The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber comes to Dallas!

Posted on March 29th, 2010

THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER

PRESENTED BY DALLAS SUMMER MUSICALS,

COMES TO THE MUSIC HALL AT FAIR PARK April 20-25

 

Dallas, TX…The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, a special production of Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica Bank, comes to the Music Hall at Fair Park April 20-25.  Tickets, ranging in price from $15-$71, are on sale now at The Box Office, 542 Preston Royal Shopping Center, or any area TicketMaster location, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 214-631-ARTS (2787).  Tickets for groups of 15 or more are available by calling 214-426-GROUP.

 

The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber  will star six performers who are noted interpreters of Lloyd Webber’s music and well known to Broadway fans: David Josefsberg (Les Misérables, Grease); Kevin Kern (Wicked, Les Misérables); Howard McGillin (The Phantom of the Opera, Bounce); Charlie Pollock, (Nine to Five the Musical, Urinetown);  Laurie Gayle Stephenson (The Phantom of the Opera, A Chorus Line;, and Kathy Voytko (Nine, Oklahoma!); Shoshana Bean, (Hairspray, Wicked); and Deone Zanotto (A Chorus Line, Zorba).

 

The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber is a grand concert showcasing the Tony®, Grammy® and Academy Award®-winning composer’s biggest and most memorable hits. A full onstage symphony orchestra will accompany the soloists, recreating countless extraordinary moments and thrills created by one of the most acclaimed composers of our time. It will be an evening to revisit such legendary musicals as Cats, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Jesus Christ Superstar, Whistle Down the Wind, Starlight Express, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and more.

 

Presented by Jeffrey Finn Productions, this new version of the concert was personally devised by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Following a sold-out engagement at the Kennedy Center, The Washington Post raved, “Very impressive. The hits come crashing at you in an evening dedicated to crescendo and climax.”

 

The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber is presented by special arrangement with The Really Useful Group.  The creative and design teams for this engagement will reunite the team behind the 2004 production: director Tom Kosis, musical supervisor and conductor Edward G. Robinson, lighting designer Brian Nason and sound designer Lucas J. Corrubia, Jr. Robinson, who will be center stage conducting the 30-member orchestra, has a long history working on Andrew Lloyd Webber shows including Cats, The Phantom of the Opera and previous tours of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

 

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER is the composer of The Likes of Us, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, By Jeeves, Evita, Variations and Tell Me on a Sunday, Song & Dance, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down the Wind, The Beautiful Game and The Woman in White. He composed the film scores of Gumshoe and The Odessa File and Requiem, a setting of the Latin Requiem Mass, for which he won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Composition. He has also produced in the West End and on Broadway, not only his own work, but the Olivier Award-winning plays La Bête and Daisy Pulls It Off. In 2004 he produced the film version of The Phantom of the Opera. In 2006 he oversaw a new London production of Evita, Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular and pioneered television casting for musical theater with the hit BBC series How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?” which won an International Emmy. He followed this with the equally successful series Any Dream Will Do. His awards include seven Tonys, three Grammys, six Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, an International Emmy, the Praemium Imperiale and the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre. He was knighted in 1992 and made an honorary life peer in 1997. He’s a 2006 Kennedy Center Honoree.

 

DAVID JOSEFSBERG’s Broadway credits include The Wedding Singer, Grease, Les Misérables and On The Twentieth Century. Off- Broadway credits include Altar Boyz (Drama League nomination), Joys of Sex and Night Blooming Jasmine. He has been touring both Europe and the United States for the past year with comedy legend, Stephen Lynch. He has been performing his own original material, as well as songs co-written with Lynch and Jeff Gurner (Carnegie Hall, Central Park, Vegas and Miami comedy festivals). Josefsberg was seen as TV icon Arthur “the Fonz” Fonzarelli on NBC’s The Mork and Mindy Story, and in the films Limbo and Carlito’s Way. Josefsberg is rejoining The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber after most recently performing the show at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

 

HOWARD McGILLIN is best known for his record-setting title appearance in The Phantom of the Opera, a role he performed more than 2,500 times on Broadway. He appeared in Stephen Sondheim’s musical Bounce and was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for his performance. His Broadway and West End credits include Kiss of the Spider Woman, She Loves Me, Mack and Mabel, The Secret Garden, Anything Goes (Tony and Drama Desk nominations), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Tony and Drama Desk nominations, Theatre World Award) and Sunday in the Park with George. On tour, he has played in Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby. His numerous televised concerts include Stephen Sondheim’s Follies, Kennedy Center Honors and the Boston Pops. He has also provided voices for animated films such as South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and The Swan Princess. He released a solo CD, Howard McGillin: Where Time Stands Still.

