Justin Scott Brown
Jack
National Tour: 25th Anniversary Production of Les Misérables (Marius), Spring Awakening. Regional: Meet Me in St. Louis; Camelot; Les Misérables; Annie; My Fair Lady; Miss Saigon (MUNY); Fiddler on the Roof (Kansas City Starlight Theatre); The Kid in the Dark (Cincinnati Fringe Festival); The Magical Music of Disney (Cincinnati Pops); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Fiddler on the Roof; Hello, Dolly! (Diablo Theatre Company). Other: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Passion, The Cradle Will Rock, Cabaret, Floyd Collins (BFA University of Cincinnati College, Conservatory of Music).
Britney Coleman
Rapunzel/Cinderella’s Mother
New York: Stop the Virgens (St. Ann’s Warehouse). Regional: Tarzan: The Broadway Musical (regional premiere); Hairspray; State Fair; Big River; All Shook Up (Wagon Wheel Theatre); Little Shop of Horrors (Heritage Theatre Festival). Other: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (8th Wonder Productions); Ragtime, Into the Woods, See Rock City and Other Destinations, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Ella Minnow Pea (University of Michigan); A Very Potter Musical, A Very Potter Sequel (UM Basement Arts Productions).
Alma Cuervo
Stepmother/Granny/Giant's Voice
Westport County Playhouse: Dancing at Lughnasa. Broadway: Beauty and the Beast, Cabaret, Titanic (original Ida Straus), The Heidi Chronicles, Ghetto, Quilters, Is There Life after High School?, Censored Scenes from King Kong, Bedroom Farce. She played "Mama" in Sondheim and Weidman's Road Show (New York Shakespeare Festival). Obie Award for her performance in Uncommon Women and Others (Phoenix Theatre and PBS). National Tours: Wicked, My Fair Lady, Cabaret, M. Butterfly. Regional: The Clean House, And the Curtain Rises, The Three Sisters, The Miracle at Naples, The Year of Magical Thinking, Wit (Phoebe Award), The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Barrymore Award), The Night Governess. Television: “Law & Orders,” Norman Lear's “a.k.a. Pablo” (series co-star). Graduate of Tulane and Yale Drama School.
Eleni Delopoulos
Lucinda
Off-Broadway/New York: A Stoop on Orchard Street (original cast recording, Mazer Theater), Iphigenia at Aulis (Symphony Space), Women of Athens (N.Y.T.W./Manhattan Theatre Club). Tours: Hair (2008 Italian Tour, dialog in Italian), Mame. Regional: Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare & Company); Annie (Fulton Theatre); Man of La Mancha, Proof (Skyline Theatre Company); A Little Night Music (White Plains Performing Arts Center); Urinetown (Carousel Dinner Theatre); Baby, Thoroughly Modern Millie (Mt. Washington Valley Theatre); Phantom (Shawnee Playhouse/Musical Theatre West); Parallel Lives, Almost, Maine, Crossing Delancey (Theater Barn); Tales from Ovid (Eugene O’Neill Theater Center); Little Women (R.T.G. Productions). Co-writer of a new musical of Lysistrata. She owns a summer camp with her childhood friends (www.wayfinderexperience.com) and runs a not-for-profit teaching company (www.theadventuregame.org). www.elenidel.com.
Jeffry Denman
Narrator
Broadway: Original Cast of White Christmas (Astaire nomination); Face the Music, Of Thee I Sing (City Center Encores!); Original Cast of The Producers; Final Cast of Cats; Original Revival Cast of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Off-Broadway: Yank (Drama Desk nomination, York Theatre/NYMF), Children of a Lesser God (Keen Company), If Love Were All. Tour: Original Cast of White Christmas (IRNE Award winner, Wang). Regional: Spamalot (Ogunquit Playhouse); I Loved Lucy (Laguna Playhouse); A Chorus Line (Pioneer Theatre); Into the Woods, Cats (Music Circus); An American in Paris (Alley Theatre); On Your Toes (Ovation nomination, Reprise!); Crazy for You (IRNE Award winner, Ogunquit Playhouse); Singin’ in the Rain (MUNY); Dinner with Friends (Portland Stage Company). TV: “Law & Order.” Author of A Year with The Producers (2002, Routledge). www.jeffrydenman.com.
Danielle Ferland
Baker’s Wife
Westport Country Playhouse: The School for Husbands, The Streets of New York. Broadway: All My Sons; A Year with Frog and Toad, A Little Hotel on the Side, The Crucible (National Actors Theater); A Little Night Music (New York City Opera); Original Broadway productions of Into the Woods (Little Red Ridinghood) and Sunday in the Park with George. Off-Broadway: She Stoops to Conquer, The Streets of New York (Irish Repertory Theatre); Engaged (Theatre for a New Audience); Tartuffe (Public Theater/NYSF); How I Learned to Drive (Century Theatre); Uncommon Women and Others (Lortel Theatre); Paradise, Sunday in the Park with George (Playwrights Horizons). Regional: A Year with Frog and Toad (Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis); Short Plays by Thornton Wilder (CENTERSTAGE); Night Governess (McCarter Theatre); Actors Theatre of Louisville; Old Globe Theatre. Film/TV: Slippery Slope, Sam the Man, “Rescue Me,” Earthly Possessions, Mighty Aphrodite, Radio Days. Awards: Theatre World Award: Outstanding New Talent, Drama Desk nomination: Best Featured Actress in a Musical (both for Into the Woods). BFA from NYU.
Lauren Kennedy
Witch
Broadway: Spamalot (Lady of the Lake), Sunset Boulevard (OBC with Glenn Close), Side Show (OBC, Daisy Hilton stand-by), Les Misérables (Fantine), Cinderella (New York City Opera). Off-Broadway: Disaster! by Seth Rudetsky, Vanities, Good Ol’ Girls. Tour/International: Trevor Nunn’s revival of South Pacific (Nellie Forbush, Royal National Theatre), The Ten Commandments (with Val Kilmer, Kodak Theatre), Sunset Boulevard (Betty Schaeffer, National Tour). New Works/Premieres: Lone Star Love with Randy Quaid; Waiting for the Moon (Zelda Fitzgerald, Barrymore Award nomination Best Actress); The Rhythm Club (Signature Theatre, Helen Hayes nomination Best Actress); White Christmas, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (MUNY); Hot Shoe Shuffle (Theatre Under the Stars); The Trumpet of the Swan (Kennedy Center); The Last Five Years (Northlight Theatre). Her albums Here and Now, and Lauren Kennedy: Songs of Jason Robert Brown are available on PS Classics. Lauren is the Artistic Director at Theatre Raleigh/Hot Summer Nights. www.laurenkennedy.com.
Nikka Graff Lanzarone
Florinda
Broadway: Chicago (Velma Kelly), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Marisa, Lincoln Center Theater). Off-Broadway: Hello Again (The Whore, Transport Group), Seussical (Lortel Theatre). Las Vegas: Peep Show (directed/choreographed by Jerry Mitchell). Regional: The Who’s Tommy (Bay Street Theatre), Carnival (Paper Mill Playhouse), The Producers (Merry-Go-Round Playhouse), Nine (The Chance Theater). Film/TV: Bandslam, “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Cast Albums: Seussical, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Concerts at Hollywood Bowl, Sydney Opera House; two operas with Los Angeles Opera. BFA from The Boston Conservatory. www.nikka-graff-lanzarone.com.
Jenny Latimer
Cinderella
Westport Country Playhouse: She Loves Me. Tour: 25th Anniversary Tour of Les Misérables (Cosette). Regional: Les Misérables (Paper Mill Playhouse); Phantom (West Valley Centre Theatre); Balm in Gilead (Steppenwolf Intensive); My Fair Lady, Cinderella (Tuacahn Amphitheatre); Spitfire Grill, The Slipper and the Rose (National Premiere), Beauty and the Beast, The Taming of the Shrew (Hale Centre Theatre); Much Ado About Nothing, The Fantasticks (Provo Theatre Company); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Elison Auditorium). Other: Dial ‘M’ for Murder, Hamlet (Brigham Young University). Film: Best Wishes Love Adele, Passage to Zarahemla, The Dance, Billy.
Jeremy Lawrence
Mysterious Man/Steward
Off-Broadway:
What the Public Wants, Is Life Worth Living?, So Help Me God! (Mint Theater);
Five by Tenn (Manhattan Theatre Club);
Lavender Songs: Queer Weimar Berlin Cabaret (The Duplex). International: Tennessee Williams’
Traveling Companion (Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival). Los Angeles: Chekhov’s
The Wood Demon, Brecht’s
The Wedding, Ghetto (Mark Taper Forum);
The Threepenny Opera (Reprise Productions);
Patience (Antaeus Theatre);
The Three Sisters (Open Fist Theatre);
The Chairs (Stages Theatre Center);
Kuni Leml (Westwood Playhouse);
Rapmaster Ronnie (OdysseyTheatre);
Nicholas Nickleby (LACC). Film/TV:
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Critters, Body Double, Nightshift, “Law & Order: SVU,” “Stella,” “Drew Carey Show,” “ER,” “Frasier,” “Growing Pains,” “Head of the Class,” “thirtysomething,” “Night Court.” He is internationally acclaimed for his one-man Tennessee Williams shows.
Robert Lenzi
Rapunzel’s Prince/Cinderella’s Father
Broadway: South Pacific (Lincoln Center). Off-Broadway: Hello Again (Transport Group). Film/TV: The Last Airbender, Sex and the City 2, The Happening, The Village, Blue Bloods, “One Life to Live,” “Live from Lincoln Center,” Clubhouse. Robert holds a BFA in Acting from Carnegie Mellon University.
