[I am posting this on behalf of the Shubert Theater, New Haven, CT.--
Kevin B.]
Contact: Robert Resnikoff
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
PRE-BROADWAY WORLD PREMIERE
OF THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER
AT THE SHUBERT THEATER, NEW HAVEN
FEBRUARY 27 - MARCH 11
Don Schlitz - Ken Ludwig Musical Opens at
Broadway's Minskoff Theater in April
NEW HAVEN, CT--February 2, 2001
Continuing its legacy as "The Birthplace of the Nation's Greatest Hits," The
Shubert Theater, New Haven will host the world premiere of the musical The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer from Tuesday, February 27 to Sunday, March 11,
2001. Based on the novel by Mark Twain, the show has music and lyrics by
two-time Grammy Award-winner Don Schlitz and a book by Ken Ludwig. The show
is directed by Scott Ellis and is scheduled to begin preview performances on
Broadway at the Minskoff Theater on March 27 and officially opens April 26.
The musical is based on one of the most treasured stories in American
literature and chronicles the life and adventures of its hero in St.
Petersburg, Missouri, during the 1840's. The world premiere performances of
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at the Shubert Theater are sponsored by The New
Haven Register.
The cast features Joshua Park (Tom Sawyer), Jim Poulos (Huck Finn), Kristen
Bell (Becky Thatcher), Linda Purl (Aunt Polly), John Dossett (Judge
Thatcher), Jane Connell (Widow Douglas), Tom Aldredge (Muff Potter), Kevin
Durand (Injun Joe), John Christopher Jones (Dobbins), Tommy Hollis
(Sprague), Richard Poe (Lanyard Bellamy) and Marshall Pailet (Sid Sawyer).
Additional cast members include Stephen Lee Anderson, Ann Whitlow Brown,
Michael Burton, Pierce Cravens, Élan , Stacia Fernandez, Joe Gallagher,
Blake Hackler, Nikki M. James, Donna Lee Marshall, Erik J. McCormack, Amy Jo
Phillips, Kate Reinders, Elise Santora, Mekenzie Rosen-Stone, Ric Stoneback,
Sally Wilfert and Tommar Wilson.
The creative team consists of David Marques (choreographer), Heidi Ettinger
(set designer), Kenneth Posner (lighting designer), Anthony Powell (costume
designer), Lewis Meade (sound designer), Michael Starobin (orchestrator),
Paul Gemignani (musical director), David Brian Brown (hair designer) ,
David Krane (dance and incidental music), Rick Sordelet (fight director) and
Kate Wilson (dialect coach). The musical is produced by James M.
Nederlander, James L. Nederlander and Watt/Dobie Productions.
The Broadway producers of THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER have commissioned a
set design for the Minskoff Theatre in New York which for several practical
reasons cannot be used at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven. The
pre-Broadway tryout of Tom Sawyer has a set specifically designed for the
Shubert which features elements of the New York set in a full production
with the entire Broadway cast, costumes, lighting and orchestrations.
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Joshua Park (Tom Sawyer) a graduate of the North Carolina School of the
Arts, created the role of young John Chivary in the Tom Cole/John Dillion
premiere of Dickens' Little Dorrit and was also seen as Evan Morgan in
Gerald Freedman's revival of A Time for Singing. Other credits include
Equus, Master Harold . . . and the Boys, A Funny Thing Happened . . ., Total
Eclipse, Little Shop of Horrors, and Richard III. With Tom Sawyer, Joshua
makes his Broadway debut.
Jim Poulos (Huck Finn). Broadway: Rent (Mark, first replacement). Regional:
world premiere of the new musical Convenience (Vince) Geva Theater (cast
recording); Big River (Huck Finn), Casa Manana; You're A Good Man, Charlie
Brown (Charlie Brown) East Carolina Summer Theater; The Grapes of Wrath (Al
Joad), Holiday Memories (Buddy) Sacramento Theater Co.; Into The Woods
(Jack), Barnum (Tom Thumb), West Side Story (Baby John), PCPA Theaterfest.
Kristen Bell (Becky Thatcher). Originally from Detroit, she attended NYU
Tisch CAP21 & E.T.W. Studios. Favorite roles: Hair (Chrissy), Wizard of Oz
(Dorothy), Lady Be Good (Daisy), The Miracle Worker (Helen Keller) and her
stage debut in Raggedy Ann and Andy in the complex dual(Banana & Tree #1).
