Long Live Rock n’ Roll!
Relive what some critics consider the greatest decade of rock and roll - The ‘70s! It started with incredible new classic rock bands and ended up with a new wave of music. This incredible concert includes the songs and stories of many of the artists of the era including: Elton John, Billy Joel, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Chicago, Styx, David Bowie and One Hit Wonders as well. Under the direction of producer and arranger Neil Berg, get ready for two hours of the greatest music from The ‘70s. Long live rock!
Run Time: 2 hours with a 20 minute intermission.
Performers
Reagan Richards
Erick Buckley
Brian Ray Norris
Nathaniel Hackmann
Musicians
Neil Berg - Piano/Musical Director
Roger Cohen - Drums
Abe Saenz - Bass
Mike Wilson - Guitar
MUSICAL DIRECTOR
Neil Berg is the composer/co-lyricist, along with Pulitzer Prize/TONY-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan, of the award-winning new musical The 12, which just finished a very successful pre-Broadway tryout to critical and audience acclaim at the Goodspeed Opera House, directed by TONY award-winning director John Doyle. The 12 previously ran at The Denver Center to unanimous rave reviews and won the 2015 HENRY Award for best new play or musical.
Neil’s latest musical The Sabbath Girl: The Musical, written with book writer/co-lyricist Cary Gitter, just finished an incredible, sold-out run at The Penguin Repertory Theatre (directed by Joe Brancato), before transferring to NYC for a sixweek summer run Off-Broadway at 59 East 59th Theaters to rave reviews.
As a producer, Neil is the creator and co-producer, along with his producing partner Adam Friedson, of Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway and 50 Years of Rock & Roll, which continues to be one of the top Broadway touring concerts in the United States.
Neil created A Night of Broadway Stars, a concert series which features many of Broadway’s top stars, and tours across the country, performing in various cities to raise awareness and money for Covenant House, an organization which shelters and feeds homeless teens. Over the past 20 years Neil has helped raise over $40 million.
Neil co-created and produces an annual concert, called GOODSTOCK, which uses both local and national talent to raise money for People to People, an organization that feeds the homeless and hungry in Rockland County, NY.
Over the past 25 years, Neil has been the musical director/entertainment coordinator for such great organizations as Covenant House and The Leukemia Society of America. In May 2012, Neil was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his artistry and dedication to community service. Neil was also honored with the Distinguished Citizen’s Award, along with Academy Award-winning actress Ellen Burstyn, by The Rockland Family Shelter, for his efforts on behalf of abused women.
Neil is the co-founder of the SJR Theater Workshop, a theater camp for students in Montvale, NJ, which instructs over 200 young actors/ singers a year.
Neil is married to actress Rita Harvey, and dedicates everything to her, and their son, Lucas David Berg.
PERFORMERS
Erick Buckley was the first person in the world to perform both the roles of Marius and Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables,” Uncle Fester in “The Addams Family,” Piangi in Andrew Loyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera,” Dave in “The Full Monty,” was handpicked by Berry Gordy to appear in “Motown The Musical,” Roger in the Broadway revival of “Grease!” with Sheena Easton, John Secada, Rex Smith, and Adrian Zmed, Gangster #1 in the Tony-winning Broadway revival of “Kiss Me, Kate,” “Camelot” opposite Robert Goulet and criticallyacclaimed concerts around the world. Erick currently teaches voice training at New York University for theater students.
Brian Ray Norris is a Broadway, film and television actor and proud member of both Actors Equity and SAG AFTRA. Brian is best known for originating the role of Mr. Krabs on Broadway in The Sponge Bob Square Pants musical and reprised his role in the Live On Stage version that aired on Nickelodeon. Brian most recently was a guest star on FBI Most Wanted playing Travis Chambers. Brian was featured throughout Season 11 of “American Horror Story New York City” as Detective Mulchahey. Brian has performed all across North America and abroad in multiple touring companies and has had leading roles in several Off-Broadway productions including “Guy in A Dog Story” and “Miles in Sideways”. Other favorite roles in NY and regionally include Luther Billis in “South Pacific,” Nathan Detroit in “Guys and Dolls,” Chef Louis in “The Little Mermaid,” Mr. Collins in “Pride and Prejudice,” Lord John Middleton in “Sense and Sensibility,” Beadle Bamford in “Sweeney Todd,” Mr. Bumble in “Oliver,” and many more.
Reagan Richards is a singer/songwriter and actor from New Jersey. She is half of the country duo Williams Honor, who had a Top 30 single with their tune “No Umbrella,” and played Madison Square Garden as direct support opening for Bon Jovi. Williams Honor had a weekly variety show livestream called “The Willi Ho Show,” which was POLLSTAR’s #24 Livestream of 2020. In the mid-2000s, Reagan sang with the legendary Les Paul for five years.
PERFORMERS
She produced her own Great American Songbook show called “with love, Reagan,” and has been one of the NJ Hall of Fame vocalists. Reagan is also a backing vocalist for artists through the years including David Gray, Debbie Harry, Joan Jett, Alice Cooper, Kenny Loggins, Green Day, Gloria Gaynor, Cheap Trick and many others. She lends her voice and spirit to charities such as the Light of Day Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, St. Jude, Ryan Seacrest Foundation and Fran Drescher’s Cancer Schmancer.
