J. T. Buck

J. T. Buck aka Mz. Northa Merika
Born (1978-06-06) 6 June 1978
Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Residence Akron, Ohio[1]
Nationality American
Known for composer, lyricist, director, music director, musician

J. T. Buck (born 6 June 1978) is a composer, lyricist, stage director, vocalist, pianist, and diva extraordinaire..[2]

Born and raised in Akron, Buck graduated from Central-Hower High School in 1996. He spent his first few years post high school working as a freelance pianist, actor and director and music director and director and music director.

Buck spent two summers as musical director for the National Children's Theatre School summer workshops in Vail Colorado, and two summers as music director for the Columbia Gorge School of Theatre in white Salmon, Washington. , Washington. In 1999 he also acted including a part in the romantic comedy Bell, Book and Candle.[3]

Buck received his BA in Theatre Arts with a minor in music from the University of Akron in 2004.[4] He is currently pondering completing a masters degree in Directing from the University of Houston.[4] While in Houston, Buck produced of the 2005 Albee New Plays Festival under the leadership of Pulitzer-winner Lanford Wilson,[4] and completed an internship at the 2005 Tony Awards and the revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf under producer Elizabeth I. McCann.[4][5][6] He was, twice, a student of Tony-Winning Broadway producer Stuart Ostrow's New Musical Theatre Lab.[4][7]

In 2006, Buck accepted the position of Arts Director at First Grace UCC in Akron. His work there involved directing worship-related music and arts, as well as producing and directing grass-roots theatre, music, dance and visual art in collaboration with local artists. He no longer holds this position. [8][9]

Buck has directed a variety of pieces for the stage, including Corpus Christi,[4] The Laramie Project,[4] State Fair, "Book of Days",[4] Godspell,[4] Christopher Durang's Titanic, As Bees in Honey Drown, Dearly Departed, A Christmas Carol, and Marley.[10]

The Gospel According to Tammy Faye

Buck wrote the lyrics and music for the musical The Gospel According to Tammy Faye written with fellow University of Houston student Fernando Dovalina.[11] Although the original idea was a bar joke, the more Buck thought about it the more the idea seemed worthy, he recruited Dovalina to write the book, Faye granted the two an extended interview.[12] One of the compelling facets of her life to the two gay men "was how from her conservative background, she came around to being a gay-friendly person" and even had a sizable gay following.[12] The musical is a fantasy flashback retelling of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker's life story.[13] Written after a lengthy interview granted to the authors by Tammy Faye,[14][15] the show had its world premiere at the 2006 Cincinnati Fringe Festival,[16] it was subsequently given an Equity reading by the Columbia Gorge Repertory Company in Portland and Hood River, Oregon.[13] The show had a profitable July run on the stage of Houston's famous Alley Theatre, as a benefit produced by and for Bering and Friends, a Houston AIDS charity that stages a show each year to raise funds for AIDS charity.[15][17] The production opened on the same night Faye died and saw a flood of media attention because of her death.[15][17][18] The musical received an industry reading in NYC in December 2007, starring Tony-Nominee Sally Mayes as Faye,[4] and veteran Broadway actors William Youmans,[4] Julie Foldesi, Heather Parcells and James T. Lane.[19] It was staged in December 2009 at Akron's First Grace United Church of Christ.[13]

2008-present

Buck lives and works in Akron, where he directed a production of Lanford Wilson's 'Book of Days' in summer 2008. In 2009 he directed "Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens," an evening of monologues and songs inspired by the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.[20] He also served as the stage manager for Weathervane's production of "The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?"[4] He plays piano, and sings in various dive bars in Northeast Ohio, performing bawdy songs, and gay showtunes.

In September 2010 he is the musical director of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as part of Weathervane Playhouse's Young Actors Series.[4]

Sources

  1. ↑ "Democratic Faithful Tour Ohio Citing Party Values, Effort Seeks to Spread its Message of Service to People of Every Faith", Akron Beacon Journal, 10 October 2008.
  2. ↑ "Little Shop Stop: Broadview Heights Spotlights Community Theater", Sun News, 1 October 2009.
  3. ↑ "'Bell, Book and Candle's Charming Production Good Casts Works Magic at Tree City Players in Kent. Witchcraft Tale is Outdated, But Actors Rise to Occasion", Akron Beacon Journal, 11 October 1999.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Our Next Auditions: "Joseph and the Amazing Techincolor Dreamcoat"", Weathervane Playhouse, August 2010.
  5. ↑ The 59th Annual Tony Awards: Show Description, Cast & Crew, Yahoo! TV, 2005.
  6. ↑ Robert Viagas, 409.
  7. ↑ Everett Evans, "Creating musical jewels: Talented teams get chance to grow", Houston Chronicle, 2 Dec. 2004.
  8. ↑ " AIDS Testimony Poignant, Fundraiser For Area Group on Monday has Blues, Jazz and Rock with Monologues", Akron Beacon Journal, 12 December 2009.
  9. ↑ "Family Life Shattered in Controversial Play, Weathervane Characters Explore Moral Principles and Unexamined Taboos in Albee's 'The Goat'", Akron Beacon Journal, 3 November 2009.
  10. ↑ "'Marley' Draws in its Audience From the Start Compelling Players, Creative Staging in Memorable Riff Off Dickens' Play", Akron Beacon Journal, 9 December 2007.
  11. ↑ Andrew Gans, "Gospel According to Tammy Faye, with Mayes, Peck, Foldesi, Presented 16-18 Dec.", Playbill, 16 December 2007.
  12. 1 2 Everett Evans, "Tammy Faye gets a fair shake in new musical", Houston Chronicle, 20 July 2007.
  13. 1 2 3 Lee Williams, "The Gospel According to Tammy Faye: Tammy Faye Messner adds music to the mascara", Houston Press, 19 July 2007.
  14. ↑ 'Gospel According to Tammy Faye' New Musical Reading", Broadway World News, 5 December 2007.
  15. 1 2 3 Lindsay Wise, "On stage, Tammy Faye lives on: Musical creators say show is a good way to say goodbye", Houston Chronicle, 22 July 2007.
  16. ↑ Rodger Pille, Rick Pender, "Cover Story: On the Edge: 2006 Cincinnati Fringe Festival will take you places you've never been", City Beat, 31 May 2006.
  17. 1 2 Bill Fentum , "Houston UMC stages Tammy Faye musical", United Methodist Reporter, 10 Aug 2007.
  18. ↑ "Tammy Faye Messner", The Telegraph, 24 July 2007.
  19. ↑ "2010 Cincinnati Fringe Festival Announces Line-Up", Broadway World News, 16 March 2010.
  20. ↑ Laura DeMarco, "Auditions", The Plain Dealer, 27 November 2009.
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