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Home , Ahmanson Theatre, Chip Zien, Christine Ebersole, Chris Sarandon, Drama Desk Award, Faith Prince

BAM Presents Original Cast Reunion

Discussion and song performances will take deep into the creation of an endearing / musical

Into the Woods Original Cast Reunion With Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine, , , Chip Zien, , 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— upon a time, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine wrote a musical called Into the Woods, based on a few -known Grimm Brothers’’ fairy tales. It won three , 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, 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 (1957) and (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 (1964), Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965), (1970), (1971), (1973), (1974), (1976), Sweeney Todd (1979), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), Into the Woods (1987), (1990), (1994), and Road Show (2003). Many of these groundbreaking creations are frequently produced in New York, , 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 Tonys, including a special award in 2008 for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater.

After receiving an MFA in design from the Institute of the Arts in Valencia, CA, James Lapine moved to , where he designed the printed materials for ’s School of Drama and the Yale Repertory . Urged by students, he directed Gertrude Stein’s , 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 , 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 ’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 . 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 , in , 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 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 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, , Nick and Nora, The Normal Heart, Love Letters, It’s Only a Play, Eleemosynary, and A Hell of a Town. credits include ’s Hannah and Her Sisters and Crimes and Misdemeanors, Heartburn for , 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 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 . He is currently appearing on Broadway in It Shoulda Been You. Other Broadway credits include: The Knife, The People in the Picture, The Country Girl, , Les Misérables, , 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 . 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 , Secret Garden as Neville Craven, and Sunday in the Park with George, where he replaced 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 , , and , for which he received a . 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 (Sarah Brown), Into the Woods (Cinderella), and Jerry’s Girls, as well as at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. She has made numerous regional appearances at the Old Globe, Wolf Trap, Birmingham, Goodspeed Opera, MUNY, , 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 , Cosby Murder Mysteries, Tarzan in , 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 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. Television includes The Good Wife, Law and Order SVU, Rescue Me, and HBO’s The Normal Heart. As director, she has helmed several one-person shows and children’s theater productions, most notably A Year with Frog and Toad for Boston Children’s Theater. She teaches master classes and workshops at colleges and theater companies in the New York area, and teaches theater for children in and around Maplewood, NJ, where she resides with her husband Michael and two boys, Noah and Evan.

Ben Wright is best known for originating the role of Jack in Into the Woods. His professional acting career began at the age of 15 when he originated the role of Toddie in George C. Wolfe's Off-Broadway musical, Paradise. He was cast in Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July, with Tom Cruise. In 1996, Wright originated the role of Wayne Frake on Broadway in the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, State Fair, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination. He then retired from the entertainment industry to finish his college degree at UNC-Wilmington (B.A. in philosophy and religion) and start a family with Amy Gage. They now have four children between the ages of 5 and 15, two of them have Down syndrome. Wright and his family advocate for the acceptance and inclusion of people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He now works as a financial advisor and owns Dye Creek Capital, Inc., an independent investment practice serving the financial planning and investment needs of high net-worth individuals.

Tedd Firth is a New York City based musical director, pianist, and arranger. As musical director and accompanist he has worked with , , Maureen McGovern, , Marilyn Maye, Tom Wopat, Joshua Bell, , Tony DeSare, , , Lucie Arnaz, Lee Ann Womack, , John Schneider, , Karen Akers, Mary Cleere Haran, Margaret Whiting, Carol Sloane, and many others. Recent highlights include being music director for BAM/WNYC’s RadioLoveFest concert, It's All About with Jonathan Schwartz. New York appearances include , , the Blue Note, Birdland, the Iridium, the Algonquin, the Café Carlyle, and Feinstein's at the Regency. National appearances include a performance at the White House.

Mo Rocca is a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning and host and creator of the ’s My Grandmother’s Ravioli, in which he learns to cook from grandmothers and grandfathers across the country. He's also the host of the CBS Saturday morning show Innovation Nation and a frequent panelist on NPR’s hit weekly quiz show Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me! He spent four seasons as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s with and four seasons as a correspondent on with Jay Leno. On Broadway he played Vice Principal Panch in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Rocca began his career in TV as a writer and producer for the Emmy and Peabody Award- winning PBS children’s series Wishbone. He went on to write and produce for other kids series, including ABC’s Pepper Ann and ’s The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss—a pre- school series combining the whimsy of Seuss characters with the magic of Jim Henson puppetry. Rocca is the author of All the Presidents' Pets, a historical novel about White House pets and their role in presidential decision-making.

Eileen Roberts originally wrote, directed, and co-produced the Into the Woods Original Broadway Cast Reunion in association with Segerstrom Center for the Arts in November 2014. She has produced, written, and moderated theater events and audience engagements for five- time Tony and Emmy Award winner , two-time Tony Award and Olivier winner Matthew Bourne, executive producer/director/writer Roberto Orci, Tony Award nominated Olivier winner , two-time Tony Award winner Gregg Barnes, and Marc Gershwin. She began her career for Variety, and subsequently developed television projects including a pilot for Paramount. Most recently she worked for on the marketing team where she developed corporate partnerships and created, produced and moderated numerous special events. She has promoted over 40 musicals, plays, and performances for the Ahmanson Theatre, and Kirk Douglas Theatre. She is currently a marketing consultant for the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Roberts began singing and studying piano at age of four. musical theater score she ever purchased was Into the Woods.

Credits Programming in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House is supported and endowed by The Howard Gilman Foundation.

Your tax dollars make BAM programs possible through funding from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. The BAM facilities are owned by the City of New York and benefit from public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs with support from Mayor Bill de Blasio; Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl; the New York City Council including Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Finance Committee Chair Julissa Ferreras, Cultural Affairs Committee Chair Jimmy Van Bramer, the Brooklyn Delegation of the Council, and Council Member Laurie Cumbo; and Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams. BAM would like to thank the Brooklyn Delegations of the New York State Assembly, Joseph R. Lentol, Delegation Leader; and New York Senate, Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Delegation Leader.

General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, offers a dinner menu prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of live music for BAMcafé Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a bar menu available starting at 6pm.

Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center (2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins St for Harvey Theater) D, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Atlantic Terminal – Barclays Center Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

For ticket information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.

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