She has an accessory line called honorX and is a doggie Mama to Hughy, her five-pound Yorkie.
Nathaniel Hackmann (he/him) has emerged as an actor/singer of international renown. He has been seen on stage in some of the most demanding roles and alongside many of the world’s greatest orchestras. He has just completed a wildly successful run creating the role of Biff Tannen in Back to the Future the Musical at the Winter Garden. He has portrayed Jean Valjean and Javert on Broadway in Les Misérables, as well as the titular roles in Jekyll and Hyde and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. For the internationally televised BBC Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall, he appeared as Curly with the John Wilson Orchestra in the acclaimed production of Oklahoma and portrayed Gaby in On The Town for Leonard Bernstein’s 100th Birthday Celebration.
His favorite recordings are as Steve in Paint Your Wagon, Curly in Oklahoma, Billy Bigelow in Carousel, and (soon to be released) Sky in Guys and Dolls, available on all music streaming platforms. Hackmann’s past favorite roles include both Gaston and the Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Quasimodo in Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, and many of Frank Wildhorn’s and Stephen Sondheim’s antagonists. Nathaniel Hackmann holds a Bachelor and Master of Music in vocal performance from Central Michigan University. Instagram - n8hackmann.
MUSICIANS
Roger Cohen was the percussionist for ‘Rocktopia’ on Broadway. where he performed with Pat Monahan (Train), Dee Snyder (Twisted Sister) and Robin Zander (Cheap Trick). Most recently, Roger was working on Sheryl Crow’s new Broadway-bound show, ‘Diner’. Other credits include Martin Short, Rita Moreno, Sally Struthers, Audra McDonald, Sir Cliff Richard, Kathy Lee Gifford and Dom DeLouise. Roger is a founding member of the hard rock band Cruel Season. Their latest release is titled ‘Breathe’ (Dark Star/ SONY Music). Roger is married to performer Carter Calvert. Their CD, “Carter Calvert & The Roger Cohen Trio,” debuted at #13 on the CMJ National Jazz charts. It garnered rave reviews and received national radio play. The CD is available on CDBaby and iTunes. Another role that is very important to him is his role as mentor in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program (BBBS.org).
Abraham Saenz, an amazing bassist of Peruvian decent, began his career in NY’s specialized high school for the arts (LaGuardia H.S. for the Performing Arts). He furthered his studies in schools like Harlem School of the Arts for jazz and Harbor Conservatory for Latin music in which Abraham was awarded full scholarships for. He began playing with local salsa bands at the age of 16. Eventually, at 17, Abraham joined Juan Carlos Formell’s changui quartet where Abraham began extensive studies of Cuban music.
With only a couple of years experience under his belt, he managed to earn a spot in the premiere salsa record label band, the RMM orchestra under the direction of Isidro Infante. (The RMM orchestra was to the Latin scene as the Funk Brothers were to Motown.) Being the youngest member of this band gave him the opportunity to learn from the great Isidro Infante and travel the world. With the RMM orchestra he collaborated in the Latin Grammy award winning concert for Best Salsa Performance, “Celia and Friends: A Night Of Salsa.”
Abraham has graced the main stage at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre playing for Pablo Cabrera’s musical ‘’Quien Mato a Hector Lavoe?” and Carmen Rivera’s “La Lupe: My Life, My Destiny.” He has
MUSICIANS
recorded, performed, and collaborated with musical figures such as Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Alvaro Torres, Tito Nieves, DLG, Lisette Melendez, Isidro Infante, and many more. He has also performed in various festivals in the United States, Peru, Australia, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Spain, Italy, and in the Caribbean Islands, such as the Tri-C Jazz Festival, El Festival National del Callao, Kalalu Festival of St. Lucia, La Feria de Cali and the Bacardi Sydney Festival among others.
Currently, Abraham can be seen as a member of such musical groups and artists as Jimmy Sabater Jr. y Los Salseros del Hudson, Kevin Ceballo, Groupo Caribe, and the world’s best charranga band, Orquesta Broadway, in some of the most famous venues in New York City.
Michael Wilson is an accomplished stage and studio musician. He has worked closely with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (for which he was awarded a gold and platinum record), as well as veteran producers Jack Douglas (Aerosmith, John Lennon) and Paul O’Neill (Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Aerosmith, Badlands). In 2005, Michael joined “Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway,” where he’s toured across the country as well as internationally, backing Broadway stars such as six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, Stephanie Block (“Wicked,” “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”), Rob Evan (“Jeckyl & Hyde,” “Les Miserables,” Trans-Siberian Orchestra), and Tony Vincent (“American Idiot,” NBC TV’s “The Voice”), among many others. He has appeared in several Broadway musicals, including the revival of “Smokey Joe’s Café,” “Tina - The Musical” (about the life of music legend Tina Turner), “Almost Famous,” and, most recently, “Back to the Future”. Mike has been the lead guitarist in “Neil Berg’s 50 Years of Rock & Roll” for the past seven years.