Musical Direction by Steven Applegate
Musical Staging by Roger Castellano
Directed by Nick DeGruccio
Musical Staging by Roger Castellano
Directed by Nick DeGruccio
This is the moment….my final test….
January 25, 2008…Thousand Oaks, Calif…Cabrillo Music Theatre presents the Frank Wildhorn/Leslie Bricusse musical, JEKYLL & HYDE. Fresh from a recent three-year Broadway run, the smash hit JEKYLL & HYDE now comes to Thousand Oaks. Cabrillo’s production will feature a thirty-member cast, including some of Southern California’s most talented musical actors, and will be directed by two-time Ovation Award winner Nick DeGruccio. Musical Director Steven Applegate will lead the full professional orchestra, and Roger Castellano will handle the musical staging. JEKYLL & HYDE will open on Friday, March 7th, 2008 and run through Sunday, March 16th, for Cabrillo Music Theatre in the Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Countrywide Performing Arts Center located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.
JEKYLL & HYDE shines a new light on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale of good and evil. Set to music by Frank Wildhorn, with book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, the story is woven together with some of the most beautiful contemporary music ever written for the stage. Two of the songs, “This is the Moment,” and “Someone Like You,” have gone on to become popular standards. “Audiences who enjoy PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and LES MISERABLES will love JEKYLL & HYDE,” says Carole W. Nussbaum, Cabrillo Music Theatre’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Cabrillo’s production will surely captivate you with its fascinating blend of mystery and music.”
Starring in the title role is Southern California theatre favorite Robert J. Townsend. Robert returns to Cabrillo Music Theatre for the fifth time, having played lead roles in THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, FOREVER PLAID, ANYTHING GOES and DAMN YANKEES. Joining him are cast members Lulu Lloyd, Beth Obregon, Aaron Phillips and Douglas Crawford. JEKYLL & HYDE contains mature subject matter, and is recommended for audiences thirteen years of age and older.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
NICK DeGRUCCIO (Director) is the recipient of the LA Ovation Award for Direction of both a Play and a Musical. LA Premieres of Thrill Me (Havok Theatre Company), Zanna, Don’t! (West Coast Ensemble, 2007 LA Ovation nomination for Direction and Production) and Beehive (El Portal Theatre, nominated for five 2006 Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Awards including Direction and two 2007 LA Ovation Award Nominations), Bad Apples (World Premiere Play, Rubicon Theatre Company), The Last Five Years and I DO! I DO! in rep (The Pasadena Playhouse), The Full Monty (San Diego Music Theatre), I Left My Heart…a tribute to Tony Bennett (Welk Resort), A Man Of No Importance (LA Premiere for MTG, nominated for three 2006 Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Awards as well as a GLAAD award for Production) The Laramie Project (Laguna Playhouse having directed the LA premiere at The Colony Theatre, received three LA Ovation Awards for Best Play, Best Direction, Best Ensemble and has raised over $36,000.00 for the Matthew Shepard Foundation), LA premiere of Side Show (eight Ovation Nominations including direction, voted One of the Top 10 Plays of 2002 by The LA Times), 1776 (Performance Riverside, 2004 LA Ovation Award for Direction and the production garnered five LA Ovation Awards including Best Musical), Side By Side By Sondheim (Rubicon Theatre which was moved to The Pasadena Playhouse, 2004 LA Ovation Nominations for Production and Ensemble), The Spitfire Grill (West Coast Premiere, The Laguna Playhouse, OC Award for Best Musical), My Way (La Mirada Performing Arts Center and the Welk Resort), Guys and Dolls (Musical Theatre West, nominated for four 2005 LA Ovation Awards including Direction of a Musical), The Fantasticks (Performance Riverside), Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party (Alex Theatre, MTG), Basic Training (2nd Stage, NAACP nomination for Direction), La Cage Aux Folles (Musical Theatre West, two 2004 LA Ovation nominations), The Colony Theatre Company productions of Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, City of Angels (LA Ovation Award for Best Musical Smaller Theatre), Sondheim’s Putting It Together,(West Coast Premiere, Garland Award and LA Ovation Award nomination for Direction) and Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer, Pippin (BCLO), Two By Two and How Now Dow Jones (Musical Theatre Guild), Happily Ever After...After All (voiceovers by Angela Lansbury (9 O’clock Players), The History of The Musical Theatre in 44 Minutes and 28 Seconds (MTG, touring LA Schools).
