Here’s the current news on
three folks who graduated from Lansing-area high schools and have gone on to
bigger and better things.
1)
Lisa Kron, graduate of Everett High School in Lansing won Tony
awards for her musical “Fun Home” in 2015. She wrote the book and lyrics for
the show which opened off Broadway, graduated to Broadway where it snagged the
best musical of the year Tony and went on to a successful nationwide tour.
The
news now is that “Fun Home” will be made into a Hollywood movie. Jack Gyllenhaal
is the producer and will star. Shooting
has not begun yet. Also, Peppermint Creek Theater Company will be present “Fun
Home” in May.
2)
David Cooper, French hornist, graduated from Grand Ledge High
school and has had a spectacular career since then. He was principal horn with the Dallas Symphony,
was recruited to fill the same role with the Berlin Philharmonic and last year
was appointed principal horn with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Many people regard the CSO as the finest
orchestra in the US. Cooper soloed with
the Lansing Symphony two years ago and recently released an excellent new CD.
Many
orchestral players do not have the flexibility and soloist qualities to do well
with solo recordings. But this CD, “Impressions”,
is a beautifully played album of French music. Cooper shows off his spectacular
tone but also a poetic quality to his phrasing. This new release is available on
Spotify and other sites.
3)
Daniel Messe, graduate of East Lansing High School, is a musician
and composer who has experienced tons of success in many musical genres,
including writing the music for Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” in Central Park.
His
first love, however, is Broadway. Two years
ago he wrote a musical based on the French film, “Amelie”. Although it did not have a long run on
Broadway, it has toured the world to enthusiastic audiences. He has recently won the Kleban Prize for
Music Theater (Lisa Kron also won the same prize in 2017), a coveted award in
the New York theater community.
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