AMERICAN MUSIC THEATRE PROJECT

Looking Back on the Voyage

2010-10-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

We're traveling down memory lane to our fantastic summer with Neil Bartram and Brian Hill's NOT WANTED ON THE VOYAGE.

Check out this video of our cast looking back at the process.

Voyage Asks: What's Your Favorite Animal?

2010-08-02T11:50:00.001-07:00

Not Wanted on the Voyage wants to know which creatures you'd most want to go on the Voyage!

FINAL PERFORMANCES THIS WEEKEND! August 5-8th!

Get your tickets by clicking here!

For more information, explore our website!

Voyage Celebration Performance!

2010-07-26T13:55:00.001-07:00

The Not Wanted on the Voyage creative team including Heather Schmucker (Producer), Maija Garcia (choreographer), David Holcenberg (music director), Amanda Dehnert (director), Neil Bartram (music and lyrics), and Brian Hill (book)

David Holcenberg (music director) with Alex Goldklang (Voyage cast member) and Ian Weinberger (music assistant)

Koko Cooper (marketing manager) with Chris Jahnke (orchestrator)

Neil Bartram and Brian Hill converse with friends

Justin Kim (Voyage cast member) and his mother

Cast members, Joey Eovaldi, Stephanie Park, and Olivia Popovich

Heather Schmucker (producer) with Andrew Damer (Broadway in Chicago marketing director) and Eileen LaCario (Broadway in Chicago Vice President)

Dominic Missimi (American Music Theatre Project Executive Director) with Neil Bartram (music and lyrics) and Brian Hill (book)

Barbara O'Keefe (Dean of the School of Communication), Sally Eidman (cast member, Mrs. Noyes), and Dominic Missimi

Ava Elizabeth Davis (cast member, Agnes) with her parents

Travis Shupe (moving light programmer) and Lee Fiskness (lighting designer)

Heather Schmucker, Dominic Missimi, and Rives Collins (Chair, Northwestern University Theatre Department)

Director, Amanda Dehnert, with members of the Voyage cast and crew

Richard Maltby, Jr. (American theatre director and producer) with daughter Emily Maltby (assistant director)

Alok Nadig (Voyage cast member) with his mother

Neil Bartram and Brian Hill with Voyage cast members

The Not Wanted on the Voyage Marketing team with Heather Schmucker

A riotous standing ovation and post-show reception followed the celebration performance of Not Wanted on the Voyage!

Performances run through August 8, so don't get left behind! Get your tickets by clicking here!

On Thursday, July 29, a talk-back with the cast and members of the creative team will follow the 8pm performance!

Audience Reactions to Not Wanted on the Voyage!

2010-07-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

For more information, check out our website by clicking here!

There are 3 weekends left of performances so book your passes for the Voyage today!

Voyage Interviews Director, Amanda Dehnert and Cast!

2010-07-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

Director, Amanda Dehnert, and choreographer, Maija Garcia

Amanda Dehnert converses with Andrew Howard (Mr. Noyes)

Darren Barerre (The Guest) and Andrew Howard (Mr. Noyes)

Voyage is filled with magic and spectacle

Britt Banaszynski (Lucy) and Brian Bohr (Michael, Ensemble)

Prepare to be amazed!

Not Wanted on the Voyage opens Friday, July 16 and runs until August 8! Get your tickets today by clicking here!

Voyage's Cute Animal Photo Contest!

2010-07-13T13:43:00.001-07:00

Our first Photo Contest on Facebook ended this week! Check out some of our cute contestants here!

Einstein, a 6 year old Siamese cat

A sassy chihuahua at a street fair

Ursa Minor back in her puppy days

Gerry the Gecko!

The always class, Bogie

Tank Wolf received the most votes to take the top prize in our Cute Animal Photo Contest! Tank has worked with special needs kids and currently looks after a blind pekingese at the dog park he frequents!

Stay tuned for our next photo contest launching this week on our Facebook page!

