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Photo Flash: LOMBARDI On Stage

By: Oct. 13, 2010
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Producers Tony Ponturo and Fran Kirmser will present LOMBARDI at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre this fall starring Dan Lauria as Vince Lombardi and Judith Light as Marie Lombardi, written by Academy Award winning playwright Eric Simonson and directed by Tony Award nominee Thomas Kail. Joining Ponturo and Kirmser as special producing partner is the National Football League, marking the organization's first foray on Broadway. LOMBARDI, a new American play, is based on the best-selling biography When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi, by Pulitzer Prize winning author David Maraniss.

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The cast features Keith Nobbs as Michael McCormick, Bill Dawes as Paul Hornung, Robert Christopher Riley as Dave Robinson and Chris Sullivan as Jim Taylor. Previews will begin Thursday, September 23, and it will open at Circle in the Square Theatre on Thursday, October 21, 2010.

The creative team is David Korins (Set), Paul Tazewell (Costumes), Howell Binkley (Lighting), ACME Sound Partners (Sound), and Zak Borovay (Projections).

Dan Lauria will be making his Broadway debut. Known to millions as the gruff dad on the
beloved Emmy Award-winning TV series "The Wonder Years," Mr. Lauria takes on the title role of Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi, one of America's most inspirational and mercurial personalities. Like Lombardi, Mr. Lauria is a former football coach; he began acting while attending college on a football scholarship. Lauria has played more than 70 roles on television, including "CSI," "The Ghost Whisperer," "ER," "The Bronx Is Burning," "From Earth to the Moon" (miniseries), and "Law & Order: SVU." In addition to his recent starring role in The Spirit, Dan's film credits includes the blockbuster Independence Day, both Stakeout films (starring Richard Dreyfuss), Big Momma's House 2 with Martin Lawrence and the cult hit Alien Trespass. Dan is a familiar face on the theater scene, having performed, written or directed over fifty professional productions. His New York area appearances include Ears on a Beatle, The Winning Streak, Inspecting Carol, and most recently the title role in A Stone Carver. Regionally he has appeared with Jack Klugman in Arthur Miller's The Price, and with Charles Durning in Men in Suits, as well as Ken Ludwig's Leading Ladies and The Value of Names by Jeffrey Sweet. Dan continues to appear-most often with friend Wendie Malick-in benefit performances of The Guys, writer Anne Nelson's tribute to the brave firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. For ten years Dan served as the Artistic Director of The Playwright's Kitchen Ensemble (PKE) of Los Angeles. PKE produced over 450 public readings of new plays with the finest actors in the business, in order to promote the development of the new American playwright.

Judith Light was last seen on the New York stage in Athol Fugard's Sorrows and Rejoicings and Colder Than Here. She also starred in the New York production of Wit, and in the Boston; Washington, D.C.; and San Francisco productions. She began her theatrical career in productions including A Doll's House and Herzl (Broadway); Measure for Measure (NY Shakespeare Festival); A Streetcar Named Desire (Toronto); and The Diary of Anne Frank (Los Angeles). She is perhaps best known for her roles on the long-running TV series "Who's the Boss?" and most recently on "Ugly Betty" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." She has received two Emmys, two Soapy awards and a Soap Opera Hall of Fame Award for her role as Karen Wolek on "One Life to Live." Judith has also appeared in numerous films for TV, as well as the ABC series "Phenom."
Keith Nobbs made his Broadway debut in The Lion in Winter starring Laurence Fishburne and Stockard Channing directed by Michael Mayer. Other New York stage credits include Stupid Kids (dir. by Mayer); Hope is a Thing with Feathers and Free to be...You and Me (both Drama Dept); Four and Fuddy Meers (MTC); Dublin Carol and the world premiere of David Mamet's Romance (Atlantic) He is a member of The Drama Department and the Vineyard Theatre. TV includes HBO's "The Pacific;" "The Black Donnellys;" "The Sopranos;"and "Law & Order." Film credits include Double Whammy, Phone Booth, 25th Hour, and the independent films I Will Avenge You, Iago! and Premium.

