Spotlight: Singer/Songwriter/Actress, Hayley Orrantia

Singer/songwriter/actress Hayley Orrantia will soon be visiting Wilmington in her first headline tour, the "Strong, Sweet & Southern Tour." She'll appear at The Queen on April 26. Delaware Arts Info sat down with Hayley to talk music, touring, what she misses most about Texas and more. Check out our interview below...

*You began as a singer, but you've also had great success starring in ABC's The Goldbergs. What made you choose singing initially?
Truthfully, music was just something that I did the same way a kid would choose soccer or volleyball. At 9 years old, I didn’t think about it as a full-blown career, but it’s something I enjoyed doing and was good at. So it was very natural to transition to doing it full time when it was all I had ever known. 

Hayley Orrantia. Photo by Diana Ragland.

*Do you feel both aspects of your career complement each other, or that you may have to choose one over the other? 
I truly believe I wouldn’t be anywhere in music if it wasn’t for The Goldbergs. [The show] has opened so many doors for me and allowed me to connect with people I wouldn’t have without it. We're signed up for Season 6, which we will begin filming in August. It takes up a lot of the year, but I don’t feel I have to choose. I find a good way to balance my music and acting careers alongside one another or during hiatuses. 

*Since this is Women's History Month, tell us about some of the women who inspire you. So many women I look up to! My mother is the main one. She is so strong and hard-working and doesn’t take no for an answer. But I also look up to two of my girlfriends from Nashville, Lindsay James and Emily West. When you meet good, talented people, you’re just drawn to their energy. They are the epitome of supporting and encouraging other women and artists, and I love that.

*Is there anyone you've modeled your career after? I have always admired Sara Bareilles for her writing ability and how she strives to do so much with her music — whether as an artist, writing for movies or the musical, Waitress. She’s a dreamer and an achiever. 

*Congratulations on your first headlining tour. Is there anything you're particularly excited about experiencing? I have no idea what to expect from this tour! I really look forward to introducing some new music and meeting fans of the show. It’s all going to be very new to me. 

*Do you feel it's more impactful to do single releases today or do you plan to eventually release a full-length album?
I used to think that I needed to have an EP or full album to do anything, but that’s just not the case anymore. Artists are so focused on singles now.  I believe it makes more sense as a new, independent artist to do that for financial reasons as well as really exploring my sound. A single can represent itself, but with an album, everything has to be so defined or consumers get confused. I enjoy taking this time to feel out what is right for me.

*How long will this tour be? Do you record while you're on the road? I'm touring for about two months. I will definitely be writing on the road, but not necessarily recording. I have so many new ideas for songs, a lot that won’t even be shown on this tour because they’re so fresh. But that just gives me more to look forward to.

*Strong, Sweet & Southern is a fun, playful song, while your new track Give Me Back Sunday is more poignant, almost wistful. Tell us about writing those. 
I co-wrote both songs with different people, which is probably why they have such different vibes. Strong Sweet and Southern was the fun, upbeat song I was wanting. I wrote it with Mark Bright and Kevin Kaddish, and we really just wanted something catchy and swingy. Give Me Back Sunday, however, I wrote with Jason Saenz and Todd Clark. This song was about my personal experience moving to Los Angeles on my own and really missing the simplicity of my hometown in Texas.

*Going back a bit, your song Hasta Verte you sing entirely in Spanish. Why did you choose to record in Spanish?
I wrote Hasta Verte (originally Until Then in English) with Mark Bright and Emily Shackleton. It was a song we wrote about my friend who had passed away from cancer. I cried through the entire writing process. I decided I wanted to try a song in Spanish as a tribute to my grandfather’s side of the family who are Hispanic. It was a challenge for me since I don't speak Spanish fluently, but I was so proud of the end result.

*You're a proud Texan. What do you miss most about home when you're away? Honestly, the fried chicken! You can’t get food like that in L.A. But I also do miss my friends, family and boyfriend, who are all back home in Dallas.

*Are there any singer/songwriters or bands that you enjoy or follow? I listen to so many things — from country to singer/songwriters to 70s funk to hardcore rock. But if I had to narrow down the bands or artists I listen to most, they would be John Mayer, Sara Barielles, Ingrid Michelson, Kacey Musgraves and Dan+Shay.

See www.hayleyorrantia.com. 

Spotlight: Singer-Songwriter, Marie Miller

Singer-songwriter Marie Miller recently visited Wilmington, opening for Five for Fighting at The Grand Opera House on March 10. Delaware Arts Info sat down with Marie to talk music, touring, a charity she loves and more. Check out our interview below...

Singer-Songwriter Marie Miller. Photo by Sarah Barlow.

