A Different Type of Dinner Theater Presented in Mt. Kisco This Weekend
Director-producer-performer Katie Schmidt Feder, formerly executive director of Embark Peekskill and Garrison Art Center, has created “A Moveable Musical Feast” to spread the word and establish an audience for Theatre in the Wood, a new theatrical and culinary production company she formed last fall.
Performances featuring a compilation of music from Broadway shows is scheduled for this Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco at 7 p.m.
Feder conjured a traveling musical revue that combines music – often relating to food – with staging and choreography that cleverly delivers a meal to the guests who are seated at elegant dining tables.
The goal is to capture the feel of a dinner party where your hosts provide not only elevated food, but high-level entertainment as well.
Music in the show comes from several well-known and a few lesser-known Broadway shows. Guests will hear works from “The Baker’s Wife” by Stephen Schwartz of “Wicked” fame; a little Sondheim, including the “Sweeney Todd” song about “creatively sourcing” a main ingredient; “A Little Priest”; and when it comes to dessert and pie, a few songs are served from the musical “Waitress” by Sara Bareilles.
Group numbers, which often leave the stage to interact and surround the audience, lend to the immersive feel of the show.
The talented cast of six professionals – each unique in their experience, training, vocal styles and character types offer a high-level interpretation of the selected songs and still manage to get to the food to the tables.
Mario Giacalone brings over 50 years’ experience as a musician, actor and director. He’s been artistic director at MSTS and Creative Acting Company, where he wrote and directed plays and short films.
Laura Donaldson-Inzeo is well-known to Westchester audiences for her roles including Belle in “Beauty and the Beast,” Fantine in “Les Miserables,” Florence in “Chess,” the Witch in “Into the Woods” and many more.
Travis Ramirez is a classically trained opera tenor who has performed many leading opera roles including Renato Des Grieux in “Manon Lescaut,” Alfredo in “La Traviata” and El Dancaïre in “Carmen” in main stage opera houses throughout the Hudson Valley.
Joel Weber Knopf is a composer and lyricist whose musical “The Last Ibex” was produced at the Colorado New Music Festival and was developed at Off-Off Broadway Theater The Tank in New York City.
Melody Munitz is a recent graduate of Penn State with degrees in musical theater and psychology. Her regional and tour performances credits include Hodel in “Fiddler on the Roof,” “American Girl Live” national tour, “Bioadapted” at the Culture Lab LIC, Elizabeth in “Pride and Prejudice.”
Feder brings 40 years performance experience in all types of theater with roles such as Sally Bowles in “Cabaret,” Squeaky Fromme in “Assassins,” Titania in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and most recently Mr. Bennet/Charlotte in “Pride and Prejudice.”
The project is supported by Technical Director Gene Panczenko; and Food and House Coordinators Christine Fonsale Rogerson and Christine Ortiz. Additional server/singers are Nick Nazario and Jessica Beitscher.
Salads and entrees are catered by Amore Italian Kitchen of Katonah. Desserts come from Baked by Susan in Croton-on-Hudson and the Cake Box in Ridgefield, Conn. The all-inclusive meal also includes wine, beer or mocktail and coffee or tea.
The vision of Theatre in the Wood encompasses a little of the nostalgia and fun of dinner theaters of the past with elevated culinary expectations staged in romantic, historical and nature-inspired settings. The mission is to perpetuate the art of musical theater and provide work for its practitioners.
The inaugural production of “A Movable Musical Feast” was staged at the Fourth Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Mohegan Lake in February. The lovely sanctuary with its many windows, nestled in a wooded area provided the perfect intimate setting. The three performances were nearly sold out and the audience response was overwhelmingly positive.
The evening is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. The Great Hall at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco is located at 605 Millwood Rd. in Mount Kisco. Ticket price includes performance, salad, choice of three entrees, wine, beer or mocktail, dessert and coffee or tea. Tickets are $125 per person. Ticket sales end the afternoon of each performance. No tickets will be sold at the door.
For tickets and more information, visit www.theatreinthewood.com.
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