BAM Presents Into the Woods Original Cast Reunion Discussion and Song Performances Will Take the Audience Deep Into the Creatio
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BAM Presents Into the Woods Original Cast Reunion Discussion and song performances will take the audience deep into the creation of an endearing Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical Into the Woods Original Cast Reunion With Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine, Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason, Chip Zien, Robert Westenberg, Kim Crosby, Danielle Ferland, and Ben Wright Tedd Firth, Music Director Moderated by Mo Rocca Reunion conceived and directed by Eileen Roberts BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (30 Lafayette Ave) Jun 21 at 2 & 7pm Tickets start at $35 Brooklyn, NY/May 27, 2015—Once upon a time, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine wrote a musical called Into the Woods, based on a few well-known Grimm Brothers’’ fairy tales. It won three Tony Awards, ran 765 performances in its original Broadway run, spawned countless productions worldwide, a Broadway revival in 2002 (which won another Tony for best revival), a junior version for school performances, and a major Disney motion picture. Now 28 years later Sondheim and Lapine, with many of the original cast, reunite at BAM on June 21 for a discussion and performance of their extraordinary collaboration. The reunion will be part retrospective; part moderated panel with Sondheim, Lapine, and the cast; and part performance, with cast members performing songs from the show. It will delve into the genesis and creative process of its award-winning score and book, casting for the Broadway production, and the road that led to the New York premiere in 1987. In addition to hearing songs performed by their original interpreters, the audience will have the rare opportunity to witness a meeting of these Broadway legends, and to learn from the cast about their experiences with the production, how the success of Into the Woods affected them, and their work today. Tickets start at $35 and are on sale May 29 (May 27 for BAM Members). For ticket information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or visit bam.org. For press information, contact David Hsieh at [email protected] or 718.636.4129 x5. About the Artists The composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is the most important artist to work in American musical theater over the past half-century. He has not only collaborated on more than a dozen landmark shows from which have come many standard songs, but has also been the single most influential force in bringing the musical into the modern age. His Broadway career started with writing lyrics for West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959). Soon after, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962) became his first produced Broadway show as both composer and lyricist. He went on to create the scores for Anyone Can Whistle (1964), Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965), Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), The Frogs (1974), Pacific Overtures (1976), Sweeney Todd (1979), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), Into the Woods (1987), Assassins (1990), Passion (1994), and Road Show (2003). Many of these groundbreaking creations are frequently produced in New York, London, and all over the world. He has won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Kennedy Center Honor, the Pulitzer Prize, eight Grammys, an Academy Award, and nine Tonys, including a special award in 2008 for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater. After receiving an MFA in design from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, CA, James Lapine moved to New York City, where he designed the printed materials for Yale University’s School of Drama and the Yale Repertory Theatre. Urged by students, he directed Gertrude Stein’s play, Photograph, a five-act play just three pages in length. The production caught the attention of director Lee Breuer, who helped arrange a three-week run in a small space in Soho. Lapine won an Obie Award, which jumpstarted his theater career. He has written and directed the plays Table Settings, Luck, Pluck and Virtue, The Moment When, Fran’s Bed, Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing, and adaptation of Moss Hart’s iconic memoir Act One. He has written the book for and directed Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Passion, and the multi-media revue Sondheim on Sondheim. