This is a new streamlined version of my website. For those of you who want to know what I'm up to in a hurry, just scroll down!

WHATS NEW?

And Jillian Louis singing "New Jersey" form Flambé Dreams.

05/22/10
HONORABLE RETRIBUTION SCREENING

I play a supporting role in this Short Film.

05/10/10
NEO6 CONCERT at THE YORK
"New Jersey" from the newly christened Flambé Dreams was presented as part of The York Theatre Company's new/emerging/oustanding! concert of up-and-coming musical theatre composers. The Evening was hosted by Lynne Winterstellar and Richard Maltby. Jessica Grové performed for us.

All of the writers and performers. I'm seated on the floor with Karen Ziemba. She plopped down first and I thought, "If a Tony Award Winner has no problem sitting on the floor, then why should I?"

04/02/10
FLAMBÉ DREAMS!
The Thing About Joe has been re-titled! And re-logoed!

03/27/10
HONORABLE RETRIBUTION
Did my first day of shooting of a short film titled, "Honorable Retribution". I play Brendan Keene a meek accountant who gets involved with the mob. There is a lot of running involved, my thighs are very sore.

03/17/10
STAND UP!
If something scares me, then I do it! So I've started hitting some open mikes and developing my stand-up routine. I did my first show on St. Patty's day with a great line up of comics. I'll be doing more in the near future!

St. Patrick's Day
STAND UP COMEDY SMACK DOWN

Wednesday, March 17th
@ 6:30pm

STARRING:
Guerrin (Guinness) O'Gardner,
Mario (Blarney Stone) McBrassard,
Jay (corn beef and cabbage) Sullivan,
Matthew (Shamrock) Hardy,
Christopher (Leprachan) Duncan,
Darlene (Irish Eyes) McInnis,
O'Wali (Claddah) McCombs,
O'Evan (Jamesons Whisky) McMorgenstern,
Daria (Luck of the Irish) O'Loren,
Jeff (Lucky Charms) McLutz,
Carmen (Celtic) O'Labue
and O'Sheckaleiliegh (RiverDance) MacBeagelman
HOSTED BY:
O'Bonnie (Tipperary) MacMarsh from VH1's Rock of Love and As The World Turns

02/11/10
BMI SMOKER
Robert Maggio and I presented two songs from our new show The Eight Million. "Use Your Words" was sung by Mariand Torres and Rheaume Crenshaw. And "I Don't Need Her" was sung by Ryan Duncan.
THE BMI WORKSHOP SMOKER
320 West 57th St.
Third Floor Media Room
@5:30 PM
Reservations: 212.830.8360 or ssantana@bmi.com

Ryan Duncan singing "I Don't Need Her"

12/14/2009
THE THING ABOUT JOE
Another reading of THE THING ABOUT JOE! For this reading, the show was cut down to a One Act 90 minute presentation featureing four actors!
The cast incuded Eleanor Glockner (Beauty and the Beast), Pamela Kashani (Into the Woods), Kevin B. McGlynn (Forbidden Broadway) and Me (Broadway Credit Pending...). Produced by Apples & Oranges Productions and directed by Tim Kashani.

11/23/2009
THE THING ABOUT JOE
We had our second reading of THE THING ABOUT JOE presented by Ground-Up Productions as part of theri new works reading series. This was a new restructured 2 Act version of the show. The cast featured Catherine Cox, Kevin B. McGlynn, JillianLouis, Mark Emerson Smith, Katie O'Toole and yours truly in the title role! The reading was co-directed by the dynamic duo West Hyler and Shelley Butler and Music Direction was provided by the incomperable Kat Sherrell. Thanks to Kate Middleton, Guy Oliveri and Montserrat Mendez and the rest of the Ground-Up team!

