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THEATRE NEWS FOR SAN FRANCISCO BAY + OSF NEWS

Posted by:	Richard Connema 05:27 pm EDT 07/06/14

U.S. NATIONAL TOUR CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR THE TONY AWARD-WINNING HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/pippin.jpg PERFORMANCES SEPTEMBER 23 – OCTOBER 19 AT THE SHN GOLDEN GATE THEATRE – The producers of the Tony Award-winning hit Broadway musical PIPPIN are pleased to announce casting for the U.S. national tour which plays the SHN Golden Gate Theatre September 23 – October 19, 2014. Tickets are on sale now. This all-new production of Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz’s PIPPIN is directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus and features choreography by Tony Award nominee Chet Walker in the style of Bob Fosse and circus creation by Gypsy Snider of the Montreal-based circus company Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as 7 Fingers). The national tour will feature Sasha Allen (a finalist on the 4th season on NBC’s “The Voice”) as Leading Player, Kyle Selig (The Book of Mormon on tour) as Pippin, Tony Award winner John Rubinstein (created the role of “Pippin” in the 1972 original Broadway production) as Charles, Sabrina Harper (Pippin, original Broadway Revival cast) as Fastrada and Kristine Reese (Wicked on tour) as Catherine. The company also includes Skyler Adams, Sascha Bachman, Bradley Benjamin, Dmitrious Bistrevsky, Mark Burrell, Mathew deGuzman, Fernando Dudka, Mirela Golinska, Kelsey Jamieson, Preston Jamieson, Lisa Karlin, Alan Kelly, Melodie Lamoreux, Tory Trowbridge, Mackenzie Warren and Borris York. Additional casting, including the role of Berthe, will be announced soon. With a book by Roger O. Hirson and music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, PIPPIN features music supervision and arrangements by Nadia DiGiallonardo, orchestrations by Tony Award winner Larry Hochman, scenic design by Tony Award winner Scott Pask, costume design by Tony Award nominee Dominique Lemieux, lighting design by Tony Award winner Kenneth Posner, sound design by Tony Award nominees Jonathan Deans and Garth Helm. PIPPIN tells the story of a young prince on a death-defying journey to find meaning in his existence. Will he choose a happy but simple life? Or will he risk everything for a singular flash of glory? The show is noted for many Broadway standards including “Magic To Do,” “Corner of the Sky,” “Glory,” “No Time at All,” “Morning Glow,” and “Love Song.” The original production of PIPPIN, directed by Bob Fosse, premiered on Broadway in 1972. It won five Tony Awards and five Drama Desk Awards, and ran for close to 2000 performances before closing in 1977. This production of PIPPIN debuted at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, MA where it ran December 5, 2012 to January 20, 2013. It opened on Broadway on April 25, 2013 and went on to win four 2013 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical and Best Director of a Musical. This production also received Best Revival of a Musical honors from the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League. The New Broadway Cast Recording for PIPPIN is available on Ghostlight Records. Join us… for this magical, unforgettable production the New York Times declared “Astonishing! A PIPPIN for the 21st Century.” Ticket Information: Tickets are on sale now, through shnsf.com and SHN Audience Services at 888-746-1799. Tickets range from $45-$210. Prices subject to change. ############################# THEATREWORKS GATHERS PLAYWRIGHTS AND COMPOSERS FOR ITS 13TH ANNUAL NEW WORKS FESTIVAL Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto August 9 – 17, 2014) – Continuing its commitment to developing new works, TheatreWorks, the nationally-acclaimed theatre of Silicon Valley, will once again assemble playwrights and composers from across the nation for its 2014 NEW WORKS FESTIVAL, headed up by recently appointed New Works Director Giovanna Sardelli. Among this year’s highlights are a new work by Rajiv Joseph, Pulitzer Prize Finalist and award-winning author of The North Pool and Broadway’s Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, and a musical look at Norman Rockwell’s America by local playwright Lynne Kaufman and PIXAR/NPR composer Alex Mandel. The thirteenth