It’s been 85 years since the world first heard Judy Garland sing about a place “somewhere over the rainbow,” and her star power is just as potent as it was then. Why? What is it about Judy that continues to build new generations of infatuated admirers? Join Jenna Pastuszek and Broadway Music Director Joshua Zecher-Ross in this 100th birthday celebration of the world’s greatest entertainer. With “lavishly clever arrangements”, and “witty, endearing personal stories”, this isn’t a traditional Judy Garland tribute — there will be no impersonation here. Instead, lifelong Judy fans will love the cleverly curated playlist of beloved classics and forgotten gems while millennials and Gen Zers will discover an artist who transcends time. It’s time to celebrate live entertainment again, and “forget your troubles, come on, GET HAPPY!”
Performer, Writer, Producer:
Jenna Pastuszek is thrilled to bring GET HAPPY! to you. Having performed to sold out crowds across the US, she is an acclaimed singer and actor who has graced stages and delighted audiences from Maine to Florida, from Cape May to Los Angeles. You can hear her on Pandora Radio as she is the voice of Starbucks Café, Amazon Alexa, Crest, and more. In addition to performing, Jenna is a highly sought-after voice teacher and performance coach. She is the Co-Founder of Innovative Voice Studio, where she trains Broadway artists, and of Innovative Performance, where she coaches leaders across a variety of industries to use their voices to better express themselves. Proud Ukrainian, and proud graduate of NYU Steinhardt & the University of Virginia. www.jennap.com
Will Stephan Connell is overjoyed to return to Jenna's incredibly talented side in Get Happy! A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Will is a professional singer, actor, and arts administrator based in the Philadelphia area. Most recently seen as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys at the Walnut Street Theatre, he has performed extensively on stages throughout the Philadelphia area, including the Walnut Street Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, Delaware Theatre Company, Quintessence Theatre Group, Montgomery Theatre...and here at the Media Theatre, where he appeared in Spamalot and Joseph...Technicolor Dreamcoat in the 2013-2014 season. Additionally, he has appeared with the Summer Club, a seventeen-piece big band accompanied by some of Philly's most beloved singers. When not onstage, Will works as the Camp and Special Projects Director at Wolf Performing Arts Center, designing and managing programming for ages ranging from rising kindergarten through the end of high school. @awillandaway, willsconnell.com
Music Director:
KYLE BRANZEL is a highly sought-after musical theatre coach in NYC, trusted by some of Broadway’s most thrilling performers. Drawing from a wide variety of theatrical experience as director, music director, actor, and pianist, Kyle empowers professional actors around the world to develop their artistry holistically and navigate their careers with integrity. His innovative approach to physical acting training and physiological vocal coaching have helped many clients and students book roles in films, TV shows, Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, national tours, regional productions, and cruise ships. He is the founder and director of Groove Playground, NYC’s premier pop/rock/R&B training ground. Current teaching appointments: Musical Theatre Instructor at New York Film Academy, Musical Theatre and Movement Instructor at Jen Waldman Studio, Guest Lecturer of Musical Theatre at Roosevelt University and Western Illinois University. Member: Actors’ Equity Association. Education: BFA Musical Theatre, Roosevelt University; Music Education studies, Ithaca College. kylebranzel.com
Music Supervisor, Arranger, Orchestrator:
JOSHUA ZECHER-ROSS has worked on 100s of productions and performances in New York and around North America as a music supervisor and director, conductor, pianist, and arranger. Broadway: Be More Chill (conductor sub), Once Upon a One More Time (keyboard sub), Some Like it Hot (rehearsal pianist). Recently: The Marvelous Wonderettes (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), A Christmas Carol (Denver Center), The Louder We Get (Theatre Calgary). Other regional: Barrington Stage Company, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, George Street Playhouse, Sharon Playhouse, and The Little Theatre on the Square (Sullivan, Illinois) where he also served as artistic director. Joshua is the composer of RESCUE RUE, a musical for young audiences, which recently had an off-Broadway run, and is the music director and arranger for several shows currently in development. Recent recordings: Past Demons and Future Demons by Ryan Scott Oliver, Her Sound by Ethan Carlson, In the Light: A Faustian Tale by Michael Mott. He is also an instructor and the head of music at the musical theatre program at the NY Film Academy, and has been a part of the Actor Therapy family since 2014. www.JoshuaZR.com