Dutch Apple will Present Rodgers & Hammerstein's 'Oklahoma'

Oklahoma, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first collaboration, is set in a Western Indian territory (soon to be the brand new state of Oklahoma) where a cowboy named Curly and a farm girl named Laurey are stubborn, foolish, and in love. However, love is a bumpy ride with these two holding the reins, and the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre invites you to ride along from June 18 through August 1, 2015!

Christopher Lewis is returning to the Dutch Apple stage as Curly. He recently played Feuilly in Les Miserables at Dutch Apple, and he has worked at numerous theatres across the nation. Christopher refers to this as his “dream role” and dedicates this performance to his father, who has also played Curly.

Laurey, the target of Curly’s affection, will be played by Kayleen Seidl, who will be making her Dutch Apple debut right after closing a national tour of Guys & Dolls in which she portrayed Sarah Brown.

While Curly tries to invite Laurey to the box social, Jud, played by Justun Hart, throws his hat in the ring for her heart as well. Justun is just one of a handful of Oklahoma cast members who are returning to Dutch Apple after a successful national tour of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Others who are also just coming directly from the tour include Danielle Barnes, Ben Cramer, Carver Duncan, Avery Epstein, Kelsey Beckert, and Corinne Munsch (a graduate of Cumberland Valley High School).

Laurey’s friend Ado Annie, who is in a love triangle of her own, will be played by Theresa Walker. Theresa was last seen as Patsy in Crazy For You and Zaneeta in The Music Man at Dutch Apple. Theresa will be playing opposite of her “real life, real funny, leading man,” Craig Smith. Craig, who was last seen as Bela Zangler in Crazy For You, competes with Will Parker, played by Will Leonard, also fresh off of the Seven Brides for Seven Brothers national tour, for Ado Annie’s hand. Will was also in the national tour of Fiddler on the Roof and is “ecstatic to be playing one of his dream roles.”

Laurey’s Aunt Ellar will be played by a familiar Dutch Apple face, Lisa Coday, who was last seen as Mrs. Strakosh in Funny Girl and Dinah in Dixie Swim Club. Andrew Carnes, Ado Annie’s father, will be played by Kirk Lawrence, who was last seen in Mid-Life 2! (The Crisis Continues) and as Mr. Potter in A Wonderful Life.

The cast will be under the direction of Dean Sobon, who directed the national tours of Fiddler on the Roof and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, as well as Crazy For You at Dutch Apple. Ford Haeuser, who worked with Dean during Crazy For You as Wyatt and Dance Captain, will be choreographer.

Complete with lasso tricks, can-can dances, a sneaky traveling salesman, and a brand new state, Oklahoma features classic Rodgers and Hammerstein songs such as "People Will Say We’re in Love", "Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'", "Oklahoma!", and "Surrey with the Fringe On Top".

Oklahoma will be at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre June 18 through August 1, 2015. Ticket prices range from $49 to $56 for meal and show with a special rate for groups of 16 or more. A limited number of show-only seats are available for $34. Call 717-898-1900 to make a reservation or order your tickets online at DutchApple.com.

2015 Tony Award Predictions

Hurray! It's Tony Awards weekend!!! I have Sunday's menu planned, the specialty cocktail selected, and most importantly, my picks for this year's winners.

Tonight my kids and I had fun going through the list of nominees and picking our favorites. Now that's what I call quality family time. :) My boys put some serious thought into their decisions, struggling over whether a play with a puppet sounds better than a play with the word "Dog" or "Wolf" in the title. That's a tough choice for a 5- and 7-year-old to make! We're all looking forward to tallying up our scores tomorrow night to see how many we picked correctly!

My boys and I had fun filling out this year's Tony Awards ballot!

I've listed my picks below, and I have to say I think it's going to be a good night with a few surprises. I think Curious Incident is going to dominate the play category, with Hand to God coming in a close second. As for musicals, I think it's going to be a three-way toss up between Fun Home, Something Rotten!, and An American in Paris all bringing in several awards. We'll see!

