Festival Guest Artist: Voices of Broadway (12:10, 12:35 & 1:40 PM)
Mat Eisenstein (Music Director)
Mat has conducted the Broadway companies of Frozen, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Something Rotten, Newsies, The Book of Mormon, Elf, Promises, Promises, Next to Normal, Bye Bye Birdie, Thirteen, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Fiddler On The Roof, Avenue Q, 42nd Street, and Les Miserables. He has played keyboards in over 45 Broadway productions including: Frozen, 9 to 5, Aida, Annie, The Apple Tree, Bombay Dreams, The Book of Mormon, Candide, A Class Act, Dracula, Follies, Fosse, Hairspray, The Grinch, Legally Blonde, The Lion King, Mamma Mia, Mary Poppins, Matilda, On The Town, Once Upon a Mattress, The People in the Picture, Ragtime, Shrek, Sister Act, Spiderman, Titanic, The Wedding Singer, The Woman in White, Wicked, Wonderland and The Radio City Xmas Spectacular. Mat is also a Usdan alum.
Jeff Kready (Vocals)
Most recently seen on Broadway standing by for the “title” role of Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels in Tootsie. Other Broadway credits: Monty Navarro in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Tony Elliot in Billy Elliot the Musical, Sunday in the Park with George, and Les Misérables (Jean Valjean understudy). Favorite regional credits: Tommy in Brigadoon (Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera), Ted Hanover in Holiday Inn (Paper Mill Playhouse), Mr. Snow in Carousel (Goodspeed Opera House), and David Sedaris’s one-man-show Santaland Diaries (Hartford TheaterWorks). TV: “The Code” (CBS), “The Good Fight” (CBS), “Elementary” (recurring, CBS), “Boardwalk Empire” (HBO). He has performed as guest soloist with The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, The Grand Teton Music Festival, the Seattle Chamber Music Society, the Allentown Symphony, the Topeka Symphony, and can be heard on the album, “The Broadway Tenors” (Jay Records). Favorite roles: husband to Nikki, dad to Lena (8) and Louise (4).
Nikki Renee Daniels (Vocals)
Nikki Renée Daniels recently played Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton at the CIBC Theater in Chicago. Broadway: Company (Jenny), The Book of Mormon (Nabulungi), The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (Clara), Les Miserables (Fantine), Anything Goes, Promises, Promises, Aida, Nine, Little Shop of Horrors, Lestat, and The Look of Love. Ms. Daniels made her New York City Opera debut as Clara in Porgy and Bess. Other New York credits include Martha Jefferson in 1776 at City Center Encores, Rose Lennox in The Secret Garden at David Geffen Hall and Tracy in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. On television, Nikki has appeared as a featured player on "Chappelle's Show," "Madam Secretary," and "The Sound of Music: Live." She has performed as a soloist with numerous symphony orchestras across the country and in Canada, and at Carnegie Hall. She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. Her debut solo CD, "Home" is available on iTunes and CDBaby.com. For more information please visit nikkireneedaniels.com. @nikkireneesings
Festival performances take place at the McKinley Amphitheater. Usdan will livestream select guest performances, which you can watch on Usdan's YouTube and Facebook pages and on our website.
For more information on Festival, visit our Fesival Performances page.