Raymond J. Lee (Mamma Mia!) has joined the cast of the benefit concert performance of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical INTO THE WOODS on October 11 at the Engelman RecitAl Hall at Baruch Performing Arts Center (55 Lexington Ave.) in Manhattan. He will be performing the role of "Jack" in the one night only fundraiser.
Directed by Alan Muraoka, the all Asian American cast of INTO THE WOODS features Ann Harada ("Avenue Q"), Jose Llana ("Putnam County Spelling Bee"), Raymond J. Lee ("Mamma Mia!"), Jason Ma (NAATCO's "Falsettoland"), Orville Mendoza (NAATCO's "Seagull"), Manu Narayan ("Bombay Dreams"), Olivia Oguma ("High School Musical"), Eileen Rivera ("Dogeaters"), Virginia Wing (NAATCO's "Ivanov") and Anne Fraser Thomas.
With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by James Lapine, INTO THE WOODS debuted on Broadway in 1987 in a production directed by Mr. Lapine, winning Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score. The musical was revived on Broadway in 2002. INTO THE WOODS is a musical adaptation of several stories from the legendary Brothers Grimm fairy tales, including "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella," "Rapunzel," and "Jack and the Beanstalk."
The Obie Award-winning National Asian American Theatre Company - under artistic director Mia Katigbak - is one of the country's leading Asian American performing arts organizations, begun 21 years ago to provide opportunities for Asian American theatre artists, particularly for actors to perform roles in Western classics for which they would typically not be cast.
Tickets to INTO THE WOODS are $125, $250, $500 and $1000 and can be reserved starting September 23 at www.theatermania.com 212 352 3101.
For more information on INTO THE WOODS or NAATCO, visit http://www.naatco.org
