From the Old Globe - January 25, 2008
For Immediate Release: January 25, 2008
Contact: Becky Biegelsen (619) 231-1941
www.TheOldGlobe.org
OLD GLOBE ANNOUNCES CASTING FOR
WORLD-PREMIERE MUSICAL DANCING IN THE DARK,
LED BY ACCLAIMED ACTOR SCOTT BAKULA
CAST ALSO FEATURES BROADWAY VETERANS PATRICK PAGE AND BETH LEAVEL
San Diego – CEO/Executive Producer Lou Spisto of the Tony Award®-winning Old
Globe is pleased to announce casting for the upcoming world-premiere musical
Dancing In The Dark, with book by Douglas Carter Beane (Xanadu, The Little Dog
Laughed), adapted from the screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, music by
Arthur Schwartz, lyrics by Howard Dietz, and directed by Gary Griffin (The Color
Purple), produced by Permission of Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Inc., running
in the Old Globe Theatre March 4 – April 13.
Golden Globe®-winner and multi Emmy®-nominated stage and screen star Scott
Bakula (Quantum Leap, American Beauty) will play the role of “Tony Hunter.”
Patrick Page (who just wrapped up his second season playing the title role in
the Broadway production of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!) will
portray the role of “Jeffrey Cordova,” and Tony Award-winner Beth Leavel (The
Drowsy Chaperone) will play “Lily” in this delightful new musical based on the
classic MGM movie The Band Wagon.
The complete cast includes Mara Davi as “Gabrielle,” Adam Heller as “Lester,”
Benjamin Howes as “Hal” and Sebastian LaCause as “Paul.” Ensemble members
include: Clyde Alves, Rachel Coloff, Dylis Croman, Nicolas Dromard, Cara
Kjellman, Adam Perry, Eric Santagata, Kiira Schmidt, Jacob Ben Widmar, Branch
Woodman and Ashley Yeater.
Dancing In The Dark revolves around Tony Hunter, a Hollywood star with a career
on the wane, and Jeffrey Cordova, a Shakespearean actor-manager with a taste for
high art. Together they team up with a diverse assortment of theatrical
personalities to create a new musical that’s strictly “entertainment.” With a
delightful Arthur Schwartz/Howard Dietz score packed with such classics as “A
Shine on Your Shoes,” that quintessential ode to show business “That’s
Entertainment!,” and the title song, “Dancing in the Dark” – made famous by Fred
Astaire and Cyd Charisse in the film’s memorable dance sequence – this
world-premiere musical comedy will have audiences dancing in the aisles!
Scott Bakula (“Tony Hunter”)
Consistently recognized for his stellar work across a variety of mediums,
versatile Hollywood everyman Scott Bakula continues to grace the stage and
screen with his dashing good looks and charm, cherished by his actor peers and
fans alike. On tap for Bakula this year is an episode of the Emmy-winning drama
“Boston Legal,” airing February 12th on ABC, and a five-episode season run on
Showtime’s newest entry, “State of Mind,” the latest sketch comedy endeavor from
Tracey Ullman. The half-hour comedy, which takes a satirical look into the daily
life of America, features Bakula as ‘Chris Fulbright’ and premieres March 30th
at 10pm. Over the past couple of years, Bakula has been busy on the small screen
and returning to his roots on the stage. Last fall he finished a critically
acclaimed run in Jane Anderson’s Quality of Life at the Geffen Playhouse; the
previous spring, he appeared in the Reprise! Broadway’s Best production of No
Strings at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse, all after garnering great reviews for his
starring turn in the Tony Award-winning musical Shenandoah at the Ford’s Theater
in Washington, DC. Before that, Bakula served a four-year charge as ‘Captain
Jonathan Archer’ in “Star Trek: Enterprise,” the fifth installment in the “Star
Trek” television franchise. For his work on “Enterprise,” Bakula garnered a
People’s Choice Nomination for “Favorite Male Performer in a New Television
Series” as ‘Captain Archer,’ the physical and intensely curious leader who
wasn’t afraid to follow his gut. USA Today stated, “The crew is led by SCOTT
BAKULA as ‘Captain Jonathan Archer’ – a character perfectly in tune with the
kind of regular-Joe heroes Bakula plays best: smart but not brilliant; handsome
but not glamorous; strong but not overpowering!” Bakula is best known for his
five-year stint on the innovative series “Quantum Leap.” His performance brought
him a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama Series, four Emmy Award
nominations, three more Golden Globe Award nominations, and he was honored an
unprecedented five times by the Viewers for Quality Television. Today, “Quantum
Leap.” remains one of the most popular series in syndication around the world.
