Disclosure disclosure

JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
A story of "First Impressions" and second chances…
Book, Music, and Lyrics by
Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs
Directed by Igor Goldin (“YANK!”)
Presented as part of the 2011 New York Musical Theatre Festival
September 29 – October 11
Signature Theatre’s Peter Norton Space (555 West 42nd St)

The New York Musical Theatre Festival and J&B Productions present the musical JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, a musical – a story of “First Impressions” and second chances – with music, lyrics and book by Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs, directed by Igor Goldin (“YANK!”), and starring, in the title role of Jane Austen, Donna Lynne Champlin (“Sweeney Todd,” “Billy Elliot”). JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, a musical is presented as part of the 2011 New York Musical Theatre Festival and will play at Signature Theatre’s Peter Norton Space (555 West 42nd Street) in Manhattan beginning September 29 – with only 6 performances available.

Copyright 2011 By Punch In International. All Rights Reserved

Disclosure

Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy’s romance comes to life with fresh eyes as Jane Austen revisits her unpublished manuscript, First Impressions. As Austen transforms their story into what will ultimately become her masterpiece, Pride and Prejudice, both the author and her characters struggle to learn the joy of second chances.
Directed by Drama Desk Award nominee Igor Goldin (“YANK!,” “Unlock’d”) JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE will star Donna Lynne Champlin in the title role of Jane Austen, with additional casting TBA.
JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE has book, music and lyrics by Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs, choreography by Lucille Lortel Award nominee Jeffry Denman (“Yank!”), musical direction by Timothy Splain (“Adding Machine”), set design by Josh Zangen, lighting design by Zach Blane, costume design by Colleen Kesterson, and general management La Vie Productions.
Donna Lynne Champlin most recently was seen on Broadway in “Billy Elliot,” her other Broadway credits include “Sweeney Todd,” “By Jeeves,” “James Joyce’s The Dead” and most notably for her portrayal of Older Helen (based on a young Carol Burnett) in “Hollywood Arms” written by Carol Burnett and directed by Harold Prince. Other NYC/Off-Broadway credits include “Master Class” at the MET, “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs” (OBIE Award), “Bury The Dead,” “Flight of the Lawnchair Man” (NYMF award, "Outstanding Performance"), “Love Jerry” (NYMF award, "Outstanding Performance"), “First Lady Suite,” “My Life with Albertine,” City Center Encores! “Bloomer Girl,” and Carnegie Hall’s “Very Warm for May.” A Princess Grace Grant winner and Presidential Scholar in the Arts, Donna Lynne graduated with high honors from CMU and studied at Oxford on scholarship with an emphasis on Shakespeare and Chekhov.
Lindsay Warren Baker began collaborating with Amanda Jacobs in 1997 when they co-authored “Daniel: The Musical.” Additional works by Baker and Jacobs include “Lily, a Musical Portrait,” “All the Buzz” (Winner: Youth Education on Stage 2010 Summer Shorts 5, Williston, ND); “Personal Foul” (Winner: St. John Fisher College & Spotlight Theater Arts 2010 Celebration of One Acts, Rochester, NY); “The Rendez-Vous;” “Blocked” and are currently working on a play for children, “In the Garden.” Baker received her BA in theater and music from St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN), and trained at the O’Neill National Theater Institute (Waterford, CT), Moscow Art Theater (Russia), Geva Theatre Center (Rochester, NY) and spent two months during the summer of 2010 in Ghana, Africa studying West African music and dance. She is also currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree at SUNY Empire State College concentrating on performing arts and cultural studies. Member: Dramatists Guild of America
Amanda Jacobs earned her BMus degree in Piano Performance from Wesleyan College (Macon, GA) and completed graduate studies in piano pedagogy, voice, jazz theory and organ. After moving to Rochester, NY in 1996, she discovered her talent for composition when inspired to compose “Daniel: The Musical” and began working with Lindsay Warren Baker. While working on “Daniel,” she learned orchestral composition and arranging. In 2005, within a two-week period, she composed original orchestrations for a revival of Sigmund Romberg’s “Maytime” for the Ohio Light Opera (Wooster, OH) and now arranges and scores all of her collaborative work with Baker. In June 2010, Jacobs’ “Mass for the Living” won an Honorable Mention from the Foundation for the Sacred Arts and received its world premiere with the NIH Philharmonic Orchestra (Washington D.C.) in December 2010. Other accomplishments include the 2009 First Prize Winner of the 6th Annual Long Island Arts Council Composition Competition for her “Garden Verses,” the 2010 Honorable Mention in the “Celebrating Grace” Composition Competition for an SA Choral Arrangement, and First Prize for the Marin Lutheran Church composition competition for her original SATB anthem "Peace, Be Still.” Member: Dramatists Guild of America
Igor Goldin’s credits include: Off-Broadway: “With Glee” (Prospect Theater Company at Theatre Row), YANK! (York Theatre Company – Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Director of a Musical). Previous productions of “YANK!;” Diversionary Theatre, San Diego (Outstanding Achievement in Direction of a Musical, StageScene L.A.) The Gallery Players (2008 New York Innovative Theatre Award) and the New York Musical Theatre Festival (2005 Talkin’ Broadway Outstanding New Summer Musical). Other productions for NYMF: “The Tenth Floor” (2010 Talkin’ Broadway Outstanding New Summer Musical); “Sing, But Don’t Tell;” “Liberty;” “Main-Travelled Roads” (2008 Richard Rodgers Award staged reading); “Unlock’d” (2007 Best in Fest Award); “Common Grounds” (NYMF 2006 Award for Excellence in Direction). Other credits: “Liberty” (Workshop), “Like You Like It,” (2009 New York Innovative Theatre Award). Tours: Associate Director, “Seussical” directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge (Theatreworks USA). Regional: “…And Then I Wrote A Song About It” (Luna Stage, NJ and Diversionary, San Diego), “The Mystery of Irma Vep,” “The New Century,” “A Little Night Music,” “I Love You Because” (NH Theatre Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical), “Romance Romance,” “The Complete History of America (abridged),” “Blithe Spirit,” “Dracula,” “Violet,” “The Spitfire Grill” and “The Full Monty.” Igor was nominated by his peers as a top 5 finalist for the 2010 SDC Joe A. Callaway Award for Distinguished Direction. Member: Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).
Now in its eighth year, the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is the largest annual musical theatre event in America and is widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF provides a launching pad for the next generation of musicals and ensuring their creators the continued vitality of one of America’s greatest art forms. Hailed as the "Sundance of Musical Theatre," NYMF discovers, nurtures, and promotes promising musical theatre artists and producers at all stages of development, and inspires a diverse audience through vibrant, accessible, powerful new work.
NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2011 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group and TheaterMania.com. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The Broadway League, The BWF Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Ariel Phinney, The Charlie & Jane Fink Charitable Fund, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.
NYMF Memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early seating, and tickets to individual events are currently available for purchase at (212) 352-3101 or www.nymf.org. Single tickets for Festival events will go on sale September 1.
Performances of JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE will run Thursday, September 29 at 8:00pm; Saturday, October 1 at 9:00pm; Sunday, October 2 at 1:00pm; Sunday, October 2 at 5:00pm; Friday, October 7 at 1:00pm; and Tuesday, October 11 at 5:00pm at Signature Theatre’s Peter Norton Space (555 West 42nd Street) in Manhattan.
For additional information on JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, please www.pride-prejudice-musical.com or www.nymf.org

Present A New Adventures Production

MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE

THE TONY AWARD^® WINNING PRODUCTION

RETURNS TO NEW YORK

LIMITED ENGAGEMENT OCTOBER 13 – NOVEMBER 7, 2010

AT NEW YORK CITY CENTER

Directed and Choreographed by Matthew Bourne

“Fourteen years after its premiere, the show still packs a thrilling punch.”

Daily Mail (London, 2009)

MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE, the triumphant modern re-interpretation of the legendary ballet, turned tradition upside down and took both the theater and dance worlds by storm when it arrived on Broadway in 1998 and went on to win three Tony Awards^® and five Drama Desk Awards.

