New Conservatory Theater Center Announces In-Concert Series

San Francisco’s New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) is winding down its eight-play mainstage season, but the company shows no signs of slowing down. The NCTC has just announced its 2006 In-Concert Series. The increasingly popular program features bare-bones stagings and workshop productions of new and classic musicals and cabaret performances. This year’s season, running July 13 to October 15, begins with the romantic comedy, Insignificant Others; continues with From Ballads to Blues: The Songs of Harold Arlen; and concludes with Rhinestone Cowgirl.

San Francisco’s own Jay Kuo—who penned the musical, Upwardly Mobile—wrote the book, music, and lyrics for Insignificant Others. The play, running July 13 to August 13, traces the adventures of five friends who move to San Francisco from the Midwest. Life in the big city strengthens the deep bonds they share with one another, as they attempt to overcome heartbreak through comedy and song. The show has been in development since May 2005, with a series of staged readings and workshop performances at St. Gregory of Nyssa Churchand the Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts. The NCTC presents a five-week workshop production, which will give the work a running start towards its world premiere (which has yet to be scheduled).

Even music aficionados may not recognize the name Harold Arlen. But people are sure to recognize many of the songs that he wrote, including “Over the Rainbow,” “Stormy Weather,” "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive," "Come Rain or Come Shine,” and “One More for My Baby (And One More for the Road).” Local cabaret star Meg McKay and acclaimed pianist Billy Philadelphia, whose onstage chemistry is elevated by the fact that they are married, will dig deep into Alren’s repertoire in From Ballads to Blues: The Songs of Harold Arlen, August 17 to September 17. McKay and Philadelphia were once hailed as “the royal couple of  San Francisco’s musical stage” by the San Francisco Chronicle.