* My pick for the winners

Play
* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens
Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar
Hand to God by Robert Askins
Wolf Hall Parts One & Two by Hilary Mantel and Mike Poulton

Musical
An American in Paris
* Fun Home
Something Rotten!
The Visit

Book of a Musical
An American in Paris - Craig Lucas
Fun Home - Lisa Kron
* Something Rotten! - Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell
The Visit - Terrence McNally

Score
Fun Home, Music: Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics: Lisa Kron
* The Last Ship, Music & Lyrics: Sting
Something Rotten!, Music & Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick
The Visit, Music: John Kander, Lyrics, Fred Ebb

Play Revival
The Elephant Man
Skylight
* This Is Our Youth
You Can't Take It with You

Musical Revival
The King and I
* On the Town
On the Twentieth Century

Actor (Play)
Steven Boyer, Hand to God
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Ben Miles, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Bill Nighy, Skylight
* Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Actress (Play)
Geneva Carr, Hand to God
* Helen Mirren, The Audience
Elisabeth Moss, The Heidi Chronicles
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Ruth Wilson, Constellations

Actor (Musical)
Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
* Brian d'Arcy James, Something Rotten!
Ken Watanabe, The King and I
Tony Yazbeck, On the Town

Actress (Musical)
Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
Beth Malone, Fun Home
Kelli O'Hara, The King and I
* Chita Rivera, The Visit

Featured Actor (Play)
Matthew Beard, Skylight
K.Todd Freeman, Airline Highway
Richard McCabe, The Audience
Alessandro Nivola, The Elephant Man
* Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Micah Stock, It's Only a Play

Featured Actress (Play)
Annaleigh Ashford, You Can't Take it with You
Patricia Clarkson, The Elephant Man
Lydia Leonard, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
* Sarah Stiles, Hand to God
Julie White, Airline Highway

Featured Actor (Musical)
* Christian Borle, Something Rotten!
Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
Brad Oscar, Something Rotten!
Brandon Uranowitz, An American in Paris
Max von Essan, An American in Paris

Featured Actress (Musical)
Victoria Clark, Gigi
Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
* Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I
Emily Skeggs, Fun Home

Scenic Design (Play)
* Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Bob Crowley, Skylight
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Rockwell, You Can't Take it with You

Scenic Design (Musical)
* Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris
David Rockwell, On the Twentieth Century
Michael Yeargan, The King and I
David Zinn, Fun Home

Costume Design (Play)
Bob Crowley, The Audience
Janea Greenwood, You Can't Take it with You
* Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Zinn, Airline Highway

Costume Design (Musical)
Gregg Barnes, Something Rotten!
Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
William Ivey Long, On the Twentieth Century
* Catherine Zuber, The King and I

Lighting Design (Play)
* Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Paule Constable and David Plater, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Natasha Katz, Skylight
Japhy Weideman, Airline  Highway

Lighting Design (Musical)
Donald Holder, The King and I
Natasha Katz, An American in Paris
* Ben Stanton, Fun Home
Japhy Weideman, The Visit

Direction (Play)
Stephen Daldry, Skylight
* Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Scott Ellis, You Can't Take it with You
Jeremy Herrin, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Hand to God

Direction (Musical)
* Sam Gold, Fun Home
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
John Rando, On the Town
Bartlett Sher, The King and I
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Choreography
Joshua Bergasse, On the Town
Christopher Gattelli, The King and I
Scott Graham & Steven  Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
* Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Orchestrations
* Christopher Austin, Dan Sebesky, Bill Elliott, An American in Paris
John Clancy, Fun Home
Larry Hochman, Something Rotten!
Rob Mathes, The Last Ship

If you'd like to fill out your own ballot, you can print one out through the Tony Awards website at http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/2015_Printable_Ballot.pdf.

Dutch Apple's Les Misérables is Sure to Impress

There were no empty chairs at empty tables in the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre this past weekend, and there's a good reason for that. Dutch Apple's production of the classic musical Les Misérables opened over the weekend and proved to be a top notch show filled with a stellar cast that is sure to impress.

Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, Les Misérables follows prisoner 24601, a.k.a. Jean Valjean, as he is released from 19 years in prison. Upon his release, Valjean immediately gets caught stealing silver from the Bishop of Digne, but the Bishop's kindness encourages Valjean to seek a better life.

The show doesn't waste any time proving its talent. The opening "Prologue" features a strong ensemble of male voices, quickly followed by the impressive talent of Jacob Waid in the lead role of Jean Valjean. Waid's operatic voice is a perfect fit for this demanding role, and the audience is treated to an award-worthy performance from him. His vocals are impeccable, as demonstrated in songs like "Bring Him Home," and his acting talent is equally impressive. Also quick to impress with vocal talent is Amanda Kuchinski, who plays Fantine. She showcases her flawless voice in her beautiful performance of "I Dreamed a Dream." Her acting isn't quite on par with her singing, and if I'm being really critical I wasn't a fan of the wigs that she wore, but her voice is so good that it's easy to look past this.

In the role of Javert, Adam Clough provides a performance reminiscent of Russell Crowe in the 2012 movie version of Les Misérables, with the only major difference being that Clough is actually good. Other notable performances include John Anker Bow in the role of Thernardier and Maya Naff as Eponine. Both Bow and Naff have solid acting talent with the voices to match. Additionally, the ensemble as a whole is extremely talented, and the company numbers are a highlight of the show. Supporting cast members also provide quality performances that aren't quite as impressive as those of Waid, but nonetheless are good fits for the show.

While the talented cast of this production far outweighs the show's weaknesses, there are a few areas that don't quite live up to the high quality that the overall production provides. For starters, the set -- while visually appealing -- is extremely loud. Often during a quiet start of a solo or song, the set is loudly rolled on or off the stage, providing an unwelcome distraction. Another downfall to the show is the orchestra. With a small orchestra consisting only of trumpet, trombone, reeds, and percussion, the show features a mix of live and recorded music. The recorded music is often a welcome treat due to an unacceptable number of missed notes by the live musicians, most consistently the trumpet player. With a cast as talented as this one, it's unfortunate that the orchestra isn't of comparable quality. But in spite of its few weaknesses, the show comes through and ultimately treats the audience to a spectacular production.

At the end of the day, Dutch Apple's production of Les Misérables is a not-to-be missed performance full of talent. Les Miz veterans will be pleased with the quality of this show, while first-timers will be given a first-rate introduction to the renowned musical.  

Les Misérables plays at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre May 7 through June 13, 2015. Additional details and ticket information can be found at www.dutchapple.com.

The Illusionists – Live From Broadway – Coming to Hershey Theatre

The world’s best-selling touring magic show, The Illusionists – Live From Broadway, will take the stage at Hershey Theatre on Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4. 

Tickets for this show are $29.00, $55.00, $65.00 and $75.00 (processing fees apply). They are available at Hershey Theatre Box Office. They can be charged by phone at 717-534-3405 or 800-745-3000, and online at www.HersheyEntertainment.com or www.TicketMaster.com. 

Having shattered box office records around the world, The Illusionists – Live From Broadway is now touring the United States. This mind-blowing spectacular showcases the jaw-dropping talents of five of the most incredible illusionists on earth. Full of hilarious magic tricks, death-defying stunts and acts of breathtaking wonder, The Illusionists have dazzled audiences of all ages. Creative Producer Simon Painter said, “We can’t wait to bring this electrifying show on the road for a truly entertaining experience for the whole family. The Illusionists is the most non-stop and powerful mix of outrageous and astonishing acts ever to be seen on the live stage.” 

For more information, please visit www.TheIllusionistsLive.com.

'Chess The Musical' Comes to Lancaster

PRiMA is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the musical Chess with their upcoming main stage production. The show plays Sundays, May 17, 24 & 31, at 7:00 p.m. at Willow Valley Communities Cultural Center Theatre.

By the composers of Mamma Mia and the lyricist of Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, this intense story is woven together in what Time Magazine calls "one of the best rock scores ever produced." Featuring songs like "Anthem" and "One Night in Bangkok," Chess has a cult following for its classical music mixed with pop rock.

