 | | | Arri Toshiko Glenn Photo Sora O'Doherty | | | | | | From Lamorinda Idol winner to Broadway star? Arri Toshiko Glenn hopes to follow in the footsteps of at least one other local idol who made her mark on the great white way. Currently, Glenn is starring in a production of "The Prom" at the Berkeley Playhouse.
"The Prom" is a play loosely based on an actual incident when a small town high school chose to cancel prom rather than allow a lesbian student to bring her girlfriend. In the play, four eccentric Broadway stars swoop into a small Indiana town to boost their careers by championing a high school student's right to bring her girlfriend to prom. The Berkeley production, in which Glen plays the part of Emma Nolan, has received rave reviews from audiences and media.
Glenn's trip to the stage began when she moved from Berkeley to Orinda as a young girl. She began voice lessons in Lafayette and joined the Performing Academy. She loves kids and has been teaching dancing, acting, and singing since she was 17.
As a young vocalist, she first competed in the Lamorinda Idol contest when she was in the third grade, and continued each year for nine or ten years. She won the Grade 6-8 group category in 2013 and, with her sister Keira, performing as Sweet Harmony won in 2012 and again in 2016.
After going to Sleepy Hollow Elementary and Orinda Intermediate School, Glenn chose Campolindo High School to study with popular choir director, Mark Roberts. Even before she got to high school, she performed in the ensemble of "Les Mis". When she got to high school, she was first cast in the ensemble of "West Side Story", and then played the wardrobe in "Beauty and the Beast" in her sophomore year. As a junior she starred as Morticia in "The Adams Family," and then in her senior year she was Carlotta in "Phantom of the Opera."
After high school Glenn studied at the Boston Conservatory of Music, majoring in musical theater. Covid caused her to take a gap year, because dancing in her living room didn't seem like the best alternative. So, Glenn went to Spain, where she enjoyed a year as an au pair, noting that the Covid regulations in Spain were extremely stringent.
Returning to Boston, she graduated from the Conservatory in May 2024, before returning to Orinda and landing the part in "The Prom." Glenn is also teaching at the Berkeley Playhouse and Musical Theatre Works in San Francisco.
Glenn plans to move to New York City in early December. She already has a number of friends there, and hopes to find a place to live in Brooklyn or Washington Heights. She and her girlfriend will experience a long distance relationship. Glenn acknowledges that being in a relationship with an actor is hard, "you need to find someone who is understanding of late night rehearsals and weekend work."
Glenn is very enthusiastic about performing live theater, which she rates more highly than acting in movies. "Live on stage is a personal experience," she says. "You experience the people in front of you, who are experiencing it with you and each other. Every performance is a different experience," she adds.
The young actress is loving being in "The Prom". "'The Prom' is very special," she explains, "the music is great: there isn't a single song I'm tired of." Glenn explains that when not performing she is trying to take care of herself, drinking lots of water and tea and resting her voice.
Steve Harwood, Lamorinda Idol Chair for many years, praised Glenn, saying, "I have always been and will be a lifetime fan of Arri. I love the emotion she expresses with every song she sings, and since she was a little elementary school singer, she has always been filled with joy."
The Prom opened at the Berkeley Playhouse on Sept. 6 and will run through Oct. 13. Tickets are available online at https://tickets.berkeley
playhouse.org/ |
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA