Miss Saigon review: "Eric Kunze makes a persuasively love-struck, then haunted Chris, belting his power ballads with heartfelt zeal."

Read more at:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/6864801.html

Kunze and Chua complement each other in both on stage passion and chemistry but also in tone, vocally creating amazing harmonies throughout their duets. As the plot progresses Kunze masterfully moves Chris from carefree and smitten in love to a wiser man under the pressures of his complicated social situation.

Read more at:
http://houston.broadwayworld.com/article/MISS_SAIGON_Heat_is_On_at_TUTS_20010101

Photos of Eric and Melinda from the Houston TUTS Production of "Miss Saigon"

Enjoy a few preview photos of Eric Kunze (Chris) and Melinda Chua (Kim) from the upcoming Houston production of "Miss Saigon"!

Photos by: Bruce Bennett Photography

Miss Saigon Study Guide

TUTS (Theater Under the Stars) in Houston posted a link to a valuable resource for anyone attending or interested in "Miss Saigon":
http://www.tuts.com/Images/SeasonShowDocs/MissSaigon_StudyGuide.pdf

Eric Interview on Fox26 Morning News in Houston

Melinda Chua, who plays the role of Kim, and Eric Kunze, who plays the role of Chris, visit FOX 26 Morning News Extra to preview the touring production of "Miss Saigon."

Eric and Gina honored on the Vista Walk of Fame

On Monday, January 18, 2010, the Vista Conservancy honored Eric Kunze and Gina DeLuca, along with nine other celebrities, who were originally from the area, in a ceremony as part of the opening of the Vista Walk of Fame!
Read more at:  http://tiny.cc/vistawalk

New Year's Eve With the Cincinnati Symphony

MASQUERADE

New Year’s Eve Concert and Ball

Steven Reineke, Conductor

Betsey Wolfe & Eric Kunze, Vocalists

Mystery Guest

Thurs Dec 31, 2009

7:30 PM

Ring in the New Year with an evening of music and mischief. A mystery guest joins us on a musical gondola ride through Venice and beyond, with a Phantom finale. After the concert, join us upstairs in the Ballroom for a magical end to the evening with dinner, live music and libations. Mask optional.

Concert tickets: From $10

Ball tickets: $150

Concert tickets may be purchased separately from the Ball

For Tickets go to:

http://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/Content.php?id=55

Music of the Night in Vancouver

The concert, "Music of the Night", starring Eric Kunze and Betsey Wolfe and directed by Bramwell Tovey with the Vancouver Symphony was fabulous both nights and I heard everyone raving about how much they enjoyed it as we were walking out. The music featured was a compilation of songs from Broadway shows such as West Side Story, Phantom, Miss Saigon, Superstar, Evita, and Les Miserables. Bramwell Tovey, the conductor of the Vancouver Symphony is really funny and made a lot of side jokes and background information about the music. He actually played the organ with a mask on (a la Phantom) then walked up behind the head violinist and startled her with it. He was replacing Erich Kunzel, who was originally supposed to be the guest conductor and tragically passed away last month. Maestro Tovey joked that Erich was the only conductor he knew that insisted upon a case of beer in his dressing room. Tovey said, there must be budget cuts, because he did not get the same courtesy. They did a tribute to Erich Kunzel at the end of the concert.

A surprise was Eric, dressed as the Phantom, singing "Music of the Night". But the highlight for me, was "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables. It was in an even higher key than originally written, but Eric hit each high note impeccably and I found myself in tears throughout.

The second night, another packed house, was just as awesome as the first, in fact better. The audience stood up spontaneously as Eric and Betsey came out for their bows and stood again after the encore. I could hear many comments around me as we were leaving how much people enjoyed the show. Everyone was raving about it. A big success!

Eric and Betsey will be appearing together again in other cities.  Stay tuned to this site for updates.  A trip report and photos of the city can be found on my blog: http://www.maggiwun.blogspot.com/

Eric Nominated for an Ovation Award!

Eric Kunze was nominated for an Ovation award as Lead Actor in a Musical for his performance in Jesus Christ Superstar with the Civic Light Opera! The awards ceremony will be held on Monday, January 11, 2010 at 7:30pm at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.

