UB Department of Theatre and Dance to Present It Goes Like It Goes, The Music of David Shire

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Department of Theatre and Dance will present the world premiere production of It Goes Like It Goes, The Music of David Shire from Wednesday, Nov. 16 through Sunday, Nov. 20 in the Drama Theatre in the Center for the Arts, UB North Campus. Evening performances will be at 7:30 p.m. There will be matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.

It Goes Like It Goes, The Music of David Shire is a new musical compilation piece featuring the music of the Academy Award and Grammy Award winning composer. Conceived by Nathan R. Matthews, this full production with orchestra will include newly designed and executed sets, lights and costumes. David Shire and his wife, actress Didi Conn, will attend the opening night dinner, gala performance and reception. The honorary co-chairs for the gala evening are Kamlesh Tripathi and Carol Greiner. The event chair is Marilyn Ciancio, accompanied by gala committee members Marcy Dandes and Mary Ann Rokitka.

Shire, a Buffalo native, won the Academy Award for his song "It Goes Like It Goes," which he composed for the film, Norma Rae. He is a two-time Grammy Award winner and a multiple Tony and Emmy Award nominee. Shire composed scores and songs for many films, including All the President's Men, Farewell My Lovely, Max Dugan Returns, Return to Oz and Saturday Night Fever. He received Tony Award nominations for his music for the Broadway musicals, Baby and Big. He also composed the music for the Off-Broadway musicals Starting Here, Starting Now and Closer Than Ever. His musical, Take Flight, has received productions in Princeton, N.J.; London, England; and Tokyo, Japan. Shire's new musical, My History of Marriage, will be presented as part of the New York Musical Theater Festival's 2011 Invited Works Series. While growing up in Buffalo, Shire attended the Nichols School.

The production will be co-directed by Terry Berliner and Nathan R. Matthews. Berliner will also choreograph the production, and Matthews will serve as the show's music director and arranger.

Berliner, a New York-based director, writer and choreographer, specializes in developing and directing new plays and musicals. Her Broadway credits include The Lion King (resident director) as well as Tale of the Allergist's Wife, The Sound of Music and The Red Shoes. Berliner's Off-Broadway credits include Time and Again and Captains Courageous (Manhattan Theatre Club), Violet (Playwrights Horizons), Merrily We Roll Along (York Theatre) and Allegro (City Center). She received the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critic's Circle Award for her production of Bingo and a Roe Green Artist Grant for direction of the new musical Beneath the Surface by Caroline Murphy and Brett Macias. Her direction and choreography have been seen in regional theatres such as the La Jolla Playhouse, McCarter Theatre, Geva Theatre Centre and Arena Stage. Berliner is a member of the Lucille Lortel Voting Committee and serves as the associate artistic director of Fidelity Future Stage, a playwriting program for New York City Public School students.

Matthews, UB associate professor of music theatre and director of music theatre, is the founding producing artistic director of New York's Riverside Opera Ensemble where he has developed and produced new works of music theatre and has helmed events with the participation of Leonard Bernstein, Rosemary Harris and Harolyn Blackwell. Matthews served on the music staff of the Santa Fe Opera and has worked on Broadway, across North America and abroad with internationally acclaimed artists such as Dixie Carter, Mellissa Errico, Malcolm Gets, Mark Hamill and Anne Hathaway. In Western New York, Matthews has music directed/conducted at UB, the Irish Classical Theatre Company (A Man of No Importance), the Kavinoky Theatre (Glorious!), Musicalfare Theatre (Sweeney Todd) and at Artpark (Smokey Joe's Café). He also serves on the advisory board of the Amas Musical Theatre Company in New York City, a company celebrated for the development of new musicals.

The cast for It Goes Like It Goes, The Music of David Shire will be comprised of students from the UB music theatre and dance programs.

Tickets for It Goes Like It Goes, The Music of David Shire are $24 for the general public and $10 for students and senior citizens. All tickets for the Gala Opening on Nov. 16 are $24. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office (Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and all Ticketmaster locations, including ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS. Students (of any school) must present valid student ID at the Center for the Arts Box Office to receive a discount.