Garry Marshall Theatre Presents
A Seasonal Thing
Starring CRYSTAL LEWIS
FRIDAY, JULY 12 at 8PM
SATURDAY, JULY 13 at 8PM
FRIDAY, JULY 19 at 8PM
SATURDAY, JULY 20 at 8PM
See GRAMMY nominated recording artist and performer Crystal Lewis starring on stage like never before. Journey with Crystal through seasons in nature and life as she explores family, love, loss and resilience through song and spectacle.
Show runs approximately 90 minutes with intermission
TICKETS:
JUL 13,19 & 20
$55 - $75
Interview with Producing Artistic Director, Joseph Leo Bwarie and GRAMMY-nominated artist, Crystal Lewis.
Joe, tell us about Crystal Lewis: A SEASONAL THING:
Joe: First off - I have to say that Crystal [Lewis] is a singer that I was introduced to in 2017. And she is a voice that every person should hear… especially live. “A Seasonal Thing” is her first-ever one-woman show from the POV of an artist who is known for her live concert performances. It's very much in the Crystal Lewis music identity, but with a throughline and narrative that's going to take us on a fun, vibrant, emotional journey. It is very different and it is the first time Crystal will be performing these songs from her new album of the same name “A Seasonal Thing.”
Crystal, what was your inspiration for writing the songs and releasing them in the album A SEASONAL THING?
Crystal: I think a huge part of it, initially for me, and one of the catalysts of the project, musically speaking, was my time living in Montana. I grew up in Southern California, and here… we don’t really have a familiarity with the seasons, so it was all new for me in Montana! I lived there for a decade and had this opportunity to observe, from a nature and weather perspective…wow, look how things change here and how different it all is…those years were very formative years for me. And of course the seasons in nature have some parallels to the seasons in a person’s life. I was in my late thirties when I moved there… and, well, there's a whole segment toward the end of the show where I'm going to share about what felt like a long, cold winter for me. Things I experienced but don’t typically talk about from stage. Those things that happened to me in that season, in those seasons….that's what kind of sparked the project for me to begin with.
That is true for so many of us.
Crystal: And, there are life lessons that we learn that don’t match up with the four seasons. I may be learning things that are scary and cold and dark, deep “wintery” lessons in the middle of the summer. Pulling from all of that, I wrapped them into this juxtaposition of deeply held emotional feelings and a selection of covers of my favorite jazz tunes. My original songs in the show are where the emotion and the depth of the story lie.
How did A SEASONAL THING find its way to the GMT?
Joe: I had talked to Crystal early on about “A Seasonal Thing” because “Jersey Boys,” the show I performed in for nine years, was also about the seasons – The Four Seasons – and the story was also broken up into spring, summer, fall and winter.
Crystal: Which is bizarre because I did not know that, Joe! I mean I know Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, but I did not know that you were in that show for all that time.
Joe: That was basically a decade of my life. Like your decade in Montana. The show was similar to yours in that the scenes are intense, and then we sing “Sherry” or “Dawn” because it is fun and familiar and the audience loves the entire journey because you learn something new in the inbetween song dialogue.
Crystal: It’s wild to me, those similarities having never seen Jersey Boys and that you're connected to that show and now to my show.
Joe: People love “Jersey Boys” and people are going to love “A Seasonal Thing.”
What are the mixes of music between originals and covers?
Crystal: Each season has three songs - two are covers and one is an original.
So there's one original per season, and I close with an original that I adore, and I'm gonna open with a surprise cover and a surprise how it’s going to happen! I’m very excited.
Joe, what drew you to this project?
Joe: Crystal is what drew me to it!! You know one of the things that Garry was known for was making sure artists had a platform, a way for people to see their work. And it's really exciting when artists are given the opportunity to kind of cross over into sharing their stories on different stages and in different ways.
Crystal, this seems like this show is a little bit of a different way for your storytelling, is that correct?
Crystal: Yeah, that's accurate. I mean, I have grown up on the stage. I started in musicals. I did a show on Nickelodeon [“Round House”] and I grew up singing in church. I started recording professionally at age 15 so I am very comfortable on stage and in the studio. These days, my concerts are usually in a bar/restaurant setting, but I think I am closer to a place in my life where I am ready to be more vulnerable in front of a captive audience - in a theatre.
And if I had not gone into music, I would have gone into fashion! And pulling from that, I also like telling a story through what I'm wearing, as well as what I'm saying, and what I'm singing – like all those layers of me are coming together in one place and that feels really new! And so excited to be back on stage with a new way to share my stories at the GMT!
Joe: When I am wearing my singer hat, and as someone who also stands in a similar position as Crystal as a performing artist, I think there is a pure joy in being able to share that vulnerability with an audience. And I am here to just help guide the process, to help carve out moments and help clarify the storytelling through tech, or words, or beats, or orchestrations or whatever it may be to help make this a show that’s specifically for our theatre.
Speaking of orchestrations, tell us about the band?
Crystal: The band is four pieces and I always say it's a trio and a trumpet…piano, upright bass, and drums. Adam Bravo on piano, Lyman Medeiros on bass, Bryan Taylor on drums, and Tony Guerrero on trumpet.
Tony is my Musical Director and I've been working with him on the production side and co-writing with him since 2016. This particular group of four guys are the ones who worked in the studio and recorded all of the “seasonal songs” and they are the only ones that have been on stage and played all my shows the last 2 years. And I think it is interesting to note that I released each song once a month starting in spring of 2023. So…I have never done them in their entirety on stage! I have never performed all of it live in its entirety! So I'm really excited about that.
Finally, what can an audience member expect to feel coming to see A SEASONAL THING at The GMT?
Crystal: I think they can be ready to go on an emotional journey with me…not super high “highs” or low “lows” - but I hope that sharing my stories will move them, in addition to entertaining them. I guess I am inviting them in to hear the stories that helped me create the songs.
My “A Seasonal Thing” social videos are the behind the scenes of making the songs…this show will be the behind the scenes of making a life.
Joe: People should come ready for colorful stories from a vibrant artist. Come ready to experience an amazing artist at the top of her game!
* Ticket price does not include fees, parking, merchandise, or concessions. Due to the nature of live theatre and events, artists and special guests are subject to change.