Dacal, Ritchie, Shindle, Burgess, Llana, Mason, Staudenmayer to Star in WONDERLAND

The cast of WONDERLAND - A New Alice. A New Musical will star Janet Dacal (In The Heights), Darren Ritchie (Little Shop of Horrors, Thoroughly Modern Millie), Tituss Burgess (Jersey Boys, Little Mermaid), Jose Llana (Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song), Karen Mason (Hairspray, Mamma Mia!), Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde, Cabaret, Jekyll and Hyde) and Edward Staudenmayer (Spamalot, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me). Directed by Gregory Boyd, with a book by Gregory Boyd and Jack Murphy, lyrics by Jack Murphy, music by Frank Wildhorn and choreography by Marguerite Derricks, WONDERLAND will open at Broadway's Marquis Theatre on Sunday, April 17, 2011, and performances will begin Monday, March 21.

WONDERLAND - A New Alice. A New Musical will play a pre-Broadway engagement at the Ferguson Hall at the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts (Judy Lisi, President and CEO) in Tampa, Florida January 4 through January 16, 2011.

The ensemble includes April Berry, Sae La Chin, Dan Domenech, Mallauri Esquibel, Derek Ferguson, Lauren Lim Jackson, Morgan James, Stefan Raulston, Julius Anthony Rubio and Danny Stiles.

The design team is comprised of Neil Patel (set), Susan Hilferty (costume), Paul Gallo (lighting) and Sven Ortel (video and projection).

WONDERLAND is the first production of the Broadway Genesis Project, an initiative by the Straz Center for the Performing Arts to develop and prepare new musical theater for Broadway. From a show's inception to final staging, the Project provides a safe and nourishing environment in a state-of-the-art complex with artistic, technical and administrative resources.

WONDERLAND was optioned by Judy Lisi, CEO of the Straz Center, and was subsequently produced as its world premiere at the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, FL this past December. In association with the Alley Theatre in Houston, TX, in January of 2010, the show was transferred for further development, becoming one of the highest grossing shows in that theater's history.

A new spin on the classic story of Alice and her Looking-Glass world, WONDERLAND is about a modern-day woman who goes on a life-changing adventure far below the streets of New York City, where a colorful cast of strange but familiar characters help her rediscover what's really important. Featuring a fresh, contemporary pop score from the creator of Jekyll and Hyde, WONDERLAND arrives on Broadway this spring following two sold-out national stage premieres.

WONDERLAND will be produced on Broadway by the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts (Judy Lisi, President and CEO), William Franzblau and Nederlander Presentations, Inc.

Broadway ticket information will be announced soon.

Tampa Ticket Information:
Tickets for WONDERLAND - A New Alice. A New Musical may be purchased by calling 813.229.STAR (7827) or 800.955.1045 outside Tampa Bay, in person at the Straz Center Ticket Office or online at www.strazcenter.org

For more information about the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts and its upcoming events, please visit www.strazcenter.org

The WONDERLAND Concept CD is available through ITUNES from SONY Masterworks.

For more information, log on to www.WonderlandOnBroadway.com

BIOGRAPHIES:

Janet Dacal (Alice) is overjoyed and grateful to create the role of Alice in Frank Wildhorn's Wonderland. She just recently finished her run with In The Heights, playing the lead as Nina Rosario, after having originated the role of Carla in the original Off-Broadway and Broadway productions. Broadway: Good Vibrations. Off-Broadway: Byzantium. Regional: Señor Discretion Himself (Arena Stage); Five Course Love (Carbonell nomination); Four Guys Named Jose; Annie and others (Actors' Playhouse). Recordings and tours for various Grammy-winning artists, including Gloria Estefan, Jon Secada and Luis Enrique.

Darren Ritchie (White Knight, Jack/Lewis Carroll) is thrilled to continue down the rabbit hole in Wonderland, his sixth Broadway show. Other credits: Bells Are Ringing, Les Miserables, Dracula, Little Shop of Horrors and Thoroughly Modern Millie. National Tours: Fame The Musical and Little Shop of Horrors. Original workshops: The 60's Project, Altar Boyz, Me and Mrs. Jones and Ghost the Musical, opening on the West End this Spring. Television: Law& Order SVU, Fox News Half -Hour News Hour, Days of Our Lives, Guiding Light, and starred in the CBS pilot Stroller Wars, opposite Tiffani Amber Thiessan. Numerous regional theatre credits, TV commercials and voiceovers. Vocal recordings for award-winning composers Glen Ballard, Dave Stewart and Alan Silvestri. He is represented by Barry McPhearson of APA and Danielle Dell of D2 Management.

