Blickenstaff, Clow, Lewis, Murney & More Cast In FIRST YOU DREAM: The Kander And Ebb Concert 9/10-27 At Signature Theater

Eric Schaeffer, Artistic Director of the Tony Award®-winning Signature Theatre, today announced casting for the world premiere theater event "First You Dream": The Kander & Ebb Concert, September 10 through 27, 2009. First Your Dream spotlights Broadway stars Heidi Blickenstaff (The Little Mermaid, [title of show], and D.C.'s Helen Hayes Award winner for Meet John Doe), James Clow (Assassins, Company, and Peter Pan's Captain Hook opposite Cathy Rigby), Norm Lewis (The Little Mermaid, Les Misérables, and the title role in Signature's Sweeney Todd), Julia Murney (Wicked, The Wild Party, and Lucille Lortel nominee for Time and Again), Matthew Scott (Jersey Boys, A Catered Affair, and the title role in Signature's Ace), and Signature favorite Eleasha Gamble (Into the Woods, Urinetown, and the Sondheim Award Gala).

Two of musical theater's leading creative talents will contribute to First You Dream: Tony Award-winning orchestrator William David Brohn (Wicked, Miss Saigon, Ragtime), who will create new orchestrations, and David Loud (Curtains, Steel Pier, And the World Goes ‘Round), who provides musical supervision and vocal arrangements. Eric Schaeffer will direct and Signature's resident musical director Jon Kalbfleisch will conduct, with lighting designs by Mark Lanks, costume coordination by Kathleen Geldard, and choreography by Karma Camp.

With First You Dream Signature continues its intimate relationship with the works of the great Broadway songwriting team of Fred Ebb and John Kander which received national attention during Signature's acclaimed 2008 Kander & Ebb Celebration. This world premiere theater event will feature music from 15 of Kander and Ebb's musicals and movies, starting from their 1965 musical Flora, the Red Menace through hits like Cabaret and Chicago to their most recent shows, Curtains and The Visit.

Schaeffer said, "I'm thrilled to feature John and Fred's catalog of music as part of our 20th anniversary season. We've had a long relationship with these two men and it was only fitting that they be part of our celebration. First You Dream will feature songs from 15 of the shows and movies they wrote together and will focus on the brilliant words and the wonderful music. This theatrical concert promises to raise the roof of the MAX Theatre with our amazing 19-piece orchestra and a cast that includes the best of Broadway!"

First You Dream: The Kander & Ebb Concert is sponsored by the Bernard Family Foundation.

The first performance of First You Dream: The Kander & Ebb Concert on September 10 is Signature's Third Annual American Musical Concert Benefit with a special reception honoring John Kander. For more information, please contact Emily Hill at (571) 527-1828 or events@signature-theatre.org. Performances of First You Dream then continue through September 27 in Signature's MAX Theatre. Show times are Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 pm, Thursday and Friday at 8:00 pm, Saturday at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sunday at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. The press performance is Saturday, September 12 at 8:00 pm.

Tickets for First You Dream are $60 and $65 and are available by calling Ticketmaster at (703) 573-SEAT (7328) or visiting www.signature-theatre.org. Group discounts are available for parties of ten or more by contacting carlj@signature-theatre.org.

Photo credit Walter McBride