The Crescendo Series

The Company of LIFE AFTER. Photo by Michael Cooper
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The Musical Stage Company is thrilled to announce that the next Crescendo artist is Kevin Wong.
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Launched in 2017, The Crescendo Series is an unprecedented career breakthrough to a composer of musical theatre in Canada through the multi-year residency and commitment to produce multiple original musicals by the artist. In addition to a production commitment, Crescendo Series artists also receive an annual bursary, dramaturgical support, and international advocacy and promotion.

The inaugural Crescendo Series artist was Britta Johnson, who saw musicals Life After, Dr Silver: A Celebration of Life, and the recent Kelly v. Kelly, produced by The Musical Stage Company.  Life After has since gone on to have critically acclaimed runs at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Anton Lipovetsky was added to the program in 2020 and his musical Blackout was produced in the summer of 2021.

Toronto audiences will also get a sneak peek of both Anton and Kevin’s next musicals in development during the Canadian Festival of New Musicals in May 2024.

CRESCENDO SERIES ARTISTS

Britta Johnson

Anton Lipovetsky

Kevin Wong

Sponsors

Leading Light
Anne-Marie Canning

The Musical Stage Company is thrilled to announce that the next Crescendo artist is Kevin Wong.
.
Launched in 2017, The Crescendo Series is an unprecedented career breakthrough to a composer of musical theatre in Canada through the multi-year residency and commitment to produce multiple original musicals by the artist. In addition to a production commitment, Crescendo Series artists also receive an annual bursary, dramaturgical support, and international advocacy and promotion.

The inaugural Crescendo Series artist was Britta Johnson, who saw musicals Life After, Dr Silver: A Celebration of Life, and the recent Kelly v. Kelly, produced by The Musical Stage Company.  Life After has since gone on to have critically acclaimed runs at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Anton Lipovetsky was added to the program in 2020 and his musical Blackout was produced in the summer of 2021.

Toronto audiences will also get a sneak peek of both Anton and Kevin’s next musicals in development during the Canadian Festival of New Musicals in May 2024.

CRESCENDO SERIES ARTISTS

Britta Johnson

Anton Lipovetsky

Kevin Wong

Kevin Wong

Kevin Wong is a composer-lyricist, singer/musician, and dramaturg. His musicals include: Recurring John: A Song Cycle; STAR!(ving): A Collection of Songs; Polly Peel (with Julie Tepperman); Out of Stock;Drama 101 (with Steven Gallagher); In Real Life (with Nick Green); and Soft Magical Tofu Boys. Kevin streams online concerts weekly on the streaming service Twitch (twitch.tv/kevinywong). He is a member of the vocal group Asian Riffing Trio (with Chris Tsujiuchi and Colin Asuncion), is currently part-time faculty at Sheridan College, and is a two-time winner of the Playwrights Guild of Canada’s Tom Hendry Award for Best New Musical. Most recently, he can be heard on the live album, UnCovered: The Music of ABBA (with The Musical Stage Company), and his own albums Small Ways to Move and Covers (available on streaming services everywhere).

Anton Lipovetsky

For The Musical Stage Company: BLACKOUT (presented in High Park with Canadian Stage, June ’21), COWBOY TEMPEST CABARET (in development), and the CRESCENDO SERIES. Anton Lipovetsky is a composer and lyricist from Vancouver. He has received musical theatre commissions from companies such as Musical Stage Company, Nashville Children’s Theatre, Touchstone Theatre, Theatre Sheridan, ZeeZee Theatre, Virtual Stage, and Solo Collective. BLACKOUT, written with Steven Gallagher, was featured in the 2022 NAMT Annual Festival of New Musicals and showcased at New World Stages in New York City. Current projects he’s working on include the alien-abduction-themed musical, WAY OUT THERE, created with Sara Farb and commissioned by Sudbury’s YES Theatre, and a musical web series about a family of demon-slayers called RAKSHA written and directed by filmmaker Tesh Guttikonda. Anton is also a performer and will be onstage at The Belfry Theatre and Theatre Calgary in the coming year. He is a graduate of Studio 58 and the Stratford Festival Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre and has been shortlisted for the Playwright’s Guild of Canada Best Musical award three times. Follow him on TikTok! @antronsongs

Britta Johnson

Heralded by the Toronto Star as “Canadian Musical Theatre’s next great hope”, Britta Johnson is a composer, lyricist and writer based in Toronto. Her original musical KELLY v. KELLY, co-created with Sara Farb, premiered in 2023, and had a sold-out run at the Berkeley St. Theatre. Her 2018 original musical LIFE AFTER had an extended, multiple Dora Award-winning run with The Musical Stage Company and Canadian Stage before playing at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, and most recently Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Her other writing credits include: With her sister Anika Johnson: DR.SILVER (Musical Stage Co./Outside the March), BRANTWOOD (Theatre Sheridan), JACOB TWO-TWO (YTP), TRAP DOOR (Theatre Sheridan). With Katherine Cullen: STUPIDHEAD! (TPM). She was the inaugural Crescendo Artist with Musical Stage Company which included a commitment to produce three of her shows in three years and was named one of Fifty to Watch by the Broadway Women’s Fund of America. Upcoming projects include commissions from the Stratford Festival, South Coast Rep in California and Opera Avalon.

Anton Lipovetsky

BLACKOUT

Book by Steven Gallagher, Music & Lyrics by Anton Lipovetsky
A Musical Stage Company Production, produced in association with Canadian Stage

Britta Johnson

LIFE AFTER

Book, Music & Lyrics by Britta Johnson
A Musical Stage Company, Canadian Stage and Yonge Street Theatricals Co-Production

DR. SILVER: A CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Book, Music & Lyrics by Anika Johnson & Britta Johnson
A Musical Stage Company and Outside the March Experience

KELLY V. KELLY

Book by Sara Farb, Music & Lyrics by Britta Johnson
A Musical Stage Company Production, produced in association with Canadian Stage