Produced by New York City Center, Sadler’s Wells Theater London and Back Row Productions, the groundbreaking and multi-award-winning international hit production will return to New York for a strictly limited run October 13 – November 7, 2010 at New York City Center (West 55^th Street between 6^th and 7^th Avenues).

Tickets for MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE go on sale on Monday, June 7^th at the New York City Center Box Office, through CityTix at 212-581-1212, or online at www.NYCityCenter.org.  Tickets are $110 (Orchestra and Grand Tier); $85 (Orchestra, Grand Tier and Mid-Mezzanine); $50 (Mid-Mezzanine and Rear Mezzanine) and $25 (Orchestra and Rear Mezzanine).

Matthew Bourne blends dance, humor and spectacle with extravagant, award-winning set and costume designs by Lez Brotherston and lighting design by Rick Fisher, to create a provocative and powerful Swan Lake for our times.  Now firmly crowned as a modern-day classic, this iconic production is perhaps best known for replacing the traditional female corps de ballet with a menacing male ensemble.

Collecting over 30 international theater awards, MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE has been acclaimed as a landmark achievement on the international stage. It has become the longest running ballet in the West End and on Broadway and enjoyed four hugely successful tours in the UK and thrilled audiences all over the world.

Tony Award^® winning creator and New Adventures artistic director Matthew Bourne said: "Can it really be over a decade ago that my production of Swan Lake was on Broadway?  A memorable experience that culminated in our winning three Tony Awards^®.  An incredible journey for a piece that started out as a government subsidized project that was seen as, at best, a creative gamble and, at worst, an outrageous folly! Of course, this was before people had seen the power and the majesty of our now famous male swans.  I am happy to say that that journey has since continued and Swan Lake has been seen all over the world, inspiring young (particularly male) dancers and creating an unprecedented new audience for dance.

I remember at the Tony Awards^®, when I won my second award of the evening for Best Director of a Musical, looking down at the award and saying incredulously ‘Best Director of a Musical that isn’t a musical?’ I was of course alluding to the fact that the show was deemed ineligible for Best Musical. What I forgot to say at the time was that although Swan Lake is probably not a musical, it is certainly musical theater, and this has been borne out over the years with its incredible cross-over popularity.  I am particularly delighted to be returning to New York with my own New Adventures company, which features a cast of homegrown stars who have worked in many of my productions over the last decade.

I have never stopped working on Swan Lake. It has never become frozen as a show but has, I believe, gotten richer and more heartfelt.  In fact, this current production features, in my opinion, the finest company that has ever performed the piece. I am thrilled to be co-presented at New York’s famed City Center by my producers: Back Row Productions, who have produced Swan Lake all over the world since 2005; London’s legendary dance house, Sadler’s Wells; and New York City Center, one of New York’s leading presenters and producers of both dance and musical theater.  I am truly excited at the prospect of Swan Lake’s return to New York and performing, once again, to the best audiences in the world."

MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE stars a mix of established New Adventures performers and newcomers. Richard Winsor and Jonathan Ollivier return to the coveted role of “The Swan” following their 2009 debuts.

Richard Winsor is one of New Adventures’ leading performers, having created the title roles in both Edward Scissorhands (2005) and Dorian Gray (2008). He was also in the original cast of Bourne’s Play Without Words (2002) and was seen as “Angelo” in The Car Man and the title role in Nutcracker!. He recently starred in his first major film, Street Dance, the first British movie to be shot in 3D.

After graduating from The Rambert School in 1996, Jonathan Ollivier joined The Cape Town City Ballet Company and became a principal before returning to England in 1999 to join Northern Ballet. Here he created many leading roles, most notably “Stanley Kowalski” in Didy Veldman’s contemporary ballet of A Streetcar Named Desire and “Heathcliffe” in David Nixon’s Wuthering Heights. Ollivier joined the Alberta Ballet Company as a principal dancer in 2007 and returned to the UK to pursue a freelance career in 2009.

The pivotal role of “The Prince” will be performed by Dominic North, a veteran New Adventures company member who has also played the title role in Edward Scissorhands for which he was nominated for Best Male Dancer at the 2010 National Dance Awards. Simon Williams will also return to the production to recreate the role.  A Royal Ballet School graduate and former member of the English National Ballet, he has performed with New Adventures in Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! and also appeared in Billy Elliot in the West End and as the leading male dancer in the Michael Clark Dance Company.

Returning to the role of “The Queen” will be American dancer and original Broadway cast member Nina Goldman, who has performed in various roles within the production, including “The Girlfriend.” Nina also performed in The Car Man and enjoyed great success as “Joyce Monroe” in Edward Scissorhands. Sharing the roles of both “The Queen” and “The Girlfriend” will be veteran New Adventures company member Madelaine Brennan, who studied with The Royal Ballet and has appeared in Trevor Nunn’s productions of Oklahoma! and My Fair Lady at The Royal National Theatre, and most recently performed in Cabaret on the West End.

“The Girlfriend” will also be played by New Adventures veteran Shelby Williams, who has appeared in the original 2005 cast of Edward Scissorhands, The Car Man, Highland Fling and Nutcracker!

The role of the “The Private Secretary” will be shared by New Adventures resident director Steve Kirkham and company member Ashley Bain. Kirkham returns to Swan Lake after being in the original cast as a “Cygnet.”  He was in the original cast of the multi-award-winning Play Without Words, Edward Scissorhands and Nutcracker! Bain has appeared with New Adventures in Nutcracker!, the Swan Lake 10^th Anniversary world tour and Dorian Gray, in which he created the role of “Edward Black.”

The complete company of MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE will be announced shortly.

NEW ADVENTURES Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures is the UK’s premier contemporary dance/theater touring company. Its repertory includes some of the most successful dance productions of the last two decades. The company was launched in 2002 to create and perform both large – and small-scale work by Matthew Bourne. Since its launch it has built an enviable repertoire of exciting new work (Play Without Words, Edward Scissorhands and Dorian Gray) and new productions of favorite works from the repertory of Matthew Bourne’s former company, Adventures In Motion Pictures (Nutcracker!, Swan Lake, Cinderella, Highland Fling and The Car Man). New Adventures is committed to reviving these popular works on a regular basis, along with the creation of new work. As well as being a resident company at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, New Adventures is also a touring company. It has become Britains’ biggest dance export with regular seasons throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. Both at home and internationally, it annually gives more performances than any other UK dance company.

NEW YORK CITY CENTER has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city for more than 60 years. It was Manhattan’s first performing arts center, dedicated by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in 1943 with a mission to make the best in music, theater and dance accessible to all audiences. Today, City Center is home to many distinguished companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Paul Taylor Dance Company and Manhattan Theatre Club; a roster of renowned national and international visiting artists; and its own critically acclaimed and popular programs. The Tony-honored Encores! musical theater series has been hailed as “one of the very best reasons to be alive in New York.” Dance has been integral to the theater’s mission from the start, and dance programs, including the annual Fall for Dance festival and a partnership with London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre, remain central to City Center’s identity.

SADLER’S WELLS THEATRE LONDON is the UK’s leading venue for dance, presenting the widest forms of world-class international and UK dance to the widest possible audiences. A well established producing house under the artistic directorship of Alistair Spalding, the theater’s acclaimed program spans cutting edge contemporary works by artists such as William Forsythe, Hofesh Shechter and Wayne McGregor, sell-out runs from Matthew Bourne and his company New Adventures, hugely successful tango, street dance and flamenco shows, international companies including American Ballet Theater and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and award-winning Sadler’s Wells Productions on an international scale including Sylvie Guillem and Russell Maliphant’s PUSH and groundbreaking cross-art form collaborations such as zero degrees and Sutra. An associate artist at Sadler’s Wells, Matthew Bourne’s iconic Swan Lake premiered at the theater 15 years ago. Since then he has presented a host of acclaimed works at Sadler’s Wells including Nutcracker!, The Car Man and Edward Scissorhands. His company, New Adventures, has been a Sadler’s Wells resident company since 2006.