STEVEN APPLEGATE (Musical Director) is an award-winning Musical Director, and his theatrical experiences have included: Godspell (1st national tour), The Rocky Horror Show (San Francisco production), Cabaret, Showboat, Jacques Brel, Secret Garden, Camelot, Meet Me In St. Louis, Candide (Colony Theatre), Rags, Joseph..., Can Can, Roberta, No No Nanette, Beauty and the Beast, Forever Plaid, Guys and Dolls (with Maureen McGovern and Jack Jones). Steven has been the guest conductor with the Dallas Symphony and the Denver Symphony, and has worked with such notables as: John Raitt, Sandy Duncan, Shirley Jones, Maureen McGovern, Cybil Shepherd, Jack Jones, Lorna Luft, Sally Struthers, Ken Page, and Susan Watson. In his spare time, Steven is a very sought-after record producer and arranger/orchestrator, and is also Director of Music for the Valencia United Methodist Church.
ROGER CASTELLANO (Musical Staging). JEKYLL & HYDE is Roger’s fourth production with Cabrillo Music Theatre, having directed and choreographed The Will Rogers Follies, and having choreographed The Secret Garden and The Scarlet Pimpernel. Other director/choreographer credits include Oliver!, La Cage Aux Folles, A Little Night Music (all receiving the Drama-Logue Award), Me & My Girl (Los Angeles Times Critic’s Pick for MTW), A Chorus Line (Arizona’s “ariZoni Theatre Award”), Five productions of The Will Rogers Follies, and six seasons with the award winning Music Theatre of Wichita. Credits there include The Will Rogers Follies, Footloose, Me and My Girl, Seussical, The Wizard of Oz, and Disney’s High School Musical, and performed in Once Upon A Mattress, A Chorus Line, and as Lumiere in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. (Mary Jane Teall Theatre Award - Outstanding Guest Artist).
ABOUT THE CAST
ROBERT TOWNSEND (Jekyll/Hyde). For the past year, Robert has been touring the country (with his wife Jill) as Sir Sagramore in the national tour of Camelot. He is thrilled to be back with Cabrillo Music Theatre, where he has had the pleasure of performing as Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, Billy Crocker in Anything Goes, Frankie in Forever Plaid, and most recently as Sir Percival Blakeney in the swashbuckling The Scarlet Pimpernel. Robert's other selected credits include: National/International Tour: Grease (Kenickie/Roger); Regional: Guys and Dolls (Sky Masterson), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Trevor Graydon), Grand Hotel (Baron von Gaigern), Into the Woods (Rapunzel's Prince), The Last Five Years (Jamie), Miss Saigon (Chris), Beauty and the Beast (The Beast), Sweeney Todd (Anthony),Oklahoma! (Curly), I Love You, You're Perfect... (Man#1). Proud member of Actor's Equity Association and the Musical Theatre Guild.
LULU LLOYD (Lucy) is a proud member of Actors Equity. Recent credits include The Full Monty at Musical Theatre West and a 2006 Company Membership at Sierra Repertory Theatre where she played The Narrator in Joseph...Dreamcoat, Lizzie in Baby, Georgie in The Full Monty, Ado Annie in Oklahoma, Herself in Back to Bacharach and Elizabeth in Paint Your Wagon, among others. She has also performed in her native San Diego at The Starlight Bowl and Lyric Opera.
BETH OBREGON (Emma) returns to the Cabrillo stage, having appeared three years ago as Maria in West Side Story. Her regional credits include: Belle in Beauty and the Beast (Glendale), Marion Paroo in The Music Man (Candlelight), Julie LaVerne in Show Boat and Chava in Fiddler on the Roof (Welk), Kate in The Pirates of Penzance (MTW), Rizzo in Grease (Moonlight), Tuptim in The King & I (Poway), and Susan in Company; Mrs. Andersen in A Little Night Music; and the Snake in Children of Eden (all at Performance Riverside). She has also had the pleasure of singing for Holland America Cruise Lines, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Musical Theater Guild, as well as working her day job at the Disneyland Resort. This summer Beth was seen on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” singing backup for “Britain’s Got Talent” star Paul Potts.
