Prohibition
Saturday, September 20, 2025
The Music of Moulin Rouge, Boardwalk Empire and more! Imagine time-traveling one night through the dark cabarets and speakeasies of New York, Paris, Berlin, London and Atlantic City, reliving the 1920s in all its decadence… Prohibition, Gangsters, Ingenues and Intrigue. PROHIBITION takes you on a journey through the era, from Rudy Vallée to Josephine Baker, from Kurt Weill to King Oliver, featuring the top hits of the decade authentically arranged for orchestra by Grammy-winner Jeff Tyzik, accompanied by vintage imagery and video from the period.
In addition, join the WSO before the performance for a speakeasy-themed dinner! More details to be announced at a later date.
Single tickets go on sale June 27 at 10 am. Subscriptions go on sale May 15.
For more information, contact the Wheeling Symphony Box Office at 304-232-6191 or boxoffice@wheelingsymphony.com.
Featuring
Sarah Uriarte Berry, vocalist
Sarah Uriarte Berry has starred in five Broadway shows and three Broadway National tours. She has headlined at the New York City Opera and was a soloist at Carnegie Hall with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop. On Broadway, Ms. Berry is perhaps most noted for creating the role of Franca in The Light in the Piazza for Lincoln Center Theater for which she received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations. Prior to that, she appeared as Belle in Disney’s Beauty & The Beast, Eponine in Les Miserables, Nicola in Taboo, and as Diana in the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning Next To Normal. She also appeared in the title role for New York City Opera’s production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Ms. Berry starred in the Royal National Tour of Carousel (Dramalogue Award Best Actress, Ovation nomination), Sunset Boulevard with Petula Clark, and the National Tour of Les Miserables. Regionally, she appeared in A Little Night Music at The Kennedy Center, Terrence McNally’s Master Class, Guys and Dolls, The Sound of Music, Violet, West Side Story, White Christmas, and Jekyll and Hyde. A busy concert artist, Sarah has sung with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Utah Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Spokane Symphony, The Cape Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Symphony Silicone Valley, New Haven Symphony, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Santa Rosa Symphony, Gulf Coast Symphony, Hartford Symphony among others. Ms. Berry recently debuted her one woman show, For The Love Of Judy, celebrating the music and life of Judy Garland, with The Cape Symphony. Her debut EP inspired by this concert is now available. Ms. Berry’s Broadway Cast recordings include The Light In The Piazza, Taboo, The Boys from Syracuse, and Tenderloin as well as Bernstein’s Mass with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Her Television and Film appearances include Law and Order CSI, Frontera, Pretty Bird, Six Degrees, the Dave Letterman Show, and the PBS presentation of The Light in the Piazza. Sarah is a graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. She is married to actor/director Michael Berry and is the proud mother of Madeleine, Sam and Jesse.
Myra Maud, vocalist
Myra Maud is an award-winning singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and producer. Throughout the years, Myra shared the stage with superstars such as Mireille Matthieu, Johnny Hallyday, Céline Dion or Enrique Iglesias and performed in the presence of Quincy Jones in Davos (Switzerland) with her own choir Gospel Sans Frontières. She starred as the great Josephine Baker in the French movie “Les Enfants Du Pays" with Michel Serrault. In 2001 she left Paris to play the lead role of "Nala" in the Lion King Musical in Hamburg (Germany). In addition to her success as a performer Myra is a highly sought after musical and vocal coach and workshop facilitator. She has led team building workshops for large multi-national corporations and smaller companies. In addition, she regularly donates and invests her time by singing in hospitals and prisons. In 2010 Myra received her first platinum record in South Africa, for the album "Afri-Frans", a project which presents traditional South African folk songs in French. The 2nd album reached Gold Status. Myra’s international acclaim tremendously grew when she was invited to be the lead singer of the Opening Ceremony of the 2011 FIFA Women’s Soccer World Cup in Frankfurt, an event which had in excess of 130,000 spectators. In 2014, she released her first jazz album entitled "Salt - La Solution”, a project in collaboration with acclaimed producer, Lutz Krajenski. Another major expansion of her international footprint took place when she was invited to be the headliner of the Eleuthera Jazz Festival (Bahamas) in 2015, 2017 and 2018. In 2015, Paris welcomes her back. Myra plays the lead role: "Rosa L'Amour" in the musical Gospel Sur La Colline. 50 performances at Les Folies Bergère (Paris, France). From 2016 to 2019 : Myra starred in a series of tribute performances honoring the life and legacy of the legendary Whitney Houston. She was accompanied by the Leipzig Philharmonic Orchestra. (Germany)