BACK ROW PRODUCTIONS LTD. The Managing Directors of Back Row Productions are Liz Koops and Garry McQuinn. Back Row has successfully developed or presented innovative productions throughout the world including Tap Dogs (in 37 countries and over 320 cities), Slava’s Snowshow, Gumboots, Wadaiko Ichiro, Shaolin Monks, Bounce and Circus Oz.  Back Row’s international reputation was consolidated through booking and/or producing seasons of Jerry Seinfeld, An Inspector Calls, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Mum’s The Word, Fosse, Cats, Chicago, Starlight Express, Grease, Miss Saigon, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake.  Back Row Productions is presently producing Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake internationally, Through A Glass Darkly with the prestigious Almeida Theatre, a reinvented production of Tap Dogs in London, Europe and Asia, and Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical, running at the Palace Theatre in London and opening in Toronto later this year and Broadway early in 2011.

www.NYCityCenter.org

Barbara Cook Vanessa Williams  Tom Wopat       In the new original Broadway musical

             SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM

                               with

Leslie Kritzer     Norm Lewis        Euan Morton ErinMackey                               Matthew Scott

                     Music & Lyrics

                  Stephen Sondheim

                Conceived & Directed

                        James Lapine

____________________________________________________________

                       “Rating A Major”

                                               Punch In International

_______________________________________________________________

As long as there is a ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY, there will be a vibrant and meaningful Broadway. Sondheim’s lyrics and music soar, as a world class ensemble cast lights up the stage. A brilliant conception, this production is strikingly staged by James Lapine.  The Great White way is alive and well at Studio 54. Not to be missed!

N. Walman

_____________________________________________________________ ____

Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway production of Sondheim on Sondheim stars Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams, Tom Wopat, Leslie Kritzer, Norm Lewis, Euan Morton, Erin Mackey & Matthew Scott. Music & lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim and the production is conceived & directed by James Lapine.

Sondheim brought us Into The Woods, Company, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, West Side Story and Gypsy (to name a few). By writing songs that reflect the complexity of his characters, he has changed the way we define a great musical. But even though millions of fans know his songs by heart, few know much about Stephen Sondheim himself. Until now. Roundabout presents Sondheim On Sondheim, an intimate portrait of the famed composer in his own words… and music. Through the use of exclusive interview footage, you’ll get an inside look at Sondheim’s personal life and artistic process. An world-class ensemble cast performs sparkling-new arrangements of over two dozen Sondheim tunes, ranging from the celebrated to the obscure. Brilliantly directed by frequent Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, Sondheim on Sondheim  is a unique theatrical experience that will carry you to emotional highs and leave you with a sense of fulfillment rarely experienced in today’s theatrical universe.   Rating:A Major

The Sondheim on Sondheim creative team includes David Loud (Music Direction & Arrangements) and Dan Knechtges (Musical Staging). The design team includes Beowulf Boritt (Sets), Susan Hilferty (Costumes), Ken Billington (Lights), Dan Moses Schreier (Sound) and Peter Flaherty (Projections).

Copyright 2010 By Punch In International. All rights reserved.

TICKET INFORMATION:

Tickets will be available exclusively to American Express® Cardmembers beginning Monday, January 4th at www.roundabouttheatre.org, by phone at (212) 719-1300, or at the Studio 54 Box Office (254 West 54th Street). http://www.roundabouttheatre.org 
blic on-sale begins Sunday, January 10th, by calling Roundabout Ticket Services at (212)719-1300, online at www.roundabouttheatre.org or at the Studio 54 Box Office (254 West 54th Street).  To become a Roundabout subscriber visit www.roundabouttheatre.org or call Roundabout Ticket Services (212)719-1300.  Ticket prices range from $36.50-$126.50.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

Sondheim on Sondheim will play Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00PM with a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinee at 2:00PM. 
SPRING GALA: SONDHEIM 80.
.

Copyright 2010 By Punch In International. All Rights Reserved.

Biographies:

STEPHEN SONDHEIM (Music and Lyrics) wrote the music and lyrics for Road Show (2008),  Passion (1994), Assassins (1991), Into the Woods (1987), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sweeney Todd (1979), Pacific Overtures (1976), The Frogs (1974), A Little Night Music (1973), Follies (1971; revised in London, 1987), Company (1970), Anyone Can Whistle (1964) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), as well as the lyrics for West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959), Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965) and additional lyrics for Candide (1973). Side by Side by Sondheim (1976), Marry Me a Little (1981), You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow (1983) and Putting It Together (1993/99) are anthologies of his work, as is the forthcoming Sondheim on Sondheim. He composed the film scores of Stavisky (1974) and Reds (1981) and songs for Dick Tracy (Academy Award, 1990). He also wrote songs for the television production "Evening Primrose" (1966), co-authored, with Anthony Perkins, the film The Last of Sheila (1973) and, with George Furth, the play Getting Away with Murder (1996), and provided incidental music for the plays The Girls of Summer (1956), Invitation to a March (1961) and Twigs (1971). He won Tony Awards for Best Score for a Musical for Passion, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Follies and Company. All of these shows won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, as did Pacific Overtures and Sunday in the Park with George, the latter also receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Saturday Night (1954), his first professional musical, finally had its New York premiere in 1999 at Second Stage Theatre.

JAMES LAPINE (Conceived, Director).  Broadway credits as a book writer & director include: Sunday in the Park with George; Into the Woods; Passion; Falsettos (book with William Finn); Dirty Blonde (by Claudia Shear and conceived with her).  Broadway credits as a director include: Golden Child, The Diary of Anne Frank, Amour, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Off-Broadway writing credits include: Table Settings; Twelve Dreams; Luck, Pluck, and Virtue; The Moment When; and Fran’s Bed. Three Tony Awards; Five Drama Desk Awards; Pulitzer Prize with Stephen Sondheim for Sunday in the Park with George.

BARBARA COOK’s silvery soprano, purity of tone, and warm presence have delighted audiences around the world for more than 50 years. Considered “Broadway’s favorite ingenue” during the heyday of the Broadway musical, Miss Cook then launched a second career as a concert and recording artist soaring from one professional peak to another.  Ms. Cook’s most recent New York appearances include an appearance with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall, a reprise of her three sold out 80th Birthday concerts in 2007, and a critically acclaimed new show “Here’s To Life” at Feinstein’s at the Regency. In the past few years Ms. Cook also returned to Carnegie Hall, where she made her legendary solo concert debut over 30 years ago, for her sixth solo concert and made an historic solo concert debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, where she became the first female solo pop singer to be presented in concert by the MET.  Miss Cook won a NY Drama Critics Circle Award and was nominated for a Drama Desk award for her concert Barbara Cook’s Broadway and was nominated for Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her previous concert, Mostly Sondheim.  Her many Broadway credits include the creation of three classic roles in the American musical theatre: Cunegonde in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, Marian the Librarian in Meredith Willson’s The Music Man (Tony Award) and Amalia in Bock and Harnick’s She Loves Me (Drama Desk Award). In 1975 she made her Carnegie Hall debut which was preserved as the live recording, Barbara Cook at Carnegie Hall.  She then embarked on a second career as a concert and recording artist performing in most of the country’s major concert halls and cabarets. In 1987 she won a Drama Desk Award for her Broadway show, A Concert for the Theatre. Her many London appearances include: her Gala 1997 Birthday Concert with the Royal Philharmonic at the Royal Albert Hall; appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican; engagements at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, and Sadler’s Wells; and Olivier Award-nominated appearances at the Albery Theatre,  at the Lyric Theatre with Mostly Sondheim, two engagements of Barbara Cook’s Broadway, and most recently an appearance with the English National Ballet in an all-Gershwin evening at the Royal Albert Hall.  A Grammy Award winner, her recordings include eight original Broadway cast albums, two Ben Bagley albums of songs by Jerome Kern and George Gershwin, an album entitled Songs of Perfect Propriety, featuring poems by Dorothy Parker set to music by Seymour Barab, As Of Today (Columbia) and The Disney Album (MCA). Her more recent recordings for DRG Records include: Close as Pages in a Book, Barbara Cook: Live From London, Oscar Winners: The Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein, All I Ask Of You, The Champion Season: A Salute to Gower Champion, Mostly Sondheim, Barbara Cook’s Broadway, the Grammy nominated Count Your Blessings,  Tribute, the live performance cd, Barbara Cook at the Met, No One Is Alone and Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder.  Next month, DRG Records will release a boxed set of her recordings under the title The Essential Barbara Cook.