There is also a “Quantum Leap.” album available on Crescendo Records, which
features songs performed by Bakula in several episodes of the series. The
complete series of “Quantum Leap” as well as “Star Trek: Enterprise” on DVD are
in stores now. Bakula has also won praise for his work in a variety of feature
film roles, including New Line Cinema’s LIFE AS A HOUSE, which was directed and
co-produced by Academy Award-winner Irwin Winkler; the independent film Ghost of
a Chance; 1999’s Oscar-winning Best Picture American Beauty; the supernatural
thriller Lord of Illusions, written and directed by Clive Barker; Warner Bros'
Major League: Back to the Minors; New Line Cinema's Mi Familia/My Family,
Hollywood Pictures' Color of Night opposite Bruce Willis; the psychological
thriller A Passion to Kill; and Paramount's football comedy Necessary Roughness.
He made his feature film debut in 1990 starring opposite Kirstie Alley in Castle
Rock's comedy Sibling Rivalry for director Carl Reiner. Alternating between film
and television, Bakula has appeared in the CBS landmark comedies “Designing
Women” and “Murphy Brown,” the Showtime mini-series “It’s A Girl Thing,” “The
Invaders” mini-series for FOX, the ABC mini-series “Tom Clancy’s Net Force,” the
Showtime telefilm “Mean Streak,” and CBS’s “Bachelor’s Baby,” executive produced
by Bakula through his production company. Scott also pulled double duty in the
CBS Movie of the Week “Papa’s Angels” and the Showtime original Picture “What
Girls Learn,” starring and producing both telefilms. Last year, Bakula appeared
in the CBS comedy “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and in the Lifetime
movie adaptation of Nora Robert’s best-selling book “Blue Smoke. Born in St.
Louis, Bakula moved to New York in 1976 where he pursued his first love, the
theatre.
In 1988, Bakula was honored with a Tony nomination for his starring role in the
Broadway musical Romance/Romance. Before that, Scott made his Broadway debut as
'Joe DiMaggio' in "Marilyn: An American Fable." His other theatre credits
include the critically acclaimed off-Broadway and Los Angeles productions of
"Three Guys Naked from the Waist Down" and the Los Angeles and Boston
productions of "Nite Club Confidential." Bakula’s singing prowess has afforded
him some special opportunities. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, twice at the
Kennedy Center Honors, and on several occasions at the Hollywood Bowl. In the
Warner Bros animated musical “Cat’s Don’t Dance,” he created the acting and
singing voice for ‘Danny’ the cat.
Patrick Page (“Jeffrey Cordova”)
Actor/Playwright Patrick Page has been acclaimed on Broadway for his roles as
the “Grinch” in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, “Scar” in The Lion
King and “Lumière” in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Other Broadway credits
include The Kentucky Cycle and Julius Caesar. Off-Broadway he has appeared in
Richard II at the Public Theatre and Rex at the York Theater Company. At the
Shakespeare Theatre he played the title role in Macbeth and “Iago” in Othello.
Additional regional theater credits include the Long Wharf Theatre, Seattle
Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Missouri Repertory Theatre and
Utah Shakespeare Festival, among others. In 2006 his play Swansong was among
those featured at the Summer Play Festival in New York City.
Beth Leavel (“Lily”)
Beth Leavel made her Broadway debut in the 1980 production of 42nd Street as a
replacement for “Annie.” She later appeared in Crazy for You as “Tess” and in
The Civil War as “Mabel” and “Mrs. Bixby.” She returned to the revival of 42nd
Street in 2001 as a standby for “Maggie Jones” and “Dorothy Brock.” In 2006,
Leavel starred as “Beatrice Stockwell” in The Drowsy Chaperone. Her performance
garnered the 2006 Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Featured Actress in a
Musical.