Voyage Photo Shoot

2010-07-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

The cast of Not Wanted on the Voyage heads to the beach for a promotional photo shoot!

“I went to the beach to do a photo shoot for Voyage. We all got into makeshift costumes (since our real ones were still being made just for us in the costume shop) and headed to the beach. The flowery dress and apron I was wearing were a little more "Little House on the Prairie" than I would tend to go for standard beach attire, but it was fun to feel like my character, Emma, in costume and outside of the rehearsal room. Emma is young and she asks a lot of questions and she's not exactly sure how she came to be a part of the Noyes family, so in my outfit and in the water, I didn't have any trouble imagining her confused state (FULLY DRESSED PEOPLE + LAKE = CONFUSING). Even the life guards on South Beach were a little confused when we started taking pictures and arranging luggage in the water. The entire experience was a blast. We all really just wanted to go swimming, despite being fully clothed, especially since the water was so pleasant (which I can't really say was true during either of my other recent beach excursions). I came the closest...Nate Trinrud (Japeth) picked me up to carry me in from the water and managed to plop me down just before we made it back to the shore. OOPS! Anyway, The Noyes Family does the beach very well. Glad I got to be a part of the field trip.” – Betsy Hogg (Emma)

Nate (Japeth) carries Betsy (Emma)

“The Voyage shoot was such a blast. It gave the family a chance to do some real Meisner work. We WERE that family. We found that land. But really, it was very America’s Next Top Model. We smiled with our eyes, waded through that water, and got a little dirty- all without the reality TV drama. Tyra Banks would have been proud. The highlight of the experience? When Kelley (Mottyl) tried to sit on a floating suitcase and went tumbling into the water. That girl is just as funny off stage as she is on.” – Sally Eidman (Mrs. Noyes)

Sally (Mrs. Noyes) and Kelley (Mottyl) play around with floating luggage

What's in your luggage?

The cast with director, Amanda Dehnert

The cast and crew enjoying an afternoon on the beach!

Not Wanted on the Voyage opens next week on Friday, July 16! Get your tickets online by clicking here. Tickets are selling out, so reserve yours today!

Voyage Marketing Team heads to the Pride Parade

2010-07-02T14:01:00.001-07:00

The Not Wanted on the Voyage marketing team joins forces with Broadway in Chicago yet again for another exciting promotional opportunity! This time: the Chicago Pride Parade!

Read on for some thoughts and photos about the thrilling experience:

“Thanks to everyone at Broadway in Chicago for hosting us on the float. It was such a fun day! Of course, my neck is sore from flipping my hair to the music, I have a bruise the size of an orange on my arm and gravel in my knee from when I wiped out and I look like a tomato…but I wouldn’t trade any of those things!” - Koko Cooper Marketing & Communications Manager, Northwestern University)

The Not Wanted on the Voyage marketing team passes out Voyage promotional items alongside the Broadway in Chicago marketing team

“Goodness. After a morning of torrential downpours, my hopes were low for the day of this parade. With raincoat in hand and sunscreen nowhere to be seen, I left the house expecting that even this long-running Chicago tradition might not make it through the rain. I was about as wrong as could be. What followed was a day of endless sunshine, dog tag crazy fans, cut-off t-shirts and tan lines that will be visible for weeks. Thank you Chicago for letting your “Freak Flag Fly” and embracing us so warmly.” – Steve McQuown (Marketing Director, NOT WANTED ON THE VOYAGE)

“This was the first time I’ve ever been to a Pride Parade so I had no idea what to expect. What an amazing experience it was to interact with thousands of happy people sharing so much love (never have so many people wanted to hug and kiss me since I was a baby!). My favorite moment was dancing along the street and seeing so many people singing along to the songs blasted by Broadway In Chicago (there are more theatre enthusiasts than you might think)! Singing showtunes and dancing down Chicago streets is something you can’t do everyday…let’s change that!” – Justin Barbin (Marketing Team, NOT WANTED ON THE VOYAGE)

The Not Wanted on the Voyage Marketing Team after the parade

Thank you, Broadway in Chicago, for another amazing opportunity to spread the word about Not Wanted on the Voyage!