VANESSA WILLIAMS is one of the most respected and multi-faceted performers in entertainment today.  She has conquered the musical charts, Broadway, music videos, television and motion pictures.  She has sold over four million albums worldwide and her skills as an actress on stage, in film and on television have earned critical praise.  Performing – and music in particular – has always played an important role in Vanessa’s life.  Born in Millwood, New York, Vanessa’s early years were spent surrounded by music.  Her parents were music teachers who recognized her musical gifts early on and encouraged her to pursue her love of the arts.  When she was young, she acted, danced, played piano and French horn in her high school orchestra, concert band and marching band and she sang in the concert choir and chorus.  Her early interest in performing led to a passion for musical theatre.  She won an NFAA scholarship was a finalist for a Presidential Scholarship in acting in 1981 and chose to continue her education at Syracuse University, where she majored in musical theatre.  While at college in 1983, Vanessa was sought after by local talent scouts who invited her to participate in the Miss Greater Syracuse Pageant.  Three months later, Vanessa won the 1983 Miss America title and the $30,000 scholarship that accompanied it.  The controversy that followed only left Vanessa stronger and more empowered in her commitment to a career in the world of entertainment.  Vanessa launched her recording career in 1988 with her first album, “The Right Stuff,” which went gold and earned her first three Grammy Award nominations.  Her 1991 multi-million selling follow-up, “The Comfort Zone,” which featured the unforgettable “Save the Best For Last,” and her third album, “The Sweetest Days,” each yielded multiple hits and Grammy nominations.  She was nominated for yet another Grammy for her hit single “Colors of the Wind,” from Disney’s “Pocahontas,” which went on to win an Academy Award, Golden Globe and the Grammy for Best Song in a Motion Picture.  Her numerous recordings also include two holiday albums, “Star Bright” and “Silver & Gold;” “Vanessa Williams Greatest Hits: The First Ten Years;” “Our Favorite Things,” with Tony Bennett, Placido Domingo and Charlotte Church and “Everlasting Love,” a collection of her favorite love songs from the 1970’s.  Concord Records released Vanessa’s newest album, “The Real Thing,” in June.  In 1994, Vanessa realized a life-long dream, taking Broadway by storm when she replaced Chita Rivera in Kiss of the Spider Woman.  Her performance won critics over and was a box-office sensation, firmly establishing Vanessa as a multi-talented triple-threat.  Vanessa also garnered rave reviews and was nominated for a Tony Award in the 2002 revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, taking a brief break from the production to headline a limited special engagement of the classic, Carmen Jones, at the Kennedy Center, playing to sold-out houses and achieving glowing notices.  Previously, Vanessa captivated theatre-goers off-Broadway in One Man Band and in the Los Angeles production of Ron Milner’s Checkmates. She also starred in the Encore! Series staged concert production of St. Louis Woman, which was also released as a cast recording.  Vanessa made her film debut in 1986 in Under the Gun and she appeared in the films The Pick-Up Artist, Another You (with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder) and Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (with Mickey Rourke). She starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Warner Bros.’ action thriller, Eraser, followed by a leading role opposite Laurence Fishburne and Andy Garcia in Hoodlum and an NAACP Image Award winning performance with the box-office hit, Soul Food.  She has starred in the romantic dance-musical Dance With Me, Light It Up, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland and Shaft, opposite Samuel L. Jackson.  She co-starred in Johnson Family Vacation with Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Harvey.  She starred recently in the independent features, My Brother and Somebody Like You and co-starred in Disney’s feature film, Hannah Montana: The Movie.  Vanessa has also played diverse roles on television, in such productions as “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” “The Boy Who Loved Christmas” and “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” for which she won an NAACP Image Award.  She commanded rave reviews for her performance in ABC’s revival of “Bye, Bye Birdie” and starred in the mini-series “Nothing Lasts Forever” and the Emmy-nominated “The Odyssey,” which also garnered impressive ratings and an Image Award nomination for Vanessa.  Vanessa starred opposite John Lithgow in TNT’s “Don Quixote” and she executive produced and starred in “The Courage to Love” for Lifetime Television.  She starred in the VH1 Original Movie, “A Diva’s Christmas Carol,” which was the highest rated movie ever for VH1, their second highest rated telecast overall of in 2000 and their fourth highest rated telecast of all time.  She co-starred in the Showtime movie “Keep the Faith, Baby”and the UPN drama, “South Beach” and garnered rave reviews for hosting the 2009 Daytime Emmy Awards.  She currently stars in ABC’s critically-acclaimed hit series, “Ugly Betty,” for which she has been nominated three times for the Emmy Award for her role and she and her co-stars and the show have won or been nominated for numerous individual and ensemble awards, including the Emmy, SAG Award, Golden Globe and NAACP Image Awards.  Among Vanessa’s many awards and honors, she was honored in 1996 with the coveted Lena Horne Career Achievement Award at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards.  In 2007, she achieved a career pinnacle, with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her accomplishments as a performer.  Vanessa’s charitable contributions are many and varied, embracing and supporting such issues as education, homelessness, abuse, women’s issues and health concerns, AIDS and anything having to do with children.  Specifically, she is actively involved with such organizations as Green Chimneys, a working farm in Westchester County that provides educational and residential programs to help troubled inner-city adolescents; The Open Door, which provides walk-in medical care for homeless families; The Cottage School for displaced young women and the Special Olympics, among many others.

TOM WOPAT.  Broadway: A Catered Affair (Tony, Drama Desk & Drama League nominations), Chicago, Glengarry Glen Ross (Drama Desk Award), 42nd Street, Annie Get Your Gun (Tony & Drama Desk nominations), Guys and Dolls, City of Angels, I Love My Wife.  Off-Broadway: The Guys, Olympus on My Mind, A Bistro Car on the CNR, Oklahoma.  Regional: Catch Me if You Can, A Catered Affair, The Music Man, Last of the Boys, R Shoman, Carousel, The Robber Bridegroom.  National Tour: Chicago.  Film: Main Street, Jonah Hex, The Understudy, Bonneville.  Television: “Standoff,” “Smallville,” “All My Children,” “100 Centre Street,” “Home Improvement,” “Cybill,” Peaceable Kingdom,” “Blue Skies,” “Dukes of Hazzard,” “Mow,” “The Hazzard in Hollywood,” “Meteorites!,” “Reunion in Hazzard,” “Just My Imagination,” “Christmas Comes to Willow Creek,” Burning Rage,” “Contagious.”

LESLIE KRITZER.  Broadway credits include A Catered Affair (Drama Desk Nomination), Legally Blonde (Clerence Derwent Award for Most Promising Performer) and Hairspray. She received critical acclaim and a Time Out New York award for her sold-out Joe’s Pub run of Leslie Kritzer Is Patti LuPone At Les Mouches (a performance she repeated at The Plush Room in San Francisco). Off-Broadway and regional credits include Rooms, On The Town (Encores!), The Great American Trailer Park Musical (Drama Desk Nomination), Bat Boy, Godspell, Broadway: Three Generations (Kennedy Center), Cabaret, Born Yesterday, the world premiere of Vanities, Urinetown (National Tour), Evita and an acclaimed “Fanny Brice” in Funny Girl. She has performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall as a guest soloist honoring Tim Rice and Alan Menken and can be heard on several cast recordings. Film credits include 17 Photos Of Isabel. Television credits include “3LBS” (CBS) and “Jason and Jessica” (HBO).

