In advance of the Pops series “Wicked Divas” at the Dallas Symphony, which runs May 31-June 2, 2013, we sat with Pops Conductor Laureate Richard Kaufman to get an idea of what to expect from the upcoming perfomance. The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center will be putting on a tribute to Broadway diva showstoppers. Richard Kaufman is set to conduct the symphony as Broadway players Julia Murney and Emily Rozek will, in a way, be reprising their roles and singing various selections from the Tony Award-winning musical Wicked. This concert brings the 2012-2013 DSO Pops season to a close with hits from Gypsy, Ragtime, Titanic and more.
The last time we spoke with Richard he fascinated us with stores from his illustrious career. We again sat with this icon of the film and music world to discuss this weekend’s show and what fans can expect to see/hear. Enjoy!
Richard Kaufman has devoted much of his musical life to conducting and supervising music for film and television, as well as performing film and classical music in concert halls and on recordings. The 2012-2013 concert season marks his twenty-second season as Principal Pops Conductor of Orange County’s Pacific Symphony. He also holds the permanent title of Pops Conductor Laureate with the Dallas Symphony, and is in his eighth season with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert series, “Friday Night at the Movies”. He regularly appears as a guest conductor with symphony orchestras throughout the United States and around the world including Cleveland, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Houston, the National Symphony in Washington DC, London, Calgary, Edmonton, Liverpool, the RTE Concert Orchestra in Dublin, Rotterdam and the Malaysian Philharmonic.
Julia Murney last appeared on Broadway as Elphaba in Wicked after playing the role on the national tour for which she received an Acclaim Award. Other New York credits include Lennon, Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party (Drama Desk nomination), Falling (Drama Desk nomination), The Vagina Monologues, A Class Act, Saved, Crimes of the Heart, Queen of the Mist, Closer Than Ever, and Time and Again (Lucille Lortel nomination).
Emily Rozek has been a professional Broadway performer for the past 10 years. She was most recently seen starring as Glinda in the Los Angeles production of Wicked. She made her professional debut as Winnie Tate in Annie Get Your Gun starring Bernadette Peters. She went on to understudy and perform the lead roles of Millie Dillmount and Miss Dorothy in Broadway’s Thoroughly Modern Millie. She has also been on National Broadway tours such as Sunset Boulevard as Mary and South Pacific as the Nellie Forbush understudy.
“Wicked Divas” runs May 31-June 2, 2013. Tickets are still available and start at $28. For more information, click here, visit DallasSymphony.com or call 214.692.0203.
