PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS

Elf—The Musical

Salt Lake City – Pioneer Theatre Company presents a new musical version of the New Line Cinema film, Elf—The Musical, December 6 through December 24, 2013.

This production marks the Utah premiere of the new musical version that took Broadway by storm last holiday season. The musical is based on the 2003 holiday film that quickly became a Christmas classic. It’s an evening of entertainment for the whole family that the New York Postcalled “a bona fide treat.”

QUINN VANANTWERP plays the role of Buddy the Elf. VanAntwerp spent the last four years playing Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys on Broadway, the First National Tour, and the Toronto original cast – where he was nominated for a Dora Award for Best Actor. He has performed on stages all across North America with artists like Brian Stokes Mitchell, John Bucchino, Aaron Lazar, Colin Mochrie, Reba McEntire, and Paul Gemignani to name a few. Other New York credits include Take Me America and That Other Woman’s Child. He has appeared in the filmsFour Christmases and Life as a Song. This is his PTC debut.

LIBBY SERVAIS plays Jovie, the shop girl with whom Buddy falls in love. On Broadway Servais was seen in Wicked and the original Broadway cast of Lysistrata Jones. Her national tour credits include Wicked, both in San Francisco and on the original Munchkinland tour. Regionally she has appeared as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Martha Jefferson in 1776, Amber in Hairspray,Georgiana in Pride and Prejudice, Jeanie in Hair, Violet in SideShow and Susan in Company. This is her PTC debut.

MARTIN VIDNOVIC plays Walter, Buddy’s father. Vidnovic’s Broadway credits includeBrigadoon, for which he received a Best Actor Tony Nomination, Baby, for which he received a Drama Desk Award, Oklahoma! (L.A. Drama Critics’ Award) and A Grand Night For Singing(Backstage Bistro Award). He also appeared in The King and I and Home Sweet Homer, both starring Yul Brynner. Vidnovic played Bellomy in the off-Broadway revival of The Fantasticks and the King in the national tour of The King and I starring Sandy Duncan. He returns to PTC after appearing in The Light in the Piazza and Sunset Boulevard.

TANESHA GARY plays Walter’s wife Emily. Gary, a proud member of AEA and the Grammy-nominated choir The Broadway Inspirational Voices, appeared on Broadway in Caroline, or Change. Her off-Broadway and regional credits include Sheila’s Day at Lincoln Center, The Piano Lesson, Clybourne Park, Hereafter, This One Girl’s Story, Walmartopia, Intimate Apparel,Dreamgirls, Smokey Joe’s Café and Once on This Island. Film and television work includesBamboozled, Mr. Wonderful, One Life to Live and the short film The Cycle(Mundolocofilms.com). This is her PTC debut.

Local actor JAEDIN CLARK plays Michael, Buddy’s little brother. Clark has performed for Chicago’s Christian Youth Theater and Hale Centre Theatre. Along with a love for theatre, the twelve-year-old also enjoys swimming competitively, piano, tap, and time with friends.

DANIEL MARCUS plays the role of Santa Claus. Marcus’s Broadway credits include 1776,Woman in White, A Christmas Carol and Urinetown, in which he created the role of Officer Barrel. He has appeared in The Adding Machine and Our Town, both directed by MacArthur Genius Grant recipient David Cromer in New York. His TV and film credits include Law and Order: SVU and You Don’t Know Jack for HBO. Marcus returns to PTC after appearing as Sancho Panza in Man of La Mancha, L. Salem Strauss in Paint Your Wagon and as Nicely-Nicely in Guys and Dolls.

The Equity ensemble includes PAUL AGUIRRE, LAURA LEE ANDERSON, ERIC LEE BROTHERSON, ALLYSON KAYE DANIEL, MARY FANNING DRIGGS, RHETT GUTER,LANCE ROBERTS and ROBBIE ROBY. Local actors ANGELA AVILA, JARON BARNEY,LEAH HASSETT, WILLIAM COOPER HOWELL, JOANNA JOHNSON, JOEL PELLINI andLATOYA RHODES round out the ensemble.

In addition, ten local youth actors comprise the ensemble of elves in Santa’s Workshop. ANSON BAGLEY, SUSIE CARROLL, ZOE HEIDEN, ABIGAIL HOWARD, BRIGHAM INKLEY, WALLY INKLEY, CHASE PRESTON, ABIGAIL SCOTT, MAGGIE SCOTT and OLIVIA SMITH-DRIGGSplay those roles.

