Fontana, Conlee, Rossmer & More Set For Powerhouse Theater's Martel Musicals

Vassar & New York Stage and Film's Powerhouse Theater is pleased to announce the casts of the two Martel Musicals presented during the 2010 season: BONFIRE NIGHT (July 16 - 18) and ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER (July 29 - August 1).

A rousing band of English Catholics revolt against a tyrannical King James in the new musical BONFIRE NIGHT, with book, music, and lyrics by Justin Levine, directed by Obie winner Alex Timbers (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson). This true story of Guy Fawkes and the 1605 Gunpowder Plot is illuminated by a score that blends jazz, pop, rock, and gospel. The cast will feature Drama Desk Award winner Santino Fontana (Billy Elliot, Sunday in the Park with George) and Tony Award nominee John Ellison Conlee (The Constant Wife, The Full Monty), David Rossmer (Children and Art, Fiddler on the Roof, Titanic), Jonathan B. Wright (Spring Awakening), Robert Petkoff (Ragtime, Spamalot, Fiddler on the Roof), Charlie Pollack (Urinetown), Greg Hildreth (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), Demond Green (The Toxic Avenger), and Michael Izquierdo (The Miracle Worker, Taking Woodstock). Presented as a concert reading, there will be three performances only of BONFIRE NIGHT, July 16 - July 18.

Familiar tunes, including "Come Back to Me" and "What Did I Have That I Don't Have," along with a surprising new twist will delight Powerhouse audiences in the re-imagined ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, music by Burton Lane, with new book by Peter Parnell, based on the original book by Alan Jay Lerner, reincarnated and directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (American Idiot, Spring Awakening, Side Man). The cast will include Tony nominee Brian D'Arcy James (Time Stands Still, Next To Normal, Shrek The Musical, Sweet Smell of Success), Tony winner Anika Noni Rose (Caroline, or Change; Dreamgirls; The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency; Disney's The Princess & The Frog), David Turner (The Invention of Love, Sunday in the Park with George, The Ritz, In My Life), Kerry O'Malley (Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Into the Woods revival, Billy Elliot), Colin Hanlon (Rent, Pirates of Penzance, I Love You Because), and Sarah Stiles (Avenue Q, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee). Presented as a concert reading, there will be four performances only of ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER, July 29 - August 1.

For further information, call the box office at (845) 437-7235 or (845) 437-5599, see the website http://powerhouse.vassar.edu, friend Powerhouse on Facebook®, or follow Powerhouse on Twitter®.

July 16 - 18
BONFIRE NIGHT
Book, music, and lyrics by Justin Levine
Directed by Alex Timbers
Musical supervision by Kimberly Grigsby
A scrappy, hilarious, and thought-provoking musical romp through history, the all-male company of BONFIRE NIGHT will include John Ellison Conlee, Pierce Cravens, Greg Hildreth, Santino Fontana, Desmond Green, Michael Izquierdo, Robert Petkoff, Charlie Pollack, Devere Rogers, David Rossmer, Ian Unterman, and Jonathan B. Wright.
The Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film / Martel Theater, $30
Performance dates and times: July 16, 17 at 8:00pm, July 18 at 2:00

July 29 - August 1
ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER
Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music by Burton Lane
New book by Peter Parnell, based on the original book by Alan Jay Lerner
Musical direction and arrangements by Lawrence Yurman
Choreography by JoAnn Hunter
Reincarnated and directed by Michael Mayer
The company of Lerner and Lane's musical tale of love that spans eras will include Heather Ayers, Saum Eskandani, Constantine Germanacos, Colin Hanlon, KendAl Hartse, Brian D'Arcy James, Paul O'Brien, Kerry O'Malley, Zach Prince, Anika Noni Rose, Sarah Stiles, David Turner, and Lori Wilner.
The Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film / Martel Theater, $30
Performance dates and times: July 29, 30 at 8:00pm, August 1 at 2:00 and 7:00pm

The Powerhouse Theater Season, June 25 - August 1, 2010
Powerhouse Theater, now beginning its 26th season, continues its mission to offer a haven for world-class artists to gather and explore new material in an atmosphere that is both protected and challenging. Each season Powerhouse offers its audience debuts by Pulitzer, Oscar, and Tony-winning writers, directors, and actors, and introduces its patrons to exciting emerging artists, all at affordable ticket prices.