Erik Liberman
Baker
Broadway: Harold Prince’s LoveMusik. Off-Broadway: The Most Ridiculous Thing You Ever Hoid (NYMF Award), For Elise, Minnie’s Boys, The Calamity of Kat Kat and Willie. Tour: Fiddler on the Roof with Topol, Harvey Fierstein, and Theodore Bikel; Mabou Mines Dollhouse (choreography). Regional: Merrily We Roll Along (Helen Hayes Award, Signature Theatre). Concerts: An Evening of Kurt Weill (Lincoln Center); L’Histoire du Soldat (Occupy Wall Street); Broadway in the Berkshires (Shakespeare & Company). Workshops: Sundance, The Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons. A Moth storyteller and Huffington Post blogger, he is a featured vocalist on The Beatles Complete on Ukulele. Erik is the recipient of Ovation and Garland Awards, as well as honors from Def Comedy Jam, The Kurt Weill Foundation and YoungArts. www.erikliberman.org.
Dana Steingold
Little Red Ridinghood
Broadway/National Tours: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Logainne). Off-Broadway/Other New York: The Visit (Ottile); Anyone Can Whistle (Baby Joan, City Center Encores!); Perez Hilton Saves the Universe (Culture Project); Spidermusical (Mint Theater). Regional: Calvin Berger (Bret, George Street Playhouse); Hairspray (Penny, North Carolina Theatre); Into the Woods (Little Red Ridinghood, Kansas City Repertory Theatre); High School Musical 2 (Kelsi, North Shore Music Theatre); Ordinary Days (Deb, ATF); Surviving The Avalanche (Barrington Stage). Recordings: Calvin Berger cast album. Concerts include Metropolitan Opera Gala at Avery Fisher Hall and Detroit Opera House. Numerous readings/workshops. BFA from New York University.
Cheryl Stern
Jack’s Mother
Broadway: 2010 Tony Award-winning La Cage Aux Folles, The Women (Roundabout Theatre Company); Laughing Room Only. Off-Broadway: Being Audrey; First Lady Suite; Requiem for William (Transport Group); 27 Rue de Fleurus ; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Game Show; The Immigrant. National Tours: A Grand Night for Singing; Les Misérables; Evita; Fiddler on the Roof. Regional: Candide (Huntington Theatre, Mary Zimmerman, director); Falsettos (Barrington Stage Company); Light Up The Sky (Seattle Repertory Theatre); The Times ( Long Wharf Theatre); Sisters Rosensweig (Geva Theatre/ Studio Arena Theatre); Lost in Yonkers (Tennessee Repertory Theatre); No Way To Treat a Lady (HartfordTheatreworks). TV: “Guiding Light”; “All My Children”; “As the World Turns”; “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”; Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall. Also a Drama Desk-nominated and Jonathan Larson Award-winning lyricist.
Nik Walker
Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince
Regional: Miss Saigon (Ogunquit Playhouse); RENT (Pioneer Theatre); Man of La Mancha, RENT (Hangar Theatre); Assassins, ARTiculation (Company One). Tour: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Theatreworks USA). Other: Jesus Christ Superstar (Guerilla Tactics); Topdog/Underdog (Stella Adler Studios); The Devil and Thomas Briggs (The People’s Theatre Lab); The Who’s Tommy and originated the role of Marcus Steifel in Only Children (NYU Tisch); The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure (The Classical Studio NYU); Othello (Workshop, The Burning Pony). Film: Borderland. www.nikwalkersworld.com.
Stephen Sondheim
Music & Lyrics
Westport Country Playhouse: Apprentice in 1950. One of the most influential and accomplished composer/lyricists in Broadway history, Stephen Sondheim was born in New York City and raised in New York and Pennsylvania. As a teenager he met Oscar Hammerstein II, who became Sondheim’s mentor. Sondheim graduated from Williams College, where he received the Hutchinson Prize for Music Composition. After graduation he studied music theory and composition with Milton Babbitt. He worked for a short time in the 1950s as a writer for the television show “Topper”; his first professional musical theater job was as the songwriter for the unproduced musical Saturday Night. He wrote the lyrics for West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959) and Do I Hear A Waltz? (1965), as well as additional lyrics for Candide (1973). Musicals for which he has written both music and lyrics include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Anyone Can Whistle (1964), Company (1970, Tony Awards for Best Original Music and Lyrics), Follies (1971, Tony Award for Best Original Score and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical; revised in London, 1987), A Little Night Music (1973, Tony Award Score), The Frogs (1974), Pacific Overtures (1976, New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award), Sweeney Todd (1979, Tony Award Score), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sunday in the Park with George (1984, New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama), Into The Woods (1987, Tony Award Score), Assassins (1991) and Passion (1994, Tony Award Score). He composed the songs for the television production Evening Primrose (1966); co-authored the film The Last of Sheila (1973); and provided incidental music for The Girls of Summer (1956), Invitation to a March (1961), and Twigs (1971). Side by Side by Sondheim (1976), Marry Me a Little (1981), You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow (1983; originally presented as A Stephen Sondheim Evening), and Putting It Together (1993) are anthologies of his work. He has written scores for the films Stavisky (1974) and Reds (1981), and composed songs for the film Dick Tracy (1990, Academy Award for Best Song). He is on the Council of the Dramatist Guild, the national association of playwrights, composers and lyricists, having served as its president from 1973 until 1981, and in 1983 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1990 he was appointed the first Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Oxford University. He was also recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor in 1993.