ABOUT THE PRICING AND SCHEDULE
JEKYLL & HYDE will open on Friday, March 7, 2008 and run through Sunday, March 16. Performances are Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8:00pm; Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00pm and Sunday, March 9 at 7:00pm. A post-show discussion with cast, staff and audience will follow the Saturday, March 8th, 2:00pm performance. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at the Countrywide Performing Arts Center Box Office located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks or through any Ticketmaster location or by phone (805) 583-8700. For groups of 12 or more, please call Group Sales, Cabrillo Music Theatre at (805) 497-8615. Ticket prices range from $36 – $64. For ticket and theatre information, call (805) 449-ARTS (2787).
CABRILLO MUSIC THEATRE is located at the Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Countrywide Performing Arts Center, 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.
To schedule press interviews, photos, press comps or for additional information, please contact David Elzer/DEMAND PR at (818) 508-1754 or by e-mail at ELZERD@aol.com or visit http://www.demandpr.com/.
(more)
Cabrillo Music Theatre is the resident musical theatre company of the Countrywide Performing Arts Center at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is a non-profit theatre group. For over three decades, Cabrillo has been enriching the cultural life of Ventura County and its surrounding areas by providing an extraordinary performing arts experience through live, Broadway-quality productions of musical theatre. It is Cabrillo’s mission to provide the highest quality musical experience, to foster educational opportunities, and to promote cultural and artistic enrichment to enhance the quality of life in our community. To this end, Cabrillo Music Theatre has established the Adopt-A-School and ADOPT-A-SENIOR programs. Since the inceptions of these programs, more than 5,000 children, seniors and others in need have enjoyed Cabrillo Music Theatre’s productions at no charge. With the ADOPT-A-SCHOOL and ADOPT-A-SENIOR programs, Cabrillo makes live theatre accessible to children and seniors who otherwise may never have the opportunity to experience a live musical theatre performance. For more information about Cabrillo Music Theatre’s outreach programs, contact Carole W. Nussbaum, President/Chief Executive Officer at (805) 497-8613.
January 25, 2008…Thousand Oaks, Calif…Cabrillo Music Theatre presents the Frank Wildhorn/Leslie Bricusse musical, JEKYLL & HYDE. Fresh from a recent three-year Broadway run, the smash hit JEKYLL & HYDE now comes to Thousand Oaks. Cabrillo’s production will feature a thirty-member cast, including some of Southern California’s most talented musical actors, and will be directed by two-time Ovation Award winner Nick DeGruccio. Musical Director Steven Applegate will lead the full professional orchestra, and Roger Castellano will handle the musical staging. JEKYLL & HYDE will open on Friday, March 7th, 2008 and run through Sunday, March 16th, for Cabrillo Music Theatre in the Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Countrywide Performing Arts Center located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.
JEKYLL & HYDE shines a new light on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale of good and evil. Set to music by Frank Wildhorn, with book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, the story is woven together with some of the most beautiful contemporary music ever written for the stage. Two of the songs, “This is the Moment,” and “Someone Like You,” have gone on to become popular standards. “Audiences who enjoy PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and LES MISERABLES will love JEKYLL & HYDE,” says Carole W. Nussbaum, Cabrillo Music Theatre’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Cabrillo’s production will surely captivate you with its fascinating blend of mystery and music.”