NORM LEWIS. Broadway: The Little Mermaid (King Triton); Les Misérables (Javert), Drama League nom.; Chicago (Billy Flynn); Amour; The Wild Party; Side Show (Jake); Miss Saigon (John); Tommy. Off-Broadway: Dessa Rose (Nathan), Drama Desk nomination, AUDELCO Award; Two Gentlemen of Verona (Valentine), Drama League nomination; Captains Courageous (Doc); A New Brain (Roger). Concerts: Chess (Molokov), Dreamgirls (Curtis), Golden Boy (Eddie) for Encores! Regional: Ragtime (Coalhouse), Dreamgirls w/ Jennifer Holliday (Curtis), First You Dream, Sweeney Todd (Sweeney), The Fantasticks (El Gallo). Film/TV: Sex and the City 2, Preaching to the Choir, Confidences, Mystery Woman, “Cosby,” “Strong Medicine,” “All My Children,” “As the World Turns.” Debut Solo CD – "Norm Lewis: This Is The Life." www.normlewis.com

EUAN MORTON received an Olivier Award nomination for originating the role of Boy George in the musical Taboo. He reprised the role on Broadway, earning Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations, as well as the Theatre World Award (for Outstanding Broadway Debut).  Other stage appearances include title roles in Tony Kushner’s adaptation of Brundibár at the New Victory Theatre and Berkeley Rep and The Who’s Tommy at the Bay Street Theatre. He earned a 2006 Obie Award for his performance in Measure for Pleasure at the Public Theatre.  Euan also appeared in the Broadway revival of Cyrano De Bergerac.  Off-Broadway, Euan performed opposite Alfred Molina in Howard Katz at the Roundabout Theatre Company and in the 2009 American premiere of Leaves of Glass.  He was most recently seen in Moisés Kaufman’s production of Into the Woods at the Kansas City Rep.  Euan is featured in the documentary Showbusiness: The Road to Broadway which follows the history of a Broadway season.  For more information: www.officiallyeuanmorton.com.

MATTHEW SCOTT. Broadway: Jersey Boys, A Catered Affair, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas (For the Actors’ Fund). Regional/Stock: The Light in the Piazza (Fabrizio, Philadelphia Theatre Co.), First You Dream: The Music of Kander and Ebb (Signature Theatre), Ace (Ace, Signature Theater), Ragtime (Houdini, Paper Mill Playhouse), Tick, Tick…Boom! (Jonathan, Alliance Theater), West Side Story (Tony, The MUNY), Side by Side by Sondheim (The MUNY), Les Miserables (Marius), Swing! (Male Diva #2) and 1776 (Courier) all for the Pittsburgh CLO, Bat Boy (Bat Boy, PMT), My Fair Lady and Carousel (Both Paper Mill), Greenwillow (York Theater). Television: “All My Children.” Soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Erich Kunzel. BFA with honors from Carnegie Mellon University.
Roundabout Theatre Company is one of the country’s leading not-for-profit theatres.  The company contributes invaluably to New York’s cultural life by staging the highest quality revivals of classic plays and musicals as well as new plays by established writers. Roundabout consistently partners great artists with great works to bring a fresh and exciting interpretation that makes each production relevant and important to today’s audiences.

Roundabout Theatre Company currently produces at three permanent homes each of which is designed specifically to enhance the needs of the Roundabout’s mission.  Off-Broadway, the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, which houses the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre, with its simple sophisticated design is perfectly suited to showcasing new plays. The grandeur of its Broadway home on 42nd Street, American Airlines Theatre, sets the ideal stage for the classics.  Roundabout’s Studio 54 provides an exciting and intimate Broadway venue for its musical and special event productions.  Together these three distinctive venues serve to enhance the work on each of its stages.

American Airlines is the official airline of Roundabout Theatre Company.  Roundabout productions are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts; and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. 

Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2009-2010 season includes Michael Stewart, Lee Adams and Charles Strouse’s Bye Bye Birdie, starring John Stamos, Gina Gershon, Bill Irwin & Nolan Gerard Funk, directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom; Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking, directed by Tony Taccone; Theresa Rebeck’s The Understudy, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Justin Kirk and Julie White, directed by Scott Ellis; Adam Gwon’s Ordinary Days, directed by Marc Bruni; Noël Coward’s Present Laughter starring Victor Garber, directed by Nicholas Martin; Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Sondheim on Sondheim starring Barbara Cook and Vanessa Williams, and Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, directed by Gordon Edelstein. Roundabout’s sold out production of The 39 Steps made its second Broadway transfer to the Helen Hayes Theatre on January 21, 2009.
www.roundabouttheatre.org

_______________________________________________________________

It has been over 37 years since Barbara Cook appeared in a Broadway musical.  Ms. Cook won the 1958 Tony Award® for her portrayal of “Marian Paroo” in The Music Man.  She has been called one of the greatest interpreters of the work of Mr. Sondheim and received a Tony Award® nomination for Best Theatrical Event for her solo, limited engagement concert Mostly Sondheim in 2002.
Vanessa Williams received a 2002 Tony Award® nomination for her performance of the “Witch” in Into the Woods and made her Broadway debut in 1994 in Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Sondheim on Sondheim creative team includes David Loud (Music Direction) and Dan Knechtges (Musical Staging).  The design team includes Beowulf Boritt (Sets), Susan Hilferty (Costumes), Ken Billington (Lights), Dan Moses Schreier (Sound) and Peter Flaherty (Projections).

  
Roundabout has a long relationship with Stephen Sondheim having produced five Tony Award® nominated Sondheim revivals including Company (1995), Follies (2001), Tony Award® winning Assassins (2004), Pacific Overtures (2004) and Sunday in the Park with George (2008).  This production of Sondheim on Sondheim marks the fourth Sondheim musical produced by Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54, where Assassins, Pacific Overtures and Sunday in the Park with George all played.  In 2009 Roundabout presented a one-night only gala concert reading of A Little Night Music at Studio 54 starring Natasha Richardson, Victor Garber and Vanessa Redgrave.  In 2005, Roundabout honored Sondheim with the Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre for the indelible impact his life’s work has made on the theatre world.

James Lapine also returns to Roundabout Theatre Company and Studio 54 after the 2008 Tony Award® nominated production of Sunday in the Park with George starring Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell.  Euan Morton returns to Roundabout after having played opposite Alfred Molina in Patrick Marber’s Howard Katz.
Major support provided by The Shen Family Foundation, Perry and Marty Granoff, Tom and Diane Tuft, and First Service Williams.

Disclosure

STARRING ANTHONY LaPAGLIA, TONY SHALHOUB AND JUSTIN BARTHA

OPENS NIGHT THIS SUNDAY APRIL 4 AT BROADWAY’S MUSIC BOX THEATRE

* * *

Ken Ludwig’s comedy LEND ME A TENOR opens this Sunday night April 4 at 6:45 PM at Broadway’s Music Box Theatre (239 West 45^th Street).  It stars Anthony LaPaglia, Tony Shalhoub, Justin Bartha, Brooke Adams, Mary Catherine Garrison, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Jay Klaitz, and Jan Maxwell, and is directed by Stanley Tucci.

LEND ME A TENOR is produced by The Araca Group, Stuart Thompson, Carl Moellenberg, Rodney Rigby, Olympus Theatricals, Broadway Across America, in Association with Lisa Cartwright, Wendy Federman/Jamie deRoy/Richard Winkler.

Set in the 1930s, LEND ME A TENOR is a madcap screwball comedy that takes place when Tito Merelli, the fiery-tempered and world famous Italian superstar, arrives in Cleveland, Ohio to make his debut with the local opera and promptly goes missing.  As Saunders, the show’s presenter, conspires to cover for Tito’s absence, placate his hot-blooded wife, and distract his most passionate fans, chaos on a truly operatic level ensues.

LEND ME A TENOR’s design and creative team is John Lee Beatty (set designer), Martin Pakledinaz, (costume design), Kenneth Posner  (lighting design), and Peter Hylenski (sound design). Patrick Vaccariello is Musical Supervisor.

