BROADWAY CAME TO THE CATSKILLS - OR COMES to the Catskills

By Iris Mead

ARKVILLE — On a snowy, chilly Saturday night, the Arkville Brewstillery hosted The Margaretville Arts Center’s major fundraiser to support the Delaware County School of Performing Arts (DCSPA) founded by Garth Kravits and Julia Rugg. The Brewstillery was turned into a festive dining hall strung with lights, table settings with fresh flower centerpieces, a brightly lit Christmas tree and a performance stage. A sold-out crowd came dressed for the occasion as many sparkly outfits were seen on both men and women.

Broadway friends of Garth performed familiar songs from well-known shows. Garth, who has appeared both on and off Broadway, led off with Cabaret, Jane Bruce, recently in Jagged Little Pill, was next with I’m Not afraid of Anything, Kimberly Marable, with many Broadway roles to her credit, sang Our Lady of the Underground from Hadestown, Jared Zirilli, a veteran of many Broadway shows, performed Dancing Through Life from Wicked and Marc delaCruz finished the first set with Wait For It from Hamilton. Jacob Yates, a new part-time resident in our area, and currently the Associate Music Director for the Off-Broadway hit ‘The Baker’s Wife’ energetically accompanied all the musicians, with Mike Ralff on bass.

After intermission, the students of the DCSPA began Act 2 with a medley from ‘Timestruck’, an original musical written by the students during their Summer Theater Workshop. The performance highlighting various members of the company. The crowd was again entertained as more Broadway songs were sung by the performers with Kimberly Marable bringing down the house with her rendition of the Circle of Life from Lion King. The evening ended with all the performers on stage singing together. A delicious French, three-course meal was prepared by Dina and Jean-François Bonnet of Cafe Marguerite with wines donated by Dear Native Grapes Winery in Walton.

The Margaretville Arts Center is a 501(c)(3) not for profit that brings free and low cost professional Performing Arts education and experiences to the people of Delaware County and beyond. Watch for exciting news regarding a new space for the organization and their latest classes and productions. www.mvillearts.com