Douglas Carter Beane (Book)
Douglas Carter Beane’s works include the screenplays for To Wong Foo, Thanks for
Everything, Julie Newmar; Advice from a Caterpillar (Best Film, Aspen Comedy
Festival; Best Feature, Toyota Comedy Festival); and the upcoming Skinner’s
Eddy. His plays include The Little Dog Laughed (Tony Award nomination), As Bees
in Honey Drown (Outer Critics Circle Award, John Gassner Playwriting Award;
Drama Desk Award nomination), The Country Club (LA Times Critic’s Choice and
Dramalogue Awards), Music from a Sparkling Planet: Advice from a Caterpillar
(Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), White Lies, Devil May Care and Old
Money. Beane also wrote the book for a stage musical adaptation of the 1980 film
Xanadu, which is currently playing to great critical and audience acclaim on
Broadway. His new musical, The Big Time (with music and lyrics by Douglas J.
Cohen), was recently produced by the Drama Dept Theater Company, where he serves
as Artistic Director.
Howard Dietz (Lyricist) and Arthur Schwartz (Composer)
Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz formed a popular songwriting team in the 1930s.
They began their association in 1929 when they teamed up for the Broadway revue
The Little Show. They collaborated again with The Second Little Show, Three’s a
Crowd, Flying Colors, Revenge with Music, At Home Abroad and Between the Devil.
They had a major success with the movie musical The Band Wagon in 1931, which
introduced one of their best-known songs, Dancing in the Dark. Other hits
included Alone Together, You and the Night and the Music, That’s Entertainment,
I Love Louisa, I See Your Face Before Me, and Love Is a Dancing Thing. During
the war years, Dietz served as editor of Navy Life magazine and assisted the
U.S. Treasury Department with the promotion of War Bonds, while creating stage
shows for the Coast Guard with composer Vernon Duke. Schwartz concentrated his
efforts on Hollywood, writing music and producing such films as Cover Girl and
Night and Day. He returned to Broadway with the revue Inside USA and in 1951
with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Dietz and Schwartz resumed their partnership in
the 1960s with musicals The Gay Life and Jennie.
Gary Griffin (Director)
Gary Griffin made his Broadway debut with the hit musical The Color Purple. Also
in New York, Griffin has directed The Apple Tree, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,
Pardon My English and The New Moon for City Center Encores and Beautiful Thing
at the Cherry Lane Theatre. His production of Pacific Overtures was seen at
London's Donmar Warehouse and received the Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical
Production. He is Associate Artistic Director of the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
where he has directed A Little Night Music and Sunday in the Park with George.
His production of My Fair Lady played at the McCarter Theatre and Hartford Stage
last season after its debut at Chicago's Court Theatre. He has received eight
Joseph Jefferson Awards and has twice been named a "Chicagoan of the Year in the
Arts" by the Chicago Tribune.
Tickets are available through subscription by calling (619) 23-GLOBE, online at
www.TheOldGlobe.org,
or by visiting The Old Globe Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.
Individual tickets go on sale Sunday, January 27 at 10am.
###
The internationally-acclaimed, Tony Award® -winning Old Globe is one of the most
renowned regional theatres in the country and has stood as San Diego’s flagship
arts institution for 72 years. The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15
plays and musicals on its three stages, including its highly-regarded
Shakespeare festival. The Globe has become a gathering place for leading theatre
artists from around the world, such as Tom Stoppard, Daniel Sullivan and Chita
Rivera, among many others. Numerous Broadway-bound premieres and revivals, such
as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty and Damn Yankees, have been developed
at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs in New York
and at regional theatres across the country.
Highlights of the Globe’s 2007/2008 Season include the world premiere musical, A
Catered Affair, written by Harvey Fierstein and John Bucchino, the West Coast
Premiere of Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s Oscar and the Pink Lady, the 10th
Anniversary production of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, In This
Corner, by Steven Drukman, Howard Korder’s Sea of Tranquility, as well as the
world-premieres of Dancing in the Dark and Beethoven, As I Knew Him. Under the
leadership of CEO/Executive Producer Louis G. Spisto and Co-Artistic Directors
Jerry Patch and Darko Tresnjak, the Globe is at the forefront of the nation’s
leading performing arts organizations, setting a standard for excellence in
American theatre.
