November 16, 2017
For: IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Madeleine Gail Rex
madeleine.rex@ptc.utah.edu
801-581-7222
– or –
Kirsten Park
801-581-6270
kirsten.park@ptc.utah.edu
PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS
Disney’s Newsies
The Musical
Music by Alan Menken Lyrics by Jack Feldmen Book by Harvey Fierstein
Salt Lake City – Pioneer Theatre Company presents the Disney hit Newsies. The Tony-winning musical opens Friday, Dec. 1, and runs through Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017. Newsies occupies the traditional holiday spot. Keeping with what is now a seven-year tradition of collecting donations for local nonprofits, PTC will partner with Granite Education Foundation to collect new books for “Santa Sacks” for children ages K-12.
“Newsies has a stirring, old-school sincerity that’s hard to resist.” -The New York Times
Inspired by the real-life newsboy strike of 1899, this Disney-movie-turned-hit-Broadway-musical has something for everyone – acrobatic dancing, heartfelt songs and a rousing story of underdogs taking on the establishment – all rolled into a feel-good evening of family entertainment.
“We have a wildly talented cast – veterans of all ages,” says Artistic Director Karen Azenberg. “As Jack Kelly, Jonathan Shew leads the cast with strength, charm and a soaring vocal presence; the young men who play our Newsies are among the most talented dancers, singers and actors, in both New York and Utah. The energy just pours off the stage – every day they take my breath away.”
JONATHAN SHEW plays the charismatic dreamer, Jack Kelly, in his PTC debut. Shew recently completed a run in the new Broadway musical, Bandstand, which won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Choreography. Additional credits include the National Tour of Wicked, Radio City’s Spring Spectacular, and numerous other New York and regional productions.
WILLIAM PARRY has originated 11 Broadway roles, most recently that of Jensen in Groundhog Day, and returns to Utah to play the stern and frugal Joseph Pulitzer. Previously at PTC, Parry played Senator Higgins in the World Premiere of Alabama Story. Also on Broadway, he appeared in Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George and Passion; Gypsy with Bernadette Peters; Camelot and the original Jesus Christ Superstar.
NADIA VYNN returns to PTC as the ambitious reporter, Katherine, after playing Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof. Vynn most recently appeared in the tours of Bring It On, Legally Blonde, Catch Me If You Can and Shrek.
AUSTIN ARCHER, a Utah-native, returns to PTC from New York to play Crutchie. In New York, he performed in Cheeseburger Deluxe and The Michigan Assassin. Some of his regional credits include the PTC productions of A Few Good Men, Rocky Horror Show and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
STEPHEN MICHAEL LANGTON played Davey, Jack’s unlikely friend, for more than a year with the 1st National Tour of Newsies and reprises the role on the PTC stage. He is a graduate of Pace University’s musical theatre program.
CICILY DANIELS plays Medda Larkin. Daniels’ Broadway credits include Disney’s The Little Mermaid, All Shook Up and Rent. She has also appeared in numerous National Tours, on film and television, and in concerts across the country, including A Cole Porter Celebration, for which she was the star soloist.
Child actors MAXWELL RIMINGTON and BRANDON SMITH share the role of Les, Davey’s fiery little brother. Both return to PTC after appearing in last season’s Oliver!.
MATT BAUMAN, JORDAN BEALL, JOE BEAUREGARD, TADE BIESINGER, RICHIE CALL, LENNY DANIEL, KILTY REIDY and DAVIS WAYNE comprise the remaining Equity cast members.
ISMAEL ARRIETA, LANCE BARKER, PATRICK RYAN CASTLE, DAVID GUY HOLMES, JESSE KLICK, TOMAS JOAQUIN MATOS, JOHN PETERSON, RIC STARNES, ROSS THOMPSON, SCOTT WHIPPLE, KATRYNA WILLIAMS, MYLES WOOLSTENHULME and AMANDA WRIGHT complete the ensemble.
Pioneer Theatre Company Artistic Director KAREN AZENBERG directs and choreographs this production. Azenberg is in her sixth year as Artistic Director and directed the regional premiere of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time to open the 2017-2018 season. Last season, she directed Sting’s The Last Ship, Oliver!, Women in Jeopardy! and Chess. Originally from New York, Azenberg’s work there includes Lyrics and Lyricists (92nd St. Y), Blocks (a collaboration with Jonathan Larson), Prom Queens Unchained and choreography for Richard Greenberg’s The Dazzle (Roundabout).
TOM GRIFFIN returns to PTC as the guest musical director after Oliver! last season. Other recent PTC productions include It Happened One Christmas, Peter and the Starcatcher, Elf-The Musical and A Christmas Carol: The Musical. He also musically 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 and Bye Bye Birdie.
LENNY DANIEL is the assistant director and choreographer, and also plays Wiesel. Daniel has assisted Azenberg for years, most recently for PTC’s Chess and The Last Ship. He has choreographed for the Utah Shakespeare Festival and Geva Theatre Center. He also directed and choreographed Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical and assisted in the direction and choreography of numerous other productions.
Scenic design is by GEORGE MAXWELL. He has been the resident scenic designer at Pioneer Theatre Company for over 25 years and has designed over 90 productions for the company. Last season, he designed Oliver! and The Will Rogers Follies.