LEND ME A TENOR premiered on Broadway in 1989 and received seven Tony Award nominations, winning two.  It was also honored with four Drama Desk Awards.  Prior to Broadway, LEND ME A TENOR played London’s West End where it received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Comedy.  The play has been translated into 16 languages and produced in more than 25 countries.

It plays the following schedule: Tue at 7, Wed-Sat at 8, Wed & Sat at 2, Sun at 3.

Ticket Prices: $121.50 and $86.50 at all performances except Saturday at 8 PM when they are $126.50 and $86.50.   All prices include a $1.50 facility fee.

Tickets are available through Telecharge (212 239 6200) or at www.Telecharge.com.

www.lendmeatenorbroadway.com

“Stephen Sondheim is now the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the
American musical theater.” – Frank Rich, NY Times.
Previews begin March 19th, 2010; Official Opening April 22nd, 2010
on Broadway at Studio 54
Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) is proud to have Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine return to Studio 54 with Sondheim on Sondheim, a new original Broadway musical starring Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams, Tom Wopat, Leslie Kritzer, Norm Lewis, Euan Morton & Matthew Scott.  Music & lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim, and the production is conceived & directed by James Lapine.
Sondheim on Sondheim will begin previews on March 19th, 2010 and open officially April 22nd, 2010 at Studio 54 on Broadway (254 West 54th Street).  This will be a limited engagement through Sunday, June 13th, 2010.
(Due to schedule conflicts Michael Arden is no longer available for the engagement of this production.)
He brought us Into The Woods, Company, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, West Side Story and Gypsy (to name a few). By writing songs that reflect the complexity of his characters, he has changed the way we define a great musical. But even though millions of fans know his songs by heart, few know much about Stephen Sondheim himself. Until now. Roundabout presents Sondheim On Sondheim, an intimate portrait of the famed composer in his own words… and music. Through the use of exclusive interview footage, you’ll get an inside look at Sondheim’s personal life and artistic process. An ensemble cast of Broadway’s best will perform brand-new arrangements of over two dozen Sondheim tunes, ranging from the beloved to the obscure. Directed by frequent Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, this unique experience will take you inside the life and mind of an ordinary New Yorker… with an extraordinary talent.
It has been over 37 years since Barbara Cook appeared in a Broadway musical.  Ms. Cook won the 1958 Tony Award® for her portrayal of “Marian Paroo” in The Music Man.  She has been called one of the greatest interpreters of the work of Mr. Sondheim and received a Tony Award® nomination for Best Theatrical Event for her solo, limited engagement concert Mostly Sondheim in 2002.
Vanessa Williams received a 2002 Tony Award® nomination for her performance of the “Witch” in Into the Woods and made her Broadway debut in 1994 in Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Sondheim on Sondheim creative team includes David Loud (Music Direction) and Dan Knechtges (Musical Staging).  The design team includes Beowulf Boritt (Sets), Susan Hilferty (Costumes),
Ken Billington (Lights), Dan Moses Schreier (Sound) and Peter Flaherty (Projections).
An additional cast member will be announced shortly.
Roundabout has a long relationship with Stephen Sondheim having produced five Tony Award® nominated Sondheim revivals including Company (1995), Follies (2001), Tony Award® winning Assassins (2004), Pacific Overtures (2004) and Sunday in the Park with George (2008).  This production of Sondheim on Sondheim marks the fourth Sondheim musical produced by Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54, where Assassins, Pacific Overtures and Sunday in the Park with George all played.  In 2009 Roundabout presented a one-night only gala concert reading of A Little Night Music at Studio 54 starring Natasha Richardson, Victor Garber and Vanessa Redgrave.  In 2005, Roundabout honored Sondheim with the Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre for the indelible impact his life’s work has made on the theatre world.
James Lapine also returns to Roundabout Theatre Company and Studio 54 after the 2008 Tony Award® nominated production of Sunday in the Park with George starring Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell.  Euan Morton returns to Roundabout after having played opposite Alfred Molina in Patrick Marber’s Howard Katz.
Major support provided by The Shen Family Foundation, Perry and Marty Granoff, Tom and Diane Tuft, and First Service Williams.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets will be available exclusively to American Express® Cardmembers beginning Monday, January 4th at www.roundabouttheatre.org, by phone at (212) 719-1300, or at the Studio 54 Box Office (254 West 54th Street). 
blic on-sale begins Sunday, January 10th, by calling Roundabout Ticket Services at (212)719-1300, online at www.roundabouttheatre.org or at the Studio 54 Box Office (254 West 54th Street).  To become a Roundabout subscriber visit www.roundabouttheatre.org or call Roundabout Ticket Services (212)719-1300.  Ticket prices range from $36.50-$126.50.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Sondheim on Sondheim will play Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00PM with a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinee at 2:00PM. 
SPRING GALA: SONDHEIM 80.
Stephen Sondheim turns 80 on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 and Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) will celebrate this landmark with a star-studded tribute at the 2010 Spring Gala: Sondheim 80. Roundabout will celebrate this incredible artist whose six decades on Broadway has changed the face of musical theatre.  Guests will enjoy a gourmet dinner and enjoy performances by some of Broadway’s greatest talent.  The Gala chairs are Michael T. Cohen, Martin & Perry Granoff and Tom & Diane Tuft.  All proceeds from this event will benefit Roundabout Theatre Company’s Musical Theatre Fund.  For more information, please contact Steve Schaeffer, Director of Special Events, at 212-719-9393 x312 or steves@roundabouttheatre.org.
Biographies:
STEPHEN SONDHEIM (Music and Lyrics) wrote the music and lyrics for Road Show (2008),  Passion (1994), Assassins (1991), Into the Woods (1987), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sweeney Todd (1979), Pacific Overtures (1976), The Frogs (1974), A Little Night Music (1973), Follies (1971; revised in London, 1987), Company (1970), Anyone Can Whistle (1964) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), as well as the lyrics for West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959), Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965) and additional lyrics for Candide (1973). Side by Side by Sondheim (1976), Marry Me a Little (1981), You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow (1983) and Putting It Together (1993/99) are anthologies of his work, as is the forthcoming Sondheim on Sondheim. He composed the film scores of Stavisky (1974) and Reds (1981) and songs for Dick Tracy (Academy Award, 1990). He also wrote songs for the television production "Evening Primrose" (1966), co-authored, with Anthony Perkins, the film The Last of Sheila (1973) and, with George Furth, the play Getting Away with Murder (1996), and provided incidental music for the plays The Girls of Summer (1956), Invitation to a March (1961) and Twigs (1971). He won Tony Awards for Best Score for a Musical for Passion, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Follies and Company. All of these shows won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, as did Pacific Overtures and Sunday in the Park with George, the latter also receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Saturday Night (1954), his first professional musical, finally had its New York premiere in 1999 at Second Stage Theatre.
JAMES LAPINE (Conceived, Director).  Broadway credits as a book writer & director include: Sunday in the Park with George; Into the Woods; Passion; Falsettos (book with William Finn); Dirty Blonde (by Claudia Shear and conceived with her).  Broadway credits as a director include: Golden Child, The Diary of Anne Frank, Amour, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Off-Broadway writing credits include: Table Settings; Twelve Dreams; Luck, Pluck, and Virtue; The Moment When; and Fran’s Bed. Three Tony Awards; Five Drama Desk Awards; Pulitzer Prize with Stephen Sondheim for Sunday in the Park with George.
BARBARA COOK’s silvery soprano, purity of tone, and warm presence have delighted audiences around the world for more than 50 years. Considered “Broadway’s favorite ingenue” during the heyday of the Broadway musical, Miss Cook then launched a second career as a concert and recording artist soaring from one professional peak to another.  Ms. Cook’s most recent New York appearances include an appearance with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall, a reprise of her three sold out 80th Birthday concerts in 2007, and a critically acclaimed new show “Here’s To Life” at Feinstein’s at the Regency. In the past few years Ms. Cook also returned to Carnegie Hall, where she made her legendary solo concert debut over 30 years ago, for her sixth solo concert and made an historic solo concert debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, where she became the first female solo pop singer to be presented in concert by the MET.  Miss Cook won a NY Drama Critics Circle Award and was nominated for a Drama Desk award for her concert Barbara Cook’s Broadway and was nominated for Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her previous concert, Mostly Sondheim.  Her many Broadway credits include the creation of three classic roles in the American musical theatre: Cunegonde in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, Marian the Librarian in Meredith Willson’s The Music Man (Tony Award) and Amalia in Bock and Harnick’s She Loves Me (Drama Desk Award). In 1975 she made her Carnegie Hall debut which was preserved as the live recording, Barbara Cook at Carnegie Hall.  She then embarked on a second career as a concert and recording artist performing in most of the country’s major concert halls and cabarets. In 1987 she won a Drama Desk Award for her Broadway show, A Concert for the Theatre. Her many London appearances include: her Gala 1997 Birthday Concert with the Royal Philharmonic at the Royal Albert Hall; appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican; engagements at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, and Sadler’s Wells; and Olivier Award-nominated appearances at the Albery Theatre,  at the Lyric Theatre with Mostly Sondheim, two engagements of Barbara Cook’s Broadway, and most recently an appearance with the English National Ballet in an all-Gershwin evening at the Royal Albert Hall.  A Grammy Award winner, her recordings include eight original Broadway cast albums, two Ben Bagley albums of songs by Jerome Kern and George Gershwin, an album entitled Songs of Perfect Propriety, featuring poems by Dorothy Parker set to music by Seymour Barab, As Of Today (Columbia) and The Disney Album (MCA). Her more recent recordings for DRG Records include: Close as Pages in a Book, Barbara Cook: Live From London, Oscar Winners: The Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein, All I Ask Of You, The Champion Season: A Salute to Gower Champion, Mostly Sondheim, Barbara Cook’s Broadway, the Grammy nominated Count Your Blessings,  Tribute, the live performance cd, Barbara Cook at the Met, No One Is Alone and Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder.  Next month, DRG Records will release a boxed set of her recordings under the title The Essential Barbara Cook.