James Lapine
Book
James Lapine has worked with Stephen Sondheim on Sunday in the Park with George and Assassins as well as the recent Broadway show, Sondheim on Sondheim. He also directed the first revival of Merrily We Roll Along at La Jolla Playhouse in 1985. With William Finn he has collaborated on Falsettos, A New Brain, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and the soon to be produced Little Miss Sunshine. Other Broadway credits: The Diary of Anne Frank, Golden Child and Amour. He has written the plays Table Settings; Twelve Dreams; Luck, Pluck & Virtue; The Moment When; Fran’s Bed; and Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing.
Mark Lamos
Director
Westport Country Playhouse artistic director. Westport Country Playhouse: Twelfth Night, or What You Will; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Happy Days; She Loves Me; The Breath of Life; That Championship Season; Of Mice and Men. New York credits: The Rivals, Big Bill, Seascape, Cymbeline, Measure for Measure (Lortel Award), all for Lincoln Center Theater; The Gershwins’ Fascinating Rhythm; The Deep Blue Sea; Our Country's Good (Tony Award nomination). Off-Broadway: The End of the Day (Playwrights Horizons); Thief River (Signature Theatre Company); Love's Fire (Public Theater, Acting Company); As You Like It (Public Theater, Central Park); Indian Blood, Buffalo Gal, Black Tie (Primary Stages). Artistic Director, Hartford Stage ('88 Tony Award for theater's body of work). Other theater: The Kennedy Center; Washington's Ford's Theatre; Canada's Stratford Festival; Guthrie, A.C.T.; Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Yale Repertory Theatre; D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; San Diego's Old Globe; Moscow's Pushkin Theatre (first American to direct in former Soviet Union). Opera: I Lombardi, Wozzeck, (both televised for Great Performances); The Great Gatsby (world premiere) and Adriana Lecouvreur at the Metropolitan Opera; many productions for New York City Opera, including televised productions of Paul Bunyan, Tosca, Central Park and Madama Butterfly (Emmy Award). Glimmerglass Opera; Gothenberg's Stora Teatern; L'Opéra de Montréal; Chicago Lyric; San Francisco Opera; Norway's Den Nye Opera; and opera companies of Santa Fe, St. Louis, Washington, Dallas, Seattle. Lamos began his career in the theater as an actor on and off-Broadway and in regional theater. He made his film debut in Longtime Companion. He was awarded the Connecticut Medal for the Arts as well as honorary doctorates from Connecticut College, University of Hartford and Trinity College.
Seán Curran
Choreographer/Musical Staging
Broadway: James Joyce’s The Dead, The Rivals, Cymbeline. Off-Broadway: My Life with Albertine; Kilt; El Gato con Botas; original member of the NYC cast of Stomp; Romeo and Juillete (Metropolitan Opera); L’Etoile, Alcina, Turandot, Acis and Galetea, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Where the Wild Things Are (New York City Opera). Director: Salome (Opera Theater of St. Louis, San Francisco Opera, Opera Montreal, San Diego Opera); The Daughter of the Regiment (Opera Theater of St. Louis). Artistic Director: Seán Curran Company. Arts Professor NYU Tisch School of the Arts Dance Department. www.seancurrancompany.com.
Wayne Barker
Music Director
Westport Country Playhouse: She Loves Me. Broadway: Peter and the Starcatcher (2011 Drama Desk Award, composer), Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance (composer, lyricist, performer). Off-Broadway: Chicago City Limits, Aunt Chooch’s Birthday. Regional: Caroline, or Change; A Little Night Music; The Boys from Syracuse (CENTERSTAGE). International/Tours: Dame Edna: The Royal Tour; A Night with Dame Edna. Composer: The Great Gatsby (Guthrie Theater); The Three Musketeers; Twelfth Night (Seattle Repertory Theatre); HBO Family: A Little Curious; 2006 Commonwealth Games; 75th Royal Command Variety Performance. Concert: Raymond Scott Orchestrette; Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (Jack Everly); Los Angeles Philharmonic; NY Pops; Chicago, Indianapolis, San Francisco, St. Louis, Pittsburgh symphonies; many others. Dramatists Guild member. Artistic Associate for New Musicals at New York Theatre Workshop.
