Jay Armstrong Johnson, Bobby Steggert, Alex Brightman, Julia Mattison and More Set for Rated RSO: MT-17

By Michael Gioia
20 Dec 2012

Alex Brightman
Alex Brightman

Working's Jay Armstrong Johnson, who will appear in the Broadway-bound Hands on a Hardbody, and Bobby Steggert, recently seen in Off-Broadway's Giant, are among the artists who will take part in Rated RSO: MT-17, featuring the work of composer-lyricist Ryan Scott Oliver, Jan. 21, 2013, in New York City.

Rated RSO will be offered at 7 PM and 9:30 PM at Joe's Pub. The evening promises new tunes from Oliver's Jasper in Deadland, The Frog Prince Continued and the photography-inspired musical exhibition 35mm as well as old favorites from Darling and Mrs. Sharp.

Also scheduled to perform are Alex Brightman (Wicked), Ben Crawford (Shrek), Julia Mattison (Godspell), Jason Michael Snow (The Book of Mormon) and Brian Charles Rooney (Threepenny Opera). Additional performers will be announced at a later date.

Directed by Travis Greisler, Rated RSO: MT-17 is a described as a "theatrical concert collecting songs from Oliver's musicals while the audience experiences the scope of each musical's story through projected context."

Will Van Dyke is musical director, and the band will include Matt Hinkley (guitar), Eric Day (bass), Allison Seidner (cello), Joel Waggoner (violin), Jeremy Yaddaw (drums). The creative team also includes stage manager Kristina Vnook and lighting designer KJ Hardy.

Oliver is 2009 Jonathan Larson Grant recipient and a 2008 Rodgers Award winner. He was also featured in Part One of Playbill's Contemporary Musical Theatre Songwriters You Should Know.

Joe's Pub is located at 425 Lafayette Street. For more information and tickets, visit JoesPub.com.