HomeHolidays for the 2024
Ruben Studdard
Peabo Bryson
Haley Reinhart
THEATRE STAFF
Executive Director .......................................................................... Jason Goedken
Artistic Director ............................................................................ Whitney Morse
Associate Artistic Director ................................................................. Angel Creeks
Director of Operations ......................................................................... Jon Cronin
Director of People, Projects & Culture ...............................................Leslie Becker
Production Manager ....................................................................... Mike Giovinco
Booking Manager ................................................................................ Sierra Weiss
Senior Business Manager ................................................................... Sean Graham
Lighting Supervisor ......................................................................... Ally Southgate
Associate Lighting Supervisor .......................................................... Dio Raquel Jr.
Senior Production Coordinator ..............................................................Madi Carr
Audio Visual Director ........................................................................... Luke Bezio
Production Coordinator ................................................................ Nichole Pollack
Production Manager ...............................................................Mark Kirschenbaum
House Manager .................................................................................... Alec Speers
Assistant House Manager ........................................................... Savannah Wagner
Director of Ticketing & Customer Relations ............................... Yasmeen Stogden
Marketing Director ..................................................................... Monica Berdecio
Ad Sales ..................................................... marketing@significantproductions.org
The Sharon®L. Morse
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Dear Patron of the Arts,
Welcome to The Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center!
Much like the building’s namesake, my grandmother, Sharon L. Morse, we love all varieties of the performing arts here. It is in her memory that I, along with my amazing team of artists and arts administrators, strive to bring many different types of the highest quality entertainment here to The Sharon.
Since opening in 2015, we have strived to establish your trust, that a show at The Sharon is a show worth seeing. Perhaps you find yourself here today to see a concert of one of your favorite musicians, or to take in the national tour of a Broadway show. Either way, we encourage you to consider trying out a new show that perhaps you haven’t heard of before, knowing that it has been intentionally curated by our team.
We welcome you to The Sharon: a place for you to see an old favorite, but also a place to discover your new favorite. I sincerely hope you enjoy the show today, and I look forward to seeing you here again soon!
See You at The Sharon, Whitney Morse
Artistic Director
ART.
ARTISTS.
AUDIENCE.
SIGNIFICANT PRODUCTIONS (SIGPRO) is a Non-Profit arts organization that operates The Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center (The Sharon) & The Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol (The Studio).
OUR MISSION; SigPro cultivates a diverse collaborative community with a focus on artists' well-being that strives to provoke thought and spark conversation through high quality performing arts.
OUR TEAM MEMBERS
We believe that fostering an inclusive and supportive workplace is essential for the creation of exceptional art. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion extends to our employees. This ensures every individual who contributes to our productions feels valued and empowered. We actively promote a workplace culture that embraces differences and encourages collaboration among our diverse team of artists, technicians, administrators, and volunteers.
Thank You FOR SUPPORTING SIGNIFICANT PRODUCTIONS
In order of contributions:
MULTI-DONORS
Mary Homko
Donna Taylor
Russell Jones
Giuseppina (Jo) Jones
INDIVIDUAL DONORS
Sarah Lindmeier
Patricia Schlemmer
Jon Cronin
Private Donor
Fidelity Charitable
Private Donor
Attendees at The Sharon's 9th Birthday Lobby Lunch
Lynn & Kathy Glassock
Sharon Curry
Ron Kravet
Bob Kendi
April & David Linscott
Honey & David Kirk
John McAuley
Melissa Warner
Marge Alder
Russell Jones
Marianna Niesen
Liza Diana Walters
Donna Silver
Jim Ward
Roger & Karen Kass
Xiomara Guevara Medoza
Edward & Gale Labuda
Nancy Garrison
Marie Connolly
Stan Ackerman
Muriel Trulson
John Van Dyke
Diann Sherwin
Brian Grode
IN HONOR OF Peg Fiore
Alice Stogden
Ursula Becker
Thank you to our anonymous donors.
BIOGRAPHIES
PEABO BRYSON
Peabo Bryson has established a career as one of the premier male vocalists in contemporary music of the last quarter century. Possessing a beautifully rich, almost operatic voice, this two-time Grammy Award-winner has survived and prospered despite the passage of time and changes in popular musical trends.