Allen Moyer
Scenic Design
Recent Broadway: The Lyons, Lysistrata Jones, After Miss Julie, Grey Gardens (Tony/Drama Desk nominations, Henry Hewes Award), Thurgood, The Little Dog Laughed, The Constant Wife, Twelve Angry Men. Recent Off-Broadway: Passion Play (Epic Theatre Company); Mr. and Mrs. Fitch (Second Stage); A Minister’s Wife, The New Century (Lincoln Center Theater); and numerous productions for Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company, Second Stage, NYSF/PublicTheater. Extensive opera credits include Metropolitan Opera (Orfeo ed Euridice, directed by Mark Morris), New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, San Francisco Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Gotham Opera, Scottish Opera, Wexford Festival (Ireland). Also, with Mr. Morris, Sylvia (San Francisco Ballet), Romeo and Juliet: On Motifs of Shakespeare (Mark Morris Dance Group). 2006 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence.
Candice Donnelly
Costume Design
Westport Country Playhouse: Lips Together, Teeth Apart; She Loves Me; The Turn of the Screw. Broadway: Our Country’s Good, Fences, Hughie, Search and Destroy, Mastergate. Off-Broadway: Fires in the Mirror, The Skin of Our Teeth, Love’s Fire, others. Regional: The Wiz, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Matchmaker, A Little Night Music, The Three Sisters, The Murder of Isaac, Lady Windermere’s Fan, Misalliance, The Winter’s Tale, She Stoops to Conquer, many others. CENTERSTAGE, ACT San Francisco, Long Wharf Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum, Guthrie Theater, Alley Theatre, Berkeley Repertory, American Repertory Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre, others. Opera: Haroun and the Sea of Stories, La Finta Giardiniera, Central Park, The Flying Dutchman, The Tales of Hoffmann, Ermione, Casino Paradise, Black Water. Film/TV: Dolley Madison; Ben Franklin; Alexander Hamilton; Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; Liberty!; others. Education: MFA, Yale School of Drama.
Robert Wierzel
Lighting Design
Westport Country Playhouse: Twelfth Night, or What You Will; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; The Breath of Life; Of Mice and Men; The Turn of the Screw; Sedition; Constant Star; Jam & Spice; On the Verge; The Immigrant. Broadway: FELA! (Tony nomination), David Copperfield’s Dreams and Nightmares. Multiple Off-Broadway productions as well as regional theater companies including A.C.T. San Francisco, Center Stage, Arena Stage, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Mark Taper Forum. Opera: The Paris Opera, Tokyo Opera, New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Seattle Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Chicago (Lyric Opera/Chicago Opera Theater). Dance work includes 26 years with choreographer Bill T. Jones (Bessie Awards). Future: New Broadway musicals Superfly and Stranger. MFA degree from the Yale School of Drama.
Zachary Williamson
Sound Design
Broadway: Lysistrata Jones (Associate); The Ritz, Pal Joey (Associate, Roundabout Theatre Company). Off-Broadway: Molly Sweeney, White Woman Street, Candida, The Hairy Ape, and others (Irish Rep); Vanities (Second Stage); ReEntry (Urban Stages). Regional: ReEntry (CENTERSTAGE); Cabaret (Kansas City Repertory Theatre); Amadeus (Clarence Brown Theatre); On the Town and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (5th Avenue Theatre); Give It Up! (Associate, Dallas Theater Center); Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well; You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; 26 Miles; and other productions (Two River Theater); Long Wharf Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; Round House Theatre; Virginia Stage; Asolo Theatre; Actors Theater Louisville; Repertory St. Louis; Vermont Stage; Syracuse Stage; The Ordway; Goodspeed Opera House; Broadway Asia International.
Gavin Witt
Production Dramaturg
Gavin Witt started at CENTERSTAGE as Resident Dramaturg in 2003, having served in that role previously at several Chicago theaters. As a dramaturg, he has worked on well over 60 plays, from classics to new commissions—including play development workshops and freelance dramaturgy for Theatre Communications Group, The Playwrights’ Center, The New Harmony Project, The Old Globe, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, CATF, Kennedy Center, and others. A graduate of Yale University and University of Chicago, he was active in Chicago theater for more than a decade as an actor, director, dramaturg, translator and teacher, while serving as a regional Vice President of LMDA, the national association of dramaturgs. He has been on the faculty of University of Chicago and DePaul University, and currently teaches at Towson University.
Michael Rossmy
Fight Director
Broadway: A Tale of Two Cities (Fight Director); Fences, Cymbeline, Lestat, Tarzan, Superior Donuts (all as Assistant Fight Director), among other credits. Regional: Goodspeed Opera House, Paper Mill Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Public Theater, Huntington Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, Metropolitan Opera, Yale Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Rattlestick, Project Y, and others. Most recently Michael returned to Europe to remount the international tour of Ben Hur Live. Michael is also a faculty member at the Yale School of Drama and the New York Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts where he teaches Stage Combat.