Appearing in the upcoming Chris Rock movie Pootie Tang.
Linda Purl (Aunt Polly). Broadway : Getting and Spending. Off-Broadway: The
Baby Dance, Hallelujah Hallelujah. Regional: (Long Wharf, ATL, Mark Taper,
Old Globe, South Coast Rep, Williamstown) The Little Foxes, Dinner with
Friends, The Road to Mecca (with Julie Harris), A Doll's House, Hedda
Gabler, The Real Thing, Nora, Three Penny Opera, Oliver, The King and I, On
a Clear Day, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Tusitala, Beyond
Therapy, Fallen Angels, Grease, All the Way Home. TV: Series regular "Happy
Days," "Matlock," 30 movies of the week. Feature Film: Mighty Joe Young,
Natural Causes, Leo and Loree. Solo CD "Along Together." Radio: "BBC,"
"Milford Haven: NPR," "Broken Glass," "Nora" (with David Dukes).
John Dossett (Judge Thatcher) comes directly from playing the adulterous
Tom in Donald Margulies Pulitzer Prize-winning Dinner with Friends at the
Variety Arts. Broadway: Ragtime, Prelude to a Kiss, Mastergate, Fifth of
July, King of Schnorrers. Off-Broadway and Regional: Truely Blue (MCC),
Hello Again (LCT), Kiss of the Spider Woman (National Tour), Down the Road
(Atlantic Theatre), Elmer Gantry and Captains Courageous (Ford's Theatre),
The Chekhov Sketchbook (Clurman), Czolgoz (PS 122), The Jungle Movie (One
Dream). Circle Rep: Moonshot and Cosmos, Reckless, El Salvador, Sunshine,
The Diviners, Empty Hearts, Childe Byron, Prelude to a Kiss, Richard II,
Dalton's Back. TV: "Homicide," "Law & Order: SVU," "Sex and the City,"
"JAG." Film: That Night, Cracker Man, Blue Moon, Clover, Nick and Jane,
Longtime Companion.
Jane Connell (Widow Douglas) started her career in Berkeley, California's
Strawhat Revues in 1947. Julius Monk's cabarets followed in New York. Then
came Off-Broadway's Shoestring Revue and Threepenny Opera. New Faces of 1956
introduced her to Broadway where she was Mame's original "Gooch" (the movie
too). Later Me and My Girl, Lend Me a Tenor, Crazy for You and Moon Over
Buffalo featured her. TV fans remember her Queen Victoria on "Bewitched." In
1960 she was London's Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress.
Tom Aldredge (Muff Potter). Veteran of 26 Broadway plays including The
Nervous Set, Indians, Rex, Slapstick Tragedy, Vieux Carre, On Golden Pond,
Into the Woods, Two Shakespearean Actors, 1776, with Tony nominations for
Sticks & Bones, Where's Charlie?, The Little Foxes, and Passion. Scores of
appearances Off-Broadway (three Obie Awards) film and TV (Emmy Award as
William Shakespeare). He portrays Hugh DeAngelis on HBO's "Soprano's."
Kevin Durand (Injun Joe). Broadway Debut. Favorite theater gigs: Forever
Plaid, Robin Hood, Godspell. Favorite Film/TV: role of Tree in Mystery
Alaska, one of Dr. Evil's assassins in Austin Powers 2, Cliff Ignewski on
"Beggars & Choosers" for a season.
John Christopher Jones (Dobbins). Broadway: Otherwise Engaged, Hurlyburly,
The Iceman Cometh, A Month in the Country, The Goodbye Girl, Beauty and the
Beast. Off-Broadway: Quartermaine's Terms, The Day Room, Prin, Aristocrats,
Sight Unseen, Slauvs, Golden Child, Fuddy Meers. TV regular: "The Royal,"
"The Popcorn Kid," "On Our Own." Film: Awakenings, Moonstruck, The
Hurricane. He is an Associate Director of the Depot Theatre in Westport, New
York.
Tommy Hollis (Sprague). Theatre: I Just Stopped by to See the Man (London),
Ragtime, Seven Guitars, The Piano Lesson, The Colored Museum, Lost in the
Stars. Television: "Mary and Rhoda," "Mama Flora's Family," "Homicide," "Law
and Order," "La Law," "NY Undercover," "Zooman and the Sign," "Queen", "I'll
Fly Away," "Stay the Night," "Separate But Equal." Film: Primary Colors, The
Professional, Vernon John's Story, Malcom X.
