{"id":88987,"date":"2026-05-28T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=88987"},"modified":"2026-05-27T15:58:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:58:43","slug":"musical-theatre-west-full-orchestra-donation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/see\/musical-theatre-west-full-orchestra-donation","title":{"rendered":"In a world of shrinking orchestras, a $65,000 gift let this Long Beach theater afford the full musical experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to Theater News, a regular column by longtime reviewer Anita W. Harris. Look for it most Thursdays. Or\u00a0sign up<\/a>\u00a0for our Eat. See. Do. newsletter to get it in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you thought the music sounded especially amazing in Musical Theatre West\u2019s recent \u201cMan of La Mancha<\/a>\u201d and \u201cIn the Heights<\/a>,\u201d it wasn\u2019t your imagination. The theater bolstered the orchestra for each show to create the best sound possible, thanks to a $65,000 donation by Joel and Karen Fierberg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis gift doesn\u2019t just add musicians, it transforms the experience for our audiences and our artists alike,\u201d said executive director Paul Garman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of relying on electronic keyboards to fill in the sound of missing instruments, \u201cMan of La Mancha\u201d in February had a full 17-piece orchestra, with five woodwinds, six brass instruments, two Spanish guitars, three percussionists and a bass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And last month\u2019s \u201cIn the Heights\u201d featured the show\u2019s original 13-piece Broadway orchestration, which the theater credits for supporting high-energy performances that led to sold-out dates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Orchestra rehearsing for Musical Theatre West’s \u201cMan of La Mancha.\u201d Photo courtesy of Musical Theatre West.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the sound of live theatre at its fullest, and our audiences can truly feel the difference,\u201d said associate producer Bren Thor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional musicians will also add musical depth to the theater\u2019s upcoming shows, \u201cJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat\u201d in July and \u201cLittle Women\u201d in November, thanks to the Fierbergs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cModern musical theatre has increasingly become about how few musicians you can use to create the biggest possible sound,\u201d said Ryan O\u2019Connell, music director for \u201cMan of La Mancha.\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re often lucky to have nine or ten players, with keyboards filling in entire string or brass sections. It can sound fine, but at the end of the day, it\u2019s an imitation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Fierbergs\u2019 donation stems from their long support and appreciation of Musical Theatre West. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we heard that the orchestra size was likely to be reduced due to budgetary constraints, we decided to fund the difference so we could have full, Broadway show-sized orchestras this season,\u201d Joel Fierberg told the Long Beach Post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the theater is seeking donations<\/a> of all sizes for other production elements as well \u2014 such as costumes, lighting and scenery \u2014 supporting a full orchestra this season made sense for Joel, a former chief financial officer who had majored in music at UCLA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and wife Karen became season subscribers to Musical Theatre West in 2013 after a show there impressed them. Since then, Joel has assisted the theater in its finances and auditing, especially after retiring in 2023, and currently serves on its board of directors as treasurer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Joel and Karen Fierberg. Photo courtesy of Musical Theatre West.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He believes musical theater is an \u201cincredible outlet for actors, singers and musicians of all ages,\u201d he said, noting how a recent high school production seemed to mean as much to its student performers as a Broadway show does to its cast and crew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMusical theatre not only provides enjoyable entertainment \u2014 which we all need so badly these days \u2014 but its themes offer an opportunity to consider different issues and points of view that are timeless,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To a Long Beach resident who has never attended a show at Musical Theatre West, Fierberg simply says, \u201cCome!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI guarantee you\u2019ll have such a great time, you\u2019ll be telling your friends about the entire experience,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ll be amazed at the quality of the production and the warm welcome you\u2019ll receive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not to mention a stellar musical experience as well, thanks to the Fierbergs\u2019 generous support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musical Theatre West shows play at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St. on the Cal State Long Beach campus. For information and tickets to upcoming shows, visit <\/em>Musical.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Musical Theatre West says a recent donation has transformed “the experience for our audiences and our artists alike.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":88990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32366],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32310],"class_list":["post-88987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-see","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88987"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88992,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88987\/revisions\/88992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88987"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=88987"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=88987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}