Starring in the title role is Southern California theatre favorite Robert J. Townsend. Robert returns to Cabrillo Music Theatre for the fifth time, having played lead roles in THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, FOREVER PLAID, ANYTHING GOES and DAMN YANKEES. Joining him are cast members Lulu Lloyd, Beth Obregon, Aaron Phillips and Douglas Crawford. JEKYLL & HYDE contains mature subject matter, and is recommended for audiences thirteen years of age and older.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
NICK DeGRUCCIO (Director) is the recipient of the LA Ovation Award for Direction of both a Play and a Musical. LA Premieres of Thrill Me (Havok Theatre Company), Zanna, Don’t! (West Coast Ensemble, 2007 LA Ovation nomination for Direction and Production) and Beehive (El Portal Theatre, nominated for five 2006 Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Awards including Direction and two 2007 LA Ovation Award Nominations), Bad Apples (World Premiere Play, Rubicon Theatre Company), The Last Five Years and I DO! I DO! in rep (The Pasadena Playhouse), The Full Monty (San Diego Music Theatre), I Left My Heart…a tribute to Tony Bennett (Welk Resort), A Man Of No Importance (LA Premiere for MTG, nominated for three 2006 Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Awards as well as a GLAAD award for Production) The Laramie Project (Laguna Playhouse having directed the LA premiere at The Colony Theatre, received three LA Ovation Awards for Best Play, Best Direction, Best Ensemble and has raised over $36,000.00 for the Matthew Shepard Foundation), LA premiere of Side Show (eight Ovation Nominations including direction, voted One of the Top 10 Plays of 2002 by The LA Times), 1776 (Performance Riverside, 2004 LA Ovation Award for Direction and the production garnered five LA Ovation Awards including Best Musical), Side By Side By Sondheim (Rubicon Theatre which was moved to The Pasadena Playhouse, 2004 LA Ovation Nominations for Production and Ensemble), The Spitfire Grill (West Coast Premiere, The Laguna Playhouse, OC Award for Best Musical), My Way (La Mirada Performing Arts Center and the Welk Resort), Guys and Dolls (Musical Theatre West, nominated for four 2005 LA Ovation Awards including Direction of a Musical), The Fantasticks (Performance Riverside), Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party (Alex Theatre, MTG), Basic Training (2nd Stage, NAACP nomination for Direction), La Cage Aux Folles (Musical Theatre West, two 2004 LA Ovation nominations), The Colony Theatre Company productions of Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, City of Angels (LA Ovation Award for Best Musical Smaller Theatre), Sondheim’s Putting It Together,(West Coast Premiere, Garland Award and LA Ovation Award nomination for Direction) and Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer, Pippin (BCLO), Two By Two and How Now Dow Jones (Musical Theatre Guild), Happily Ever After...After All (voiceovers by Angela Lansbury (9 O’clock Players), The History of The Musical Theatre in 44 Minutes and 28 Seconds (MTG, touring LA Schools).
STEVEN APPLEGATE (Musical Director) is an award-winning Musical Director, and his theatrical experiences have included: Godspell (1st national tour), The Rocky Horror Show (San Francisco production), Cabaret, Showboat, Jacques Brel, Secret Garden, Camelot, Meet Me In St. Louis, Candide (Colony Theatre), Rags, Joseph..., Can Can, Roberta, No No Nanette, Beauty and the Beast, Forever Plaid, Guys and Dolls (with Maureen McGovern and Jack Jones). Steven has been the guest conductor with the Dallas Symphony and the Denver Symphony, and has worked with such notables as: John Raitt, Sandy Duncan, Shirley Jones, Maureen McGovern, Cybil Shepherd, Jack Jones, Lorna Luft, Sally Struthers, Ken Page, and Susan Watson. In his spare time, Steven is a very sought-after record producer and arranger/orchestrator, and is also Director of Music for the Valencia United Methodist Church.
ROGER CASTELLANO (Musical Staging). JEKYLL & HYDE is Roger’s fourth production with Cabrillo Music Theatre, having directed and choreographed The Will Rogers Follies, and having choreographed The Secret Garden and The Scarlet Pimpernel. Other director/choreographer credits include Oliver!, La Cage Aux Folles, A Little Night Music (all receiving the Drama-Logue Award), Me & My Girl (Los Angeles Times Critic’s Pick for MTW), A Chorus Line (Arizona’s “ariZoni Theatre Award”), Five productions of The Will Rogers Follies, and six seasons with the award winning Music Theatre of Wichita. Credits there include The Will Rogers Follies, Footloose, Me and My Girl, Seussical, The Wizard of Oz, and Disney’s High School Musical, and performed in Once Upon A Mattress, A Chorus Line, and as Lumiere in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. (Mary Jane Teall Theatre Award - Outstanding Guest Artist).