The 2010 season includes fully produced and designed productions on the Powerhouse Mainstage:

WE ARE HERE (June 29 - July 11) by Tracy Thorne, directed by Tony nominee Sheryl Kaller (Next Fall), featuring Uzo Aduba (Coram Boy), Tony nominee de'Adre Aziza (Passing Strange), Tony winner Adriane Lenox (Doubt, Chicago, Caroline, or Change), Larry Pine (The Seagull, End of the World, Roy Cohn in Angels in America), Adam Rothenberg (The Retributionists, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea), and Michael Cummings (Joe Turner's Come and Gone).

PIRATE (July 21 - August 1) written and directed by John Patrick Shanley (cast to be announced).

Martel Musicals:

BONFIRE NIGHT (July 16 - 18) with book, music, and lyrics by Justin Levine, directed by Obie winner Alex Timbers (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), and musical supervision by Kimberly Grigsby, features Santino Fontana (Billy Elliot, Sunday in the Park with George) and TonyAward nominee John Ellison Conlee (The Constant Wife, The Full Monty)

ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER (July 29 - August 1) lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, music by Burton Lane, with new book by Peter Parnell, based on the original book by Alan Jay Lerner, musical direction and arrangements by Lawrence Yurman, choreography by JoAnne Hunter, reincarnated and directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer, featuring Tony nominee Brian D'Arcy James (Time Stands Still, Next To Normal, Shrek The Musical) and Tony winner Anika Noni Rose (Caroline, or Change; Dreamgirls)

Inside Look series of workshops:

SAM BENDRIX AT THE BON SOIR (July 1 - 3) by Keith Bunin, directed by Mark Rucker, featuring Luke MacFarlane from ABC's Brothers and Sisters

A LONG AND HAPPY LIFE (July 9 - 11) by Bekah Brunstetter, directed by Pippin Parker, featuring Cassie Beck (The Norman Conquests), Tony nominee Maria Dizzia (In the Next Room: or the Vibrator Play, Eurydice), Darren Goldstein (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Oohrah!), and Donnetta Lavinia Grays (In the Next Room or the vibrator play, Well)

Maria Cassi in MY LIFE WITH MEN - AND OTHER ANIMALS (July 16 - 18) by Maria Cassi & Patrick Pacheco, directed by Peter Schneider

INTERVIEWING THE AUDIENCE (July 23 - 25) by Zach Helm, featuring Zach Helm and Powerhouse audience members

The Readings Festivals (June 25 - 27 and July 29 - August 1) will include new works by Eve Ensler, Stephen Karam, Zoe Kazan, Romulus Linney & Eleanor Cooney, Megan Mostyn-Brown, Richard Nelson & Peter Golub, Steven Sater & Duncan Sheik, Kate Walbert, Patricia Wettig, and a screenplay by Jennifer Westfeldt. Casting highlights for Readings Festival 1 (June 25 - 27) include: F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus, Triumph of Love, Angels in America), Blair Brown (Cabaret, James Joyce's The Dead, Fringe, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd), Jill Clayburgh (An Unmarried Woman, Barefoot in the Park, Dirty Sexy Money), Michael Cerveris (Sweeney Todd, Assassins, In the Next Room: or the Vibrator Play, Fringe), Michael Countryman (Night Must Fall, Holiday) Caitlin Fitzgerald (It's Complicated), Santino Fontana (Billy Elliot, Sunday in the Park with George), Joanna Gleason (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Into the Woods, The Good Wife), Isabel Keating (The Boy from Oz, Enchanted April, Hairspray), Maryann Plunkett (A Man for All Seasons, Saint Joan, The Seagull), Anthony Rapp (Rent, Six Degrees of Separation), Stephen Spinella (Angels in America, 24), and David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck, Salome).