11/15/2009
SILK STOCKINGS
I just finished a two week run of Cole Porter's SILK STOCKINGS produced by MUSICALS TONIGHT! The show played to sold out houses at the McGinn Cazale Theatre on Broadway and 76th St. Jim Dale gave us a nice write up in his Broadwayworld.com blog. I had a great time doing this show. I have never been more utilized in an ensemble than I was in this production. I played Alexis the White Russian Doorman, Monsieur Fabour the owner of a very chic French Boutique, Mr. Jackson a New York Film Director, The Soviet Minister of Cultural Affairs, plus a guard, a reporter, and more! It was great fun.

Matthew Hardy and Oakley Boycott

10/17/2009
ADVANCE D WOMEN
I was honored to participate in a reading of Michéle Aldin Kushner's fantastic new play ADVANCED WOMEN. Here's the blurb- "Inspired by the lives of Phoebe and Alice Cary, famous authors of the 1850's, Advanced Women questions the sacrifice of love and family for career and independence." Performed at Stageworks/Hudson.
Featuring Catherine Eaton, Annie Paul and Matthew Hardy.

08/13/2009
GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!
at the Chenango River Theatre. We made the cover of the entertainment section of the Press&Sun Bulletin in Binghamton!

Check out the article online!

And here is a live recording of me singing Helvetica's big "I Want" song -
"I Can't Read"!

08/09/2009
GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!
closed at Shadowland Theatre and we moved up to
the Chenango River Theatre in Greene, NY (Just outside of Binghamton) where the show will play till Aug 30th.

Matthew Hardy as Bud Davenport and Andy Rabenstein as Doug Simon.

We got some great reviews in Ellenville.

Brian Rubin of The Shawangunk Journal raves:

"the show is probably one of the best that I've ever had the good fortune to see at the playhouse on Canal Street"

"Broadway dreamers Bud and Doug, perfectly portrayed with ample amounts of naiveté and nincompoopery by Matthew Hardy and Andy Rabensteine"

07/16/09
GOOD NEWS!
"New Jersey" from THE THING ABOUT JOE has been selected for the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop Compellation CD! The CD features two dozen up and coming compser/lyricist teams from the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. The CD will be released in January or February of 2010 and will feature Broadway stars singing songs from the workshop. Our song will be song by the amazing Nancy Opel!! The songs will be featured on the Broadway Bullet podcast. Check it out!

05/16/09
CONCERT
I sang in an informal Concert honoring Musical Theater Greats - Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock at a Lincoln Center venue earlier in the month. Here is a bootleg recording of me performing "She Loves Me".

Click to Listen to "She Loves Me"

04/30/09
BMI SMOKER
"New Jersey"from The Thing About Joe at
THE BMI WORKSHOP SMOKER
320 West 57th St.
Third Floor Media Room
@5:30 PM
Reservations: 212.830.8360 or ssantana@bmi.com
Ashley Fox Linton performed the role of Gloria, I palyed Joe, and Randy was at the piano.

12/11/2008
BMI MASTER CLASS
A 25 minute presentation of The Thing About Joe was presented at a BMI Master Class with Austin Pendleton and moderated by David Spencer.

12/02/2008
THE THING ABOUT JOE STAGED READING
4-6:30 PM
Snapple Theater Center 210 W 50th St.

EXCITING NEWS!!! The Thing About Joe (Book and Lyrics by Matthew Hardy Music by Randy Klein) had it's first FULL reading at the Snapple Theatre in Times Square!!

Check out The Thing About Joe page!

Click here to listen to Ashley Fox Linton singing "New Jersey".

11/20/2008
BMI SMOKER
5:30-6:30 PM
BMI
We presented the opening number "Desserts on Fire!" from THE THING ABOUT JOE at the BMI Smoker on Thursday Novemebr 20th! The cast included Trey Mitchell, Ashley Fox Linton, Kevin B McGlynn, Mary Workman, Auri Marcus and David Shih with Composer Randy Klein at the Piano and I read stage directions!

Click here to listen to the live recording of Desserts on Fire!

