Concert Program
Swan Song
An Actor’s Life in Words and Music
Paul Kassel, Dean, College of Visual and Performing Arts
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
7:30 p.m.
Recital Hall
Featuring
Mason Moss, piano
NIU Graduate String Quartet
Trevor Bitner, viola
Renee Edison, cello
Athina Vrettou, violin
Jordan Weiss, violin
Special Guest
Mary K. Nigohosian
Concert Program
Program
| Part One | |
| Only the Beginning/Pure Imagination/After Today | Bricusse/Newly |
| Something’s Coming | Bernstein/Sondheim |
| First Time | Kassel |
| Stranger Things Can Happen | Kassel |
| Love is Here to Stay/That’s All | Gershwin, Brandt/Haymes |
| So in Love | Porter |
| Sonnet 116 | Shakespeare |
| New Words | Yeston |
| Hanukkah Tarantella | Polansky |
| Part Two | |
| This Offer is Unrepeatable | Costello |
| Richard, from Henry VI, Part 3 | Shakespeare |
| Some Days Everything Goes Wrong | |
| Life’s a Funny Proposition | Cohan |
| Crossroads | McClean |
| I Couldn’t Be With Anyone But You | Raposo/Harnick |
| Wait Till We’re 65 | Lane/Lerner |
| Prospero, from The Tempest | Shakespeare |
| Make Someone Happy | Comden/Green |
Paul Kassel
Paul Kassel is the Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts and a full professor in the School of Theatre and Dance at Northern Illinois University. A professional actor for more than fifty years, Paul has performed Off- and Off-off Broadway, in regional theaters, and as a guest artist around the U.S. in over a hundred roles, from musicals to Shakespeare, in dramas and comedies, from classical to new work.
Most recently he played “Estragon” in a staged reading of Waiting for Godot at NIU and Miami University of Ohio. (A full production in collaboration with DePaul University School of Theatre is scheduled for June 2026). Prior to that, Paul played the “Stage Manager” in Kane Repertory Theater’s inaugural production of Our Town in St. Charles, IL. In addition to the stage, Paul has worked in film, television and as a voiceover artist, most recently contributing to the NIU Foundation Campaign Kickoff last June.
As a professional director, Paul staged Romeo and Juliet for Kane Rep at Pottawattamie Park in July 2021. Other directing credits include Is He Dead, Almost, Maine, and Good People for Halfmoon Theatre Company (Poughkeepsie, NY), and What Remains: Long Island Voice of 9/11—a devised play Paul scripted and staged for the ensemble he co-founded, Asylum Theatre Company. He has also directed college productions at Bradley University, Stony Brook University, and SUNY New Paltz. Paul received is MFA in Acting from the Florida State/Asolo Conservatory for Professional Actor Training and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and the Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Paul is delighted to reunite with Mary Nigohosian, with whom he is working on Seasons of Love (see more below), as well as thrilled to be working with Mason Moss for the first time.
Mary K. Nigohosian
Mary K. Nigohosian is a Chicago-based professional actress, voice teacher, and teaching artist. She has performed at numerous theaters throughout Chicagoland including Theatre At the Center, Raven Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Citadel Theatre, William Street Repertory, Windy City Playhouse, Porchlight Music Theatre, First Folio, Illinois Theatre Center and Fox Valley Repertory, Steel Beam Theatre and Brightside Theatre playing such roles as Luisa Contini in Nine, Kate in Kiss Me, Kate, Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, Edie Bouvier in Grey Gardens and Violet Venable in Suddenly Last Summer. Mary can be seen as Margie in the independent film musical Broken and Beautiful and is a proud member of Actors Equity Association.
In the summer of 2021, Mary had the privilege of playing Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet with Kane Repertory under the direction of Paul Kassel. That meeting spawned several ideas for further collaborations between them including the performance of Seven Ages of Man, an Avalon string quartet commission composed by NIU School of Music Professor David Maki where Paul invited her to co-narrate the accompanying Shakespearean text. Additionally, Mary and Paul are working on a cabaret entitled Seasons of Love to be performed in the fall of 2026. Mary is humbled and delighted to have been invited to join him in this performance of Swan Song, a celebration of Paul Kassel’s life and career journeys.
Outside of the theatre, Mary is an active voice teacher working with students in middle school through adulthood. She is a teaching artist with BAMTheatre and has worked as music director and choral conductor for churches in the western suburbs. She is a wife, mother of two daughters, roller coaster enthusiast and grateful cancer survivor.
More at maryknigohosian.com
Mason Moss
Mason Moss is a Chicago-based music director, conductor, pianist, and arranger whose career spans Broadway tours, regional theater, and original concert productions. Originally from Rock Island, Illinois, Mason has built a reputation for his musical precision, collaborative leadership, and passion for storytelling through live performance.
He spent several years on the road as Music Director and Conductor for the Book of Mormon North American Tour, leading the orchestra for more than 600 performances across the U.S. and Canada. In Chicago, Mason has worked with many of the city’s leading theaters, including Sunny Afternoon at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Jeff Award nomination for Outstanding Music Direction), As You Like It at Writers Theatre in Glencoe, and Always Something There… at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. Additional keyboard credits include 42 Balloons at Chicago Shakespeare and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical with Broadway in Chicago.
Outside the theater, Mason is an active arranger and orchestrator. He co-created Solitary Man: A Tribute to Neil Diamond and Winter Wonderland, both premiering at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse in Rock Island. His orchestrations have also been featured at 54 Below in New York and in educational and community productions across North America.
Mason is a proud member of the Chicago Federation of Musicians (AFM Local 10-208) and AFM Local 802 in New York.
He’s honored to serve as pianist for this special recital, celebrating the remarkable career and legacy of Dean Paul Kassel. Mason extends his heartfelt thanks to Paul for his artistry, generosity, and unwavering support of music and theater.
More at mossmusicservices.com