Tony-nominated guest artist DAN KNECHTGES directs the production. His Broadway credits include director and choreographer for Lysistrata Jones, Xanadu directed by Chris Ashley, for which he received Tony and Drama Desk nominations, Sondheim on Sondheim directed by James Lapine, 110 in The Shade starring Audra McDonald and The 25^th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee directed by James Lapine. Knechtges also choreographed The 25^th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee off-Broadway (Lucille Lortel Award nomination). Other off-Broadway credits include Merrily We Roll Along directed by James Lapine, Vanities, and directing and choreographing Lysistrata Jones for the Transport Group. Other selected credits include Der Schuh Das Manitu (Berlin, Germany), Vanities (Theatreworks Palo Alto), Give It Up!(Dallas Theatre Center), Girl In The Frame (Goodspeed), Boys From Syracuse (Centerstage Baltimore), Oklahoma!, The Wiz, Cats, My Fair Lady, Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Sound of Music, Joseph… (Hangar Theatre), Mame, Angel Street, …Forum (Surflight Theatre), Don Giovanni (Indianapolis Opera), Carousel, The Merry Widow and West Side Story (Opera Illinois). This is his PTC debut.

Guest artist LIZA GENNARO choreographs the production. Her credits include the critically acclaimed Broadway revival of The Most Happy Fella directed by Gerald Gutierrez and the Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress starring Sarah Jessica Parker. She has choreographed off-Broadway and in regional theaters including Roundabout Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Hartford Stage, Guthrie Theater, The Goodspeed Opera House, Paper Mill Playhouse, Hangar Theater, The Old Globe and The St. Louis “Muny” Opera. Gennaro collaborated with Stephen Flaherty and Frank Galati on their chamber musical Loving, Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein and choreographed the 30th Anniversary tour of Annie. An assistant professor at Indiana University, this marks her PTC debut.

TOM GRIFFIN is the show’s musical director and conductor. Griffin was the musical conductor of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on two national tours and music-directed the West Coast and Los Angeles premieres of The Last Five Years, Sweet Charity, Sweeney Todd and The Music Man; the West Coast premiere of Spitfire Grill; Annie, West Side Story, The Scarlet Pimpernel,Bye Bye Birdie; the national tour of My Fair Lady for Theatre Of The Stars; and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s productions of A Christmas Carol: The Musical, Peter Pan and A Christmas Memory. He returns after music-directing/conducting last year’s A Christmas Carol: The Musical.

Scenic design is by MICHAEL SCHWEIKARDT. Schweikardt designed the world premiere of the new Duncan Sheik/Kyle Jarrow musical Whisper House at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre. He has created sets for several musicals by Joe Iconis, including Bloodsong of Love at Ars Nova, ReWrite at Urban Stages, The Black Suits at The Public Theater, The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks for TheatreworksUSA, and Things to Ruin at both The Zipper Factory and Second Stage Theatre. Recent credits include Oklahoma! starring Kelli O’Hara and Will Chase celebrating the Oklahoma State Centennial and national and international tours of James Taylor’s One Man Band. He returns to PTC after recently designing The Odd Couple.

K.L. ALBERTS designs costumes for this production. Alberts’ previous designs at PTC includeWhite Christmas, 42^nd Street, Miss Saigon, The Producers and both productions of Les Misérables, among many others. Alberts has also designed for the University of Utah’s Babcock Theatre, Salt Lake Acting Company, Meat & Potato Theatre Company, and Ah! Wilderness, Hay Fever, The Matchmaker, Fiddler on the Roof, Great Expectations: A New Musical, Les Misérables and Anything Goes for the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

Lighting design is by guest designer JOHN LASITER.

Sound design is by DAVID CRAWFORD. Crawford presided as DOMA’s resident sound designer; notable productions include Jekyll & Hyde, Avenue Q and Dreamgirls. His work can be heard every summer at the Sun Valley Symphony Series.  He has served as the Production Mixer for Reprise! Theatre Company, Lythgoe Family Productions, and Tyler Perry Productions. Recent works include Smokey Joe’s Café at the Pasadena Playhouse, Lonesome Traveler at the Rubicon Theater Company, and CinemaCon at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace.

Designing hair and makeup is PTC resident designer AMANDA FRENCH. French has worked for The Utah Shakespeare Festival, The Utah Opera, The Egyptian Theatre and the University of Texas at Austin. She is a contributing writer in the ninth edition of Stage Makeup by Richard Corson and James Glavan and is a featured artist in The Costume Technician’s Handbook by Rosemary Ingham and Liz Covey.

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Pioneer Theatre Company operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. Pioneer Theatre Company, Utah’s only fully professional theatre, performs at Roy W. and Elizabeth E. Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, located on the University of Utah campus at 300 South and 1400 East in Salt Lake City, easily accessible by TRAX light rail. Free parking is also available and the theatre is equipped with an elevator, handicap parking, hearing assistance devices and other easy-access features.

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association.