Richard Poe (Bellamy, Ensemble). Broadway: 1776, M. Butterfly, Moon Over
Buffalo, Our Country's Good, Execution of Justice, The Dinner Party.
Off-Broadway & Tours: Jeffrey, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Art, Hedda Gabler,
Camelot, Pygmalion, Spokesong. TV: "Fraiser," "Star Trek," "Law and Order,"
"Ed," "Now and Again," "Queen," "The Prosecutors," etc. Film: Speechless,
Born on the Fourth of July, The Jackal, The Night We Never Met, Presumed
Innocent.
Marshall Pailet (Sid Sawyer). Broadway: Sound of Music (Kurt), Christmas
Carol (Jonathan). Regional includes: Oliver! (Title Role), Little Lame
Prince (Title Role), The King and I (Louis). Film: The Empath (Luke).
Studies dance at School of American Ballet.
CREATIVE TEAM BIOGRAPHIES
Ken Ludwig (Book) is the author of several Broadway and London hits,
including Crazy For You, Lend Me A Tenor, and Moon Over Buffalo. His plays
and musicals have received numerous awards including the Tony, the Olivier,
the Drama Desk, the Outer Critics Circle and the Helen Hayes Award, and have
been translated into 16 languages and performed in over 30 countries around
the world. Crazy For You was broadcast nationwide in 1999 on PBS Great
Performances. His newest play, Leading Ladies, will open next season on the
West End, and he has recently been commissioned to write a new play for The
Royal Shakespeare Company in England. His Off-Broadway hits include Sullivan
and Gilbert, Postmortem, and Divine Fire. For film, he has written All Shook
Up for director Frank Oz and Touchstone Pictures, and Lend Me A Tenor for
Columbia Pictures. He has served on the New Play Committee of the National
Endowment for the Arts and the American College Theatre Festival. He is a
founding board member of the Shakespeare Theatre of Washington.
Don Schlitz (Composer/Lyricist). Don and his wife Polly have three children:
Casey, Cory, and Pete. His first recorded song, "The Gambler", sung by Kenny
Rogers, earned him his first Grammy and was the Country Music Association's
and the Academy of Country Music's Song of the Year. Don's songs have been
recorded by Randy Travis, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Judds, Reba McEntire,
Vince Gill, Tanya Tucker, Garth Brooks, Allison Kraus, and many other
singers. His 50+ hits include 24 "Number One's". His best-known songs
include "On the Other Hand," "Forever and Ever, Amen," "When You Say Nothing
at All," "Rockin' with the Rhythm of the Rain," "One Promise Too Late,"
"Strong Enough to Bend," "I Know Where I'm Going," "I Feel Lucky," "He
Thinks He'll Keep Her," "I Take My Chances," "Learning to Live Again," "I
Think About You" and "The Greatest." Schlitz, a four-time ASCAP's Country
Songwriter of the Year, has won three CMA's, two ACM's, and two Grammys. The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer is his first musical.
Scott Ellis (Director). Most recently, The Waverly Gallery with Eileen
Heckart and the Broadway revival of The Rainmaker with Woody Harrelson and
Jayne Atkinson. Broadway: 1776 (Drama Desk, Tony nom.), Steel Pier (Drama
Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Tony nom.); She Loves Me (Outer Critics Circle
Award, Drama Desk, Tony nom.); Picnic (Outer Critics Circle nom.); A Month
In The Country with Helen Mirren. London: She Loves Me (Olivier Award).
Off-Broadway: That Championship Season (Second Stage); Eric Overmeyer's Dark
Rapture (Second Stage); And The World Goes 'Round: The Songs of Kander and
Ebb (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Awards); Flora, the Red Menace
(Vineyard Theater). Regional: David Rabe's The Dog Problem (Long Wharf). NY
Opera: 110 in the Shade, A Little Night Music (Drama Desk Award). TV: "Live
from the Lincoln Center: A Little Night Music" (Emmy nom.); Director and
Co-Conceiver of "Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall" and "My Favorite
Broadway: The Leading Ladies" (both filmed for "Great Performances"), and
NBC's "Frasier." Mr. Ellis is the Associate Artistic Director of the
Roundabout Theatre Company.
