Sacramento Music Circus. Nancy Opel, James Brennan, others
Sacramento Music Circus. Nancy Opel, James Brennan, others
Sacramento Music Circus. Nancy Opel, James Brennan, others#0
Posted: 6/10/06 at 1:31am
2006 Music Circus Acting Company Announced
Casting for the much-anticipated 2006 Music Circus season is nearing completion. After auditioning nearly 2,500 performers in New York, Los Angeles and Sacramento, California Musical Theatre Artistic Director Scott Eckern is finalizing the acting company for the seven-show season at the Wells Fargo Pavilion. The company is expected to include plenty of Broadway veterans, including a Tony Award nominee, up-and-coming young actors and plenty of returning Music Circus favorites. Complete cast lists are posted online at www.SacramentoMusicCircus.com.
Music Circus was founded in 1951 as the first professional musical theatre in the round west of the Mississippi. Until 2002, its first-class summer stock productions were presented under an open-air canvas tent, the last of its kind in the country. In 2003, the company introduced the Wells Fargo Pavilion, a new enclosed arena that maintains the traditional theatre-in-the-round configurations with improved audience comfort. Music Circus operates under a contract with Actors Equity Association, the union for professional actors in the United States, and the majority of the principal and ensemble cast have extensive Broadway and national tour credits.
"Fiddler on the Roof" will open the season on July 7 with Ron Orbach as Tevye, the tradition-bound Jewish milkman, frustrated by his daughters' choices of suitors. A Broadway mainstay, Orbach's recent productions include "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" and "Dance of the Vampires." Tevye's wife Golde will be played by Valerie Perri, who was seen recently in Music Circus' "And the World Goes 'Round" but is best known for her lead performance in the national tour of "Evita." Music Circus regular Helen Geller will reprise the role of the matchmaker Yente from the 2001 production, and Barry Pearl makes his Sacramento debut as the butcher Lazar Wolf. With four decades of theatre, film and television experience (beginning with the original Broadway productions of "Bye, Bye Birdie" and "Oliver!"), Pearl is still known for his role as Doody in the feature film "Grease." The production will be guided by three longtime Music Circus artists: director Glenn Casale, choreographer Bob Richard and musical director Dennis Castellano. "Fiddler on the Roof" has an extended run under the tent with four additional performances. The show closes July 16. Good seats are still available.
The cast of Elton John and Tim Rice's "Aida" will be lead by a trio of Music Circus first-timers. Montego Glover will play the title character, Aida, a kidnapped Nubian princess who falls in love with Radames, an Egyptian Captain played by Michael Hunsaker. Glover has played the role previously in Boston and Wichita. Hunsaker was in the national tours of "Chess" and "Ragtime" and was named one of the "best of New York" by TheatreMania.com. The Pharaoh's daughter Amneris (and the third point in the play's love triangle) will be played by Kelli Provart, who previously performed the role on Broadway and on tour. Adrian Zmed, best known for television's "T.J. Hooker" and the film "Bachelor Party," will play Egyptian warlord Zoser. Zmed, appeared on Broadway in "Grease" and "Blood Brothers" and played Billy Flynn in the national tour of "Chicago." Sacramento actor James Wheatley, the artistic director of Celebration Arts, will play the Nubian king Amonasro. Gary John La Rosa, who previously directed "West Side Story" and "Footloose" for Music Circus, will direct "Aida." Todd Underwood will choreograph, and David Andrews Rogers will be the musical director. "Aida" will run July 18 - 23.
Kerry O'Malley will lead the cast of "South Pacific" as Ensign Nellie Forbush, July 25 - 30. O'Malley, a Drama Desk nominee for her performance on Broadway in "Into the Woods," was last at Music Circus as Mother in "Ragtime" and Molly in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." The mysterious Frenchman Emile de Becque will be played by Samuel L. Smith, who has sung for leading opera companies across North America. Armelia McQueen, an original cast member from the Broadway production of "Ain't Misbehavin'," will play island trader Bloody Mary. The cast will also include Robert Creighton (Broadway's "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang") as Luther Billis and Will Ray as Lt. Joe Cable. Leland Ball will direct - his 80th Music Circus show; his last was 2005's "The King and I." Marcia Milgrom Dodge will choreograph and the musical director will be Jim May. A special Sunday matinee performance has been added for "South Pacific" on July 30 at 2 p.m. The show opens July 25.