VANESSA WILLIAMS is one of the most respected and multi-faceted performers in entertainment today.  She has conquered the musical charts, Broadway, music videos, television and motion pictures.  She has sold over four million albums worldwide and her skills as an actress on stage, in film and on television have earned critical praise.  Performing – and music in particular – has always played an important role in Vanessa’s life.  Born in Millwood, New York, Vanessa’s early years were spent surrounded by music.  Her parents were music teachers who recognized her musical gifts early on and encouraged her to pursue her love of the arts.  When she was young, she acted, danced, played piano and French horn in her high school orchestra, concert band and marching band and she sang in the concert choir and chorus.  Her early interest in performing led to a passion for musical theatre.  She won an NFAA scholarship was a finalist for a Presidential Scholarship in acting in 1981 and chose to continue her education at Syracuse University, where she majored in musical theatre.  While at college in 1983, Vanessa was sought after by local talent scouts who invited her to participate in the Miss Greater Syracuse Pageant.  Three months later, Vanessa won the 1983 Miss America title and the $30,000 scholarship that accompanied it.  The controversy that followed only left Vanessa stronger and more empowered in her commitment to a career in the world of entertainment.  Vanessa launched her recording career in 1988 with her first album, “The Right Stuff,” which went gold and earned her first three Grammy Award nominations.  Her 1991 multi-million selling follow-up, “The Comfort Zone,” which featured the unforgettable “Save the Best For Last,” and her third album, “The Sweetest Days,” each yielded multiple hits and Grammy nominations.  She was nominated for yet another Grammy for her hit single “Colors of the Wind,” from Disney’s “Pocahontas,” which went on to win an Academy Award, Golden Globe and the Grammy for Best Song in a Motion Picture.  Her numerous recordings also include two holiday albums, “Star Bright” and “Silver & Gold;” “Vanessa Williams Greatest Hits: The First Ten Years;” “Our Favorite Things,” with Tony Bennett, Placido Domingo and Charlotte Church and “Everlasting Love,” a collection of her favorite love songs from the 1970’s.  Concord Records released Vanessa’s newest album, “The Real Thing,” in June.  In 1994, Vanessa realized a life-long dream, taking Broadway by storm when she replaced Chita Rivera in Kiss of the Spider Woman.  Her performance won critics over and was a box-office sensation, firmly establishing Vanessa as a multi-talented triple-threat.  Vanessa also garnered rave reviews and was nominated for a Tony Award in the 2002 revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, taking a brief break from the production to headline a limited special engagement of the classic, Carmen Jones, at the Kennedy Center, playing to sold-out houses and achieving glowing notices.  Previously, Vanessa captivated theatre-goers off-Broadway in One Man Band and in the Los Angeles production of Ron Milner’s Checkmates. She also starred in the Encore! Series staged concert production of St. Louis Woman, which was also released as a cast recording.  Vanessa made her film debut in 1986 in Under the Gun and she appeared in the films The Pick-Up Artist, Another You (with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder) and Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (with Mickey Rourke). She starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Warner Bros.’ action thriller, Eraser, followed by a leading role opposite Laurence Fishburne and Andy Garcia in Hoodlum and an NAACP Image Award winning performance with the box-office hit, Soul Food.  She has starred in the romantic dance-musical Dance With Me, Light It Up, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland and Shaft, opposite Samuel L. Jackson.  She co-starred in Johnson Family Vacation with Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Harvey.  She starred recently in the independent features, My Brother and Somebody Like You and co-starred in Disney’s feature film, Hannah Montana: The Movie.  Vanessa has also played diverse roles on television, in such productions as “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” “The Boy Who Loved Christmas” and “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” for which she won an NAACP Image Award.  She commanded rave reviews for her performance in ABC’s revival of “Bye, Bye Birdie” and starred in the mini-series “Nothing Lasts Forever” and the Emmy-nominated “The Odyssey,” which also garnered impressive ratings and an Image Award nomination for Vanessa.  Vanessa starred opposite John Lithgow in TNT’s “Don Quixote” and she executive produced and starred in “The Courage to Love” for Lifetime Television.  She starred in the VH1 Original Movie, “A Diva’s Christmas Carol,” which was the highest rated movie ever for VH1, their second highest rated telecast overall of in 2000 and their fourth highest rated telecast of all time.  She co-starred in the Showtime movie “Keep the Faith, Baby”and the UPN drama, “South Beach” and garnered rave reviews for hosting the 2009 Daytime Emmy Awards.  She currently stars in ABC’s critically-acclaimed hit series, “Ugly Betty,” for which she has been nominated three times for the Emmy Award for her role and she and her co-stars and the show have won or been nominated for numerous individual and ensemble awards, including the Emmy, SAG Award, Golden Globe and NAACP Image Awards.  Among Vanessa’s many awards and honors, she was honored in 1996 with the coveted Lena Horne Career Achievement Award at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards.  In 2007, she achieved a career pinnacle, with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her accomplishments as a performer.  Vanessa’s charitable contributions are many and varied, embracing and supporting such issues as education, homelessness, abuse, women’s issues and health concerns, AIDS and anything having to do with children.  Specifically, she is actively involved with such organizations as Green Chimneys, a working farm in Westchester County that provides educational and residential programs to help troubled inner-city adolescents; The Open Door, which provides walk-in medical care for homeless families; The Cottage School for displaced young women and the Special Olympics, among many others.
TOM WOPAT.  Broadway: A Catered Affair (Tony, Drama Desk & Drama League nominations), Chicago, Glengarry Glen Ross (Drama Desk Award), 42nd Street, Annie Get Your Gun (Tony & Drama Desk nominations), Guys and Dolls, City of Angels, I Love My Wife.  Off-Broadway: The Guys, Olympus on My Mind, A Bistro Car on the CNR, Oklahoma.  Regional: Catch Me if You Can, A Catered Affair, The Music Man, Last of the Boys, R Shoman, Carousel, The Robber Bridegroom.  National Tour: Chicago.  Film: Main Street, Jonah Hex, The Understudy, Bonneville.  Television: “Standoff,” “Smallville,” “All My Children,” “100 Centre Street,” “Home Improvement,” “Cybill,” Peaceable Kingdom,” “Blue Skies,” “Dukes of Hazzard,” “Mow,” “The Hazzard in Hollywood,” “Meteorites!,” “Reunion in Hazzard,” “Just My Imagination,” “Christmas Comes to Willow Creek,” Burning Rage,” “Contagious.”
LESLIE KRITZER.  Broadway credits include A Catered Affair (Drama Desk Nomination), Legally Blonde (Clerence Derwent Award for Most Promising Performer) and Hairspray. She received critical acclaim and a Time Out New York award for her sold-out Joe’s Pub run of Leslie Kritzer Is Patti LuPone At Les Mouches (a performance she repeated at The Plush Room in San Francisco). Off-Broadway and regional credits include Rooms, On The Town (Encores!), The Great American Trailer Park Musical (Drama Desk Nomination), Bat Boy, Godspell, Broadway: Three Generations (Kennedy Center), Cabaret, Born Yesterday, the world premiere of Vanities, Urinetown (National Tour), Evita and an acclaimed “Fanny Brice” in Funny Girl. She has performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall as a guest soloist honoring Tim Rice and Alan Menken and can be heard on several cast recordings. Film credits include 17 Photos Of Isabel. Television credits include “3LBS” (CBS) and “Jason and Jessica” (HBO).
NORM LEWIS. Broadway: The Little Mermaid (King Triton); Les Misérables (Javert), Drama League nom.; Chicago (Billy Flynn); Amour; The Wild Party; Side Show (Jake); Miss Saigon (John); Tommy. Off-Broadway: Dessa Rose (Nathan), Drama Desk nomination, AUDELCO Award; Two Gentlemen of Verona (Valentine), Drama League nomination; Captains Courageous (Doc); A New Brain (Roger). Concerts: Chess (Molokov), Dreamgirls (Curtis), Golden Boy (Eddie) for Encores! Regional: Ragtime (Coalhouse), Dreamgirls w/ Jennifer Holliday (Curtis), First You Dream, Sweeney Todd (Sweeney), The Fantasticks (El Gallo). Film/TV: Sex and the City 2, Preaching to the Choir, Confidences, Mystery Woman, “Cosby,” “Strong Medicine,” “All My Children,” “As the World Turns.” Debut Solo CD – "Norm Lewis: This Is The Life." www.normlewis.com

