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La Jolla Playhouse announces the cast of its world-premiere musical Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin, music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis, book by Christopher Curtis and Thomas Meehan and directed by Michael Unger, running September 7 - October 17, 2010 (media night: Sunday, September 19 at 7:00 pm) in the Mandell Weiss Theatre.
Playing the role of "Charlie Chaplin" will be Robert McClure, who recently starred as "Princeton" in the Broadway and national touring productions of Avenue Q. Ashley Brown, who originated the title role in the hit Broadway musical Mary Poppins, will portray "Oona." The full cast includes LJ Benet (You Again, Diary of a Wimpy Kid) as "Young Sydney," Jenn Colella (Broadway's Urban Cowboy, The Times They Are A-Changin') as "Hedda Hopper," Eddie Korbich (Broadway's The Drowsy Chaperone, The Little Mermaid) as "Karno," Janet Metz (original company of Falsettoland, Playhouse's Harmony) as "Hannah," Brooke Sunny Moriber (Broadway's Follies, The Wild Party) as "Mildred," Ron Orbach (Broadway's Chicago, Laughter on the 23rd Floor) as "Mr. Chaplin," Roland Rusinek (Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera, A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden) as "Alf," Jake Schwenke (title role in Broadway's Billy Elliott) as "Young Charlie/Jackie," Matthew Scott (Broadway's Jersey Boys, A Catered Affair) as "Sydney" and William Youmans (Broadway's Wicked, Playhouse's Dracula the Musical, Randy Newman's Faust) as "Older Charlie." The ensemble includes Aaron Acosta, Courtney Corey, Matthew Patrick Davis, Justin Michael Duval, Sara Edwards, Ben Liebert, Alyssa Marie, Jennifer Noble, Kürt Norby, Carly Nykanen, Jessica Reiner-Harris and Kirsten Scott.
The creative team includes: Christopher Curtis (Dave the Musical), composer, lyricist and co-librettist; Thomas Meehan (Tony Award winner for Hairspray, The Producers; Playhouse's Cry Baby), co-librettist; Michael Unger (world premiere of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), director; Bryan Perri, music director; Warren Carlyle (Broadway's Finian's Rainbow, A Tale of Two Cities), choreographer; Alexander Dodge, scenic designer; Linda Cho, costume designer; Paul Gallo, lighting designer; Jon Weston, sound designer; Douglas Besterman (Playhouse's Dracula, the Musical), orchestrator; Gabriel Greene, dramaturg; Frank Hartenstein, stage manager; and Dan Kamin, Script Consultant and Physical Comedy Specialist.
Charlie Chaplin came to America an unknown and left amidst scandals and controversy. In between, he became one of the best-loved and most famous entertainers in the world. From the gritty streets and smoky music halls of London to movie screens across the globe, Limelight goes behind the camera to show how a comic genius found soaring success and later fell from grace. This thrilling world-premiere musical provides a captivating close-up on the man who changed motion pictures forever.
Robert McClure has appeared on Broadway in Avenue Q and I'm Not Rappaport with Judd Hirsch and Ben Vereen. His regional credits include A Funny Thing...Forum (Arden Theatre); Grease (Lenape PAC); Parade, The Skin of Our Teeth (Kasser Theatre); Oliver! (Helen Hayes Theatre); Carousel, I'm Not Rappaport (Paper Mill Playhouse), and The Bomb-itty of Errors, Philly Rocks and Austentations at 11th Hour Theatre Company.
Ashley Brown recently finished her run in the title role in Disney's national tour of Mary Poppins, where she garnered a 2010 Garland Award for Best Performance in a Musical. Ms. Brown originated the title role of Mary Poppins on Broadway, for which she received Outer Critics, Drama League and Drama Desk Award nominations for Best Actress. Other Broadway credits include Belle in Beauty and the Beast. She has appeared in concert with the Boston Pops, the New York Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at Disney Hall, the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and the BBC Orchestra opposite Josh Groban. Ms. Brown's debut album of American Songbook standards was recently released nationwide earlier this year on Ghostlight/Sony.
Composer and lyricist Christopher Curtis has written for television and film and was signed to the Disney Animation Songwriter program. He is currently writing the music and lyrics for Dave the Musical (based on the Kevin Kline film) with Thomas Meehan for Warner Brothers Theatrical Enterprises. A renowned cabaret artist, Curtis has performed with Stevie Wonder and Rita Coolidge and has been hired on numerous occasions to sing and play for the U.S. Congress.
Celebrated writer Thomas Meehan won the 2003 Tony Award for co-writing the book for Hairspray, the 2001 Tony Award for co-writing the book of The Producers and the 1977 Tony Award for the book of Annie, which was his first Broadway show. He has since written or co-written the books for Young Frankenstein, I Remember Mama, Ain't Broadway Grand, Annie Warbucks and Bombay Dreams. He also wrote the book for Cry Baby, which premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in 2007. Mr. Meehan is a long-time contributor of humor, including "Yma Dream," to The New Yorker; an Emmy Award-winning television writer; and a collaborator on screenplays, including Mel Brooks' Spaceballs, To Be or Not to Be and The Producers. He is a member of the Council of the Dramatists Guild.
Director Michael Unger directed the Off-Broadway productions of Retribution, La Gioconda, Loaded and Knickerbocker Holiday, as well as the world-premiere musicals The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Barrington Stage, Caligula at NYMF (Audience Favorite Award) and Tiny Dancer at Prince Music Theatre. His regional credits include My Sister in this House (Deaf West), The Happy Time (Signature, DC), The Rink (Cape Playhouse), Meet Me in St. Louis (MUNY), Crimes of the Heart (Theatre Aspen), Triumph of Love and School for Wives (Weston Playhouse) and The Taming of the Shrew (Complex, LA). Opera credits: La Rondine, L'amico Fritz and Die Fledermaus at Sarasota Opera and A View from the Bridge at Vertical Player Repertory. Mr. Unger directed The Cooper Union's sesquicentennial celebrations, and his upcoming credits include A Christmas Carol at McCarter Theatre and The Crucible at Sarasota Opera. He is the creator of www.auditionconnection.com, an online casting resource for theatre, opera, film and TV.
The nationally acclaimed, Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse is known for its tradition of creating the most exciting and adventurous new work in regional theatre. The Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer, and is considered one of the most well-respected not-for-profit theatres in the country. Numerous Playhouse productions have moved to Broadway, including Big River, The Who's Tommy, Thoroughly Modern Millie, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A Walk in the Woods, Dracula, Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays, the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife, Jersey Boys, The Farnsworth Invention, 33 Variations and Memphis. Located on the UC San Diego campus, La Jolla Playhouse is made up of three primary performance spaces: the Mandell Weiss Theatre, the Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre, and the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for La Jolla Playhouse, a state-of-the-Art Theatre complex which features the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre. La Jolla Playhouse is led by Artistic Director Christopher Ashley and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg.
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