Matthew Melchiorre
Stage Manager
Westport Country Playhouse: Twelfth Night, or What You Will (directed by Mark Lamos); Suddenly Last Summer; Lips Together, Teeth Apart (directed by Mark Lamos); Beyond Therapy; The Diary of Anne Frank; Happy Days (directed by Mark Lamos); She Loves Me (directed by Mark Lamos); That Championship Season (directed by Mark Lamos); Tick, Tick...Boom!; Around the World in 80 Days; A Holiday Garland; The Pavilion. Broadway: The Light in the Piazza, Coram Boy, Hamlet, Curtains, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Wicked, The Lion King, All Shook Up, The Frogs. Off-Broadway: Black Tie (directed by Mark Lamos), Happy Now?, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment…, Buffalo Gal (directed by Mark Lamos), White Chocolate, Open Heart, The Architecture of Loss. Other New York: Show Boat In Concert (Carnegie Hall). Regional: Honk! (Two River Theater Company), Into the Woods (CENTERSTAGE).
Amanda Spooner
Assistant Stage Manager
Westport Country Playhouse: Twelfth Night, or What You Will; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; She Loves Me. Off- Broadway: Black Tie (Primary Stages), Ink’d (Playwrights Realm), Ameriville (The Public Theater), Happy Now? (Primary Stages), NEWSical the Musical (Village Theatre). Tours: NEWSical the Musical; Finding Ways…. Regional: Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Annie, Evita (Northern Stage); Death of a Salesman, Happy Now?, Boleros for the Disenchanted (Yale Repertory Theatre); Measure for Measure, The Winter’s Tale, Holiday (Elm Shakespeare). TV: “The 81st Annual Academy Awards.” MFA, Yale School of Drama.
Tara Rubin Casting
Casting
Broadway: Ghost; Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway; How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying; Promises, Promises; A Little Night Music; Billy Elliot; Shrek; Guys and Dolls; The Country Girl; RockN’Roll; The Farnsworth Invention; Young Frankenstein; The Little Mermaid; Mary Poppins; My Fair Lady; Pirate Queen; Les Misérables; History Boys; Spamalot; Jersey Boys; 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; The Producers; Mamma Mia!; Imaginary Friends; Phantom of the Opera; Oklahoma!; Happiness; The Frogs; Contact; Thou Shalt Not. Off-Broadway: Love, Loss, and What I Wore (Second Stage). Regional: Yale Repertory Theatre, Kennedy Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center, The Old Globe.
LGBT Night OUT
Thursday, May 3
6:30pm reception ● 8pm performance
Specifically for the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender community and allies, mingle with those you know and/or meet someone new while sampling delicious appetizers from David’s Soundview Catering and sipping complimentary adult beverages. Plus, visit with community partners Triangle Community Center and New Haven Pride Center.
Opening Night
Saturday, May 5
8pm performance and post-show reception
Join the cast, crew and staff for a festive celebration immediately following the performance featuring food provided by Cabot Cheese and wine from Castle Wine.
Sunday Symposium
Sunday, May 6
3pm performance and post-show discussion
Join moderator David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, for a conversation with four cast members for the 1987 Broadway production of Into the Woods. The 25th anniversary cast reunion will include Danielle Ferland, who originated the role of "Little Red Ridinghood" and currently appears as "The Baker's Wife" in the Westport production; Joanna Gleason, who won a Tony Award for originating the role of "The Baker’s Wife"; Lauren Mitchell, the original "Lucinda"; and Chip Zien the original "Baker".
A Conversation with Mark Lamos
Wednesday, May 9 ● 7:00pm
Tuesday, May 15 ● 7:00pm
Wednesday, May 16 ● 1:00pm
Join Artistic Director Mark Lamos for a pre-show discussion about the 2012 Season of Theater Worth Talking About.
Together at the Table - SOLD OUT
Thursday, May 10
6:30pm dinner ● 8pm performance
Families are invited to enjoy a communal dinner in the Playhouse’s rehearsal barn and a casual conversation about the show before attending a performance, all for just $10. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Must attend as a family unit.
Parents' Night Out
Friday, May 11
The Playhouse and the Westport Weston Family Y have partnered up to provide childcare* 8pm performance of
Into the Woods. While you enjoy a performance of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s delightful musical, the little ones in your life will be engaged in a number of activities at the Y including swimming, arts and crafts and more!
Open Caption Performance
Sunday, May 13
3pm performance
Audiences with varying degrees of hearing loss will be able to enjoy the performance while watching an easy-to-read digital screen of the actors' dialogue.
Backstage Pass
Wednesday, May 16
Immediately following the 2pm performance
Join the Playhouse production staff as they share with you the finer points of what makes a play work on the stage. From moveable scenery to lighting effects, from trapdoors to design renderings, you never know what you’ll see.
InteraCT: Playhouse Young Professionals
Thursday, May 17
6:30pm reception ● 8pm performance
Meet and mingle with fellow young professionals while enjoying light appetizers and a beer tasting by
Beaver Beer. Make a new friend or business connection while enjoying a night of theater!