With twenty albums to his credit, Peabo Bryson has enjoyed an unprecedented, across-the-board level of international success, Bryson has the distinction of being the first artist in music history to have separate records topping four different charts.
Acclaim and recognition are nothing new for this multi-talented singer, songwriter and producer. Born April 13, 1951, in Greenville, South Carolina, Bryson spent much of his childhood on his grandfather’s farm in Maudlin, South Carolina. “I have two sisters and a brother, but I’m the oldest male in the family, so I was taught to work and work hard!”
Bryson’s family not only instilled in him his work ethic, but a love for music as well. “My mother was a serious music lover. Whenever there was somebody great in town, she’d drag us along to catch their act. I have seen most of the greats of that period – Sam Cooke, Little Richard and even Billie Holiday. Sam Cooke was a great influence on me. His voice had a pure quality – straight from-the-heart.”
“I think the sensitivity in my songs stems from my early childhood. I was raised by women – my grandmother, until she died, and my mother. My grandmother was a woman who lived and loved with incredible passion.”
THE EARLY YEARS
Peabo began singing at age 14 as a star of the traveling revue Al Freeman & The Upsetters. Two years later in 1968 he left home to tour the now-famous Southern “chitlin’ circuit” with another local band, Moses Dillard and the Tex-Town Display, gaining the experience that would help prepare him for a solid career as a recording artist and entertainer.
Bryson’s first break came during a recording session at Atlanta’s Bullet/Bang Records. The young singer caught the ear of the label’s then-general manager, Eddie Biscoe. Biscoe signed Bryson to a contract as a writer, producer, and arranger and encouraged Bryson to perform his own songs. For several years Bryson worked with hometown bands and wrote and produced for Bang. In 1976, he released his debut LP, “Peabo”. The project featured Peabo composing nearly all of the songs (some with the great Thom Bell), a young Luther Vandross among the
background vocalists, and sexy black film star Tamara “Cleopatra Jones” Dobson showing him love on the back jacket.
REACHING FOR THE SKY
Bryson moved to Capitol Records in 1978, where his album “Reaching for the Sky” went gold and the title track was a number six R&B hit. With his LP “Crosswinds” (gold,1978), he truly penetrated the hearts of soul fans everywhere with the title tracks “Feel the Fire” and “I’m So Into You”, which spent two weeks as the nation’s number two R&B hit. He was paired with Capitol label-mate Natalie Cole for the 1979 project “We’re the Best of Friends” and a year later with Roberta Flack for the double-LP “Live & More” (on Atlantic Records). Peabo delivered four more albums for Capitol before making a second, even bigger album with Flack titled “Born to Love”, a gold seller that featured the smash “Tonight I Celebrate My Love” (Top 5 R&B and #16 Pop). That led him to sign a deal with Elektra Records for four albums, the second of which, “Take No Prisoners”, featured the crossover smash “If Ever You’re In My Arms Again” (Top 10 Pop and Top 10 R&B).
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
“With youthful good looks and a relaxed, almost conversational vocal style,” wrote Mike Kirkeby of Rolling Stone, “Bryson is unabashedly a romantic balladeer, wooing female listeners much as R&B idols did in the fifties, but in a reverent, subtle way.”
With each move in his career, applause for Bryson became louder. New York Times music critic Jon Pareles called Bryson the “Pavarotti of soul singers”. His duets with Natalie Cole – “What You Won’t Do for Love” – and Roberta Flack – “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love,” a Top 15 pop smash – had earned Bryson the tag “King of Balladeers.” With “If Ever You’re in My Arms Again,” which landed in the Number 10 spot on the pop charts, he scored another crossover hit and solidified his mainstream audience. Both “Tonight” and “If” went to Number One on the adult contemporary charts. A return to Capitol in 1989 for the album “All My Love” earned him his first R&B #1 single with a remake of the late Al Wilson’s “Show & Tell” (a song he proudly keeps the torch lit for in all of his shows). He hit the R&B chart-top a second time with the smash “Can You Stop The Rain“, the title track of his R&B chart-topping first of two albums for Columbia Records. The single won Bryson a 1991 Grammy nomination for best R&B vocal performance by a male, as did “Lost in the Night” in 1992.