annual Festival runs August 9 - 17 at TheatreWorks at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto, with multiple staged readings of five new plays and musicals, a panel discussion, live outdoor music, and food trucks offering gourmet dining al fresco. Festival goers can catch every show with a Festival Pass ($65, or $49 for subscribers) or purchase tickets for individual readings ($19). For tickets and a full schedule of shows, live music, and food trucks, the public may visit www.theatreworks.org or call (650) 463-1960. TheatreWorks’ festival audience members participate by sharing their reactions directly with playwrights and composers, who continue to refine their works, incorporating feedback from patrons, musicians, and cast. Works developed in past festivals include the Broadway hit Memphis, which claimed Tony Awards for “Best Musical,” “Best Score,” “Best Book,” and “Best Orchestrations;” Paul Gordon’s sparkling adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma; GrooveLily’s illuminating holiday hit musical Striking 12 which went on to a successful Off-Broadway run; the Off-Broadway play Equivocation, winner of the 2009 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award; the multiple award-winning drama The North Pool; and many more. Says Broadway composer Joe DiPietro (co-creator of Memphis with Bon Jovi’s David Bryan), “Memphis wouldn’t exist – my career wouldn’t exist – without TheatreWorks. Robert Kelley and TheatreWorks have changed the face of American theatre, providing a place for composers and writers to create new works, that go on to productions across the country.” This year’s festival will feature a musical of NORMAN ROCKWELL’S AMERICA, an anthology of his affectionate paintings of the 20th century American life, book by Lynne Kaufman, music and lyrics by Pixar and NPR composer Alex Mandel; THE DISAPPEARING MAN, a new folk opera set backstage at a small-time circus in 1936, from Jahn Sood; LIARS, a provocative political drama about the mysterious 2010 crash of a Polish airplane, from 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph; AN ENTOMOLOGIST’S LOVE STORY, a hilarious, edgy, and explicit look into love in our times by Melissa Ross; and TOKYO FISH STORY, a look into generational differences, gender, and tradition in the art of sushi mastery by Kimber Lee. This year there will also be a special late night extra solo performance entitled ONE WOMAN SHOW, a darkly funny and powerful musical about the misadventures of a transgender artist on the brink of reassignment surgery, by Shakina Nayfack. Festival-goers have the opportunity to interact directly with the writers in a special Meet the Artists Panel at 4:00pm, August 17. The Meet the Artists Panel will be live-streamed online through HowlRound TV, allowing audiences around the world to participate. ################################ FEISTY OLD JEW CLOSES JULY 13, 2014 Written and performed by Charlie VaronDeveloped with and directed by David Ford – After a wildly successful extended run, Charlie Varon’s FEISTY OLD JEW, a fictional comic monologue about a 20th-century man living in a 21st-century city, will close on July 13, 2014, with final performances July 12 and 13 at 5pm, on The Marsh Mainstage at 1062 Valencia Street (no shows July 5 or 6). This will be the last chance for local audience members to see Varon’s newest hit before he takes it on the road to the Fringe Festival in Washington D.C. For tickets ($25-$100), the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call 415-282-3055 between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. ######################### 42ND STREET MOON PRESENTS BROADWAY STAR EMILY SKINNER IN “DO I HEAR A WALTZ?” AT THE EUREKA THEATRE, SAN FRANCISCO Wednesday, October 1 – Sunday, October 19, 2014 : 42nd Street Moon kicks off its 22nd season with the rare Richard Rodgers-Stephen Sondheim-Arthur Laurents collaboration Do I Hear A Waltz?, starring Broadway’s Tony nominee Emily Skinner (Side Show, The Full Monty, Billy Elliot). Based on Arthur Laurents’ 1952 play The Time of the Cuckoo, which inspired the Katharine Hepburn movie Summertime, the wistful story follows a lonely American tourist as she finds romance under the enchantment of mid-1960s Venice. Do I Hear a Waltz? is the only collaboration between theatrical giants Rodgers, Sondheim, and Laurents, and