Marya Hart
.. is a composer, pianist and music director, specializing in vocal and theatrical music.
After a misspent youth in blues, jazz and western swing bands and extensive work as a theatre music director and pianist, she began serious composition in 2005 and has since created five major music theatre pieces in addition to incidental music, religious and secular songs, and a continuous stream of music for students at Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, where she is a teaching artist.
In other words…
With her mastery of American roots and knack for complex harmonies, Marya Hart is a composer hell bent on deepening the American musical theater experience. You’ll find her at the crossroads of clarity and color.
–John Bueche, artistic director, Bedlam Theatre
Marya’s music is smart and sassy. Her theatre music embodies the world of the plays beautifully, but always with a surprise and a twist.
–Suzy Messerole, independent stage director
Her music is confident, vigorous and melodic.
–Dan Pinkerton, playwright
And the critics say…
We’re dealing with that old fallback theme of musical theater—rapacious land development versus the preservation of historic neighborhoods. John Bueche’s book and lyrics (accompanied by Marya Hart’s music) pull off the neat trick of pointing out that there are idealists and Utopians on each side of the divide. A five-piece band, driven by Avedis Manoogian on piano, chugs along nicely on these lively tunes; suffice it to say the songs at no time recall that other urban boho musical, “Rent.”
…What creates friction is the fact that in many ways this is a conventional musical, and a quite good one at that. It has a sunny nature beneath its self-mocking heart, even a sense of transcendent uplift. …Ultimately, “West Bank Story” treats time—and chaos—as a friend rather than an enemy, which is a familiar sentiment for anyone who has ever done anything as quixotic as try to love a city.
–Quinton Skinner from City Pages, reviewing West Bank Story
An enveloping spectrum of piano-based compositions by Marya Hart…superbly captures the mood of each number. Eschewing musical tendencies to impress with bombast, Hart courts emotion through a stripped-down approach that perfectly aligns with the setting and the characters. The compositions propel the story and reinforce the prevailing moods. It’s a subtly rich arrangement that never calls attention to itself, yet remains largely responsible for bringing the story to life with an enormity of feeling and vibrancy.
Brad Richason from Examiner.com, reviewing Twenty Days to Find a Wife