CHARLIE POLLOCK originated the role of “Dwayne Rhodes” in 9 to 5 the Musical and played “Bobby Strong” in Urinetown, The Musical on Broadway. He also originated the role of “Bobby Strong” in the first national tour of Urinetown.  He starred as “Paul Bertolet” in Carnival, at The Paper Mill Playhouse and played “Dwayne” in 9 to 5 at the Ahmanson Theatre in L.A.  Some of his off-Broadway credits include I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, The Original company of Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick…Boom!, Don’t Quit You Night Job, The Last Starfighter (world premier), “Ken Star” in Monica the Musical!, Loot, Lola, Opus Profundum and Cock and Bull Story(NY premier).  Across the country Charlie has appeared as “Steve Jobs” in Nerds! The Musical, “Jerry Lukowski” in The Full Monty, “Judas” in Jesus Christ Superstar, “Jesus” in Godspell, “Tommy” in The Who’s Tommy and “Eddie” in King of the Moon.  He worked with Stephen King and John Mellencamp on their new musical The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, and played Maffio in the new musical Dangerous Beauty, written by Grammy Award winner Amanda Mcbroom. His TV/Film credits include the recurring role of Bud Mcgann on “As the World Turns”, “P.S. I Love You” with Hilary Swank, the Palm Springs Film Festival award-winning, “Walking Charley”, “Law and Order”, and “The Guiding Light” Please visit www.charliepollock.com.

 

LAURIE GAYLE STEPHENSON made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning The Secret Garden. The Dallas native starred for two years on Broadway as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera. Stephenson made her debut as Christine with the first national touring company at the Kennedy Center. She was an original cast member of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber in Concert, touring the U.S. singing opposite Michael Crawford. She was part of Stephen Sondheim’s 75th birthday celebration concert at the New Amsterdam Theatre. She is a regular soloist with the popular Bravo Broadway, having sung with most major symphony orchestras across the country. Her national tours include Annie, Camelot and Dames at Sea. She has also been seen in the revival of Follies, A Chorus Line, Grease, A Day in Hollywood, A Night in the Ukraine, 110 In the Shade and in the world premiere of Startime. She can be heard on the original cast albums of The Secret Garden, Prom Queens Unchained, Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Bravo Broadway I, Bravo Broadway II and her debut solo album, Till You Find Your Dream.

 

KATHY VOYTKO made her Broadway debut in the original revival cast of Oklahoma! directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Susan Stroman, and was also in the Tony Award-winning revival cast of Nine the Musical starring Antonio Banderas and Chita Rivera. At Lincoln Center, she originated the role of Ariadne in The Frogs opposite Nathan Lane. She was chosen by Hal Prince to play Eva on the 25th anniversary tour of Evita. Voytko played Christine on the national tour of The Phantom of the Opera. She was in the original cast of Boublil and Schonberg’s The Pirate Queen, and was also the standby Grania, which she performed several times in Chicago and on Broadway. She has sung in concert at Carnegie Hall in Showboat, and most recently in the live-recorded concert of Kristina. Voytko has performed in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Weber in other cities.

 

SHOSHANA BEAN made her New York city debut in the off-Broadway revival of Godspell, and soon after made her Broadway debut in the original cast of the Tony Award-winning production of Hairspray.  She went on to be the first replacement for the green-skinned witch Elphaba in Broadway’s Wicked later reprising her performance on the Wicked national tour. She performed in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Weber at the Kennedy Center and Joseph and the. . .Dreamcoat at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera.  Most recently she headlined in the Las Vegas burlesque revue Peepshow and made her New York City concert debut to a sold-out crowd at Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center.

 

The Music Of Andrew Lloyd Webber will open Tuesday, April 20 at 8 p.m.  All performances are at the Music Hall at Fair Park, with the following performance schedule:

 

Tuesday   April 20    8 p.m.

Wednesday   April 21    8 p.m.

Thursday   April 22    8 p.m.

Friday    April 23    8 p.m.

Saturday   April 24    2 and 8 p.m.

Sunday    April 25    2 and 8 p.m.

 

 

Next up for Dallas Summer Musicals will be LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE THE MUSICAL, with Melissa Gilbert as “Ma,” May 11-23; WICKED,  May 26-June 27; DREAMGIRLS, June 30-July 18; and the State Fair of Texas musical, SHREK THE MUSICAL,  September 28-October 17, 2010.

 

Season sponsors for Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica Bank, are WFAA TV Channel 8 and American Airlines.  Now celebrating its 70th season, Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. (DSM) is the largest producer of live theatrical entertainment in the Southwest, the second oldest summer theater organization in the United States, and the sixth largest non-profit theater company.  DSM has been entertaining North Texas audiences with the finest in live, musical theatre entertainment since 1941.  In addition to presenting national Broadway tours, DSM also produces shows on Broadway, presents and tours local productions, and is involved in developing new works.  Dallas Summer Musicals’ affiliates include DSM Management Group, Inc. (DSMMGI), which manages the Music Hall at Fair Park.

 

As a non-profit organization, DSM relies on a variety of funding sources to bring the Best of Broadway to Dallas at affordable ticket prices, as well as to preserve the beautiful historic theatres, educate young audiences and create important community programs.  DSM’s Seats for Kids program provides a meaningful arts education experience to thousands of low income, at-risk and special needs children. DSM and the Dallas Police Department partner together to provide positive incentives for youth that are at risk for gang membership through the Stage Right program. In addition, the DSM Academy of Performing Arts offers professional theatre arts training and scholarships to talented students in need.  Ticket sales alone do not sustain these endeavors.  Only support from committed businesses, foundations and individuals make these programs possible. For more information about Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica Bank, visit their website at www.dallassummermusicals.org or call (214) 421-5678.

 

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For media information about this show or the Dallas Summer Musicals, and for videotape, photos, interviews or reviewer’s passes, please call Jo Ann Holt at 469-363-7371 or send inquiries to joannholt@gmail.com.