received three Tony Award nominations (including Best Score) when it opened on Broadway in 1965. The stunning score includes Do I Hear a Waltz?; Someone Like You; Moon in My Window; This Week Americans; What Do We Do? We Fly!; and Take the Moment. WHEN: Previews: October 1 – 3, 2014 Opening: Saturday, October 4, 2014 Closes: Sunday, October 19, 2014 SHOWS: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7 pm Fridays at 8 pm Saturdays at 6 pm Sundays at 3 pm WHERE: The Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94111 TICKETS: Subscriptions: $95 - $233 Single tickets: $25 - $75 ################################### Katya Smirnoff-Skyy is Katya on a Hot Tin Roof this summer Two hot nights in August to benefit NCTC — Celebrated cabaret performer Katya Smirnoff-Skyy will bring an all-new cabaret evening, Katya On a Hot Tin Roof, to New Conservatory Theatre Center, for two nights only, August 1st and 2nd, 2014, as a benefit for the Theatre. J. Conrad Frank, who created and performs as Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, is a longtime NCTC collaborator, and alumnus of NCTC’s Emerging Artist Program. This very special, limited engagement kicks off with Friday Night Fun on Friday, August 1st at 8pm. Ticket are $35. Saturday, August 2nd will be Saturday Night Spectacular, featuring a complimentary light fare and champagne reception, in-performance cocktail service, and a live auction. Doors open at 7pm, show at 8pm, followed by a live auction. Tickets are $85. Tickets on available by calling the Box Office at 415.871.8972 or online, at nctcsf.org. “NCTC has offered me the wonderful chance to try so many different things over the years,” says Frank. “I’m excited to help give back to a place that has given me so much. It feels like coming home.” ############################# MARIN THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES 2014-15 THEATER SERIES FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES FEATURING PRODUCTIONS FOR CHILDREN AGES 3-12 MTC will present four Bay Area Children’s Theatre productions, and one of its own, at its theater complex in Mill Valley from August 2014 to June 2015. —Building on the success of its inaugural Theater Series for Young Audiences, of which every performance was sold out, Marin Theatre Company will again partner with Bay Area Children’s Theatre to present five productions in MTC’s 99-seat Lieberman Theatre and 231-seat Boyer Theatre. The series includes four BACT productions – Five Little Monkeys, James and the Giant Peach, Three Little Birds, and Fancy Nancy, the Musical! – as well as one MTC production – Around the World in 80 Days. Based in Mill Valley, MTC is a 47-year old professional nonprofit theater that is a destination for smart, uncommon and adventurous theater. From August 30-September 7, MTC presents BACT’s Five Little Monkeys, adapted from Eileen Christelow’s book series by Ernie Nolan and directed by Karen Altree Piemme. Those five little monkeys will get into as much mischief on stage as they do in their namesake picture books. Take cover when they make that birthday cake for Mama, meet up with a crocodile and disappear in the store! In November, MTC presents BACT’s James and the Giant Peach, adapted by Timothy Allen McDonald from the book by Roald Dahl. BACT Artistic Director Nina Meehan will direct this exciting new musical, inspired by the classic tale about an orphaned boy who escapes from his wicked aunts aboard an enormous enchanted peach inhabited by a bevy of very big bugs. In January, MTC will produce Around the World in 80 Days, adapted by Toby Hulse from the book by Jules Verne. The story begins with a bank robbery by a mysterious figure, and the madcap adventure quickly moves along on a succession of locomotives, steamers, and hilarity. In March, MTC presents BACT’s Three Little Birds, with music by Bob Marley and based on the story by Cedella Marley. In this modern-day fairytale directed by Michael Mohammed, Reggae music evokes the spirit of Jamaica as we follow the adventures of timid, 11-year-old Ziggy. Watch out for evil Duppy, but “don’t worry about a thing, ‘cause every little thing gonna be all right!” From May 23-June 7, MTC presents BACT’s Fancy Nancy, the Musical!, adapted from Jane O’Connor’s The New York Times bestselling series by Susan DiLallo and Danny Abosch, and directed by Tracy