*Since March is Women's History Month, tell us about some of the women who've inspired or mentored you early on.
Yes! So many wonderful women have influenced and inspired me. My female heroes are Joan of Arc, Mother Teresa, Sheryl Sanberg and my mom.

*Is there anyone -- female or male -- you've modeled your career after?
I model my career after Sara Barielles. She is so talented, and her lyrics are so raw and real. My goal is to be able to sing her high notes with ease.

*Tell us about your work with the Imprint Hope project. How and why did you get involved?
Imprint Hope is a non-profit that works with children with disabilities and educates their parents on how to care for these special kids. In Uganda, many people see persons with disabilities as 'cursed,' and Imprint Hope is a place where these children are loved and celebrated. I heard about [the organization's] founder Clare Byrne through a mutual friend and had to see her and the work she was doing. I visited Uganda and performed for the children and their families there. I also brought back some beautiful bags and headscarves that the mamas made to sell at my concerts. We donate the proceeds back to Imprint Hope, and we've raised almost $1,000 on this tour alone!

*Congratulations on touring with Five for Fighting. Is there anything you're excited about experiencing during the tour? How did you connect and decide to tour together?
This tour has been amazing! John from Five For Fighting is a killer performer and a wonderful person. It's a blessing for me to watch the show every night and soak up his obvious professionalism and artistry. My awesome manager, Josh Terry, got me this tour though his connection with Five For Fighting's manager.

*How long will you tour? Do you record while you're on the road? This tour is only a couple weeks, but I'll be on and off the road all summer. I haven't! I can't imagine recording while touring, although I know a lot of people do.

*Is there any anxiety associated with touring? How do you manage stress? I don't have very much anxiety on tour. We don't sleep very much, so a ton of coffee is a must! I try to keep up with my workout routine, prayer/meditation time and a healthy diet. I don't always succeed, but I think that makes a big difference. 

*Your label is in Nashville; is that your home base? What do you miss about home when you're touring?
I have a room I rent in Nashville, and I love my life there, but I also spend a bunch of time in Shenandoah Valley Virginia, where my family lives. I love being on the road. Besides my family, I don't miss much! I think I was built for this life.

*Letterbox is your first full-length album. Was the process different for you than producing singles or EPs?
The process of recording the album was uhhhhmazing! I recorded it in L.A. and Nashville with two incredible producers, Eric Rosse and Chad Copplin. Recoding a full-length is really just twice as much fun as an EP.

*What's your favorite song on the new album and why? My favorite song is Glitter Gold. The production is exactly how I wanted it to be, and I felt like it captured the emotion of the song in such a beautiful way. I always seem to like sad songs.

*Where do you get most of your inspiration when you write?My inspiration comes mostly from my own personal relationships either with friends, family, or love interests. My songs are very much like reading my journal. I usually write solo, but I am getting better at co-writing!

*Do you think full-length albums can still be relevant in today's music scene?I think people are always going to want full-length albums — or at Ieast, I know I will.

*What other music do you listen to? Are there any singer/songwriters or bands that you follow now?
I listen to a lot of different kinds of music now, anything from The Lumineers to Thomas Rhett to broadway musicals.

See www.mariemillermusic.com.

Voices & Viols Filled The Barn at Flintwoods

By Christine Facciolo

First appearing in Spain in the 15th Century, the viola da gamba — or viol — was a most popular instrument in the Renaissance and Baroque eras, holding an honored position even in the court of the Sun King. But by the mid-18th Century, the viol fell out of favor as concert halls grew larger and the more penetrating sound of the violin family became more popular.

The viol attracts little attention today, even though the 1991 film Tous les Matins du Monde about two of the greatest composers for the instrument, Marin Marais and Saint-Colombe, and a number of contemporary composers have written for it.

But the rich sounds of this once princely instrument were duly showcased in Brandywine Baroque’s March 16-18 concerts, “Voices and Viols.”

Joining Brandywine Baroque Artistic Director Karen Flint on vintage harpsichord were violists Catharina Meints, John Mark Rosendaal, Donna Fournier, and Rebecca Humphrey Diederich, flutist Eileen Grycky, soprano Laura Heimes and tenor Tony Boutte.

Meints pointed out that she and Flint had been friends for a very long time because of their passion for collecting period instruments. Meints then proudly displayed her treble viol, which dates back to 1700 and is, remarkably, in virtually the same condition it was when it was first made.

England boasts a very rich history of viol composition and performance, more than likely inspired and encouraged by the royal patronage of Henry VIII, and that tradition was well-represented in the first half of the program as the consort accompanied songs by William Byrd, Henry Lawes and Thomas Morley.