Bill Dawes is an actor/comic/writer. As an actor, Bill has appeared in several award-winning independent films, including "Adam," "Evenhand," and "Fiona". He's had starring roles in two MGM Studio children's films -- "Just for Kicks" and "Recipe for Disaster"; and an acting/writing role in the DVD cult hit "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell." On TV, Bill has been on several hit shows, including "Sex and the City," "OZ," "Law and Order: Criminal Intent," as well as recurring roles on "Damages," "All My Children," and "One Life to Live." As a stage actor, Bill's first role was on Broadway with Sigourney Weaver and Christopher Durang in the play Sex and Longing, which was followed by Gross Indecency in which he originated the role of Lord AlFred Douglas. Since then, he has done about 10 Off-Broadway plays before returning to Broadway to work on Lombardi. As a comic, Bill has performed all over the U.S. and the world, including tours of Canada, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and South Africa. As part of the USO, he has performed for coalition forces in Iraq and Kuwait in front of crowds of over 8,000 international troops at bases in Baghdad. As a writer, Bill has been published in several magazines, and an hour comedy special he wrote with Jamie Kennedy, "Uncomfortable," will be seen on Showtime this fall.

Robert Christopher Riley made his Broadway debut in the 2008 revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opposite James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad, directed by Debbie Allen. Other theatrical credits include Fences (Hartford Stage) and Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Baltimore Center Stage). Television credits: "Medium," "Nurse Jackie," "Royal Pains," "Last of the Ninth," "Victorious," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." Mr. Riley holds a MFA from Ohio University.

Chris Sullivan will be making his Broadway debut. Originally from Sacramento, CA, he joins Lombardi by way of Chicago where he moved six years ago while touring with Rob Becker's Defending the Caveman. He earned his degree in Theater Arts from Loyola Marymount University in L.A. and also studied at The Oxford School of Drama in Oxford, England. After making his Chicago debut in 2008 at The Goodman Theater in The Ballad of Emmett Till he has spent the last two years performing at almost every major theater in the city. Other notable Chicago performances include The Hairy Ape at The Goodman Theater and The Mystery of Irma Vep at The Court Theater.

Thomas Kail was nominated for a 2008 Tony Award for his direction of In the Heights. Off B'way: In the Heights (Callaway Award, Drama Desk nom., Outer Critics nom.) New York City Center: The Wiz. Lincoln Center Theater: Broke-ology (Mitzi Newhouse). Williamstown: Broke-ology (World Premiere). National Tour: In the Heights. Co-creator and director of the hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Supreme, which played the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, US Comedy Arts Festival, Montreal Comedy Festival and Melbourne Comedy Festival. Artistic director and co-founder of Back House Productions. TV: Directed Oprah Winfrey's 2010 Primetime Oscar Special for ABC; directed pilot episode of Storymakers for AMC; Co-Music director and consulting producer of PBS show The Electric Company. Recipient of the 2008 Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center. Graduate of Wesleyan University, CT.

Eric Simonson is an Academy-Award winning documentary film maker and an ensemble member of the renowned Steppenwolf Theatre Company as a playwright and director. Mr. Maraniss is an associate editor at The Washington Post and the author of five critically acclaimed bestselling books about history, sports, and politics.

One of the most influential figures in sports and entertainment in the last 20 years, Tony Ponturo is the head of Ponturo Management Group LLC, the New York-based sports and entertainment management, investment and marketing company. Fran Kirmser, a fixture in the arts community who produces both non-profit and commercial projects, met Ponturo while collaborating on the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Hair. Mr. Ponturo and Ms. Kirmser said, "The NFL brings a powerful force to Broadway with their incredible fan support and a huge respect for the Lombardi legend."

Joining Ponturo and Kirmser as special producing partner is the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, marking the organization's first foray on Broadway. The NFL has authorized use of its logos and NFL Films' footage and music. The league will also help promote and market the play. Tracy Perlman, the NFL's Vice President of Entertainment Marketing and Promotions, said, "Football and Broadway are both iconic American forms of entertainment, and the NFL is proud to bring these two unique and passionate audiences together under one roof. Lombardi's charisma and coaching style were legendary - and intensely theatrical. Football fans will learn more about the dramatic private life of the sports hero for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named, and Broadway audiences will be captivated by the story of a family chasing the American dream."

TICKET PRICING AND PLAYING SCHEDULE:
All tickets are $115 and are now on sale through Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or online at www.telecharge.com.




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