Breakout Session
The Ladies of Lyric and Song: Female Composers and Lyricists of the American Musical Theatre
Sunday, July 10 • 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Presenters: Erin Guinup, Patti Cohenour, and Margie Skreen (piano)
Introduced by: Linda Snyder
Location: Chicago Ballroom ABC
This unique theatrical program combines elements of lecture and recital into a fast-paced presentation that traces the history of musical theatre through the trailblazing women who have written music and lyrics. Directed by and co-written with Tony-award nominee Patti Cohenour, soprano Erin Guinup takes a musical journey through 100 years of musical theatre history and performs excerpts of 26 songs while sharing fascinating stories that illuminate some of the challenges these female composers and lyricists faced. These songs reflect the styles of their time and include operetta, jazz, golden era, folk rock, and contemporary cabaret. These women succeeded against overwhelming odds and their music and stories are inspirational.
About Erin Guinup
Erin Guinup has appeared with Northwest Sinfonietta, Tacoma Opera, Northwest Repertory Singers, Ensign Symphony & Chorus and Tacoma Concert Band with diverse repertoire including Handel's Messiah, Carmina Burana, La Bohème, and The Sound of Music and was a featured soloist for Jennifer Thomas Live at Benaroya Hall which recently won the Indie Music Channel award for Best Live Classical Performance. She co-wrote and performs "The Ladies of Lyric and Song: Female Composers and Lyricists of the American Musical Theatre” which has been presented nationally and called "an amazing tour-de-force." Ms. Guinup is also a conductor and directed the world premiere and recordings of Mark Mitchell & Orson Scott Card’s He is There. Her voice students have appeared on European opera stages, Broadway and national musical tours and television’s The Voice and American Idol. She recently began offering a course to businesses called “Musically Spoken” incorporating singing principles into workplace communication. She has served as President of the Tahoma Chapter of NATS and was selected for the NATS Intern Program.
Patti Cohenour collaborated with Ms. Erin Guinup in the writing of the The Ladies of Lyric and Song and served as both director and projection imagery creator. She is currently in the company of the Goodman Theatre’s production of the new musical War Paint as the Standby for the role of Elizabeth Arden, and also appeared at the Goodman as Signora Naccarelli in The Light in the Piazza before reprising her role and performing as the Margaret Alternate in the Lincoln Center Theatre's production. She has originated the following Broadway roles: Christine in The Phantom of the Opera (also Canada), Rosabud in The Mystery of Edwin Drood (also London, UK), Mary Jane in Big River, and the Mother Abbess for the 1998 Revival of The Sound of Music. Ms. Cohenour is a recipient of a Tony nomination, two Drama Desk nominations, the Clarence Derwent Award, a Theatre World Award, a Chicago Jeff Award nomination, and a Gregory Award for her role as Edith/Little Edie in the Seattle ACT Theater's production of Grey Gardens.
Margie Skreen is an accomplished pianist and has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, appeared as a soloist with the Tacoma Symphony, and accompanied the Northwest Repertory Singers since their founding in 2001. Ms. Skreen serves as music director and organist at Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church in Gig Harbor, taught on the Pierce College faculty and is a highly acclaimed Suzuki piano teacher.