TalkBack
Thursday, May 17
Immediately following the 8pm performance
The actors take the stage again for an interactive, lively Q&A with the audience.
Into the Woods - May 1 - 26, 2012
Review Quotes Into the Woods
A Co-production by Westport Country Playhouse and Baltimore's CENTERSTAGE
(Playing March 7 - April 15, 2012 - CENTERSTAGE)
(Playing May 1 - May 26, 2012 - Westport Country Playhouse)
Hartford Courant
By Frank Rizzo
“...spellbinding... moves me immensely when the production is done right -- as it is done here under the sensitive, transformative and heightened theatrical direction of Mark Lamos... immensely entertaining... richly told tales with sass, silliness and heart...”
Hartford Arts Examiner
By Andrew Beck
“5 out of 5 stars...marvelous...captures all of the complexity and unexpected twists and turns of the plot, while delivering all of the cleverness contained in Sondheim's witty and epic music and lyrics and Lapine's creative book... topped by a sense of renewal and hope that just may bring a tear or two to someone's eyes.”
HamletHub.com
By Trevor King
“...awe-inspiring… immensely talented cast…. soaring songs…artful staging…first-class entertainment in [your] own backyard!”
Elm City Newspapers
By Tom Holehan
“...solid revival...still seems so fresh and inventive...Enter these “Woods” with high expectations and be rewarded.”
MiddletownPress
By Bonnie Goldberg
“...celebrating the musical’s twenty-fifth anniversary with a splendid production... all the ingredients for a fulfilling and satisfying evening of theater.”
Susan Granger Entertainment Commentaries
By Susan Granger
“...powerful, potent and bewitching... Astutely conceived by Artistic Director Mark Lamos, the staging of this challenging musical sets a high standard as it opens the Playhouse’s 82nd season... don’t miss [it]...”
WestportPatch.com
By Karen Kovacs Dydzuhn
“...a hit... As promised, WCP delivered 'something worth talking about' with its season opener... Make no mistake: the Playhouse's production entertains as much as it challenges its audiences. I repeat: that is the signature of our hometown theater. Do not miss this show.”
Scarsdale News/Bedford Record-Review
By Linda Leavitt
“Mark Lamos’s direction is spot-on, the comic timing and singing perfect and every member of the cast is superb.”
TalkinBroadway
By Fred Sokol
“...energetic, catchy...infuses inventive and emotional touches... campy and delectable... tough to resist.”
BroadwayWorld.com
By Sherry Shameer Cohen
“...deft and delicious...an extraordinary experience.”
On CT and NY Theatre
By Marlene Gaylinn
“...very delightful... a wonderful opportunity to grab your whole family and enjoy a Broadway quality musical...”
WNHU
By Karen and Bob Isaacs
“...excellent... a wonderful opening to Westport Country Playhouse’s 2012 season.”
The Hour
By David A. Rosenberg
“...precise, intelligent concept...”.
Manchester Journal-Inquirer
By Jacques Lamarre
“...musical theatre enthusiasts are highly encouraged to head Into the Woods in Westport.”
NYTheatrescene.com
By Irene Backalenick
“...a beautiful ensemble...impeccable direction.”
Newtown Bee
By Julie Stern
“..a lively, colorful, entertaining show.”
Hersam-Acorn Newspapers/Waterbury Republican-American
By Joanne Greco Rochman
“Directed exquisitely and imaginatively...this is the best production of this musical this critic has ever seen---and there have been many.”
DC Metro Theater Arts
By Amanda Gunther
“...spell-binding and comical... this is the show for you if you need a little happily ever after in your life.”
BroadwayWorld.com
By Jack L. B. Gohn
“...one of that handful of musicals that can truly be called profound...to me, this is Sondheim’s greatest musical...an impeccable production...”
Baltimore Sun
By Tim Smith
“...theatrical and comical qualities shining nicely...directed with a steady hand...”
Theatermania.com
By John Rowell
“...Lamos and his cast emerge as solid caretakers of this notoriously tricky musical... these Woods are alive with the sound of music, and remain lovely, dark and deep.”
DC Theatre Scene
By Jayne Blanchard
“...beautiful and liltingly fiendish...expertly balances the melodic and the mischievous...Highly Recommended.”
OUTSpoken
By Steve Charing
“..magical, entertaining...thoroughly enjoyable, wonderfully written, scored and performed musical.”
MD Theatre Guide
By Mark Beacy
“....whimsical costumes...playful performances...an enchanting set...”
Washington Post
By Peter Marks
“...the voices here are excellent and the diction still better: You hear every meticulously chosen Sondheim lyric.”
City Paper
By Andrea Appleton
“...thought-provoking... wry, knowing, and rife with sexual innuendo...a wonderful way to spend an evening..”
