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Because the City program had no budget to pay royalties for existing plays, the Kemeny sisters employed the songwriting abilities gained through years of pop performing and began writing their own musical shows. Cheryl Kemeny says, “What began as necessity became a central focus for Crystal Theatre, which needed large cast ensemble musicals with lots of parts and songs in appropriate voice ranges for children of varying talents. We adapt each show to fit the ability levels of the youngsters in the class and allow them to explore different roles and try on new personalities.” Crystal Theater has produced more than 50 world premiers of original works by its staff and students. The diverse subject matter ranges from historical dramas (Revolution Norwalk, 1777, and Cleopatra: Her True Story) to serious social issues (Without Passion or Prejudice and Pulaski Park Rules) to light-hearted comedies (The Pirate Prince and Goose Alley Gang) to holiday favorites (Save Santa’s Workshop). Through its subsidiary, Crystal Theatre Publishing, these musicals have been made available to other theater groups. Crystal shows now are being performed from Harare in Zimbawe to Hong Kong to Calgary in Canada. In the 20 years since its founding, Crystal Theatre has trained 15,000 students ages six to 21 in musical performance techniques and has produced hundreds of shows for performers at all levels, from students to professionals. A number of Crystal alumni have gone on to professional theatrical careers. They include Broadway performances by Remy Zaken, currently in the Tony-award-winning musical Spring Awakening, Kyle Wrentz, who recently appeared in The Lion King, and Robin DeJesus, who returns to Broadway this fall in a featured role for In the Heights. Following her popular debut CD, Dirtie Blonde, Amie Miriello is recording a second album and touring the country. Erik Dies recently performed Off-Broadway with a comedy-improv troupe and Stephanie Fromentin is dancing and teaching in Paris, France. Today, Crystal Theatre, Inc. is Fairfield County’s foremost musical theater program with its own theater, rehearsal studios, office and workshop spaces at the former Ben Franklin School on Bayview Avenue in South Norwalk. In 2000, after years of performing in a variety of temporary venues and three years of renovation, Crystal finally had a permanent “home.” Performances of Classic, Original Crystal Theatre Musicals in Spotlight To celebrate its 20-year milestone, Crystal Theatre will perform four of Cheryl Kemeny’s classic historical musicals – Mother Jones and the March of the Mill Children in November and a trilogy comprised of Ellis Island, Living the American Dream and Whistleville in 2008. Mother Jones and the March of the Mill Children will be performed on two successive weekends: November 10-11 and 16-17. All shows will begin at 8 p.m. in the Ben Franklin Theatre, Bayview and Hillside Avenues, South Norwalk. Directions are available on the web site at www.crystaltheatre.org. Reservations can be made by calling 203-847-4850. The cast for the first weekend will feature current Crystal students. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors/students/children ages 16 and younger. The second weekend will be a benefit for the theater’s new seat campaign. Samantha Kulish and Jennifer Van Buskirk will reprise their roles from the original 1997 production, and the cast also will include many other Crystal alumni and teachers. The title role will be performed by author/composer/director Kemeny in her first appearance onstage in a Crystal Theatre show. The cast also will include Kemeny’s sister, Alex. According to Kemeny, “Presenting world premier musicals has become commonplace at Crystal and, for this special benefit, we wanted something novel that reflects what we do here and also celebrates our community. For past productions, I’ve preferred to be one of the musicians and put our students and professionals in the spotlight, but I’m looking forward to performing with this talented cast from our wonderful Crystal family. I’m especially excited to be performing onstage as a team again with Alex.” Kemeny was inspired to create a show about Mary Harris Jones, a.k.a. “Mother Jones, the miner’s angel”, while doing research for Living the American Dream. The author says, “The wealth of material about this remarkable and controversial union and children’s rights activist cried out for a play of its own. Although the majority of her activism involved coal miners, I focused on Mother Jones’ involvement with child labor because it would be the most relevant to Crystal Theatre students. The play is set in 1903, when Jones organized a march of ‘children’ (adults were also included) to gain attention for the cause of striking mill workers in Kensington, Pennsylvania. When she discovered that President Teddy Roosevelt was in his summer home at Oyster Bay, Long Island, she directed the march to New York. Mother Jones definitely was a woman who knew how to put on a show.” © Copyright by NorwalkPlus.com. Some articles and pictures posted on our website, as indicated by their bylines, were submitted as press releases and do not necessarily reflect the position and opinion of NorwalkPlus.com, Norwalk Plus magazine, Canaiden LLC or any of its associated entities. Articles may have been edited for brevity and grammar. 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