10/14/08
A FEW GOOD MEN & BARNUM
I've been back in New York for a whole week! It's so nice to be in my own space again! I was honored to be part of a great production of Aaron Sorkin's amazing play A FEW GOOD MEN at the Surflight Theatre. The cast was fantastic and damn did I look good in my uniform!

I played Lance Corporal Harold W. Dawson. I really enjoyed getting inside a character who sees things as black and white, right and wrong, and has such a strong moral code. It was a great contrast to the role of P.T. Barnum the "Prince of Humbug" that I played only a week prior.

Here I am in the beginning of the show looking like a deranged leprechaun.

This production of BARNUM was an interesting one. Director Allison Bergman and Choreographer James DeForte put a different spin on the show, choosing to highlight Barnum's pre-circus days of freak shows and hoaxes. They also added a beautiful song that was deleted from the show before it opened on Broadway called "So Little Time" and they had some of the music rearranged to bring out a darker side of Barnum's character. Below is a montage of the songs I sang in the show finishing with "The Prince of Humbug". In the original, this song is light and celebratory, but here the song has been turned on it's head. After losing his wife and a senatorial nominatin that he was promised, Barnum finds himself questioning everything that he has spent his life pursuing.

Click here to listen to the Barnum Montage

09/01/08
PIPPIN
Just got back from the Depot Theatre where I was honored to be part of a fantastic production of Pippin. Director Michael Unger had a great concept for the show and with the help of Choreographer Mark Schmeil and a terrific cast he was able to create theatrical magic in no less than 10 days. Below is a picture from the show. I played the part of "decapitated head" among other things.

Chris Murrah as Pippin and Matthew Hardy as Head.

07/20/08
DISNEY'S WHEN YOU WISH
We had our final performance of When You Wish at the Miller Outdoor Theater in Houston Texas. After only 6 shows I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye, I was still figuring things out. A fantastic cast,crew, director, choreographer, producer, etc. etc. A great experience all around. Below is an audio recording of some of my featured moments in the show.

Click here for a Montage of some of the songs I sang in the show.

Matthew Hardy "The Man with the Whistle"!

Matthew Hardy as the Stork and Ivy Castle-Rush as the Elephant
singing "Baby Mine" to our Elephant Birds.

06/18/08
CATS (aka dance for grandma)
Cats closed tonight, and although I'm glad I had the experience, I don't think I will be doing it again anytime soon. The cast and crew were fantastic and we were treated very well at the Arrowrock Lyceum Theatre, I hope to return to the theater in the future as something other than a cat. My 99 year old grandmother got to see the show, and that made it all worth it.
Reviews for the show weren't the best, but the audiences came out in droves. I did get a mention from KDHX media reviewer Chris Gibson in St. Louis.

"Matthew Hardy is solid as Skimbleshanks."

Below is a picture from the show (I'm the orange cat in the back standing on the car).
To see more photos click here.

Click here for a montage of some of the songs I sang in the show.

06/12/08
BMI SHOWCASE
BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop held their biannual showcase tonight at the Snapple Theatre Center in Times Square. Randy Klein and I were honored to have a song presented in the showcase: "Some Girls" from The Thing About Joe. This song has been getting a lot of attention lately. Hopefully it will lead to a lot of attentin for the show. Here is a photo of the composer/lyricist teams. Sadly I was unable to attend because of my Kitty commitment in Missouri.

For info on who is who, you can visit the BMI website.

And because I'm feeling generous, here is a recording of the entire song as sung by Kevin B. McGlynn at the showcase.
Some Girls from The Thing About Joe

04/27/08
SWING!
We had our last show of Swing! this afternoon. I was sad to say goodbye to the show, I had a lot of fun putting my own comic spin on the role originated by Everett Bradley. The show was not reviewed, so I've had to pull my quotes from other sources:

"That guy in the suit stole the show."
-Someone's mother.

"I can't look at you without laughing."
-Someone in the cast.

