Adam C. Wright and Peter DiCesare met through their work with Uptown Players
RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
rich@dallasvoice.com
Springtime is the right time for Uptown Players, and the theater company is bringing its annual Broadway Our Way fundraiser back to the stage with some medieval flair.
Audiences for this year’s BOW revue will experience a Gay Renaissance Faire, with a cast of Uptown favorites and regulars delivering a mixtape of showtunes and mashups — mixed with a healthy dose of twists and surprises.
For two of the creatives involved in the show, it’s work as usual. But it’s also something quite special.
“Getting to work with a high caliber of artists in all aspects — not just the actors and singers but everyone doing their best work — is so encouraging,” cast member Peter DiCesare said.
“They make me want to step it up every year. I don’t feel like I can rest on anything.”
Peter is a veteran of the show and a perennial favorite, often featured in the second half with a showstopping number. This will be his 11th BOW.
And right there with him all along has been his husband, Adam C. Wright, who serves as the show’s co-music director alongside Kelley Poche Rodriguez.
Peter and Adam met before Peter’s first BOW, when Peter was cast in Hello Again at Uptown Players. But it wasn’t until a year later they started dating.
“I wanted to be professional because we were both working, so I held off any thoughts,” Adam said.
On the other hand…
“I did not,” Peter declared. “I wondered, ‘Who is that handsome man?’”
Regardless, their connection came from the theater in a serendipitous manner: “Technically, it was Uptown Players that brought us together,” Adam said.
Peter and Adam embrace the show each year as both work and a pleasure, and it is a balancing act between work, pleasure and home life that they have down pat.
“We’ve done lots of stuff together and we work well together,” Adam said. “It’s also nice because we can work at home on his songs as well.”
Peter adds that, over time, the two have naturally developed a shorthand for their work process, and their tastes do overlap. But each of them comes from a different background, and that brings something different to their process.
But they do agree to some work boundaries.
“We try to be respectful of that balance of work and don’t ask anything extra,” Peter said.
They also said they want to be fair and respectful to the other cast members and not rehearse on their own.
BOW this year
Broadway Our Way: Gay Renaissance Faire, written and directed by B.J. Cleveland runs March 27-30 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.
The entire cast, along with Peter and director B.J. Cleveland, includes Erin Bowman, Tim Brawner, Stephanie Felton, Ryan Michael Friedman, Brian Hathaway, Jacob Hemsath, Quintin Jones Jr., Elizabeth Kensek, Linda Leonard, Laura Lites, Gena Loe, David Lugo, Joanna Nchekwube, Seth Paden, Thomas Renner, Sara Shelby-Martin, Amy Stevenson, Kylie Stewart, Carlos Strudwick, Danny Vanegas, Brett Warner, Paul J. Williams and Clayton Younkin.
Broadway Our Way will feature an auction and raffle, and the raffle grand prize is a trip to see Broadway Our Way in New York City. One lucky winner will receive round-trip airfare for two between DFW and New York’s LaGuardia Airport on American Airlines, a four-night stay at a Manhattan hotel, a $2,000 Broadway.com gift card to see the shows of their choice, and a $1,000 gift card for meals and extras.
The auction will include a wide variety of high-end items including jewelry, personal services, tickets, memorabilia and more.
Peter has a healthy number of BOW’s under his belt, and Adam has been working on the show for well more than a decade. With such a long history with Uptown Players, the relationship has been a mutually respectful one.
“Adam is nothing short of a musical genius. Every year for Broadway Our Way we challenge him to take two seemingly unrelated songs and weave them into a seamless, breathtaking mash-up,” Uptown Players’ co-founder and co-producer Jeff Rane said in an email. “To give you an idea of his extraordinary talent, Adam arranges all 30 songs for Broadway Our Way in just about 10 days for piano and vocals, and then orchestrates them for the full Broadway Our Way band in just two more weeks.
“His work is the musical heartbeat of the show, and we are so lucky to have him.”
Jeff also recalls Peter’s debut with Uptown Players in The Producers back in 2012 but highlights the performer’s contributions to BOW.
“Over the years, he has delivered some of the most powerful 11 o’clock numbers in Broadway Our Way leaving audiences in awe,” Jeff added. “His ability to bring depth, emotion and sheer vocal brilliance to every song he touches makes him an essential part of the Broadway Our Way legacy.”
For tickets, visit UptownPlayers.org.