11/14/2025
Audiences interested in Harry Potter or the Broadway hit “Wicked” can appreciate the professional talents of Ben Kapilow, assistant professor and music director for SUNY Cortland’s Performing Arts Department.
Kapilow, who served as music director for the recently sold-out “Rocky Horror Show,” was approached earlier this year by a friend to write the music and lyrics for five songs in “Susan Bones: The Untold Story of a Horsegirl who went to Hogwarts,” an askew look at the possible life of an obscure Harry Potter character. The show will run in Los Angeles at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and the Lyric Hyperion Theater, letting Kapilow see his creative work brought to life on stage.
Add to that being hired as keyboardist for the national tour of “Wicked,” one of Broadway’s most eminent franchises, when it plays in Syracuse this December and Kapilow is having a busy but rewarding year when it comes to witches and wizards.
The settings may be fantastical, but the accomplishments are very real — and they’re experiences Kapilow expects to also benefit his students. He noted that maintaining ties to the professional theater lets him better prepare what he teaches on campus.
“My students aspire in many cases to be like the actors who are going to be working on Wicked and Susan Bones,” he said. “I find it very helpful to stay connected to the professional world, even while I’m working at SUNY Cortland so I can make sure that I am giving my students advice that’s practical, and that I’m working with them on things that will actually be applicable to the real world.”
Contributing to the “Wicked” tour is also teaching Kapilow things that he plans to bring back to the classroom.
A chance to join the Central New York tour stop arose around the same time he was helping create “Susan Bones.”
While playing keyboard for Syracuse Stage’s production of “Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella” late last year, Kapilow made a connection with the contractor who would hire local musicians for “Wicked” while it was in Syracuse. The spot as keyboardist is a chance to play alongside the traveling pro musicians in the orchestra for a classic musical that’s had its popularity reach new heights thanks to two movie adaptations.
“Working on Wicked will be helpful because I’ll get to hear feedback from the music director and get a sense of what type of feedback is idiomatic from a music director at the top level,” Kapilow said. “Then that will hopefully inspire me when I'm working with musicians for shows at SUNY Cortland and beyond to get a sense of what to listen for.”
Now a vital colleague of the Performing Arts Department, Kapilow had built a career in the field before joining Cortland’s faculty. Having been a music director and pianist at places including The Rev Theatre Company in Auburn and Syracuse Stage, he was also the music director for seven years at the Media Theater for the Performing Arts in Pennsylvania.
He composed several musicals designed for children there, as well as multiple classical music and choral pieces. Now, “Susan Bones” gives him a chance to try a new style in a show that aims to entertain while being entirely unique.
“I'm grateful to be in a career position that lets me draw on my wide range of interests: composing, teaching music theory and history, and both professional and educational music directing,” Kapilow said. “It keeps me engaged and makes every day fun."