Ward. Nancy and her dance class friends will soon perform their first recital, and Nancy dreams of donning a tiara and diving into the role of an elegant mythical ocean dweller — but will she get the part? TICKETS Five-show, full-series packages to MTC’s theater series for young audiences are available now – $90 for kids under 14 and $110 for adults. Four-Show Packages are also available at $72 for kids under 14 and $88 for adults. To order, call the MTC Box Office at (415) 388-5208. Ticket packages are not available online. Tickets for MTC’s theater series for young audiences are only available through MTC’s Box Office – BACT’s four-show Flex Passes are not applicable for MTC performances. Tickets for individual performances cost $18 for kids under 14 and $22 for adults, and go on sale June 13 for Five Little Monkeys; July 15 for James and the Giant Peach, Around the World in 80 Days and Three Little Birds; and November 1 for Fancy Nancy. Discounts for groups of 10 or more are available. ####################### OREGON SHAKESPEARE NEWS WORLD PREMIERE FAMILY ALBUM JOINS OSF REP Musical by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, created with and directed by Joanna Settle, will open July 5 —The Oregon Shakespeare Festival will open the world premiere of Family Album, with book and lyrics by Stew, music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, created with and directed by Joanna Settle. The opening performance is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, July 5 in the Thomas Theatre; previews are July 1, 3 and 4. Family Album was commissioned by OSF with support from the Edgerton Foundation. The show runs through August 31. Told through soul-stirring rock ‘n roll music, Family Album is the story of middle-aged rocker Heimvey and his hip and influential, but relatively low-income band. Seasoned by years of touring throughout the country and on their way to NYC to open for a popular young band at Madison Square Garden, they land at the home of a former band member. Cleo, Heimvey’s ex-girlfriend and former muse, and her art dealer husband/stockbroker Norman, live with their precocious child. The visit stirs deep questioning about choosing the artist’s life or the homeowner’s, and as alliances are formed and frayed, everyone starts to itch for what someone else seems to have, and assumptions and expectations are shuffled and shattered. Lue Morgan Douthit, OSF director of literary development and dramaturgy, noted, “Stew and Heidi were the first artists that Bill approached after the Edgerton Foundation gave OSF funding to commission five musicals. And we have been rocking ever since. We are so excited that this poignant story is the first of our Edgerton musicals to premiere at OSF. A sharply-tuned ear to the rhythm and poetry of our contemporary culture, this musical explores in hard-rocking Technicolor the cost of selling out. Even when one follows one’s bliss.” Stew and Rodewald are the authors of the musical hit Passing Strange, which premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2006 and moved to Broadway in 2008. The piece earned seven Tony Award nominations, and Stew received the award for Best Book of a Musical. Music direction of Family Album is by Stew and Dana Lyn, with choreography by David Neumann. Scenic design is by Andrew Lieberman (associate scenic designer Eric Southern), costumes by Tilly Grimes, lighting by Jane Cox, and sound design by ACME Sound Partners. Dramaturg on the project is Lue Morgan Douthit; voice and text director is David Carey; fight director is U. Jonathan Toppo and stage managers are Jeremy Eisen and M. William Shiner. The cast features Luqman Brown as Heimvey, Casey Scott as Claudia, Christian Gibbs as Gibbs, Vinnie Sperrazza as Charles Andy, Alex Emanuel as Norman, Miriam A. Laube as Cleo, Lawrence Stallings as Paul, Daniel T. Parker as The Kid, Dana Lyn as Clara, and Marika Hughes as Kika. Production Sponsor of the play is Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards, and Production Partners are The Hobbes Family and Michael and Leslie Schroeder. Tickets for Family Album are available online at www.osfashland.org ################################################### YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS & ACTORS SPEND A WEEK AT EUGENE O’NEILL HOME IN DANVILLE Twenty-six fledgling playwrights