But it was two songs for Disney animated films that earned Peabo his two Grammys. The first was 1991’s “Beauty and the Beast” with international pop singer Celine Dion which was a Number One pop hit. The very next year, Peabo
struck gold again receiving another Grammy for “A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme)” from Aladdin which he performed with Regina Belle. Both “Beauty and the Beast” (1991) and “A Whole New World” (1992) won Oscars for “Best Song”. Since these milestones, he has been even more sought after as a guest vocalist and duet partner, resulting in his collaborations with Tony Award-winner Lea Salonga on “We Kiss in the Shadows” (#1 on the Classical Crossover chart from a new recording of “The King and I” score), Melissa Manchester’s “Lovers After All”, and Kenny G’s “By The Time This Night is Over” (from the chart topping Contemporary Jazz CD, “Breathless”), which enjoyed a three month run on the Hot 100 in 1993. In June of 1993, Bryson sold out seven consecutive shows at Radio City Music Hall.
Demonstrating his skills as an actor, he appeared in the lead role for the touring production of the Tony Award-winning “Raisin” (based on “Raisin In The Sun”) and in the role of The Wizard in a touring company of “The Wiz.” In 1998, he appeared in the Michigan Opera Theater’s 100th anniversary production of Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” and also recorded two songs for the soundtrack for the “Barney” movie, one of which, the Bryson-produced “DREAMS,” became the lead song for the album. He also released a whopping three Christmas CDs, lovingly filled with music he has performed for years in the annual touring holiday music extravaganza, “The Colors of Christmas.”
In late 2005 Peabo released “Live In Concert: Ladies’ Request” in association with Time-Life, for whom he has been the spokesman for their soul retrospective collection. “Live In Concert” is an excellent collection that covers many of Peabo’s biggest hits, and shows that his voice is still as strong and smooth as ever; to date it has sold over 3 million copies. He followed this in early 2006 with “The Very Best of Peabo Bryson”, a compilation of his biggest hits recorded on multiple record labels.
LATEST PROJECT
With his tremendous crossover success, Peabo has transitioned into a world of international acclaim. It has taken the last eight years for the proper pieces to fall into place for him to find and sign with Peak Records (a division of industry giant Concord Music Group).
For “Missing You” – the twentieth album of his career, his first in eight years and his first for Peak Records – Peabo Bryson continued to do what he does best on eleven tracks that showcase the broad palette of his skills. On “Count on Me” (produced by The Heavyweights) and “To Love About” (on which Peabo plays some driving acoustic lead guitar), Peabo proves he still has the goods to gracefully contend with today’s younger R&B stalwarts. The title song “Missing
You” was recorded as a tribute to his mother (Marie) and sister (Agnes) who have both passed away, and for his son-in-law who was serving in Iraq. Elsewhere, smoothies such as “Heavenly” and “Don’t Give Your Heart” (produced by Barry J. Eastmond) and “My Last Goodbye” (produced by Peabo and Barry) reveal that, ultimately, he is in a class of his own.
An avid golfer, Peabo will never turn down a chance to “hit a few balls,” and has participated in numerous tournaments. To his family, he is simply a big brother, dedicated father and, most importantly, “’Pop-Pop’, handsome singer of love ballads.”
Peabo Bryson is, at his intimate best, a legendary vocalist offering a timeless mix of pop and soul as only he can. Bryson has amassed a loyal fan base, critical acclaim and an avalanche of awards by being one of the “truly best friends” a song could ever have.
RUBEN STUDDARD
Grammy Award nominee Ruben Studdard rose to fame as the winner of season two of American Idol.
In the years following Idol, Ruben has released seven studio albums, including his platinum-selling debut, Soulful, and the top-selling gospel follow-up, I Need an Angel. He is most well-known for his recording career, which has produced hits including “Flying Without Wings”, “Sorry 2004”, and “Change Me”. Ruben has also segued into television and stage work. Most notably, he toured with Robin Givens in the comedy-drama I Need a Hug, and starred as Fats Waller in a national tour revival of Ain’t Misbehavin, which spawned a Grammy-nominated soundtrack. In 2023 and 2024, Ruben embarked on an eighty-two show tour throughout North America with his close friend and fellow American Idol alum Clay Aiken. Ruben & Clay – Twenty The Tour was a celebration of the duo’s 20th anniversary of their storied run on Idol.
