Asheville – Asheville Musical Theater made a splash on the local performing arts scene with a sold-out debut season in 2023. Now, the new musical theater company is hoping to continue its streak of well-received shows with its 2024 season.
Asheville Musical Theater will present two shows during the month of July at the Diana Wortham Theater, and the creative team hopes to highlight both Asheville’s vibrant downtown, and the vibrant local artistic community.
“Our season promises an eclectic mix of performances that will hopefully captivate audiences and leave a lasting impression,” says Asheville Musical Theatre founder and Executive Director J. Ethan Henry.
Songs for a New World is showing July 16–21 at the Tina McGuire Theatre at Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. The first musical from Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown, Songs for a New World is a moving collection of powerful songs which examines life, love, and the choices that we make. The performance features local artists Naimah Coleman, Richie Barrella, Samantha Resnik, Maddy Curtis, Arizona Hall, and Shua Scilex under the direction of Destini Flemming and the music direction of Aleisa Baker.
Asheville Musical Theater continues the season with the regional premiere of Daddy Long Legs, showing July 25–28. The musical is directed by Executive Director J. Ethan Henry, with music direction by Gabrielle Tee. Set in turn-of-the-century New England, the musical tells the moving story of orphan Jerusha Abbott (Madison Garris) of the John Grier Home and her mysterious benefactor Jervis (Maximilian Koger) who changes the course of her life. The story is based on the classic novel of the same title and inspired the 1955 movie starring Fred Astaire.
The season wraps up with Spring Awakening, showing September 5-8 at the Wortham. The winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Entertainment Weekly called the piece “the most gorgeous Broadway score this decade.” Tickets for all three productions are available at www.avlmt.org.
Asheville Musical Theater, now in its second year, has been a deeply personal passion project for founder and director Ethan Henry. “This company was born out of a profound desire to provide the kind of opportunities to the community that I, myself, wished I had growing up,” said Henry. The company’s foundation is built on the principles of challenging and educating audiences through meaningful art while ensuring a truly entertaining experience.
“We aim to be more than just a theater; we strive to create a haven for a vibrant artistic community—a place of belonging where creativity knows no bounds, and it’s so important to me that this happens here in my hometown of Asheville, NC.” Henry says.
Since the inaugural 2023 season, Asheville Musical Theater has grown rapidly, increasing from just one to three performances within the season. “We quadrupled the number of artists that we are able to employ and hope to keep growing,” said Henry. “We are working to push the limits of professionalism, art, and overall humanity with each step that we take.”
An experienced performer himself, Henry also sees an opportunity for the fledgling company to make an impact on the difficult entertainment industry as a whole. “We are doing our due diligence to do this correctly from the beginning,” said Henry. “This is nearly 100 years of American theater, and with a century-old industry comes some baggage and systematic practices that may be antiquated or no longer necessary. We have a unique ability to truly create a healthy space for artists to come together, be safe, be protected, and overall do what they love.”
Like many other performing arts organizations in Asheville, finding funding for productions is a daunting challenge. “Theatre can be a very expensive art form. For instance, to produce Spring Awakening, it will cost nearly $14,000 just to get the license and scripts. That is before we pay an artist or sew a costume,” said Henry. The company relies on community support and donations to reach its financial goals, as well as ticket sales. Henry expects to build additional audience support and trust over time.
“My hope is that with each step we take, we build trust with our community, and together we can create an incredible place to produce art,” said Henry. “Asheville has such a vibrant arts scene, and I have loved it my entire life. I want to genuinely contribute to the cultural landscape here and be a part of this fantastic community.”