PRESS RELEASE for IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, January 24, 2012 CONTACT: Patrick Finlon, Marketing Director 315-443-2636 Or [email protected]
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PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, January 24, 2012 CONTACT: Patrick Finlon, Marketing Director 315-443-2636 or [email protected] Non-Stop Music in Caroline, or Change by Pulitzer Prize Winner Tony Kushner and Tony Nominee Jeanine Tesori (Syracuse, NY)— Two powerhouses of the American theatre, playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America) and composer Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie and Shrek: The Musical), join forces on a musical of startling creativity and refreshing originality (don’t be surprised when the washing machine starts to sing). A stellar cast led by Greta Oglesby delivers powerful vocals in this unconventional, through-composed musical, the recipient of six Tony nominations followed by the Olivier Award for Best Musical. The year is 1963—civil rights and Kennedy—and in the Gellman household in Lake Charles, Louisiana, eight-year-old Noah struggles with the loss of his mother, while Caroline, the family’s African American maid, struggles as a single Mom of four children. Through Caroline and Noah’s friendship, Kushner and Tesori explore thoughts on economic hardship and racial inequity that are relevant today as they were in the early 60s. Rich with humor, humanity and of course music—ranging from blues to gospel to traditional Jewish melodies—Caroline, or Change delivers a deep and uplifting message about change, in big ways and small. Running February 1—26, Caroline, or Change will be performed in the Archbold Theatre at Syracuse Stage, 820 East Genesee Street. Tickets range $18-$50 and are available at the Syracuse Stage Box Office, 315-443-3275 or www.SyracuseStage.org. Presenting sponsors are The Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation and Arts Engage at Syracuse University. Sponsors are the National Endowment for the Arts, M&T Bank, Lockheed Martin MS2, Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, and Carrier Corporation. Media sponsors are Syracuse.com, Urban CNY, WAER, and WCNY. Syracuse Stage’s 2011-2012 season sponsors are The Post-Standard and Time Warner Cable. The title role in Caroline, or Change will be portrayed by Greta Oglesby, winner of an Ivey Award for her portrayal of Caroline in the acclaimed Guthrie Theatre production. “Ogelsby delivers a ravishing and powerful lead performance…playwright Tony Kushner was visibly choked up,” reported the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Oglesby’s numerous credits include originating the role of Aunt Esther in August Wilsons’ Gem of the Ocean (Goodman Theatre and Oregon Shakespeare Festival), the title role in August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre), the role of Mother Shaw in Crowns (Guthrie Theatre), Gertrude in Hamlet (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), and singing a selection from Caroline, or Change at the Kennedy Center during a special event celebrating the work of Jeanine Tesori. 1 “Greta is an extraordinary actress with incredible power, incredible intellect and incredible range,” said Director/Choreographer Marcela Lorca, who directed Caroline, or Change at the Guthrie Theatre, where she serves as Movement Director and has choreographed more than 20 plays and coached over 100. Musically Directing the Syracuse Stage production is Christopher Drobny, whose credits include Antony and Cleopatra directed by Vanessa Redgrave (Joseph Papp Public Theatre), The Entertainer with Brian Murray (Classic Stage Company), and The Threepenny Opera with Betty Buckley (Williamstown Theatre Festival). Including Oglesby, the 17 member cast includes 14 professional Equity actors: Michelle Barber (as Grandma Gellman) reprising her role from the Guthrie, Larry Block (as Mr. Stopnick) who will appear in the new NBC series Smash, Doug Eskew (as The Dryer and The Bus) who appeared previously at Syracuse Stage in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and appeared on Broadway in The Color Purple, Piper Goodeve (as Rose Gellman) who performed as Anne in the Off-Broadway production of Anne of Green Gables, Caitlainne Rose Gurreri (as Radio 1) who was last seen as Deena Jones in Dreamgirls at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolinas, Emily Jenda (as The Moon) who performed as Alice van Guilder in the NYC production of Drat! The Cat!, Gabrielle Porter (as Radio 3) who performed in the Off-Broadway production of Once on This Island, Christina Acosta Robinson (as Radio 2) who performed as Sarah in Ragtime at the Arvada Center in Colorado, Danielle K. Thomas (as The Washing Machine) whose credits include the Broadway, Off-Broadway and 1st National Tour productions of Avenue Q as Gary Coleman, James Van Treuren (as Grandpa Gellman) who appeared on Broadway in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Stephanie Umoh (as Emmie) who appeared as Sarah in the 2009 Broadway revival of Ragtime. Price Waldman (as Stuart Gellman) who performed in the 1997 New York City production of The Wind in the Willows which originated at Syracuse Stage, and Regina Marie Williams (as Dotty) whose regional credits include the Guthrie Theatre’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Caroline, or Change, and Crowns. Also featured in the Syracuse Stage cast is local actor Séamus Gailor, as Noah Gellman. A fourth grader from Cortland, NY, Gailor has studied and performed with Cortland Performing Arts/PAI for the past six years and has appeared in the SUNY Cortland productions of The Nutcracker, Luna Park, and A Christmas Carol, as well as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Brigadoon for Cortland Click to view photos from the Guthrie Repertory Theatre. After extensive local Theatre production. auditions, Gailor was cast in Caroline along with several other young actors involved in the show: Malachi Emmanuel (as Joe), Levonn L. Owens (as Jackie), Christof Deboni (Understudy Noah), and Elijah M. Theus (Understudy Jackie/Joe). After a sold-out run at the Public Theatre in New York City, Caroline, or Change moved to Broadway’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre in 2004 and received six Tony nominations including Best 2 Musical, Best Book and Best Score. In 2007, the London production received the prestigious Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Tony Kushner (Book and Lyrics) received the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for his play Angels in America, which he later adapted into a screenplay for HBO. Other work includes a translation of Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, performed in 2006 by Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline, with music by Jeanine Tesori, at the Delacorte Theatre. Kushner’s work with Steven Spielberg includes the film Munich and an upcoming adaptation of historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Jeanine Tesori (Music) has written four Tony-nominated scores for Broadway: Twelfth Night, Thoroughly Modern Millie (lyrics, Dick Scanlan), Caroline, or Change (lyrics, Tony Kushner), and Shrek the Musical (lyrics, David Lindsay-Abaire). Her first off-Broadway musical, Violet, written with Brian Crawley, received the New York Drama Critics Circle Award in 1997. She has been the recipient of many honors including Drama Desk and Obie awards, and was cited by ASCAP as being the first woman composer to have "two new musicals running concurrently on Broadway." LOBBY EXHIBIT - SYRACUSE IN THE 1960s During the run of Caroline, or Change, an exhibit provided by the Onondaga Historical Association will be displayed in the Coyne Lobby at Syracuse Stage. The exhibit will depict life in Syracuse in the 1960s, offering a local perspective on the many changes taking place throughout the country. With images of a bustling downtown Syracuse, including JFK’s visit to Clinton Square, the OHA exhibit offers insight into a turbulent decade that forever changed our country’s civil rights, job opportunities, and urban landscapes. SPECIAL EVENTS TUES, January 31 at 7:30 p.m. M&T Bank Pay-What-You-Can Night $9 suggested donation to watch the final dress rehearsal. Tickets available at the door starting 2 hours before curtain, first come first serve. THUR, February 2, 6:30 p.m. SU Drama Vocal Project Live music before the 7:30 p.m. show featuring SU Drama student vocalists and the Bill Horrace Trio. FRI, February 3 LIVE in the Sutton Series A post-show party in the Sutton Pavilion following the 8 p.m. opening night performance, with drinks, complimentary food, and live music by Ronnie Leigh. SAT, February 11 at 3 p.m. Welch Allyn Sign Interpreted Performance Series In Memory of Susan Thompson SUN, February 12 Actor Talkback Series Meet the actors after the 7:00 p.m. performance. 3 THUR, February 16, 6:30 p.m. Happy Hour 6:30-7:30 p.m., before the 7:30 p.m. performance. Live music entertainment featuring the SU Drama Vocal Project: SU Drama student vocalists with the Bill Horrace Trio. SAT, February 18 at 3 p.m. Audio Described Series Patrons who are blind or visually impaired may pick up an infrared audio receiver upon arriving at the theatre, and during the performance a live narrator will verbalize visual details about the actors and scenic elements. Due to limited availability, audio receivers must be reserved in advance at our Box Office, 315-443-3275. SUN, February 19 at 2 p.m. Gifford Open Captioned Series Open captioned 2 p.m. performance. WED, February 22 at 1 p.m. Wednesday @1 Lecture Series A 1 p.m. lecture, located in the Sutton Pavilion, before the 2 p.m. performance. Featuring speaker John Robert Greene, Ph.D, Professor of History and Humanities and Cazenovia College, who will speak on The Beginning of ‘The Sixties’: The Critical Last Months of 1963. WED, February 22 at 2 p.m. Gifford Open Captioned Series Open captioned 2 p.m. performance. SYRACUSE STAGE Syracuse Stage is Central New York’s premier professional theatre. Founded in 1974, Stage has produced more than 235 plays in 38 seasons including a number of world, American, and East Coast premieres.