"My Granddaughter is single. Are you Jewish?"
-Old Jewish Lady

Here are a couple of pics from the photo call.

Finale: Too many people to name. I'm the white guy in the tux.

All of Me: with Taprena Augustine.

Click HERE for a montage of some of the songs I sang in the show.

04/17/08
BMI SMOKER
Randy and I were honored to present a song we wrote at the BMI smoker this evening. Sadly, I couldn't attend as I had a show in Beach Haven NJ. But from all reports the song (Some Girls from The Thing About Joe) went over great and got lots of laughs. Many thanks to the hilarious Kevin B. McGlynn who sang for us.

Click HERE for a sample of Kevin's performance.

01/04/08
2007 PERFORMANCE TO REMEMBER
2008 has started out with a kick start! I was listed in Backstage East's "Performances to Remember". The Critics for Backstage chose 22 memorable performances from 2007 and I was included! This was quite a surprise, as the show I was sited for closed back in June. It's nice to be remembered.
Here is the quote from the article:

Matthew Hardy
Fritz and Froyim
Long after the closing of Turtle Shell Productions' new musical Fritz and Froyim (book and lyrics by Norman Beim, music by Mark Barkan and Rolf Barnes), Matthew Hardy's remarkable Froyim remains vivid. As a former Jewish performer in Nazi Germany who comes back to haunt his German tormentor, Hardy combined the comic, vaudevillian, and tragic in one figure — a veritable Pagliacci.

— Irene Backalenick

12/04/07
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Here's a photo from Surflight Theater's production of "It's a Wonderful Life". I played multiple characters in this show as well. Here I am as one of the Martini Boys, singing "When You Own Your Own Home." I was also brilliant as Mr. Carter the Bank Examiner where I turned my six lines into my own three act play.

11/04/07
SILVER DOLLAR
Below is a photo from the new musical "Silver Dollar" at Surflight Theater in NJ. I played something like 10 characters with only a couple of hats, a pair of glasses, and creative hair-combing.

Matthew Hardy, David Anderson, Patrick McCarthy singing "Take the Money and Run"

Peter Filichia of the NJ Star Ledger had this to say about my performance...

"Matthew Hardy...headed for Broadway?"

Okay, Here is the full quote:

"The other participants, headed by the hardworking Andrew Foote, Jason Collins and Matthew Hardy, are up to the romp. Or are they dancing with such glee because they feel as though they're headed for Broadway?"

I think I like it better with the ellipses.

10/04/07
KISS ME KATE
in concert with the Annapolis Chorale
directed by Michael LaFleur

Mary Johnson of The Baltimore Sun writes:

"Adding style and grace in his every move, Matthew Hardy was outstanding as Bill Calhoun."

Listen to an mp3 with clips of me performing
Too Darn Hot and Bianca.
Recorded from the wings, complete with squeaking chair.

07/04/07
GRADUATION
I've just graduated from the William Esper Studio two-year program. I can leave the city and work in the regions! Truly a wonderful training program. Bill Esper is a Master Teacher. I highly recommend him to anyone is serious about studying acting.

06/04/07
FRITZ & FROYIM
at the Times Square Art Center
Presented by Turtle Shell Productions

THE REVIEWS ARE IN!

"The cast is altogether strong, especially Hardy, who lights up the stage and makes everyone on it with him look better. "

-Matthew Barbout New Theatre Corps

"...a fine cast. Matthew Hardy is particularly memorable as the indestructible Froyim, with solid support work from T.J. Mannix as Fritz."

- Irene Backalenick Backstage Magazine

"Froyim, played by wildly talented Matthew Hardy, manages to modulate the dramatic mood with jokes, soft-shoe and the delivery of witty songs "

- Callie Worsham Up-To-The-Minute Review

"Matthew Hardy's tour de force performance, a tap-dancing ventriloquist..."

- Eva Heinemann Hi! Drama

Matthew Hardy and T.J. Mannix