Rubino, McClellan share their friendship in show

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Native Youngstown performers Liz Rubino and James McClellan will present “The Last Fifteen Years … A Musical Friendship” on Saturday at Ford Family Recital Hill.

With pianist Anthony Ruggiero leading a three-piece combo, the singers will present an evening of contemporary musical-theater songs, written and produced on and off Broadway since 1996. The audience will hear tunes from such musicals as “Rent,” “The Lion King,” “The Producers,” “Hairspray,” “Avenue Q,” “Spamalot,” “Next To Normal,” “Spring Awakening” and “Billy Elliot.”

The musical revue also will review a friendship forged in the area’s community theaters. Rubino and McClellan first worked together in the Easy Street production of “Into the Woods” at the Youngstown Playhouse in 1996 and have since collaborated on a number of projects — in one instance, performing their self-created, two-person Stephen Sondheim revue “Our Time” to capacity crowds at the Oakland Center for the Arts in 2004.

Rubino, who lives in New York City, is an Actors Equity performer and drama therapist, and maintains a studio at the Youngstown Playhouse, where her work with aspiring, young musical-theater talents continues to flourish. McClellan has been performing in the Mahoning Valley since childhood, and most recently appeared in back-to-back productions of “I Am My Own Wife” (Oakland) and “Forever Plaid” (Easy Street).

“We wanted to give people in the area a chance to hear songs from shows that may or may not be familiar to them, but which we think are worthy of their attention,” said McClellan. “Some of the shows represented in this program have actually been performed locally, while others remain untried.”

Rubino said the Youngstown theater scene has provided rich emotional and educational experiences for herself and McClellan, solidifying a friendship bonded in music and theater.

“My deepest wish is for this audience to walk away from the concert having witnessed the transformative potential which music and lyrics can foster both creatively and within relationships,” she said.