When the original concept album of Chess was produced, the Cold War was not far from the minds of the American public. The story follows Russian and American chess-playing rivals (loosely based on characters surrounding the historical Bobby Fischer) and their mutual love interest, Florence Vassy, whose estranged father is either imprisoned or dead at the hands of the Russian army.

PRiMA’s production focuses on telling the story of Chess through a contemporary lens, as international tensions continue to be relevant, 30 years after the musical was written. “These political rivalries mirror the interplay on a personal level, as characters use each other to their own ends, destroying themselves and each other as they progress,” says PRiMA’s Executive Producer and Director of Chess, Mitch Nugent. "We see the damage done when people use each other like pawns, but also that even the person who’s made a million mistakes always has the option to choose a more selfless path."

Tickets ($22, $38, $50) are available at primatheatre.org or 717.327.5124.

(L-R) Jay Poff, Bethany Swiontek, and Bryon Smith will star in PRiMA's upcoming production of Chess.

2015 Tony Awards Nominee Predictions

The snow has all melted. The trees and flowers are starting to bloom. Robins are searching for the perfect nesting place. All this can only mean one thing... It's Tony Awards season!

At 8:30am tomorrow (April 28), Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker will co-host this year's Tony nominations announcement in a live webcast. And before the nominees are revealed, I like to make my predictions of which productions I think will be up for nomination this year.

Starting with the category of Best Play, here are the shows I predict will hear their names called tomorrow morning:

• The Audience
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
• Disgraced
• Hand-to-God
• Wolf Hall Parts One & Two

Here are my picks in the category of Best Musical:

• Finding Neverland
• Fun Home
• It Shoulda Been You
• Something Rotten
• The Visit

In the category of Best Revival of a Play, my picks are:

• The Elephant Man
• It's Only a Play
• Love Letters
• This Is Our Youth

And finally, in the category of Best Revival of a Musical, I'm betting on:

• On the Town
• On the Twentieth Century
• Side Show

What are your thoughts? Have you seen any shows that you're sure will get nominated (or win!) this year?

For a complete list of eligible productions or information on tuning into the live announcement tomorrow morning, please visit the Tony Awards website.

Stay Tuned!

There's an event coming up in NYC next week that's held annually by the Commercial Theater Institute. It's a 3-day course that focuses entirely on producing theatre. Networking opportunities, presentations by Broadway producers, panels covering various areas of producing... Sounds amazing, right? Well I haven't even told you the best part... I'M GOING TO IT!!!

Can you tell I'm just a little bit excited? I feel like a little kid gearing up for a trip to Disneyland.

Remember back in January when I shared my goal/dream to produce my own show(s)? I know I haven't posted much more about that, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten about it. In fact, it's the exact opposite. Over the past few months I've been busy taking steps to get this process started and make my dream a reality. And attending the CTI 3-Day Producing Intensive is just one of these steps.

Now, I should probably tell you that I'm not a very patient person. I'm working on it, but for the most part when I set my mind to something I want it to happen immediately. So these past few months have been absolute torture for me. As more and more ideas for new and buzz-worthy musical theatre experiences pile up in my head, all I've wanted to do is make them happen. But something like a new musical with unique and innovative aspects doesn't happen overnight. Of course I knew this going into this. But that doesn't make it any easier to sit back and wait for things to fall into place.

I'm really hoping to come back from New York next weekend with a clear path of how to get from point A to point Z. Actually, I might be at point B right now, but I'm still a long way away from point Z. Anyway, I'm hoping this CTI program answers many of my questions, aligns me with some people who are on the same page as I am, and gives me the direction I need to get my ideas on a stage. While I've spent hours upon hours slowly inching toward my dream of producing, my hope is that the CTI program is the boost I need to really send Row L Seat 1 Productions on its way to producing unique musical theatre experiences.

So for now, all I can say is stay tuned! I hope to have some exciting updates for you soon. As always, thanks for reading and for your continued support!

~Kim

How can I keep calm when I'm going to the CTI 3-Day Intensive in just ONE WEEK?!?!