Jennifer Holliday, Mykal Kilgore, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Larry Owens and Kelli O'Hara lead the cast for the final installment of MasterVoices' Myths and Hymns, presenting the Adam Guettel-penned song cycle as a collection of short films.
"Faith," including the songs "There's a Land," "The Great Highway," "There's a Shout," "Awaiting You," "Light After Darkness," and "Saturn Returns: The Return," premieres on MasterVoices' YouTube channel May 26 at 6:30 PM ET.
Also featured in the stream are Theresa McCarthy, Nicholas Phan, Miles Mykkanen, The Gospel Soul Children of New York, and the MasterVoices ensemble. The episode will also feature the songs "There's a Land," "There's a Shout," "Awaiting You," and "Light After Darkness."
The final episodes' films have been helmed by opera star Costanzo, Broadway Choir Boy and Significant Other director Trip Cullman, Allegiance choreographer Andrew Palermo, and Broadway music director and MasterVoices Artistic Director Ted Sperling. The episode will also feature work by visual artists Erik Freer, Artolution, and Max Frieder; and dancers Emma Lou DeLaney, Milan Magaña, Justine Rafael, and Katja Stoer. Orchestrations for the project are by Don Sebesky and Jamie Lawrence.
READ: Ted Sperling Talks MasterVoices’ Multidisciplinary Take on Adam Guettel’s Myths and Hymns
Guettel's work is inspired by both Greek myths and a 19th-century Presbyterian hymnal, exploring faith and longing. Past soloists in the MasterVoices project have included Kilgore, Norm Lewis, O'Hara, Renée Fleming, Joshua Henry, Shoshana Bean, Daniel Breaker, Costanzo, Michael McElroy, Ailyn Pérez, and Phan.
Myths and Hymns premiered at the Public Theater in 1998 under the title Saturn Returns. Nonesuch Records recorded the cycle the same year with a cast including Mandy Patinkin, Theresa McCarthy, Billy Porter, Audra McDonald, Annie Golden, Darius de Haas, and Guettel.
The first three episodes of the project are currently available to stream on MasterVoices' YouTube channel, where all episodes will be available through June 30. Plans are afoot for the complete series to air on PBS following the YouTube run.