Guest Costume Designer DAVID KAY MICKELSEN designs his 13th PTC production in the past 21 years. Elsewhere, he has designed for the Guthrie, Berkeley Rep., Cleveland Playhouse, Sundance Theatre Festivals, the Oregon, Colorado, Utah and Illinois Shakespeare Festivals, and others.
Lighting design is by KIRK BOOKMAN. Bookman’s New York credits include Charles Busch’s The Tribute Artist and The Divine Sister. He most recently designed for The Glass Menagerie and Oliver!.
Hair and makeup design is by PTC Resident Hair and Makeup Designer AMANDA FRENCH; sound design is by PTC Resident Sound Designer KATE WECKER.
* * *
PUBLICITY PHOTO SHOOT: There will be an on-stage publicity photo shoot on Monday, November 20, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. Please call Kirsten Park at 801-581-6270 to RSVP.
MEDIA EVENT: There will be a media event on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 9:30 a.m., including interviews and photos with cast members and Artistic Director Karen Azenberg; a presentation by Granite Education Foundation about “Santa Sacks;” and concluding with a short rehearsal segment of one of the production’s numbers, which may be filmed. Please call Kirsten Park at 801-581-6270 to RSVP.
ADDITIONAL FILMING OPPORTUNITY: On Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 2:00 until 2:15 p.m. there will be opportunities for press to film a partially-costumed number, performed on the mainstage. Please call Kirsten Park at 801-581-6270 to RSVP.
MEDIA PHOTOS AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD: High-resolution color photos of this production will be available for media use on the PTC website beginning Tuesday, November 21, 2017 after 3:00 p.m. Go directly to
http://www.pioneertheatre.org/press-room/media-photos/ to view the photos.
Photos from our off-site shoot can be found online. For hi-res versions, click
here.
TV CAMERA FILMING: Filming a short segment of the production during preview or opening night performances for press use can be arranged. Call 801-581-7222.
INTERVIEWS: Interviews with the cast and artistic staff are available. Call 801-581-7222.
WHO:
Pioneer Theatre Company
WHAT:
Disney’s Newsies
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Jack Feldmen
Book by Harvey Fierstein
WHEN:
December 1 – December 20, 2017
TIMES:
Mondays – Thursdays, 7:00 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday matinees, 2:00 p.m.
WHERE:
Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre
300 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City
PRICES:
$42 – $64 in advance, and $5 more when purchased on the day of the show
Kids in grades K-12 are half-price on Mondays and Tuesdays
MORE INFO:
Box Office: 801-581-6961
Open 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Mon. – Fri.
www.pioneertheatre.org
CAST:
AUSTIN ARCHER*……………………………..Crutchie
ISMAEL ARRIETA……………………………..Buttons/Ensemble
LANCE BARKER……………………………….Sniper/Ensemble
MATT BAUMAN*………………………………Race/Ensemble
JORDAN BEALL*………………………………Finch/Ensemble
JOE BEAUREGARD*…………………………..JoJo/Spot Conlon/Ensemble
TADE BIESINGER*…………………………….Specs/Ensemble
RICHIE CALL*………………………………..Teddy Roosevelt/Ensemble
PATRICK RYAN CASTLE………………………Oscar Delancey/Ensemble
LENNY DANIEL*………………………………Wiesel/Ensemble
CICILY DANIELS*……………………………..Medda Larkin/Nun
DAVID GUY HOLMES………………………….Snyder/Ensemble
JESSE KLICK………………………………….Morris Delancey/Ensemble
STEPHEN MICHAEL LANGTON*……………….Davey
TOMAS JOAQUIN MATOS……………………..Elmer/Ensemble
WILLIAM PARRY*……………………………..Pulitzer
JOHN PETERSON……………………………..Tommy Boy/Ensemble
KILTY REIDY*…………………………………Bunsen/Stage Manager/Ensemble
MAXWELL RIMINGTON………………………..Les
JONATHAN SHEW*……………………………Jack Kelly
BRANDON SMITH……………………………..Les
RIC STARNES…………………………………Seitz/Ensemble
ROSS THOMPSON…………………………….Mush/Ensemble
NADIA VYNN*…………………………………Katherine
DAVIS WAYNE*……………………………….Romeo/Ensemble
SCOTT WHIPPLE……………………………..Albert/Ensemble
KATRYNA WILLIAMS………………………….Hannah/Ensemble
MYLES WOOLSTENHULME…………………….Henry/Ensemble
AMANDA WRIGHT…………………………….Bowery Beauty/Ensemble
ARTISTIC TEAM:
Director/Choreographer……………………………………………… Karen Azenberg
Musical Director/Conductor………………………………………….. Tom Griffin
Associate Director/Choreographer…………………………………….Lenny Daniel*
Assistant Director/Choreographer…………………………………….Natalie Malotke
Scenic Designer………………………………………………………. George Maxwell
Costume Designer……………………………………………………. David Kay Mickelsen
Lighting Designer……………………………………………………… Kirk Bookman
Sound Designer……………………………………………………….. Kate Wecker
Hair and Makeup Designer……………………………………………. Amanda French
Production Stage Manager……………………………………………. Mary P. Costello*
* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association.