John Riesen, vocalist
Hailed as “every inch the hero in stature and voice” (Classical Voice North America), award-winning American tenor John Riesen is consistently impressing audiences with his "impassioned...and vibrant" voice (Opera Today). John’s growing career boasts a variety of roles in which he excels and includes significant work in opera, musical theatre, studio recording, and concert. He has released two albums: What You'd Call a Dream (2019) and Christmas at Home (2020) and several singles, including “Autumn Leaves” (2021), “What a Wonderful World” (2021), and “Maria” (from West Side Story, 2021), that have reached well over one million streams on Spotify and Apple Music. John is also the head of Spotify promotion and PR for Emitha LLC, building an ecosystem for classical singers to be heard around the world.Last season was a busy one for John and included his role début as Camille in The Merry Widow at Knoxville Opera, where he also reprised his Younger Thompson in Glory Denied. He made his role début as the Duke in Rigoletto at Intermountain Opera Bozeman, appeared with Opera Las Vegas as Detective Daniel Lewis in A Capacity for Evil, and brought his Younger Thompson to Opera Roanoke. Additionally, he was named a semifinalist on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Engagements for this season include joining the Dallas Symphony for their concert Prohibition, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Southwest Michigan Symphony and Pacific Symphony, Carmina Burana with Sinfonica Costa Rica, the Choral Society of Pensacola, and Flint Symphony Orchestra, a holiday Pops concert with the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, Alfred in Die Fledermaus with Pensacola Opera, and his return to Intermountain Opera Bozeman as Rodolfo in La bohème.In recent seasons, John appeared as Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance with Utah Opera, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi with On Site Opera, Chris in the world-premiere of Favorite Son by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Marcus Hummons, Ralph Rackstraw in HMS Pinafore with Pensacola Opera, Martin in The Tender Land with The Hart School, Alfredo in La Traviata with the Pacific Symphony, and Younger Thompson with Berkshire Opera Festival. Other career highlights include his début as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette as a guest artist with the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center, his Michigan Opera Theater début as Pirelli in Sweeney Todd, Younger Thompson in Glory Denied with UrbanArias, and Bill Calhoun in Kiss Me, Kate with Intermountain Opera Bozeman. He also made several role débuts including Prince Charming in Cendrillon with Opera Company of Middlebury, Lensky in Eugene Onegin with Intermountain Opera Bozeman, Alfredo in La Traviata with Gulfshore Opera, Younger Thomspon in Glory Denied with Opera Birmingham and Des Moines Metro Opera, the title role in Candide with Chautauqua Opera, and his Lincoln Center début as Tony in West Side Story Suite with the New York City Ballet.
John Devlin, Conductor
Conductor John Gennaro Devlin, is an ardent champion of American music, an innovator of concert design, and a thought leader in the field of classical music. In his seventh season as Music Director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Devlin is only the ninth conductor in its 90-year history to hold that title. He was recently named a recipient of the 2023 Georg Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award. Devlin’s artistry and versatility make him a frequent guest conductor with major orchestras across the nation. His engagements include performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, and the American Repertory Ballet. Of his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra and violin soloist Joshua Bell, Anne Midgette of The Washington Post wrote that Devlin “led the evening with flair … and was visibly in his element.” A strong advocate for American music, Devlin has made it a programmatic focus and has premiered over 40 new American works. Committed to serving the wider arts community beyond the podium, Devlin is part of the six-member Conductor Constituency Leadership Team of the League of American Orchestras, advocating for conductors nationally. Previously, he served on the Conductors Guild’s Board of Directors and was a featured speaker at the organization’s annual conference, discussing the future of orchestras with the Executive Directors of the National and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras. He also delivered the keynote TED talk on “Innovation in Crowded Marketplaces” at a TEDx symposium. Devlin completed his master’s and doctoral degrees in orchestral conducting under the tutelage of James Ross at the University of Maryland. His undergraduate degree is from Emory University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a double major in Clarinet Performance and Latin.
