This sexy, explosive rock musical explores the complications of love, the compromises we make, and the betrayals that can ultimately undo us. Murder Ballad centers on Sara, an uptown girl who seems to have it all, but whose downtown past lingers enticingly and dangerously in front of her. Murder Ballad, an Off-Broadway sensation at Manhattan Theatre Club, is a dark thriller with a razor’s edge.
Murder Ballad
May 13 - June 5, 2016
Murder Ballad, an Off-Broadway sensation at Manhattan Theatre Club, is a dark thriller with a razor’s edge.
Meet The Cast
Eric Gutman
Creator & Preformer
Eric is thrilled to be returning to Detroit Public Theatre after the nearly sold-out runs of both his one-man show, “From Broadway to Obscurity” (2016 Wilde Award, Best One Person Show) and “Murder Ballad”. Eric has previously performed in “Hedwig…” on guitars and bass with Breathe Art Theatre Project and The Ringwald Theatre (also as MD). When not in Detroit, Eric tours with Under the Streetlamp, a retro rock and roll experience celebrating music from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and beyond. Broadway/National Tours: Jersey Boys; Off-Broadway: Forbidden Broadway, Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding. Thank you to Courtney, Sarah and Sarah Clare for continuing to collaborate with me in so many ways and for bringing relevant and important art to the city. My involvement in this show is dedicated to my wife, who would never allow me turn down an opportunity to play this amazing show. IG: @theguter or @underthestreetlamp
Meet The Creative Team
Brian P. Sage
Director
Brian P. Sage is a graduate of Wayne State University, where he earned his MFA in acting while performing as a member of the Hilberry Repertory Theatre Company. He earned his BA in theatre performance from Western Michigan University. Brian also had the honor of studying with the Moscow Art Theatre School as a part of Wayne State’s study abroad program.
Brian served as the producing artistic director of the Whole Art Theatre in Kalamazoo, MI, for three seasons and has directed a number of professional productions in a variety of different venues. Professional directing credits include The Kings of Unionville, From Broadway to Obscurity, Company, Ordinary Days, Closer, South Pacific, Falsettos, Bat Boy: The Musical, and Oliver.
Brian’s seventy plus professional acting credits run the gamut from the classics to contemporary musical theatre. Some favorite roles include Max Bialystock in The Producers, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Harry Brock in Born Yesterday, Joe Keller in All My Sons, Dr. Dorn in The Seagull, Claudius in Hamlet, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Nicely Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls. He’s worked for a variety of companies throughout Michigan and Illinois, including Tipping Point Theatre (Northville, MI), The Encore Musical Theatre (Dexter, MI), The Jewish Ensemble Theatre (West Bloomfield, MI), The Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire (Chicago, IL), First Folio Shakespeare (Chicago, IL), Theatre Building Chicago (Chicago, IL), and Tibbits Opera House (Coldwater, MI).
Brian is also an assistant professor of theatre at Ohio Northern University in Ada, OH.
Jamie Reed
Music Director
Jamie is an accomplished music director, pianist, arranger, and vocal coach. Jamie holds a music degree in piano performance from Western Michigan University. Music director credits include: Cabaret, Evita, Altar Boyz, Next To Normal, Shrek, Rent, West Side Story, The Last Five Years, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and Lippa’s The Wild Party. National Tour credits: Wicked, Book of Mormon, Chicago, Beauty and the Beast, South Pacific, and Fiddler on the Roof. After a brief stint in New York, Jamie switched gears to international music directing for Holland America Cruise Line. Jamie is currently music directing in the Detroit Metro area, where she is resident music director for Mason Street Warehouse in Saugatuck, director of music for Orchard UMC, and a vocal coach at Oakland University.
Neil Koivu
Lighting Designer
Neil’s recent lighting designs include performances by Ben Vereen, Chita Rivera, Patti LuPone, Charles Strouse, Bebe Neuwirth, Barbara Cook, and Eric Gutman’s From Broadway to Obscurity at The Berman Performing Arts Center; 1300 Lafayette East, The Scullery Maid, 4000 Miles, and The Diary of Anne Frank for the Jewish Ensemble Theatre; Collected Stories, Visiting Mr. Green, and No Child… for Matrix Theatre Company; The Public Theatre’s Tempest and Now That I Can Dance for Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit; The Altruists and Play it Again, Sam for Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company; Invasion, Henrietta Hermaline’s Fall From Great Heights, and The Lonesome West at The Planet Ant. Neil will be designing Mosaic Singers in Concert in March at Detroit’s Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts.
Monika Essen
Scenic Designer
Moníka Essen is an award-winning, nationally recognized artist and designer. The recipient of the prestigious Lawrence DeVine Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre, she studied interior architecture and Environmental Design at Parsons School of Design NYC and received her MFA in scenography from the renowned Hilberry Repertory Co. Ms. Essen has designed countless productions in theatre, opera and film, and is currently the Resident Designer at the Michigan Opera Theatre, where she has just recently designed their highly acclaimed productions of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and “Frida”, which also just made its debut at the Florida Grand Opera, and will be traveling to The Atlanta Opera in October. Other local favorites include “The Foursome,” “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, and “The Impossibilty of Now” at Tipping Point Theatre, and “Murder Ballad” and “American Hero” here at Detroit Public Theatre. Additionally, she creates furniture, museum exhibits, interiors and full sensory, multimedia environments for residential and commercial clients, including the Detroit Zoo. All her design work can be viewed at www.studioepoque.com
Meet The Band
Jeff Sugamosto
Guitar
Jeff has performed at local theaters for the last several years and is thrilled to be playing again in From Broadway To Obscurity. Previous shows include The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Evil Dead The Musical, Legally Blonde, Rent, and tick, tick… BOOM!
Mike Shriver
Bass
Mike is excited to perform with the band for the Detroit Public Theatre’s Murder Ballad. Mike has performed at community theatres across Metro Detroit in musicals such as Shrek, Mary Poppins, Legally Blond, 9 to 5, and many others. More recently, Mike performed in the supporting band for the one-man musical From Broadway to Obscurity. He began his musical career as a trumpet player, but was drawn to the bass guitar at an early age and has been playing bass for over 20 years. When not performing in musicals, you can find Mike playing in local bands such as the Stardust Big Band, Swingshift jazz band and the Classics rock band.
Shawn Neal
Drums
Shawn began his interest in drumming at the age of five, when he slipped away from his parents at a music festival and was eventually found camped out behind Juice Newton’s drum kit. After being grounded, he later went on to study and play drums professionally on multiple tours, recordings, and musical productions, including From Broadway to Obscurity and Murder Ballad at Detroit Public Theatre. He is currently the co-founder and creative director of Woodshed Agency, where his work as a cinematographer has been featured in the documentary films Boy Howdy! The Story of CREEM Magazine, Being Satori Circus, and Under The Radar Michigan. He is thrilled to have once again wandered off from his daily life to find himself behind the drum kit, performing his favorite musical of all time at Detroit Public Theatre.