The Process of Making "Not Wanted on the Voyage"

2010-07-02T10:07:00.001-07:00

Voyage journeys to the Taste of Chicago!

2010-06-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

On Monday, June 28, 2010, the ensemble members of "Not Wanted on the Voyage" ventured downtown to perform at the Broadway In Chicago Concert at Taste of Chicago! Performing alongside the talented casts of Wicked, Shrek, The Lion King, and more, the appearance was made possible by AMTP's partnership with Broadway in Chicago.

BIC Vice President, Eileen LaCario and Marketing Director, Andrew Damer, teach a marketing practicum for undergraduate students from Northwestern University that focuses on marketing for new musicals in development. Currently, they oversee a student marketing team for NOT WANTED ON THE VOYAGE.

Here are a few words and photos from the cast's experience:

"The 'Taste' performance was like nothing I had ever experienced before. We were so delicately thrust into the same backstage room as Diana DeGarmo, Constantine Maroulis, and the Billy Elliot kid I just read about last week in the newspaper. It was particularly fun to re-meet Constantine, given that I fetched him coffee almost every day for two months last summer when I worked at his talent agency in New York! Most exhilarating for me, however, was hearing the orchestrations for our medley and making sense of how our singing fit into them! That was a thrill-and-a-half!" - Alex Goldklang

Lillian, Brian, and Alex from the cast of "Not Wanted on the Voyage" waiting for rehearsals to start

The ensemble get ready to take the stage for rehearsals

Neil Bartram (Composer & Lyricist for Voyage) and Heather Schmucker (Producer of Voyage) excited to watch the cast rehearse

"My experience at the taste was above and beyond what I ever expected. I kind of went into it like "okay this is cool" But I left like "WOW that was amazing" - even at the very beginning when the Not Wanted on the Voyage cast walked down the steps to the hospitality room and saw Constantine from Idol and Rock of ages, on his I-Phone! Later I muffled up courage to speak to him and take a picture. In the dressing rooms, in walked Glinda and Elphaba from wicked. Glinda quickly and unhesitantly, gave her opinion of which dress I should wear. We chatted for about 10 minutes. My heart skipped a beat when I met my favorite character of all time from my favorite musical of all time - Nala in the lion king. We talked for a while. She asked if I was working with Brian Hill and I said yes! She wanted me to give Brian hill her love and she raved at how awesome he was. At that moment I truly took honor in being a part of history in the making! Over all being on the stage with this beautiful cast of all different backgrounds of life, coming together in harmony on one accord, jamming out on the best stage in the world was absolutely priceless!" - Ava Elizabeth Davis

Ava with Nala from the Lion King

Constantine Mouralis (Rock of Ages, American Idol) and Ava

Ava and Shrek!

Andrea and Diana DeGarmo (Hair, American Idol)

Don't be nervous, Andrea! It's only a crowd of over 10,000 people! ;)

It's show time!

This incredible performance opportunity would not have been possible without our wonderful friends at Broadway in Chicago! Congratulations on a fantastic performance, everyone!

...everyone's got a little baggage

2010-04-26T01:17:00.000-07:00

NOT WANTED ON THE VOYAGE is a provocative new musical about an ordinary family faced with extraordinary circumstances. Secrets lie just beneath the surface in this darkly funny, modern re-imagining of the Great Flood – the first time the world ended. Dynamic Broadway writers Neil Bartram and Brian Hill have teamed up with award-winning director Amanda Dehnert to create an epic production, complete with rain, fire, magic and a soaring, eclectic score.

Based on the novel by Timothy Findley
Music & Lyrics by Neil Bartram
Book by Brian Hill
Directed by Amanda Dehnert

Produced by the American Music Theatre Project at Northwestern University.

The Voyage embarks July 16 - August 8