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News Articles
May 12, 2012
Playbill.com
Playbill Brief Encounter with Danielle Ferland, Into the Woods Star
by Adam Hetrick
May 11, 2012
CT/Fox News
Behind the Curtain
with Frank Rizzo
May 10, 2012
WestportNow.com
Family Affair: Dinner & Theater at Affordable Price
Photo by Dave Matlow
May 9, 2012
06880
Westport Country Playhouse Has a Cow
by Dan Woog
May 7, 2012
WestportNow.com
Into the Woods 25 Years Later
by Dave Matlow
May 6, 2012
Hartford Courant
Danielle Ferland's Second Journey 'Into the Woods,' Now at Westport Country Playhouse
by Frank Rizzo
May 5, 2012
WestportNow.com
Playhouse Opens 2012 Season
Photo by Dave Matlow
May 4, 2012
Playbill.com
Lauren Kennedy, Danielle Ferland, Jenny Latimer and More Go Into the Woods at Westport
Photo Gallery
May 4, 2012
WPKN
Live Radio Interview with Danielle Ferland, the Baker's Wife in Into the Woods
Richard Pheneger, Peggy Nelson, Hosts
May 1, 2012
WestportNow.com
Into the Woods Opens Previews Tonight
Photo by Dave Matlow
April 30, 2012
06880
Stephen Sondheim: 62 Years in Westport
by Dan Woog
May 2012
Westport Magazine
The Curtains Part
by David Rosenberg
April 27, 2012
Examiner.com
"LGBT Night OUT" Party and Show at Westport Country Playhouse on May 3
By Don Church and Tony Schillaci
April 26, 2012
Fairfield County Life
Summer Thrills at WCP
April 24, 2012
Hearst News Media (Westport News, Connecticut Post, Stamford Advocate, Danbury News-Times, Greenwich Time)
Westport Country Playhouse Heads Into the Woods
by Christina Hennessy
April 17, 2012
Theatermania.com
Danielle Ferland, Joanna Gleason, Chip Zein Reunite for Into the Woods Symposium
by Dan Bacalzo
April 10, 2012
Playbill.com
PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Lauren Kennedy and Nikka Lanzarone Introduce Into the Woods Veteran "Twan Baker"
by Matthew Blank
March 26, 2012
BroadwayWorld.com
Photo Flash: First Look at Danielle Ferland, Lauren Kennedy et al. in Baltimore's Into the Woods
February 23, 2012
Playbill.com
Original "Little Red" Set to Head Back Into the Woods
February 9, 2012
Hearst News Media
Derby Native Changes Roles in Into the Woods
by Joe Meyers
February 8, 2012
Playbill.com
Stage Views: Into the Woods Star Erik Liberman
by Andrew Gans
February 4, 2012
New Haven Theater Jerk
On to the Cast of Into the Woods at Westport Country Playhouse
by Christopher Arnott
February 3, 2012
Playbill.com
Danielle Ferland, Lauren Kennedy and Erik Liberman Cast in Center Stage - Westport Into the Woods
by Adam Hetrick
February 3, 2012
Theatermania.com
Jeffry Denman, Danielle Ferland, Lauren Kennedy Set for Into the Woods
by Dan Bacalzo
February 3, 2012
Hartford Courant
Lauren Kennedy, Erik Liberman Cast in Into the Woods at Westport Playhouse
by Frank Rizzo
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In celebration of the Playhouse’s production of Into the Woods, we invite you to peruse the links, images and articles below for additional information about our stunning production and a true insider’s look. Check back often for new updates!
Articles, Blogs and Interviews
Recently, Playbill.com visited rehearsal to film two special behind the scenes looks and interviews with the cast.
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Click here to watch interview #1 with Danielle Ferland, "Baker's Wife"
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Click here to watch interview #2 with Lauren Kennedy, "Witch"
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Director of Production David Dreyfoos shows you what's involved in moving a show from a theater in Baltimore to a theater in Connecticut with The Playhouse Blog.
Go Behind the Curtain with a special Playhouse interview with Britney Coleman, "Rapunzel"
Click here for Playbill.com's Stage Views interview with Erik Liberman, playing The Baker in our production of Into the Woods
Click here for Playbill.com's photo exclusive: Lauren Kennedy, "Witch," and Nikka Lanzarone, "Florinda," Introduce Into the Woods Veteran "Twan Baker"
Click here to read Connecticut Post's interview with Connecticut native Danielle Ferland, playing The Baker's Wife in our production of Into the Woods
Wonder what it takes to move the Into the Woods set from Baltimore to Westport? Click here to take a look at the process from packing to unpacking!
Click here for Playbill.com's Brief Encounter with Danielle Ferland
Click here for Playbill.com's Photo Exclusive: "Once Upon a Time..." Ever Deeper Into the Woods With Nikka Graff Lanzarone and Lauren Kennedy
Costume Renderings
Costume Designer Candice Donnelly shares her preliminary renderings for Into the Woods. Click the costume rendering below for additional sketches.
