Grease is the Word for Musical Theatre Alumni
By Amy Milgrub Marshall
From left: Matt Hydzik, P.J. Baccari and Jason Shuffler.
Jason Shuffler, P.J. Baccari and Matt Hydzik must have been “born to hand jive.” Shortly after leaving Penn State’s musical theatre program, all three snagged roles in Phoenix Productions’ national tour of Grease, the much-loved musical that has delighted fans of all ages for more than 30 years.
“It’s a neat phenomenon to be part of this show, because everybody knows Grease,” says Shuffler (’02 B.F.A. Theatre), who is a member of the production’s ensemble and an understudy for a number of roles. He has been with the tour since its inception in summer 2002. “We see 3-year-olds in poodle skirts who are excited about seeing our show—that proves Grease is for everyone.”
Baccari (’02 B.F.A. Theatre), who plays Sonny, joined the cast in summer 2003. After spending a year performing in dinner theaters, he was thrilled to get a part in a national tour. Although he was new to touring, joining the production was still somewhat of a homecoming—he got to live and work with Jason again, his former college roommate.
That Penn State connection helped P.J. land the role. When the production needed a new Sonny, Shuffler encouraged director Ray DeMattis to contact Baccari. DeMattis had seen Baccari perform at Penn State’s annual musical theatre senior showcase in New York City in May 2002. DeMattis called him, and although P.J. couldn’t make the live auditions, he submitted an audition tape that got him the part.
Baccari says touring is an incredible experience. “I love the change of scenery, and this show is fun to do, no matter how many times you do it,” he adds. “This is what we were preparing for at Penn State.”
Baccari and Shuffler agree that touring with other Penn Staters makes the stressful schedule a little easier. “On tour you strive for a sense of grounding, and working with other Penn Staters helps you achieve that,” Shuffler notes.
The cast typically performs every night but Monday, with two shows per day on the weekends. When they’re lucky, they perform at the same place for several nights in a row, giving them a break from the tour bus. The upside to the constant traveling is the chance to perform at a variety of venues across the United States—from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles (home of the Academy Awards®) to community performing arts centers to even a junior high school in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Grease has a long history on the stage, although most people are more familiar with the movie version that made stars out of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The musical opened off-Broadway in 1972 and soon moved to Broadway, running for eight years and almost 3,400 performances. Unlike other recent stage versions, Phoenix Productions’ Grease includes three songs made popular by the movie— “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” “You’re the One That I Want” and Barry Gibb’s “Grease.”
Another movie crossover in Phoenix Productions’ Grease—and one that has female fans screaming—is Frankie Avalon. He reprises his film role as Teen Angel and also serves as a mentor to the many young people who make up the cast. “It’s amazing to work with Frankie. He’s so down-to-earth and gracious, despite his fame,” says Shuffler. “And it’s great to be on stage with a legitimate star—women still scream and throw roses at him!”
Except for Avalon, most of the cast members are new to the professional world of musical theatre. They’re recent college graduates in their early to mid-20s, which means they often share stories about their college experiences. And according to Shuffler, Penn State’s musical theatre program definitely stands out.
“Penn State musical theatre students receive an overwhelming amount of support from the University administration, which makes the college experience more meaningful for us,” he explains. Another factor that sets the program apart is the performing opportunities. “We got to do many cabaret-style performances, which was a huge training factor because you performed in spaces you hadn’t seen before— like on a tour,” says Shuffler. “This training on your feet is unique to Penn State.”
Shuffler and Baccari agree that Penn State definitely prepared them for the touring life—from the hectic schedule to the variety of performance venues. And despite the challenges, they wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. As Shuffler notes, “Next to Broadway, this is one of the best gigs you can get.”
Class Notes
Architecture
Wilson F. Pollock (’63 B.Arch.), FAIA, co-founder and president of ADD Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., was awarded the first Service Provider Leadership Award by CoreNet Global New England in January 2004. The New England Chapter of CoreNet Global, a professional association for corporate real estate and related professionals, has more than 7,000 members. The Service Provider Award recognizes innovative service ideas and actions.
Bill Bruneau (’70 B.Arch.) is a senior program manager with the Denver International Airport, where he is currently working on expansion plans for that facility.