Songs from the French Baroque made up the second half of the program with selections by Michel Lambert, Jean-Baptiste Lully and Etienne Moulinie.

Heimes delivered the clear, unadorned vocal quality and needle-sharp intonation that has earned her respect and admiration. Here in consort with the viol she offered heartfelt, vibrant performances that effectively portrayed the texts without losing touch with the songs lovely vocal characteristics. Standouts included Byrd’s My Mistress Had a Little Dog and Lambert’s Ombre de mon amant.

Tony Boutte’s tenor was pure and emotional, breathing much life into songs like Byrd’s Though Amaryllis Dance in Green and Moulinie’s Enfin la beaute.

Heimes and Boutte delivered some delightful — and expressive — duets, including Henry Lawes’ A Dialogue Upon a Kiss and The Mossy Bank.

The instrumentalists gave imaginative accounts of William Lawes’ Airs in C, Nos. 113 and 109. Flint and flutist Grycky explored the rich textures and dense tapestry of ornaments in the Prelude, Courante and Gaillard in G minor from Jean Henry D’Anglebert’s Pieces de clavecin (1689). The ensemble concluded the concert with a lively rendering of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Concert pour quatre parties de violes.

See www.brandywinebaroque.org. 

Candlelight's "Drowsy Chaperone" Will Leave You Anything But

By Carol Van Zoeren
Carol is a 40+ year veteran of community theater and retired from DuPont.

Remarkably, as a musical theater geek, I was unfamiliar with The Drowsy Chaperone. Sure, I’d heard of it and was aware that the protagonist was “Man In Chair." But I didn’t know the songs, the plot or anything.

Well I’m a good student, so I Googled a synopsis of the plot the day before. I figured, as a reviewer, my responsibility was to review the production on stage, not the show itself. If I were trying to figure out the plot, I might be distracted from the production I was tasked to review. 

Connor McAndrews as "Man in Chair" in The Drowsy Chaperone.
Photo by Tisa Della-Volpe.

As it turns out, the plot is both familiar and joyously random, so one has no choice but to focus on the production and just go along with the ride.

And what a ride it is! The Drowsy Chaperone actually refers to a fictional 1928 show within a show (or rather “a musical within a comedy” as the tagline says) which features a cornucopia of stock characters from the heyday of American musical theater. This includes the self-absorbed romantic leads (Kevin Dietzler and Audrey Simmons); the very wealthy, very dim matron (Lindsay Mauck) and her long-suffering butler (Anthony Connell); the heavily accented Latin lover (Topher Layton); a pair of gangsters straight from central casting (Victoria Healy and Max Redman) and many others.

These characters must be played in broad vaudevillian style, vocally and physically. And every member of this cast delivers. There are invigorating showcase numbers, such as  Simmons in Show Off, Layton in I Am Aldolpho as well as Dietzler and Shaun Yates tap dancing through Cold Feet. 

Tiffany Christopher shines as the Drowsy Chaperone herself with As We Stumble Along, described as a “rousing anthem about alcoholism." But what thrilled me even more was when the entire ensemble displayed exquisitely coordinated comic timing. These moments were liberally sprinkled throughout, but a particular dropped cane bit in Act II deserves special mention. The choreography is stylistically spot on and superbly executed. My highest compliment to a show is that it is “tight." Kudos to Director/Choreographer Peter John Rios.

And so we come to "Man in Chair" (although, as my companion remarked, he spends very little time actually sitting in the chair). On the surface, Man is the quintessential wide-eyed uber-fan of musical theater, and Connor McAndrews enthusiastically invites us to share his joy and passion. But there’s also a great deal below the surface. While he seeks escapism via his favorite musical, he cannot avoid the encroachment of the less ideal reality of his life. With a masterfully nuanced performance, McAndrews more than meets this challenge. He engenders warm affection for his character, which makes the somewhat surreal final scene all the more affecting.

The production values are impressive. Jeff Reim’s clever set seamlessly transforms from a somewhat dingy New York apartment to multiple rooms of a mansion in the Hamptons. Timothy Lamont Cannon’s costumes and Lisa Miller Challenger’s wigs & hair transport us to 1928 society. Light and sound cues are intricate and demand split-second timing, so hats off to the operators in the booth.

In sum, The Drowsy Chaperone — much like the Marx Brothers comedies on which it is loosely modelled — is a madcap, raucous laugh-riot not to be missed!

See www.candlelighttheatredelaware.com.

