Les Misérables - Music Theatre of Wichita
Music Theatre of Wichita's summer finale, Les Misérables,
is a soul-stirring, goosebump-inducing spectacle that ranks with the best versions I've seen on
Broadway or London and just may be the best production in MTW's 37-year history.
…Music director Thomas Wesley Douglas led his 23-piece orchestra
(bigger than those used on Broadway these days)
through three concentrated and hauntingly lovely hours of non-stop music.
But it is the voices that send this production to the top of the ranks.
…Ashley Batten as Cosette and Desi Oakley as Eponine, two young women in love with the same man,
Marius, are glorious as they pursue "A Heart Full of Love" in a trio with him.
Bob Cutright
Wichita Eagle - August 03, 2008
Carnegie Mellon's Bus Stop Opera - New York City
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
If you're an opera singer from Carnegie Mellon University, you take the bus -
serenading New Yorkers with offbeat arias along the way.
Making their Broadway debut via the M104,
musicians, singers and actors from the Pittsburgh college took their show on the road yesterday.
At each of five stops from Harlem to Times Square, they performed for passersby,
singing original pieces based on conversations heard on the streets.
There was a song about missing a bus,
a number about lucky lottery numbers and another about meeting the love of your life on mass transit.
"They were charming,"
said Lillian Kelly, a Manhattan retiree.
"I'm waiting for the bus, but I would've let one pass by to hear them."
"I give them a lot of credit," added Barbara Stockhaussen.
"People passing by probably think they're crazy."
Performer Ashley Batten said her favorite part was gauging the crowd's reaction.
"That's the most fun, singing eye to eye with a complete stranger," she said.
"It breaks all social barriers."
Read the entire article
Lacie Hales and Owen Moritz
NY Daily News - May 23, 2009
Street Scene - Carnegie Mellon
The dance routine between Dick McGann, played by junior music major Timothy Ruff,
and Mae Jones, performed by senior music major Ashley Batten,
was another enjoyable escape from the heavy storyline.
This moment was also the highlight for the pit orchestra as they provided a big band-style swing number
that was only enhanced by the choreography between Ruff and Batten.
Read the entire article
Brendan Ryan
The Tartan - January 26, 2009
The Coronation of Poppea - Carnegie Mellon
The blind Amor (Ashley Batten) enters,
then bounds down the auditorium steps to her perch on the scaffold on the side of the stage.
...actors held their own under difficult circumstances.
...Batten, playing Amor, took her character's blindness to a playful level as she groped through
the air during scenes, eventually jumping onto Valetto's (music junior Ryan Townsend)
back while he was singing.
Read the entire article
Laura Thorén
The Tartan - October 27, 2008
Orientation Talent Show - Carnegie Mellon
On the Saturday of Orientation week, the class of 2009+ showed off their many talents.
From musical instruments to a magic show, the first-years were thoroughly impressive.
...and a Broadway-quality singer (CFA freshman Ashley Batten).
Read the entire article
Catherine Scudera
The Tartan - August 31, 2005