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards, five Drama Desk Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize. In 2011, he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. Throughout her illustrious career, Bernadette Peters has dazzled audiences and critics with her performances on stage, on television, in film, in concert, and on recordings. One of Broadway’s most critically acclaimed performers, Peters has won numerous accolades including three Tony Awards, a Golden Globe, two Grammy Awards, three Emmy nominations, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She recently appeared in City Center’s Encores! production, A Bed and a Chair: A New York Love Affair, featuring the music of Stephen Sondheim and orchestrations by Wynton Marsalis. Other recent Broadway credits include A Little Night Music and Follies, which also played the Kennedy Center. She created the role of the Witch in Into the Woods. She currently stars in the Amazon Prime TV series Mozart in the Jungle. She has written three children’s books, including The New York Times bestseller Broadway Barks, Stella is a Star, and Stella and Charlie: Friends Forever, coming out in July. All of her proceeds from the sale of these books benefit her “pet project” Broadway Barks, an event she co-founded with Mary Tyler Moore that support shelter animals throughout the tri-state area. Joanna Gleason won a Tony Award along with Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her role as Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods. Other Broadway and Off- Broadway credits, nominations, and awards include: Sons of the Prophet, Something You Did, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Happiness, Social Security, Joe Egg, The Real Thing, I Love My Wife, Nick and Nora, The Normal Heart, Love Letters, It’s Only a Play, Eleemosynary, and A Hell of a Town. Films credits include Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters and Crimes and Misdemeanors, Heartburn for Mike Nichols, The Skeleton Twins, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Boogie Nights, The Wedding Planner, and Last Vegas. Television credits include roles on The West Wing, Friends, The Good Wife, The Tracy Ullman Show, Blue Bloods, The Newsroom, and Sensitive Skin. Gleason lives with Chris Sarandon on Tiny Farm. She can tango. Chip Zien created the role of the Baker in the award-winning musical Into the Woods and the role of Mendel in the highly acclaimed Falsettos. He is currently appearing on Broadway in It Shoulda Been You. Other Broadway credits include: The Big Knife, The People in the Picture, The Country Girl, Grand Hotel, Les Misérables, The Boys from Syracuse, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, All Over Town, and The Suicide. Zien recently completed filming Crime for HBO and was a TV series regular on Almost Perfect, Love Sidney, Deadline, Now and Again, and Shell Game and a frequent guest on All My Children. Among his film appearances: United 93, Grace Quigley, The Siege, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Howard the Duck, Snake Eyes, et al. He has also turned his attention to writing. His new musical, The History of War was selected and presented at the New York Musical Theater Festival. His one-man show Death in Ashtabula was developed and performed at the Barrington Stage. After a lengthy performing career that included work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in regional theaters, national tours, television, and film, Robert Westenberg is now concentrating on teaching and directing. He is perhaps best remembered for his roles in the original Broadway production of Into the Woods as the Wolf and Cinderella’s Prince, for which he received a Tony nomination and Drama Desk Award, Secret Garden as Neville Craven, and Sunday in the Park with George, where he replaced Mandy Patinkin in the title role. He also performed the role of Javert in the Broadway production of Les Misérables. Other Broadway credits include leading roles in 1776, Company, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, A Christmas Carol, and Zorba, for which he received a Theatre World Award. His film and television credits include The Ice Storm, Before and After, The Stars Fell on Henrietta, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, Swift Justice, Central Park West, and Law and Order: SVU. Kim Crosby has appeared on Broadway in Guys and Dolls (Sarah Brown), Into the Woods (Cinderella), and Jerry’s Girls, as well as Peter Pan at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. She has made numerous regional appearances at the Old Globe, Wolf Trap, Birmingham, Goodspeed Opera, MUNY, New York City Center, Berkshire Theater Festival, and the Barrington Stage, among others. Kim has been a featured soprano vocalist for many prominent symphonies across the country and internationally as a member of the “Broadway Nights” concert series. She has appeared on network television on All My Children, The Guiding Light, Cosby Murder Mysteries, Tarzan in Manhattan, and the PBS Great Performances broadcast of Into the Woods. Crosby lives in Springfield, MO with her husband Robert Westenberg and their three children: Emily, Katie, and Joe. Danielle Ferland recently wrote and performed her own piece in Listen to Your Mother NJ, a nationwide show featuring personal experiences about motherhood. Her numerous on-stage credits include All My Sons, A Year With Frog and Toad, The Crucible and A Little Hotel on the Side (National Actors Theater), A Little Night Music (New York City Opera), Into the Woods (Little Red Ridinghood, Theatre World Award and Drama Desk nomination), Sunday in the Park with George, New Girl in Town, and How I Learned to Drive, among others.