Tony nominee Nancy Opel will star as Desiree Armfeldt in "A Little Night Music," August 1 - 6. Nominated for best actress for her performance in "Urinetown," Opel's other Broadway credits include the recent revival of "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Sunday in the Park with George." Music Circus favorite Paul Schoeffler will play Fredrik, one of two rivals for Desiree's attentions. Music Circus fans have seen him as the King of Siam in "The King and I," as King Arthur in "Camelot" and as the Pirate King in "Pirates of Penzance." Desiree's other paramour Carl-Magnus will be played by Christopher Carl, another Music Circus regular. Carl's roles include Johnny Brown in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and Tommy in "Brigadoon." The cast will also include Carolann Sanita (Maria from "West Side Story") as Anne, Elizabeth Ward Land (Betty from "The Will Rogers Follies") as Charlotte, Jim Poulos (Broadway's "Rent") as Henrik, and Melissa Dye (Broadway's "Grease" and "Into the Woods") as Petra. The Music Circus premiere of "A Little Night Music" will be directed by Stafford Arima, who was nominated for an Olivier Award for directing the London premiere of "Ragtime" and who is currently represented in New York by the off-Broadway mega hit "Altar Boyz." Patti Wilcox will choreograph, and Darren Cohen will be the musical director.
Music Circus audience favorite Sarah Tattersall returns to Sacramento August 8 - 13 as Marian in "The Music Man," a role she last played here in 2001. With 26 tent productions to her credit, Tattersall is best known for her four runs as Eliza in "My Fair Lady." Playing opposite her as Harold Hill will be Broadway veteran John Hillner ("Crazy for You" and "Mamma Mia," among others). The cast will also include Patrick Quinn as the malaprop-prone Mayor Shinn. Quinn last took the Wells Fargo Pavilion stage as the Major General in "The Pirates of Penzance." Brooks Almy's familiar face will return to play Mrs. Paroo. Leland Ball will direct "The Music Man," with Bob Richard as choreographer and Dennis Castellano as musical director. A special Sunday matinee performance has been added to "The Music Man" on Sunday, August 13 at 2 p.m.
It will be "Comedy Tonight" for singer/dancer/comedian James Brennan when he stars as Pseudolus in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" August 15 - 20. Brennan starred on Broadway as Bobby Child in "Crazy For You" and as Bill Snibson in "Me and My Girl." A favorite with Sacramento audiences, he has played an emotional Higgins in "My Fair Lady," a playful Arthur in "Camelot" and a tap-dancing Applegate in "Damn Yankees." The manic Hysterium will be played by animated song-and-dance man (and Music Circus favorite), John Scherer. Scherer's recent credits include Will Parker in "Oklahoma!" and Charlie in "Brigadoon." Broadway regulars Jessica Sheridan (Mme. Thenardier in "Les Misérables") and Walter Hudson (the Pirate King in "Pirates of Penzance") will play tough-as-nails Domina and her long-suffering hubbby Senex. Also in the cast is Ron Wisniski, who many may remember as Lumiere in last summer's "Beauty and the Beast." Ashleigh Davidson, who first visited Music Circus when her father John Davidson starred here in 1991, will make her Sacramento debut as the innocent Philia. Marcia Milgrom Dodge returns to direct "Forum." A frequent director at Music Circus, she directed the well-received production of this show six years ago. D.J. Salisbury (2003's "Will Rogers Follies") will choreograph. Steven Smith will be the musical director.
The season will close with an extended run of "Smokey Joe's Cafe" August 22 - 31. The rock 'n' roll revue features Leiber and Stoller songs like "Hound Dog," "Yakety Yak," "On Broadway" and "Stand By Me." Three cast members will be returning from the hit 2002 production: Deb Lyons (who also appeared on Broadway and in London), Devin Richards (another Broadway alumnus) and Darryl Jovan Williams (the national tour of "Smokey Joe's"). Joining the cast will be Sacramento native Inga Ballard, whose powerful pipes were last heard in "Ragtime" and "Show Boat." The company will also include Ron Kellum from Broadway's "Chicago," Angela Gaylor from "La Cage aux Folles" on Broadway, Montego Glover from July's "Aida," Harrison White from the London production of "Smokey Joe's" and Kasey Marino, whose current project is a new Bob Dylan musical being developed by Twyla Tharp. "Smokey Joe's Cafe" will be directed by Barry Ivan with Todd Underwood choreographing and Darren Cohen as the musical director.
Single tickets for the 2006 Music Circus season are now on sale at the Wells Fargo Pavilion, 1419 H Street or by phone at (916) 557-1999. Tickets can also be ordered online at www.SacramentoMusicCircus.com or at Tickets.com. Tickets are $37 - $49. Seven-show subscriptions are still available at the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office. For discounts for groups of 12 or more, call (916) 557-1198.
re: Sacramento Music Circus. Nancy Opel, James Brennan, others#1
Posted: 6/10/06 at 1:35am
http://californiamusicaltheatre.com/index.cfm?page=2345&id=73
Great, more money to spend on other things!
re: Sacramento Music Circus. Nancy Opel, James Brennan, others#2
Posted: 6/10/06 at 1:51am
I'm relatively underwhelmed. I'm pleased with Little night cast (which I have a tix to), but The Music Man cast is pretty same as the last production at MC. How lazy is that? Too bad Will Chase doesn't come to Sacramento in AIDA!
I'm torn as John Scherer will be back (yay) but I wasn't going to see Forum 
John is the best thing happened to MC (along with David Burnham).
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