Fiddler on The Roof, Phoenix Festival Theater: Cathy Koncurat is strongly voiced, strongly opinionated, and fully embodies the grumpy, albeit lovable, character that is Golde, Tevye’s wife. You won’t be able to take your eyes off of her during the wedding, once the ‘dancing’ begins. Her facial expressions are hilarious as she begrudgingly gets dragged along into the merriment. She’s bristly and obstreperous, holding her own against Tevye, showing the edge of her patience-break when it comes to Yente, and mouths quick-wittedly at her daughters all in good time. But the really remarkable thing to note about Koncurat’s performance as Golde is the moment of raw discovery. Her voice is beautiful, no question, and it services “Do You Love Me?” with real emotional sincerity. But it’s that moment deep in that song where the sudden realization that this man that she’s been married to for 25 years— that she actually, earnestly loves him? When that moment hits her, it’s breathtaking and the smile that crosses her lips and stays there through the end of the number is wondrous too.
Footloose (Vi Moore) Phoenix Festival Theater In the seemingly secondary roles of the mothers, LaShelle Bray as Ren’s mom Ethel McCormick and Cathy Koncurat as preacher’s wife Vi Moore provide strong emotional and spiritual support. Their former duet, “Learning to Be Silent”, a whiney throwaway in the original version, becomes an emotional moment with the wise addition of Ariel, which brings a deeper vocal richness to the piece and makes it a trio feminist anthem of women who are stifled by the men in their lives: a husband, a father, and a brother-in-law/landlord. Bray shines as she stands by her son no matter how the town looks down on both of them, and Koncurat is lovely in her featured moment, the heartfelt “Can You Find It In Your Heart?”, a plea to her husband to recapture the feelings they’ve lost.
Into The Woods (Jacks Mom) Phoenix Festival Theater Creating a surprisingly nuanced performance in an oft dismissed role, Cathy Koncurat transforms the Jack’s Mother character into a secondary supporting role with depth and gravity behind it. Although the solo sung moments for Jack’s Mother are few, Koncurat lends a lovely voice to the ensemble.Urinetown(Ensemble) Phoenix Festival TheaterLegally Blonde (Ensemble) Phoenix Festival Theater The ensemble is as strong as they are fierce, which is very easily going to be the descriptor for this show if it had to be boiled down into one singular word. Full of heart, energy, and enthusiasm, they are singing and dancing with their hearts and heads full of passion all throughout this production. The bright pink suit seen on Elle’s Mom (Cathy Koncurat) when she arrives before the trial is an examples of costumer DiPeso’s flawless attention to detail.Mary Poppins (Mrs Corry) Phoenix Festival Theater As Mrs. Corry, the zany shopkeeper, Cathy Koncurat delights and amazes, infusing the perfect amount of energetic vim and vigor, without sending her character too far over an unreachable top. (As the precocious Banks children Jane and Michael, Sofia Bordner and Daniel Koncurat delight and amuse all the way through, Koncurat kept me smiling through the production, delivering Michael’s smart-alecky wit with skill and humor.)
Mame (Agnes Gooch) Phoenix Festival TheaterLost in Yonkers (Gert) Tidewater PlayersFiddler on The Roof (Ensemble) Phoenix Festival TheaterOliver (Strawberry Seller) Milburne Stone TheaterAnnie (Sophie, Ensemble) Phoenix Festival TheaterThe Sound of Music (Frau Schmidt, Ensemble) Phoenix Festival Theater
Mame (Agnes Gooch) Phoenix Festival TheaterBabes in Toyland (Mother Goose) Phoenix Festival TheaterEvita (Ensemble) Phoenix Festival TheaterAnnie (Sophie, Perkins, Ensemble) Tidewater Players
