “Finding Neverland” and “Wicked”; Gavin Lee, from Les Miserables, ‘‘Top Hat’’ and “Mary Poppins”; Alysha Umphress, who starred in “On the Town,” “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever” and Bring It On”; and Alton Fitzgerald White, who has starred in the Lion King a record-setting 4,308 times.

“It’s a real mix of voice types and vocal styles,” DeAngelis said. “There’s something for everyone in the program, and it’s a celebration of all of there influential careers.”

The second act will feature a question and answer session, with the performers sharing their backstage stories and talking with the audience.

“By the time the evening is over, the audience will feel like they know these actors,” DeAngelis said. “It’s a real hybrid show.”

DeAngelis, a Port Washington resident for 10 years, began his career as a performer before getting into directing, producing and casting.

“I started off as a performer when I was a kid and always had an interest in the arts while I was growing up,” he said. “I thought I was going to be an English major but the arts kept calling me, calling me and calling me.”

With credits in the business spanning from directing a revival of “Godspell” in Boston, to directing performances at the 11,000-seat Muny Theater in St. Louis, DeAngelis said, he’s gotten to a point in his career where he has began to “wear a lot of different hats.”

“I’m able to work with people I want to work with and it’s an exciting time,” he said. “I am very excited about this performance.”

With Port Washington being a “buffet” of the arts, DeAngelis said, it allowed him to make creative choices when picking the artists for the show.

Instead of finding the most popular performers on Broadway, or creating a show for college students filled with songs from “Wicked” and “Hamilton,” DeAngelis said, he was able to target a “diverse and creative” audience.

The Friday show will be original, DeAngelis said, with “audience members seeing something no audience has ever seen.”

“I always say ‘welcome to opening night and welcome to closing night’ because each and every time I do a concert, the lineup in different, the song selection is different,” he said. “I want to make the audience feel like they are part of the experience. I didn’t want to make this a textbook show.”

The performance begins at 8 p.m. and tickets range from $40 to $50, with another $50 added if VIP tickets are selected.

VIP tickets include a post-show cast party.

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