Frank Dittenhafer (’78 B.Arch.) is a principal at Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects in York, Pa. The firm recently received three awards for design excellence from the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The first was a Citation Award for the Catholic Review, an adaptive reuse project for office and industrial use in Baltimore, Md. The firm received a second Citation Award for its design of the new five-story, $14 million student center at the University of Baltimore. In addition, the East Side Maintenance Yard project, involving the design of three new buildings for the Baltimore City Department of Public Works, was selected for an Honor Award.
LouAnn Fornataro (’80 B.A. General Arts) was recently elected to the board of directors of the Adult Learning Center (ALC) in Nashua, N.H. The ALC is a non-profit service organization that provides courses in pre-GED, English as a second language, office skills for workplace re-entry, and citizenship. Fornataro, who has an architectural practice in downtown Nashua, will serve as the ALC’s Building Committee chair for the next three years, focusing on capital improvement and maintenance plans for two buildings in the Nashua area.
Floyd McCollum (’80 B.S., ’81 B.Arch.) was recently promoted to principal/manager of projects for Jacobs Facilities Inc. in Orlando, Fla.
M.J. Sagan (’81 B.S., ’82 B.Arch.) was recently named to the 2004 edition of Who’s Who in America for her work in architecture. She is the vice president of Anderson Architects in New York City. Under her direction, Anderson Architects completed the corporate headquarters of Abercrombie & Fitch, a 300-acre office campus and distribution center in Columbus, Ohio. This project received many awards, including the 2002 Business Week/Architectural Record “Good Design is Good Business” Award, the AIA New York Chapter 2003 Excellence in Design Award and the 2003 Environmental Design Research Association/Places Design Award. The project has been published in Business Week, Architectural Record, House and Garden, Business First and the New York Times Magazine. Sagan resides in Princeton, N.J., with her husband, Craig Haft, and their three children, Nicholas, Claire and Owen.
Douglas VanderHorn (’87 B.Arch.) and Charles Hilton (’88 B.Arch.), partners in Hilton-VanderHorn Architects, were honored as the first recipients of the Alice Washburn Award for Design, given by the AIA Connecticut Chapter and Connecticut Magazine. Named after the distinguished residential architect who practiced in 1920s Connecticut, the award was presented in recognition of VanderHorn and Hilton’s design of a new mid-country Georgian estate in Greenwich, Conn.
Andrew Phillips (’88 B.Arch.) earned his master of architecture degree at Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1993. Since 1994, he has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, with other teaching jobs at Philadelphia University and Lehigh University. Currently, Phillips is a full-time lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, teaching first-year core fall and spring architecture studios in the graduate program and coordinating/co-teaching the first-year graduate visual studies curriculum. In addition to teaching, Phillips has been coprincipal with Alice Dommert of Dommert Phillips since 1995. He and Dommert are married and have two children, aged two and four. Phillips’ recent projects include a vacation home in Maryland, a visitors’ center for Kakum Rainforest in Ghana, Africa, and the Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage in the former Woodbine (N.J.) Brotherhood Synagogue. Phillips also received the 2001 AIA Philadelphia Chapter Young Architects Award.
Todd Woodward (’95 B.Arch.), a principal at Susan Maxman & Partners Architects, received the 2003 AIA Philadelphia Chapter Young Architects Award. Given by the Steering Committee of Fellows, the award recognizes an architect under the age of 40 for “demonstrated excellence and exceptional contributions to the field of architecture” through practice, service and/or education. In addition to his duties at his firm, Woodward is currently co-chair of the board of directors of the Community Design Collaborative and an adjunct faculty member in Temple University’s architecture program.
Roger Sommerfield (’01 B.Arch.) is a project architect with Mitchell Koch Architects in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. During his final year at Penn State, Sommerfield was approached by Jack V. Matson, professor of civil engineering, to design a residence/office building for his environmental consulting business that would emphasize sustainable design practices. The resulting “eco-office,” which houses Matson and Associates, opened in late 2002 on East Foster Avenue in State College.
Christopher Renn (’03 B.Arch.) became an intern with Z+ Architects in Allendale, N.J., in fall 2003.