Individual tickets ($35 for "Mainstage"; $30 for "Martel Musicals"; $20 for the "Inside Look" series) are available online at http://powerhouse.vassar.edu and in person or by phone at the Powerhouse box office: (845) 437-7235 or (845) 437-5599.

This year, continuing its mission of presenting artistically exceptional and affordably priced performances, Powerhouse Theater will offer a $5 student rush ticket for students of up to 25 years of age [as available 15 minutes before curtain].

Additional details for the creative teams and casting will be announced throughout the season. For further information, see the website http://powerhouse.vassar.edu, friend Powerhouse on Facebook®, or follow Powerhouse on Twitter®.

About Powerhouse Theater
Powerhouse Theater, now entering its 26th season, is the result of a unique collaboration between New York Stage and Film and Vassar College. The program consists of an eight-week residency on the Vassar campus during which more than 200 professional artists and some 40 apprentices live and work together to create new theater works. Powerhouse steadfastly supports both emerging and established artists.

The annual residency has included such writers as John Patrick Shanley, Beth Henley, Henry Kreiger, Warren Leight, Christopher Durang, Richard Greenberg, Stephen Belber, Eric Bogosian, Steve Martin, Dael Orlandersmith, Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater; directors Mark Brokaw, Joe Mantello, Lisa Peterson, Roger Rees, Liz Swados, David Warren, and Michael Wilson; and actors Chris Cooper, Dana Delany, Olympia Dukakis, Edie Falco, Peter Gallagher, Joel Grey, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Johnston, Lucy Liu, Julianna Margulies, Rob Morrow, Frances McDormand, Josh Radnor, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Kyra Sedgwick, Fisher Stevens, David Strathairn, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Westfeldt, among many others.

Since its inception in 1985, Powerhouse has played a significant role in the development of hundreds of new plays, provided a home for a diverse group of artists free from critical and commercial pressures, and established itself as a vital cultural institution for the Hudson Valley, the New York metropolitan area, and the surrounding region.

About New York Stage and Film
Founded in 1985 by Producing Directors Mark Linn-Baker, Max Mayer and Leslie Urdang, and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer and Managing Director Nicki Genovese, New York Stage and Film (SAF) is a not-for-profit company dedicated to the development and production of new works for theater and film. SAF has developed and produced premiere works by such writers as John Patrick Shanley, Jon Robin Baitz, Steve Martin, Theresa Rebeck and Eve Ensler (www.newyorkstageandfilm.org).

About the Powerhouse Theater Apprentice Training Program
This year, around 40 student apprentices from across the U.S. and abroad will participate and form the 2010 Powerhouse Apprentice company. These young artists - current students, recent graduates, and future theater professionals - are provided with a distinctive opportunity to create their own new work as well as work on the development of theater and musical productions headed for Broadway and top-ranked theaters nations-wide. The educational experience is not replicated anywhere else in the country. Some of the program alumnae/i include Erin Buckley, Edward Cheetham, Katherine Kovner, Melissa Errico, Amy Fox, Catherine Kellner, Kate MacCluggage, Josh Radnor, Jordan Roth, Leah Ryan, Alexandra Tolk, and Jonathan Togo.

About Vassar College
Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential, liberal arts college founded in 1861. Consistently ranked as one of the country's best liberal arts colleges, Vassar is renowned for its long history of curricular innovation, and for the natural and architectural beauty of its campus. More than 50 academic departments and degree programs - from Anthropology to Cognitive Sciences to Urban Studies - encompass the arts, foreign languages, natural sciences, and social sciences, and combine to offer a curriculum of more than 1,000 courses.

Vassar College is sited in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley in Poughkeepsie, NY. Go to http://www.vassar.edu/directions for directions to the Vassar campus.

Note: All programs and artists are subject to change.