EUAN MORTON received an Olivier Award nomination for originating the role of Boy George in the musical Taboo. He reprised the role on Broadway, earning Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations, as well as the Theatre World Award (for Outstanding Broadway Debut).  Other stage appearances include title roles in Tony Kushner’s adaptation of Brundibár at the New Victory Theatre and Berkeley Rep and The Who’s Tommy at the Bay Street Theatre. He earned a 2006 Obie Award for his performance in Measure for Pleasure at the Public Theatre.  Euan also appeared in the Broadway revival of Cyrano De Bergerac.  Off-Broadway, Euan performed opposite Alfred Molina in Howard Katz at the Roundabout Theatre Company and in the 2009 American premiere of Leaves of Glass.  He was most recently seen in Moisés Kaufman’s production of Into the Woods at the Kansas City Rep.  Euan is featured in the documentary Showbusiness: The Road to Broadway which follows the history of a Broadway season.  For more information: www.officiallyeuanmorton.com.
MATTHEW SCOTT. Broadway: Jersey Boys, A Catered Affair, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas (For the Actors’ Fund). Regional/Stock: The Light in the Piazza (Fabrizio, Philadelphia Theatre Co.), First You Dream: The Music of Kander and Ebb (Signature Theatre), Ace (Ace, Signature Theater), Ragtime (Houdini, Paper Mill Playhouse), Tick, Tick…Boom! (Jonathan, Alliance Theater), West Side Story (Tony, The MUNY), Side by Side by Sondheim (The MUNY), Les Miserables (Marius), Swing! (Male Diva #2) and 1776 (Courier) all for the Pittsburgh CLO, Bat Boy (Bat Boy, PMT), My Fair Lady and Carousel (Both Paper Mill), Greenwillow (York Theater). Television: “All My Children.” Soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Erich Kunzel. BFA with honors from Carnegie Mellon University.
Roundabout Theatre Company is one of the country’s leading not-for-profit theatres.  The company contributes invaluably to New York’s cultural life by staging the highest quality revivals of classic plays and musicals as well as new plays by established writers. Roundabout consistently partners great artists with great works to bring a fresh and exciting interpretation that makes each production relevant and important to today’s audiences.
Roundabout Theatre Company currently produces at three permanent homes each of which is designed specifically to enhance the needs of the Roundabout’s mission.  Off-Broadway, the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, which houses the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre, with its simple sophisticated design is perfectly suited to showcasing new plays. The grandeur of its Broadway home on 42nd Street, American Airlines Theatre, sets the ideal stage for the classics.  Roundabout’s Studio 54 provides an exciting and intimate Broadway venue for its musical and special event productions.  Together these three distinctive venues serve to enhance the work on each of its stages.
American Airlines is the official airline of Roundabout Theatre Company.  Roundabout productions are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts; and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. 
Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2009-2010 season includes Michael Stewart, Lee Adams and Charles Strouse’s Bye Bye Birdie, starring John Stamos, Gina Gershon, Bill Irwin & Nolan Gerard Funk, directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom; Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking, directed by Tony Taccone; Theresa Rebeck’s The Understudy, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Justin Kirk and Julie White, directed by Scott Ellis; Adam Gwon’s Ordinary Days, directed by Marc Bruni; Noël Coward’s Present Laughter starring Victor Garber, directed by Nicholas Martin; Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Sondheim on Sondheim starring Barbara Cook and Vanessa Williams, and Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, directed by Gordon Edelstein. Roundabout’s sold out production of The 39 Steps made its second Broadway transfer to the Helen Hayes Theatre on January 21, 2009.
www.roundabouttheatre.org

TONY AWARDS EXTEND VOTES

TO NEW YORK DRAMA CRITICS’ CIRCLE

New York, NY (March 25, 2010) — Altering a policy change implemented last year, Tony Award Productions has offered the members of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle the opportunity to be Tony voters beginning with the 2010-2011 season, when the new yearly rules take effect. The New York Drama Critics’ Circle has accepted this offer.

On behalf of Tony Award Productions, Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of the Broadway League, and Howard Sherman, Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing, have issued the following statement:

“We recognize that the recent decision to rescind the votes of the press was perceived as a slight against journalists, and in particular the working theatre critics. The Tony Awards maintain a profound respect for the media community as partners in advocating for the value of live theatre and we deeply regret if offense was inadvertently given. We believe that the selection of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle is consistent with our policy of authorizing independent theatrical organizations (including labor unions and creative guilds) to determine which members of their professional constituency may vote. We are very pleased that the Drama Critics’ Circle has accepted this offer."

Adam Feldman, President of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, made this statement on behalf of the organization:

“We are very pleased that the Tonys have reconsidered their decision, and look forward to continuing our dialogue with them about the role of the press in the theatre community.”

About the Tony Awards:

The 2010 Tonys are presented by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. At the Broadway League, Paul Libin is Chairman and Charlotte St. Martin is Executive Director. At the American Theatre Wing, Theodore S. Chapin is Chairman and Howard Sherman is Executive Director. For Tony Award Productions, Alan Wasser and Allan Williams of Alan Wasser Associates are the General Managers.

About the New York Drama Critics’ Circle:

Founded in 1935, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle currently comprises 20 theater critics from New York City’s daily newspapers, magazines and news services. Adam Feldman of Time Out New York serves as President of the organization; Elisabeth Vincentelli of the New York Post is Vice President, and Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News is Treasurer.