Let’s hear it for Kevin Hauge’s 30-year run at CMT San Jose

When Children s Musical Theater San Jose opens Waitress on April it will be a momentous occasion the start of the finish for Kevin Hauge who is retiring this summer after years as the youth theater company s artistic director For a lot of people CMT and Kevin Hauge are synonymous reported CMT San Jose Managing Director Dana Zell That s pretty amazing for an artistic director The Sara Bareilles musical is one of the last two shows that Hauge will direct at the Montgomery Theatre before he takes his final bows this summer His last show will be Disney s Frozen in late July a Mainstage Production for high school and college-age performers But Waitress which has nine performances through April will be one of CMT s Marquee shows with a cast that features working adult actors and CMT alumni several of whom grew up with Hauge directing them on stage Artistic Director Kevin Hauge who is retiring after seasons walks off the stage at the end of the Children's Musical Theater San Jose annual gala at San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Jose Calif on Saturday Feb Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group People watch a performance of Chicago during the Children's Musical Theater San Jose annual gala at San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Jose Calif on Saturday Feb Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Artistic Director Kevin Hauge center right works with actors during the dress rehearsal of the Children's Musical Theater San Jose's production of The Who's Tommy at the Montgomery Theater in San Jose California on Thursday March LiPo Ching Bay Area News Group Artistic Director Kevin Hauge right works with actors during the dress rehearsal of the Children's Musical Theater San Jose's production of The Who's Tommy at the Montgomery Theater in San Jose California on Thursday March LiPo Ching Bay Area News Group Artistic Director Kevin Hauge works with actors during the dress rehearsal of the Children's Musical Theater San Jose's production of The Who's Tommy at the Montgomery Theater in San Jose California on Thursday March LiPo Ching Bay Area News Group Artistic Director Kevin Hauge center works with actors during the dress rehearsal of the Children's Musical Theater San Jose's production of The Who's Tommy at the Montgomery Theater in San Jose California on Thursday March LiPo Ching Bay Area News Group Ryan Vasquez performs during the VIP reception of CMT San Jose's Cabaret Night gala with Artistic Director Kevin Hauge watching and Mason Kimont on piano Sal Pizarro Bay Area News Group Longtime CMT Director Kevin Hauge gives feedback during a rehearsal on Nov of Children's Musical Theater Marquee Production of Disney's NEWSIES The Musical The show runs Dec - at the Montgomery Theater in downtown San Jose Jacqueline Ramseyer Staff Photographer Longtime CMT Artistic Director Kevin Hauge gives feedback during a Nov rehearsal of CMT's Marquee production of 'Disney's Newsies the Musical ' The show runs Dec - at the Montgomery Theater in downtown San Jose Jacqueline Ramseyer Staff Photographer Show Caption of Artistic Director Kevin Hauge who is retiring after seasons walks off the stage at the end of the Children's Musical Theater San Jose annual gala at San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Jose Calif on Saturday Feb Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Expand The applause would have to be deafening and the standing ovation backbreaking to properly recognize what Hauge has meant to the region s youth theater and the thousands of young performers he has worked with in hundreds of shows over those decades Hauge arrived in the South Bay in as the choreographer for shows at Great America in Santa Clara and over the next five years he also worked as a choreographer and director for Children s Musical Theater which had been founded in It was during this time that Zell first encountered him when she played a Winkie in a production of The Wiz Even then he wasn t the artistic director but he had come back a meager times to direct individual shows she recalled But being part of a Kevin show was a big deal His job took him to Texas for a minimal years where he got married and started a family That s when Michael Mulcahy then a former CMT performer who d taken on the role of executive director and is now a San Jose city councilmember called asking if he could be an crisis fill-in director for their summer show Guys and Dolls It was the most of fundamental eight weeks of my life because it was in that eight weeks as a young man in my early s I realized this is where I had to be This was where I was meant to be Hauge disclosed last month at a meeting of the Rotary Club of San Jose I was meant to create art certainly but it was more vital for me to work with young people and share with them what I had learned Eighteen months later Mulcahy and CMT s board hired Hauge as the company s first artistic director Under Hauge s tenure CMT expanded now producing shows a year for different age groups as well as summer camps and classes and pushed the boundaries of what children s theater means with quality productions of shows like Les Miserables Billy Elliott The Who s Tommy Rent and American Idiot CMT alums have gone on to act on Broadway in national touring shows on TV and in movies The company s work has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and Hague was an honorable mention for the Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre Instruction in Hauge says those are things to be very proud of but he s equally proud of CMT performers who go on to be doctors teachers engineers nurses or any countless life choices We are about life lessons that we give young people through the performing arts he disclosed ticking off skills like time management and predicament solving We want you to use these universal life lessons in your future Alex Brightman and Ryan Vasquez two CMT alums who have gone onto Broadway success and Tony Award nominations praised Hauge in a video they recorded for CMT s annual fundraising gala held at the San Jose Civic on Feb One of the things we both shared is one of the things Kevin taught us early on at CMT which is society theater is exactly that reported Brightman who was starring along side Vasquez in the production of Schmigadoon that month at the Kennedy Center It s about society and we ve held onto that through the several shows we ve done over the numerous years That gala was very much a tribute to Hauge filled with performances by more than actors singers and dancers in numbers from the past three decades of shows Several arrived on flights from around the country with little time to rehearse before they stepped back into roles they may have last played more a decade ago or more Each attendee received a note thanking them signed Bravo K a nod to the inspirational notes Hauge gives to his young performers For much of the brunch and dinner shows when he wasn t on stage Hauge watched the performances from the back with his expressions at times more like those of a proud parent than a stage director Thirty years ago I had that epiphany of saying Oh I think I can really help these kids but anybody who s been in the room with that group of folks at CMT knows it s the kids who really helped me Hauge reported They have given me vitality and purpose and an interest in life that I never thought I could have Related Articles San Jose couple s secret to years of marriage Tenacity Artists innovate tactics to tell stories of Santa Clara County women San Jose s Notre Dame High School sets the table for notable women ICA San Jose celebrates new solo exhibition Blood Be Water Extra Extra The Pressroom set to open in downtown San Jose And I really count my days until I ll be done but I know that the next days for the Children s Theater will be remarkable and I can t wait to see what they do ARIAS IN THE AFTERNOON The San Jose Woman s Club is celebrating its th anniversary by bringing back one of its largest part popular events the Opera with the Stars luncheon for the first time since the COVID- pandemic The April event will include performances by Opera San Jose resident artists who should sound great because of the acoustics of the historic clubhouse s Landmark Ballroom Proceeds from the event will benefit scholarships for academic and vocal students at San Jose State University The vocal scholarships were started by the late Alma Taylor and a legacy from her estate has kept them going but this year it will restart funding for the academic scholarships Tickets are for the full lunch followed by the performance or people with a tighter schedule can opt for dessert and the performance for Tickets are available at operalunch eventbrite com or by calling - - COUNTY CONCERNS Santa Clara County Executive James Williams will discuss what federal cuts could mean for county programs and services as well as how the county is responding at a meeting April that s being hosted by the South Bay Democratic Coalition The p m meeting will be held at Moorpark Ave Suite but you can watch online by emailing rkstoken sbcglobal net for information