ABOUT THE CAST
ROBERT TOWNSEND (Jekyll/Hyde). For the past year, Robert has been touring the country (with his wife Jill) as Sir Sagramore in the national tour of Camelot. He is thrilled to be back with Cabrillo Music Theatre, where he has had the pleasure of performing as Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, Billy Crocker in Anything Goes, Frankie in Forever Plaid, and most recently as Sir Percival Blakeney in the swashbuckling The Scarlet Pimpernel. Robert's other selected credits include: National/International Tour: Grease (Kenickie/Roger); Regional: Guys and Dolls (Sky Masterson), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Trevor Graydon), Grand Hotel (Baron von Gaigern), Into the Woods (Rapunzel's Prince), The Last Five Years (Jamie), Miss Saigon (Chris), Beauty and the Beast (The Beast), Sweeney Todd (Anthony),Oklahoma! (Curly), I Love You, You're Perfect... (Man#1). Proud member of Actor's Equity Association and the Musical Theatre Guild.
LULU LLOYD (Lucy) is a proud member of Actors Equity. Recent credits include The Full Monty at Musical Theatre West and a 2006 Company Membership at Sierra Repertory Theatre where she played The Narrator in Joseph...Dreamcoat, Lizzie in Baby, Georgie in The Full Monty, Ado Annie in Oklahoma, Herself in Back to Bacharach and Elizabeth in Paint Your Wagon, among others. She has also performed in her native San Diego at The Starlight Bowl and Lyric Opera.
BETH OBREGON (Emma) returns to the Cabrillo stage, having appeared three years ago as Maria in West Side Story. Her regional credits include: Belle in Beauty and the Beast (Glendale), Marion Paroo in The Music Man (Candlelight), Julie LaVerne in Show Boat and Chava in Fiddler on the Roof (Welk), Kate in The Pirates of Penzance (MTW), Rizzo in Grease (Moonlight), Tuptim in The King & I (Poway), and Susan in Company; Mrs. Andersen in A Little Night Music; and the Snake in Children of Eden (all at Performance Riverside). She has also had the pleasure of singing for Holland America Cruise Lines, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Musical Theater Guild, as well as working her day job at the Disneyland Resort. This summer Beth was seen on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” singing backup for “Britain’s Got Talent” star Paul Potts.
ABOUT THE PRICING AND SCHEDULE
JEKYLL & HYDE will open on Friday, March 7, 2008 and run through Sunday, March 16. Performances are Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8:00pm; Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00pm and Sunday, March 9 at 7:00pm. A post-show discussion with cast, staff and audience will follow the Saturday, March 8th, 2:00pm performance. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at the Countrywide Performing Arts Center Box Office located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks or through any Ticketmaster location or by phone (805) 583-8700. For groups of 12 or more, please call Group Sales, Cabrillo Music Theatre at (805) 497-8615. Ticket prices range from $36 – $64. For ticket and theatre information, call (805) 449-ARTS (2787).
CABRILLO MUSIC THEATRE is located at the Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Countrywide Performing Arts Center, 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.
To schedule press interviews, photos, press comps or for additional information, please contact David Elzer/DEMAND PR at (818) 508-1754 or by e-mail at ELZERD@aol.com or visit http://www.demandpr.com/.
(more)
Cabrillo Music Theatre is the resident musical theatre company of the Countrywide Performing Arts Center at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is a non-profit theatre group. For over three decades, Cabrillo has been enriching the cultural life of Ventura County and its surrounding areas by providing an extraordinary performing arts experience through live, Broadway-quality productions of musical theatre. It is Cabrillo’s mission to provide the highest quality musical experience, to foster educational opportunities, and to promote cultural and artistic enrichment to enhance the quality of life in our community. To this end, Cabrillo Music Theatre has established the Adopt-A-School and ADOPT-A-SENIOR programs. Since the inceptions of these programs, more than 5,000 children, seniors and others in need have enjoyed Cabrillo Music Theatre’s productions at no charge. With the ADOPT-A-SCHOOL and ADOPT-A-SENIOR programs, Cabrillo makes live theatre accessible to children and seniors who otherwise may never have the opportunity to experience a live musical theatre performance. For more information about Cabrillo Music Theatre’s outreach programs, contact Carole W. Nussbaum, President/Chief Executive Officer at (805) 497-8613.