What are the Ovations Awards? The LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Labeled the "...highest-profile contest for local theatre..." by the Los Angeles Times, the Ovation Awards presents an opportunity for the theatre community to join together and focus public attention on our city’s rich and lively performing arts scene. Another goal of the program is to draw national attention to the quality and quantity of professional theatre in Los Angeles. Read more at: Theatermania

Review of Window Pains

I had an unexpected opportunity to see Eric and Gina in Window Pains in Lake Havasu last weekend. By a stroke of luck I found myself in that part of the U.S. and was able to catch the show, which was a gala season opener for Grace Arts Live. It was a treat to see not only Eric, but see him work with his childhood friend and musical partner, Gina Deluca.

Grace Arts Theater is owned and operated by Grace Ann, longtime friend, teacher and mentor of Eric and Gina all the way back to junior high school. I'm sure she was very proud to host her proteges, who have both been a success on Broadway and across the nation, in their very own production here in Lake Havasu. The show is a very unique blend of dialogue and song in two acts. Brooke Cannon, a student of Gina, and Armando Guitterez played the younger couple in love, and Eric and Gina played the older, more seasoned couple, opening the show with three numbers from "Sunday in the Park With George". The only complaint I have is that I wanted to see and hear more. The show is available for bookings. Contact Gina via the Big City Broadway website: www.bigcitybroadway.com

Report on Voices for Hope - Montreal 2009

The Voices for Hope concert headlined our own Eric and Gina and featured many well known Canadian performers including opera singer Ching Hui-Kuo, French recording artist Michel Comeau, television actor Martin Bedard, tenor and radio personality Ashley Foote, Braulio Elicer from Altar Boyz. The concert was varied and entertaining and was well received by the audience.

Eric and Gina opened the show with a dialog and songs from three numbers out of "Sunday in the Park with George". Eric, dressed in dark pants, a black suede jacket, dark shirt and tie was the painter Georges Seurat, while Gina posed for him. She had on a gorgeous black period costume and sang the theme song, followed by Eric singing "Finishing the Hat" and they both sang "Move On". This is part of the program for their "Window Pains" show which they developed and will be performing in Lake Havasu at the end of the month and other venues in the future. Later in the show they did "High Flying Adored", this time with Gina in a stunning red dress and red heels. And they both did numbers from Les Miz: Eric singing "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" and Gina doing "On My Own".

Trip to St. Louis to see Godspell (Photos)

Click on photo below to see the whole album:

Eric Kunze Muny St. Louis Godspell 2009

Seeing Eric in Godspell was completely different for me from any of the other shows he has been in. His performance combined a little of the humor of Joseph and the pathos of Jesus Christ Superstar. He was on stage the whole time, like in Evita. And rather than being a starring vehicle it was more of an ensemble piece, like Les Miz. But there the similarities end. His multi-faceted character was alternately playful, bouyant, enthusiastic ("I wanna get washed up!) to, in the second act, angry, sad and resigned.

For the first time I was able to witness Eric's dancing abilities. He's always been light on his feet. In "Whistle Down the Wind" he effortlessly scampered up and down the ladder in the barn. In "Evita" we saw glimpses of his dancing potential. In "Godspell" he leapt up onto the rungs of the merry-go-round, precariously balancing himself like a tightrope walker. While singing, he jumped gracefully onto picnic tables and ran up a slide without missing a beat or getting out of breath. The show was filled with topical references. My favorites were when Eric in black sunglasses and a flashlight as a microphone did a rap number, complete with the requisite head bobbing and hand movements and in another number falling on his knees and playing air guitar. Dressed in tan cargo shorts and a white gauze shirt, only half buttoned, he was clean shaven, his longer hair held back from his forehead by a bandana headband.



The crucifixion scene is one I always dread. I was relieved when it seemed that this time it would be done symbolically, with Judas tying Jesus' hands on either side of the gazebo, red strips of cloth hanging down symbolizing the blood. Yet during the dramatic music and Eric singing "Oh God, I'm bleeding", "dying", "dead", my heart broke just as if it were being graphically shown, a testiment to Eric's abilities as an actor as well as a singer.

I saw the show four times. Each night it grew on me more. I prefer seeing a show more than once, more than twice even, especially if it's a show I'm not so familiar with. It's like listening to a CD for the first time. By the third time, you are humming the tunes and hitting replay on certain songs. This production did extremely well with the Muny audiences. Despite being a "small" show by their standards, with a simple unchanging set, despite the fact it was All Star Baseball week in St. Louis, the 11,000 seat theater was quite full every night. I know I'm prejudiced, but I believe this is due in large part to Eric's popularity and talent.