Jackie Burns Tamyra Gray, Matthew Hydzik Anthony
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Stephanie Keefer December 7, 2015 (216) 640-8654 [email protected] Original Broadway Cast Member JACKIE BURNS And TAMYRA GRAY, MATTHEW HYDZIK To Join Original Broadway Cast Member ANTHONY RAPP In National Tour of IF/THEN Starting Wednesday, January 27 in Dallas From the Creators of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal In its formal daring, and in the intelligence of its execution, IF/THEN moves into new territory with intense and thrilling results. Every single thing in this show is new you absolutely never know what is going to happen, right up to the last, powerfully moving beat. - New York Magazine -HEARTED NEW MUSICAL. Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey -Washington Post ALLY AND MUSICALLY RICH NEW MUSICAL. It is not an adaptation of anything, but a very compelling and involving idea. Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey its pocket. It is a zesty, savvy and ambitious original. -Chicago Tribune It is one of the very few new Broadway shows that actually looks and sounds like the world of today. -Toronto Star ****************************************************************************** December 7, 2015 Original Broadway Cast member Jackie Burns (If/Then, Wicked, Hair), Tamyra Gray (American Idol Season One Finalist, Rent), and Matthew Hydzik (Side Show, West Side Story, Grease), will join Original Broadway Cast member Anthony Rapp (Rent, Six Degrees of Separation, You ) and the rest of the previously announced cast in the National Tour of IF/THEN, starting Wednesday, January 27 at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas. Following the one-week engagement in Dallas, the National Tour of IF/THEN will then continue to play major cities across North America through August 2016. For a complete list of tour cities, click here. IF/THEN will come to Cleveland February 9 21, 2016, as part of the KeyBank Broadway Series at Playhouse Square. Tickets for the two-week run are currently on sale, and can be purchased by calling 216.241.6000 or online at playhousesquare.org. IF/THEN is an original Broadway musical which reunites composer Tom Kitt, book writer/lyricist Brian Yorkey, and director Michael Greif, the creative team behind the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical, Next to Normal. IF/THEN is a contemporary new musical that follows two distinct storylines in the life of Elizabeth, a city planner who moves back to New York to restart her life in the city of infinite possibilities. When her carefully designed plans collide with the whims of fate, Elizabeth IF/THEN follows both stories simultaneously as this modern woman faces the intersection of choice and chance. Jackie Burns will play Elizabeth, a woman on the verge of turning 40 whose smallest decisions or most random occurrences will impact her world in ways she never dreamt possible. Jackie recently played the role of Elizabeth in IF/THEN on Broadway, and has also played the iconic role of Elphaba in Wicked, both on Broadway and in the First National Tour. She starred in the 2009 Tony Award-winning revival of Hair, and also appeared in the original Off-Broadway cast of Rock of Ages. Anthony Rapp will play Lucas, an old college friend of Elizabeth, who reconnects with her when she moves back to New York City. Anthony is best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in Jonathan Larson -winning musical, Rent. His other Broadway credits include his Broadway debut in Precious Sons with Judith Ivey and Ed Harris, for which he received an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Drama Desk nomination; the original company of John Guare Six Degrees of Separation; and the revival of You Tamyra Gray, who will play Kate, an elementary school teacher and Elizabeth new neighbor, is best known as one of the Top 4 finalists of the first season of Idol. Bombay Dreams in 2004, followed by playing Mimi Marquez in Rent. She penned the songs "I Believe" for Fantasia Barrino and "You Thought Wrong" for Kelly Clarkson. Matthew Hydzik will play Josh, a handsome doctor and army reservist who meets Elizabeth on her first day back in New York City. Mr. Hydzik s Broadway credits include Side Show, West Side Story and Grease, to name a few. His National Tour credits include Rent, Fame, Grease and Flashdance. The production also features Janine DiVita, who will play Anne, Daren A. Herbert, who will play Stephen, and Marc de la Cruz, who will play David. The ensemble includes English Bernhardt, Charissa Bertels, Xavier Cano, Trey Ellett, Kyra Faith, Corey Greenan, Cliffton Hall, Deedee Magno Hall, Tyler McGee, Joseph Morales, Emily Rogers, and Alicia Taylor Tomasko. IF/THEN features choreography by Larry Keigwin, set design by Tony Award-Nominee Mark Wendland, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Tony Award-Winner Kenneth Posner and sound design by Tony Award-Winner Brian Ronan. Casting is by Telsey + Company/Craig Burns, CSA. Mark Myars is the Associate Choreographer. The original Broadway Cast Recording of IF/THEN was released by Sony Masterworks and is available on iTunes. For more information about IF/THEN, please visit IfThenTheMusical.com. Facebook: Facebook.com/ifthenmusical Twitter: @ifthenmusical YouTube: youtube.com/ifthenmusical Instagram: instagram.com/ifthenmusical For more information on the 2015-16 KeyBank Broadway Series at Playhouse Square, including such shows as IF/THEN, Beautiful The Carole King Musical, Matilda, Steel Magnolias, The Phantom of the Opera and Kinky Boots, visit playhousesquare.org/broadway. ABOUT THE CAST JACKIE BURNS (Elizabeth) is thrilled to be starring in If/Then, returning to many of the same cities she visited playing Elphaba in Wicked, a role for which she received an IRNE Award nomination. She subsequently played Elphaba on Broadway, to great acclaim. Other Broadway: Hair (Revival, Original Cast), If/Then (Original Cast). Off-Broadway: Rock of Ages (Original Cast), Unlock'd, Ripper. Regional: Aldonza in Man of La Mancha (PCLO), Wedding Singer, A Grand Night for Singing (Connecticut Critics Circle Award), The Full Monty, Singin , Joseph..., Sweeney Todd, Drood, Candide, Smokey Joe's Café (Paper Mill). TV: "All My Children." Concept Albums: Lucifer (Michael Mott), Swept Away (Disney), Tears from Heaven, and Excalibur (Frank Wildhorn). ANTHONY RAPP (Lucas). Broadway: Rent; You ; Six Degrees of Separation; Precious Sons (Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk nomination). Off-Broadway: Raised in Captivity, Sophistry, The Destiny of Me, Some Americans Abroad, among others. Film: Adventures in Babysitting, School Ties, Dazed and Confused, Six Degrees of Separation, Rent, Man of the Century, Roadtrip, Winter Passing, A Beautiful Mind. TV: -Files, SVU Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent, which was adapted into the one-man show Without You and performed nationally and internationally. @albinokid on Twitter TAMYRA GRAY (Kate). After the acclaim that followed her appearances in the inaugural season of televison, and film career. Broadway credits include: Bombay Dreams, Rent. Film: Sony The Gospel, Jonathan Demme Rachel Getting Married. Tamyra won the Hollywood NAACP award for Female role in Debbie Allen Twist. Tamyra is a devoted wife and mother who leans on spirituality to maintain balance between work, home, and health. MATTHEW HYDZIK (Josh). Broadway: Side Show (Buddy), West Side Story (Tony), Grease (Kenickie), It Shoulda Been You. Off-Broadway: Tomorrow Morning. Some regional favorites: The Lyric Opera of Chicago, La Jolla Playhouse, Kennedy Center, Planet Hollywood Las Vegas, Fulton Opera House. National tours: Rent, Fame, Grease, and Flashdance. Proud grad of Penn State University. Insta/Twitter: @matthew_hydzik # # # Playhouse Square is a world-class, not-for-profit performing arts center, arts education champion and downtown developer. Playhouse Square receives public support with local tax dollars from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, to preserve and enrich our region s artistic and cultural heritage, and state tax dollars from the Ohio Arts Council to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. .