Michael McKelvey: A Visionary for the Performing Arts By Dean M. Shapiro Every now and then, in the New Orleans cultural arts community, a true visionary comes along with new and exciting plans for bringing the performing art forms to a wider range of audiences. Such a visionary is Michael McKelvey. Taking the helm as Artistic Director for Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane University in August 2015, he recently guided Summer Lyric through his first season which, judging from preliminary box office totals, could be considered a success. The three productions staged during the Summer 2016 season, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Big River, were all well-received by both local theatre critics and by capacity or nearcapacity audiences. When McKelvey came on board for Summer Lyric’s 49th season, he knew he would have some big shoes to fill. His predecessors, B. Michael Howard and Frank Monachino, achieved iconic status during their long tenures. However, after only a year on the job, McKelvey has already shown that he was more than ready to take on the challenges the job entails. When he arrived in New Orleans, he brought to the table a 30-plus-year track record that includes nearly every job description in the performing arts – from acting, singing and teaching to writing, producing, directing and even running lights and sound. But being responsible for selecting and staging the three shows in the Summer Lyric season is only part of what McKelvey does throughout the year. He also teaches voice and musical theatre at Tulane, directs shows there and in Austin, Texas - his previous home - and, if that wasn’t enough, he is also bringing live theatre to the New Orleans schools 24 | BREAKTHRU MEDIA | breakthrumediamagazine.com S E P T E M B E R / O C TOB E R 2 0 1 6
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