David Marques (Choreographer) began choreographing at the age of 14 in a
high school production of Guys & Dolls choreographed by Jean Meuller and
directed by Sam McClintic. He then moved on to bigger and brighter things.
His credits include: The Gershwin's Fascinating Rhythm directed by Mark
Lamos and conceived by Mel Marvin. He has choreographed productions for The
Long Wharf Theatre, Sharon Stage, and The Chicago Goodman Theater. His most
recent contribution was choreographing the PBS Great Performance: My
Favorite Broadway-The Leading Ladies with musical direction by Paul
Gemignani and directed by Scott Ellis.
Heidi Ettinger (Set Designer) won the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics
award for The Secret Garden and Big River, which she also co-produced.
Recent Broadway designs include The Sound of Music, Triumph of Love, Smokey
Joe's Cafe, Moon Over Buffalo and The Red Shoes. She has designed numerous
Off-Broadway shows and at regional theatres around the country. She
designed The Hunchback of Notre Dame for James Lapine in Berlin and is
currently working on An American in Paris, The Little Princess, and a
musical about Aimee Semple Macpherson.
Anthony Powell (Costume Design) has designed internationally for theatre,
opera, film, industry, menswear and architectural projects including the
renovation of Paul Getty's 16th Century mansion Sutton Place. Recent awards:
Royal Designer For Industry (Britain's highest design accolade) - 1999;
Career Achievement Award by the Costumer's Guild of Hollywood - 2000. His
many other awards include: Tony - Sir John Gielgud's School for Scandal;
five Academy Award nominations, winning the Oscar for Travels With My Aunt,
Death on the Nile and Tess. Other film work: two of Steven Spielberg's
Indiana Jones films and creating Glenn Close's Cruella de Vil in 101 and 102
Dalmations. Recent Broadway: Sunset Boulevard.
Kenneth Posner (Lighting Designer). Broadway: Swing!, Uncle Vanya, Side Man,
You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, The Lion and Winter, Little Me, A View From
the Bridge, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Getting Away With Murder, The Little
Foxes, The Rose Tattoo, The Father and The Rehearsal. Off-Broadway: The Wild
Party (The Waverly Gallery), That Championship Season, Pride's Crossing, The
Play About the Baby, As Bee's in Honey Drown, Cowgirls, The Food Chain,
SuBURBIA and numerous productions for Playwrights Horizon, The Public,
Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage, and Classic Stage Company. Opera
credits include the New York City Opera and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Lew Mead (Sound Design) began his career as an audio engineer on Broadway
shows including A Chorus Line, Dreamgirls, The Real Thing and Hurlyburly.
Design credits include Buttons on Broadway, Mayor, Beehive, Booth, Onward
Victoria, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, The Wonder
Years, Italian Funerals and Other Festive Occasions and The King and I (with
Tony Meola). Most recently, he designed the sound for the national tour of
Nickelodeon's hit Rugrats, A Musical Adventure.
The Shubert Performing Arts Center is a not-for-profit arts, entertainment
and educational institution housed in the famous Shubert Theater, New Haven.
Known as "The Birthplace of the Nation's Greatest Hits," the Shubert has
presented over 300 world premieres, including all of Rodgers and
Hammerstein's well-known musicals plus My Fair Lady, Damn Yankees,
Brigadoon, and plays by Clifford Odets, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams
and Neil Simon. The Shubert now presents series of the best of Broadway,
dance, classical music, cabaret and family entertainment. The Shubert also
has comprehensive education and outreach programs, including the
award-winning "Movin'" Project in collaboration with Pilobolus Dance Theatre
and the Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pre-Broadway World Premiere
THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER
By Don Schlitz and Ken Ludwig
February 27 - March 11, 2001
Tuesday - Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday
Matinees at 2:00 p.m.,
Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m.
Event sponsored by New Haven Register
Shubert Television Media Sponsor WTNH-News Channel 8
Ticket Prices Tuesday - Sunday:
Orchestra & Mezzanine $60, Front Balcony $38, Rear Balcony $28
Special Prices for Wednesday Matinees:
Orchestra & Mezzanine $50, Front Balcony $38, Rear Balcony $28
For tickets call Tickets.com seven days a week at 1-800-228-6622
Or stop by the Shubert Box Office
Mon. - Sat. 10am - 5pm, Thurs. 10am - 8pm, Sun. 11am - 3pm
Or call the Shubert Box Office at 203-562-5666
Log on to www.shubert.com
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