Bortnick concert, and PBS rebroadcast, keep Entwistle’s work interesting

In our previous LOG, we described the success of the July 11 fundraiser concert at the Weidner Center with piano prodigy Ethan Bortnick. The show, with about 1,300 energized patrons in attendance, was taped for potential use as a PBS special. When the program airs as early as this December we are sure it will be watched with interest by UW-Green Bay Prof. Jeff Entwistle. He was chosen to provide scenic design for the production. Entwistle was assisted by Tracey Cook, the wife of UW-Green Bay technical director David Cook and herself a professional stage manager and technician. Entwistle says he enjoyed the Bortnick assignment even with the tight budget and turnaround. One fun thing: The terrific cape that Ethan wore for his “Phantom of the Opera” number was designed and constructed many years ago by Entwistle’s wife, Donna. (Ethan loved the look, and also noted that the cape was about as heavy as he is.) Jeff Entwistle says Bortnick’s PBS project, as have other Weidner Center events over the decade, brought some of the best in the business to campus. The production’s director was Julia Knowles, highly respected in the industry for televised concerts and award shows on PBS and the BBC; the music director, producer Dave Rosenthal, is Billy Joel’s music director and a keyboardist who has toured or recorded with Bruce Springsteen, Enrique Iglesias, Whitesnake, and Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow, among others; and lighting designer Jeff Ravitz, who  has won multiple Emmy awards for his TV concert work, was longtime lighting director for Springsteen.