Revival Theatre bringing in favorites for fundraising concert in Cedar Rapids

Sometimes the stars line up just right.

When Broadway’s Ezekiel Andrew offered to do a fundraising concert for Revival Theatre Company, of course the answer was a resounding “yes.”

“The timing was perfect,” said Brian Glick, co-founder and artistic director for Revival Theatre, a professional troupe entering its 10th year of staging musical theater gems in Cedar Rapids.

After canceling “Sunset Boulevard,” originally slated for late September, bringing back fan-favorite Andrew was a golden opportunity for Glick and company to raise funds to offset royalties and other expenses for the upcoming milestone season.

The event will be staged Nov. 15 at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids. Joining Andrew in the spotlight are favorite local artists Amy Friedl Stoner and Alicia Monee, with Garrett Taylor of New York on piano.

If you go

What: Revival Theatre Company: An Evening with Ezekiel Andrew

Featuring: Vocalists Amy Friedl Stoner and Alicia Monee, with Garrett Taylor on piano; songs from “Ragtime,” “Evita,” “The Color Purple” and more

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023

Where: CSPS Hall, 1103 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids

Tickets: $52 general admission; cspshall.org/ezekiel-andrew

Fundraiser: Proceeds will support royalties and other expenses for Revival Theatre Company's 10th season

Andrew in C.R.

Andrew charmed Cedar Rapids audiences during Revival Theatre’s 2018 production of “Ragtime.” He also participated in the 2020 Iowa Concert of Hope that Glick organized to benefit derecho relief efforts. Andrew then came back to sing in the 2021 Brucemorchestra concert, featuring the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Revival Theatre Company partnered with Orchestra Iowa to bring in showstopping performers with Broadway and local ties for an enchanted evening on the front lawn at Brucemore mansion.

In between all that, Andrew joined the cast of “The Lion King” in New York. He’s still performing in the Broadway ensemble and as an understudy, stepping into the lead role of Mufasa as needed. Eagle-eyed viewers also may have caught a glimpse of him marching with his castmates in the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“He went from Brucemorchestra to ‘Lion King.’ That’s how it works in Cedar Rapids,” Glick said. “He’s got a group of people here who follow what he does, so (the upcoming concert) seemed like a nice thing to do.”

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Glick also was pleased when Andrew said he’d like to have a couple other singers perform with him. And since he worked with audience favorites Stoner and Monee in “Ragtime,” Glick said “it made sense that the three of them were a good pairing.” So naturally, the concert will feature a montage from “Ragtime.”

Andrew also will offer up some numbers from “Big River” and “The Lion King,” which he has performed elsewhere. From past Revival starring moments, Monee will sing from “The Color Purple,” and Stoner from “Evita.” American Songbook standards will round out the repertoire.

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“The majority of the night will be reflecting on musicals that they’ve been part of either with us or in their career,” Glick noted.

More Broadway

Taylor, an Illinois native who works as a musical director and singer on the East Coast, originally was cast in Revival’s production of “The End of the Rainbow.” But that show got put on hold during the pandemic, and when it was rescheduled for October 2021, he was no longer available. Next, he was tapped for “Sunset Boulevard,” which was canceled.

His ties to Revival Theatre come from working with Glick in the Drama League in New York City.

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“We’ve been very good friends ever since,” Glick said. “He has quite the resume in terms of musical direction, from Broadway to the Kennedy Center to some of the biggest playhouses in the country,” including playing in the pit for “Wicked” on Broadway for nearly 15 years.

“I’ve been wanting to bring him back,” Glick said. “We’re looking at having him do at least one show a year with us, as his schedule allows.”

While in Cedar Rapids, Garrett and Andrew also will be stepping off the stage to do master classes with students at Jefferson High School.

“It’s a really great way to bring education into the community” from these Broadway veterans, Glick said, and he’s grateful for the support from the Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation’s private funds and donations to make that possible.

Moving forward

He’s also grateful for financial support in staging the concert at CSPS.

“One of the great things about this event is it’s been fully funded through sponsorships, so we will be able to receive 100 percent of the ticket sales from that evening,” he said. “We’re also looking at a match that evening, as well, to raise additional funds.”

Those who attend the concert will be the first to hear about Revival Theatre Company’s future initiatives. The wider public announcement will come later.

The cancellation of “Sunset Boulevard” and need to raise funds are residual effects from the pandemic.

“Theaters across the country are struggling post-pandemic, across the board,” Glick said. “Everyone has seen a 30 percent drop in attendance. We've seen a drop in individual and corporate support.

“Everyone, including us, are still feeling the effects of COVID and how society has changed — and how to navigate that. When you do a show where attendance is low, you're impacted by that loss of revenue. And for us, it wasn't only that, but it was the passing of (co-founder and musical director) Cameron (Sullenberger).

“The combination of those things just caught up with us over time. We produce shows, and we produce expensive shows. …

“We saw the writing on the wall looking ahead, and said if we move forward with ‘Sunset,’ we are going to be in a place where we may have to close our doors. If we put a stop to this now, we can gain control and take the time necessary to do the things we need to do to get back on our feet.

“The great thing about all of this is that we brought Hilery Livengood on board. She is an incredible fundraiser and knows the community, has a history in fundraising and development and capital campaigns.”

Even though he said they were making “great strides” to fill the projected revenue loss from “Sunset Boulevard,” they just didn’t have enough time to do that before rehearsals would start.

“It wasn't because nobody was working hard enough, we just needed more time,” he said. “We've seen a lot of change. We used to be at Coe College, and they were very generous with the cost of their venues. We don't have that anymore. We're growing as a company and we have more storage needs, which means more rental — just all those sorts of common growing pains.

“It just kind of all came to a head and we had to put the brakes on.”

On solid footing

Part of fundraising means being good stewards of that money, he said, adding that donors and sponsors have been very supportive of the troupe’s steps to get on solid financial footing.

“By spending this next year regrouping and raising the money we need to have to operate and to do the kind of programming we want to do, it’s necessary,” he said. “But it's a double-edged sword, because you can’t ask someone to give you funds and not have programming. It’s sort of like going door-to-door and asking someone to give you money, but you can’t tell them why.”

That’s where an event like the upcoming concert comes into play, “so that we can get people in the doors, remind them why we do what we do and why it's important — we can't do it without them, so we need their support,” he said.

“The great thing about RTC is we don't have any debt. So when we ask people to give, we’re not saying, ‘Hey, help us pay off a bill.’ That money is going right into our pockets to use to build the company. It’s taken some time, and it’s been very tedious to navigate through what I would call ‘dark days,’ but we're getting there. …

“And I think we’re gonna be just fine, but this next year will be a true test as to how we get there,” he said.

He sees transparency as the silver lining among theaters struggling to recover from the pandemic.

“It’s saying, ‘Hey, times are hard, we are struggling, things are changing faster than the theater companies can keep up with, and we need your help. If you can’t write a check, then be an advocate. If you wrote a check, write a bigger check.’

“Anything you can do to see that these institutions and organizations survive, because they are the fabric of our community,” he said. “They are the arts and culture of our community, and without them, it could be a lame place to live.”

Revival, being an all-professional company, works with local professionals and brings in professionals from around the country to stage an all-musical theater repertoire.

“We share something unique and important to the fabric of the community,” Glick pointed out. “We believe in the work we do. We're proud of the consistent quality of the work we do, and we’ve heard that from our stakeholders and our patrons.

“We’re hoping that our track record, our product, is something that people will continue to support.”

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com