For 2025, Ruben will be constantly creating and performing. His brand-new album – The Way I Remember It – has charted the first two singles. Ruben will hit the road with “The Masterpiece Tour”. This new show will feature Ruben’s biggest hits, a handful of songs paying tribute to his idols, and songs from his brand new album.
HALEY REINHART
A timeless voice outlasts eras. It feels just as at home in the sixties as it does in the TikTok age. It also resounds louder as time goes on. Haley Reinhart brandishes such a voice.
The double platinum-certified Chicago-born singer and songwriter was introduced to the world in 2011, when Haley landed third place and became a fan favorite on season 10 of American Idol. More recently, Haley returned to Idol this time as a mentor, coaching contestants singing in the Soul Genre. Her dynamic presence powered four solo albums - Listen Up! (2012) on Interscope Records, Better (2016) on Red Dot, What’s That Sound? (2017) on Concord Records, and Lo- Fi Soul (2019) on Haley’s self-owned label, Reinhart Records. Haley latest work is the extended play Off The Ground (2022). All seven original songs are either written or co-written by Haley.
Meanwhile, her take on the Elvis Presley classic, Can’t Help Falling In Love generated over 400 million Spotify streams and 100 million YouTube views within a few years of its release. What started off as a version sung for an Extra Gum Commercial, turned into a chart-topping radio hit and touring sensation. Haley’s remake of the song peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and No. 31 on the Billboard Adult Pop Airplay chart.
Haley has also embraced collaborating regularly with other talented musicians. She is featured on Postmodern Jukebox’s highest viewed videos (cumulatively surpassing over 300 million views). And Haley has dueted with legendary star Jeff Goldblum on a total of four tracks from his two jazz albums with Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. Haley joined Jeff for an unforgettable performance on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!. In 2019, she continued pushing boundaries and crossing genres into EDM. In 2019, Haley lent her voice and songwriting skills to Vicetone’s dance hit, Something Strange. In 2022, she teamed up with DJ Naeleck on a version of Radiohead’s Creep.
Expanding her oeuvre, Haley voices a young boy named Bill Murphy on all five seasons of the hit Netflix animated series based on comedian Bill Burr’s childhood - F Is For Family. She made her acting debut in Robert Rodriguez’s hit film We Can Be Heroes. In the family film, Haley plays a superhero whose voice is her power. A sequel to We Can Be Heroes is in the scriptwriting phase. And Haley’s music has been featured in countless ads and commercials for companies including Mazda and JP Morgan Chase and television programs including Love Island, Gossip Girl, Nashville, Riverdale, The Wilds, America’s Got Talent, and Dancing with the Stars.
On the touring front, Haley is her busiest in her fifteen years in music. From Fall 2022 to Fall 2023, she headlined her “Off The Ground Tour”. Haley played to raved reviews in over 100 theaters and rock rooms throughout North America. This year, Haley has taken her career to another level. After spending the first half of the year writing and recording a new album, Haley now embarks on her headline tour, which will hit over seventy-five cities from May to November 2024. The show is just beginning.
PRIVATE BOX experience
ENJOY YOUR NEXT SHOW AT THE SHARON LIKE A VIP!
• Exclusive experience for up to 15 guests.
• Private lounge for the evening, including home-like furnishings, restroom, and direct access to the auditorium box for comfortable viewing of your show.
• Upgrades available such as a private bartender or personalized celebratory furnishings.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO CREATING AN EXPERIENCE TO REMEMBER!
To explore accommodations and availability, please contact Yasmeen@SignificantProductions.org
ADVERTISE
Increase your visibility by marketing your message to The Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center’s local, engaged audience, as well as advertise in The Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol’s Programs and our monthly Digital Newsletter, The Scoop!
For information on prices, ad sizes, and availability, please email us at marketing@significantproductions.org.