and beginning actors will be spending one week of their summer vacation trying their wings at writing and performing plays in the environment that inspired America’s most notable playwright – Eugene O’Neill. Under the sponsorship of the Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Tao House, and in partnership with the National Park Service, the high school students will work with professional writers and directors in a week-long project called the O’Neill Studio Retreat from July 7-13. The retreat is a collaborative program, designed to encourage creative production in the students. Early in the week, nine of the high students will spend their time in an intense writing project to prepare ten minute scripts that will be enhanced throughout the week, an then rehearsed and performed by nine young actors. Through this effort, students practice the vital collaboration needed between writer and actor and develop higher-level skills in the intensive process of writing, rehearsing and performing original works. For this weeklong workshop students thrive in Tao House’s solitude, treasured by playwright Eugene O’Neill while living in the Danville Hills from 1937 to 1944. A final performance of the short scripts will be presented to the public at a performance in the Old Barn at the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site on Sunday, July 13 at 2:00 p.m. The group of nine Writing students participating in the Studio Retreat includes: • From San Ramon Valley High School (Danville): Reagan Black, Lauren Smith • From Monte Vista High School (Danville): Emily Chuah, Michael Lewis • From Northgate High School (Walnut Creek): Marina Kataque • From Las Lomas High School (Walnut Creek): Natalie Rich • From California High School (San Ramon): Stephany Kim, Mohammed Syed • From Dougherty Valley High School (San Ramon): Juyun Park The seventeen Drama students participating in this summer’s O’Neill Studio Retreat who will perform the newly written scenes are: • From Alhambra High School,(Martinez): Samantha Bituen • From Mt. Diablo High School (Concord): Mackenzie Chaneller, Jacob Freeman, Evelyn McCollum, Victor Meneses, Pedro Miramontes, Belsy Murillo, Ariel Ramirez, Daniela Rosales, Sean Woodring • From California High School (San Ramon): Arman Sufi, Pierce Woodward • From Skyline High School (Oakland): Dominic Q. Gulley, Jr. • From San Ramon High School (Danville): Tara Fay • From Monte Vista High School (Danville): Jenelle Doolittle • From California Virtual Academy ( Simi Valley): D.J. Barron • From Diablo Valley School (Concord): Chuhan Shen This workshop in playwriting and acting is led by an experienced writer and two actor/educators. Returning for the third season is Ignacio Zulueta, recipient of an Emerging Playwright Award and a 2012-13 Fellowship from San Francisco Playground. Zulueta has had his plays performed in New York, Minneapolis and Ashland. Stage director/educator Chad Deverman will also return for this summer’s workshop. Deverman is a professional actor who has worked with many local groups, including Berkeley Rep, San Jose Rep, TheatreWorks, and the Aurora Theater Company. Joining the staff this summer is John Litten who taught during the Foundation’s spring Student Days at Tao House program, and has worked with many Bay Area theatre groups. The Studio Retreat is coordinated by Jack DeRieux, Board member with the Eugene O’Neill Foundation, and retired high school drama teacher. The O’Neill Studio Retreat is provided at no cost to students through funding and support from the Dean and Margaret Lesher Foundation, the Wood Foundation. The program is done in partnership with the National Park Service. The O’Neill Studio Retreat is one of several educational and community programs sponsored by the non-profit Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Tao House. Next up is the 15th Annual Eugene O’Neill Festival during September, when the O’Neill Foundation and the Role Players Ensemble of Danville will produce O’Neill award-winning The Iceman Cometh at the Old Barn at the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site in the Danville Hills and Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Village Theatre in downtown Danville. Details on Foundation activities is available at www.eugeneoneill.org.

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