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children's recordings that parents and children alike would enjoy. Conceived by Jennifer
Montague, a NY based musical theatre actress, along with her husband Mark, classic poetry and
verse were combined with rich original music and song to create their debut album PEAS AND
HONEY.
What makes this music unique is the blend of professional musicians and voices with intelligent
text that inspires a child's imagination. This magical combination of theatrical musicianship with
beautiful language recognizes the intelligence of todays youth inviting them to join along in the fun
and explore their creativity.
The recording features the music of composers Jennifer Montague and Randy Cohen who are no
strangers to music or theatre. Jennifer and Randy met nine years ago while Jennifer (then
Jennifer Kathleen Murray) performed the central role of “Mary” in Marsha Norman and Lucy
Simon’s The Secret Garden. Randy was the assistant musical director. The following year, while
performing in a premier musical at the Olney Theatre, Jennifer met fellow actor Mark Montague.
It wasn’t long before the two were married, and now the pair have two small children. It was their
children that inspired this album, Mark and Jennifer’s first venture into writing.
Co-composer Randy Cohen, an accomplished keyboardist and musical director, can be heard in the
pit of several Broadway houses. His Broadway credits include: Aida, Titanic, King David, Boy From
Oz, Hairspray, Wicked, La Cage aux Folles, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Off-Broadway: Altar Boyz.
National Tours: Tick, Tick....BOOM!, Aida, Titanic, Big River. Regional: Jonestown, The Musical! (NY
Fringe Festival), Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aida (Alliance Theatre), 3hree (Prince Theatre),
Beehive, Big River, Crazy For You, Sugar Babies, Secret Garden (Allenberry Playhouse). Readings
and Workshops include: In The Heights, Piece, Joe!, Fetching Water (York Theatre and Human
Race Theatre), Camilla (Walnut Street Playhouse), Dirty Dancing. Orchestration credits include
the York Theatre recording of I Sing and An Evening of New Music at Joe's Pub. Randy, an
Interlochen alum, graduated from Oberlin Conservatory in 1998 with a degree in classical piano
performance.
Mark Montague was recently nominated for a Barrymore Award along with the cast of the
Philadelphia premier of James Joyce’s THE DEAD as “Bartell D’Arcy” at The Arden Theatre.
After that he was seen bringing the role of “Linus” to life in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown at
Orlando Broadway. Originally from Traverse City, Michigan, Mark began performing at a young age.
He studied at the acclaimed Interlochen Arts Academy, followed by North Carolina School of The
Arts (Vocal Performance) and Oberlin Conservatory. Mark was in a recent reading of Cold As Ice.
Regional credits include: “Billy” in the premier of The Fifth Season at The Olney Theatre Center;
“Og” in Finian’s Rainbow; “Freddy” in My Fair Lady; “Charlie” in Brigadoon; Also an accomplished
Opera Singer, Mark performed several Seasons with Cleveland Opera and NYGASP (The Mikado
and Pirates at City Center). He has been a part of several workshops and readings of new musicals,
including BMI, the Dramatists Guild, Signature Theatre; Genesius Guild; and RIMT. He also
performs concerts and his cabaret act in several venues, including the Knitting Factory and most
recently, the historical Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. He is a proud member of Actors Equity.
Jennifer Montague is a graduate of Catholic University in DC with a Bachelor of Music degree in
Musical Theatre. Recently she toured with Pushcart Players as “Peter” in Prokofiev’s Peter and
The Wolf, with music arrangements by Larry Hochman. She has performed in several workshops in
New York, including BMI, MTW, Genesius Guild, and the Dramatists Guild. She performed leading
roles regionally in The Secret Garden, A Chorus Line, Meet Me In St Louis, Into The Woods,
Carousel, Annie, Nunsense and Nunsense II, and Beauty and The Beast. She has also done some
work in film and voice-overs. Also a fine artist, Jennifer created all the original artwork and
graphics for the CD. She is a proud member of Actors Equity.
Featured on the album is five year old Maeve Montague reading several proverbs and joining her
mom singing on one track, as well as several Broadway musicians, including: Bobby Baxmeyer
(Guitar); Dan McMillan (Percussion), and Arnold Gottlieb (Bass). The album was recorded at Ted
Spencer Studios in New York City with renowned engineer Ted Spencer ( LA’s The Hit Factory,
The Broadway Kids , Meatloaf, Roberta Flack, among many others)