Two Harpsichords, Two Guest Artists, One Premiere & "Catch 1"

By Christine Facciolo

Mélomanie’s concerts just keep getting better and better. Not that this innovative ensemble — that looks both to the past and to the future — ever delivers anything short of sheer excellence. But Sunday’s concert at The Delaware Contemporary knocked it out of the park with a World Premiere, the graphic notation of Polish composer Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, two guest artists as well as some delightful selections from the Baroque era.

The ensemble opened the concert with an extremely well-polished and impeccably precise rendering of the Chaconne from Marin Marais’ Suite 1 in C major (from Pieces en trio 1692).

Mélomanie performs with guest artists Matthew Bengtson & Chris Braddock.

Photo by Tim Bayard.

Harpsichordist Tracy Richardson then joined composer Christopher Braddock on the octave mandolin for a performance of Pluck, a piece that Braddock wrote in 2009 — a time when Braddock said he had far less personal responsibilities.

Braddock explained that he chose the instrument because it produces some of the low-end heft of the guitar along with the fiddle-like bounce of the mandolin, making it the perfect vehicle for Pluck with its idiomatic folk-style writing.

It was most interesting and entertaining to hear Richardson and the harpsichord take to the folk medium like second nature.

The highlight of the first half of the program, though, was Haubenstock-Ramati’s Catch 1 (1968) for two harpsichords adapted in Caught (2018) by Mark Hagerty. It’s doubtful that many in the audience ever heard anything by this composer since discs documenting his work are quite rare.

Haubenstock-Ramati’s aim was to move musicians far beyond what he perceived to their comfort zone of conventional notation. Yet the question of how to interpret his pictorial images remains. Hagerty’s realization features notated passages and snippet that can be freely selected and varied by the interpreters — in this case, Richardson and guest artist Matthew Bengtson — in response to the graphic notation.

It’s doubtful that anyone in the audience had ever heard music like this before. The experience would have been complete had there not been a technological glitch that prevented concertgoers from seeing the actual notation. Nevertheless, this was truly “music for the moment,” as Hagerty urged audience member to listen without regard to what came before or what was to follow.

Following intermission, Bengtson offered two selections from Pieces de Clavecin by Armand-Louis Couperin, cousin of the more famous Francois. Armand-Louis’ work is generally not considered as sophisticated as Louis’ but it is attractive and full of personality. Bengtson interpreted “L’Afflige” and “L’Intrepide” with sensitivity and intelligence. He was particularly successful in keeping Couperin’s rhythms flexible without distorting them and without sacrificing spontaneity.

Bengtson then rejoined Richardson for a vivid, imaginative performance of the Duetto I in C major for two harpsichords by Christoph Schaffrath, an important harpsichordist and composer in the court of Frederick the Great. Both were impressive in their execution of these demanding keyboard parts.

The concert concluded with the World Premiere of Braddock’s Hooks & Crooks, which the composer explained was written during a series of family vacations at various locales. Scored for flute, violin, viola da gamba and guitar, the work showed Braddock to be a flexible, eclectic composer with a sense of humor. The ensemble played with customary vitality and color as the music faded like a summer memory.

See www.melomanie.org. 

"Mary Poppins" at MPHS: A Spoonful of Sugar for the Eyes, Ears & Heart

By The Good Girls
The Good Girls appreciate the rich arts scene in Wilmington. Brenda is passionate about volunteering, food, the outdoors and learning tennis. Brynn, a 4th Grader, enjoys horses, traveling, singing and learning to crochet. Brynn's friend Madison joined us for her first theater experience. She is a 1st Grader who likes dancing, playing outside and solving math problems. 

Drama is serious fun at Mount Pleasant High School, with a year-round program featuring a fall play, student-directed (and many student-written) one-act festival and the spring show.

The cast of Mary Poppins at Mount Pleasant High School.
Photo courtesy of MPHS Drama.

This year’s spring show is the timeless Mary Poppins, based on the stories of R.L. Travers and the 1964 Walt Disney film. The expansive cast, orchestra and crew includes a record 24 seniors involved in the production. Many of the players have roots in prior Mount productions as well as those of other local performing arts staples, like Wilmington Drama League.

Drama is a community endeavor at Mount. While the school funds the staff, many other daunting expenses — such as securing the rights to perform the plays, costume rentals, lights and other tech — are all underwritten by volunteer fundraising efforts (raffles, concessions, program ads, etc.). Many, many volunteer hands join together to present these gems to us.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious showcased the captivating costumery and choreography, and the catchy classic had parents and children in the audience irresistibly singing and bobbing along. 

Brynn’s first experience with this mouthful was a delight to share in! Throughout the play, she bonded with child characters Jane and Michael Banks and quietly encouraged their father that Mary Poppins was in fact teaching them manners...with fun!

See MPHSdrama.com.