Tituss Burgess (Caterpillar) recently starred as Nicely-Nicely in the Broadway revival of Guys & Dolls. Original Broadway casts: Sebastian in Disney's The Little Mermaid, HAl Miller in Jersey Boys, Eddie in Good Vibrations. Regional: The Wiz (La Jolla), Songs for a New World (Music Center at Strathmore), Jesus Christ Superstar (Kansas City Starlight). Television: "The View," "The Today Show," "Late Night With David Letterman." BA in music from the University of Georgia. Solo CD: Here's to You available on iTunes.

Jose Llana (El Gato) most recently appeared as Adam in the World Premiere of Joe DiPietro's Falling For Eve at the York. Broadway: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, original Chip Tolentino (Drama Desk Award); Wang Ta in Flower Drum Song; Angel in RENT; Jessie-Lee in Streetcorner Symphony; and Lun Tha in The King and I. Off-Broadway: Gabey in On the Town and Adam Guettel's Saturn Returns, both at The Public Theater. Regional: Martin Guerre (Guillaume, Guthrie Theater), Ballad of Little Jo (Steppenwolf Theater, Jefferson Nom.), Candide (Prince Theater, Barrymore Nom.) and as El Gato in the World Premiere of Wonderland (Straz & Alley Theater). Workshops: Frank Wildhorn's Havana, Melchior in Spring Awakening (Sundance Lab) and Honor (Prospect), among others. TV/film: Sex and the City and Hitch. Cast albums and solo album, VIVA Philippines label. www.josellana.com

Karen Mason (Queen of Hearts). Broadway: Hairspray, Mamma Mia!(Drama Desk nom), Sunset Boulevard (NY, LA),Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Torch Song Trilogy. Off-Broadway: Kander and Ebb's And the World Goes Round, Carnival (Drama Desk nom), Karen Mason Sings Broadway, Beatles and Brian. Regional: Wonderland (David A.Straz PAC, The Alley-Houston), White Christmas (St. Louis Muni Opera, world premiere), Side by Side... (Coconut Grove Playhouse), Gypsy (Sundance Theatre). Awards: 10 MACs, 3 Bistros, 1 Nightlife Award. CDs: Right Here, Right Now (MAC 2009 CD of the Year), Sweetest of Nights, When The Sun Comes Out, Better Days (1998 Emmy Award), Not So Simply Broadway, Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!. TV: L&O, L&O SVU

Kate Shindle (Mad Hatter) Broadway: Legally Blonde (Vivienne), Cabaret (Sally Bowles), Jekyll and Hyde (Lucy). Elsewhere: After the Fall (Maggie) at The Alley, Restoration at La Jolla, Himself and Nora at The Old Globe, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Helena), First Lady Suite (Amelia Earhart), The Last Five Years, Gypsy, Into the Woods, The Mousetrap. She has sung everywhere from Carnegie Hall to Birdland to a dive bar in Portland, Oregon. Film/TV: Gossip Girl, White Collar, Capote, The Stepford Wives. Her writing has been published by Newsweek, salon.com, and The Advocate, and she has three different books in the works. www.kateshindle.com

Edward Staudenmayer (White Rabbit) starred in Monty Python's Spamalot in Las Vegas and played opposite Martin Short for many performances in Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me on Broadway. He's had an over 17 year association with Forbidden Broadway taking him Off-Broadway, around the world, and onto three cast recordings. He has toured in Beauty and the Beast (National Theater Award Nomination) Joseph..., and The Scarlet Pimpernel. Other credits: Cats Hamburg, The Great Ostrovsky (Barrymore Nomination), Newsical, On The Twentieth Century, and Noises Off. He was a Soloist with the Baltimore, Syracuse, Bartlesville, and Adelaide, Australia Symphonies, and provided voices for MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch.