Robert Cuccioli to Lead Goodspeed's A CONNECTICUT CHRISTMAS CAROL, Hunter Foster Directs

Goodspeed Musicals announces the full cast of their new production of A Connecticut Christmas Carol - the musical treat infused with more Connecticut flavor by LJ Fecho and Michael O'Flaherty. Perfect for the holidays, A Connecticut Christmas Carol, the family-friendly take on the Dickens classic, will return to The Terris Theatre November 30 - December 30, 2018. A Connecticut Christmas Carol is sponsored in part by Masonicare at Chester Village.

Some of the most beloved storytellers in Connecticut history come alive for a yuletide gathering you won't forget. Famed actor and local legend William Gillette leaves his castle on the Connecticut River to adapt Dickens' holiday classic. Local heroes Mark Twain, P.T. Barnum and more make spirited appearances opposite Gillette's Scrooge in a highly theatrical twist on a family favorite. Custom-made for Goodspeed with all-original music, here's a tuneful, heartfelt confection spiced with even more Nutmeg State flavor to sweeten your season.

Scrooge/William Gillette will be played by Tony nominee Robert Cuccioli, Mr. Cuccioli previously performed in the Goodspeed Musicals productions Ankles Aweigh at The Goodspeed and Cutman a boxing musical at The Terris Theatre. For his dual role as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde Robert received the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and Jeff Award for Outstanding Actor as well as the Tony nomination for Best Actor. Mr. Cuccioli also appeared on Broadway in another dual role as Dr. Osborn and Green Goblin in Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark and as Javert in Les Misérables, His Off-Broadway credits include And The World Goes 'Round (O.C.C. Award), Rothschild and Sons, Jacques Brel, Bikeman, Snow Orchid and White Guy on the Bus. Other recent favorites include South Pacific at Drury Lane, Titus Andronicus at Shakespeare Theatre of NJ and Fun Home at White Plains Performing Arts Center. In addition to a long career on the stage Robert's on screen credits include TV's The Sinner, White Collar, Sliders, Baywatch and The Guiding Light as well as the films Celebrity, The Stranger, Impossible Monsters and The Rest of Us.

Returning in the role of Bob Cratchit will be Matt Gibson, who recently performed in the Off-Broadway revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever at Irish Rep. Mr. Gibson appeared in the Broadway revival of Gypsy and in the Off-Broadway productions of Finian's Rainbow, The Underclassman and New Girl in Town. His recent regional credits include playing Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly! at Virginia Music Theater as well asRagtime and West Side Story at Barrington Stage.

Back again to play The Ghosts will be Michael Thomas Holmes, who Goodspeed audiences may also remember from his performance in the reimagined Amour. Holmes has appeared in Broadway's Oklahoma! and the National Tours of The Producers (with Jason Alexander and Martin Short), Phantom of The Opera and Irving Berlin's White Christmas. His other credits include the York Theatre productions of Hallelujah, Baby! andSaturday Night, playing Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof at Pioneer, Nathan in Guys and Dolls at Barrington Stage, John Adams in 1776 at The Guthrie, and Tateh in Ragtime at Bristol Riverside, for which he received a Barrymore nomination.

Reprising his role as Tiny Tim will be Connecticut native Robbie Berson, who just performed the role of Joey in in the world premiere of Last Days of Summer, directed by Jeff Calhoun at Kansas City Repertory Theatre.

The ensemble will include Jimmy Brewer, whose recent credits are a Mr. Xanax in Motherfreakinghood at Playwrights Horizons and John in The Black Suits at CTG. and Samantha Bruce, who appeared in last year's A Connecticut Christmas Carol and played Laurey in Goodspeed's 2017 hitOklahoma! as well as playing the role of Luisa in the closing company of the Off-Broadway's record-breaking The Fantasticks, Emily in Our Town at Theatre Aspen, and Johanna in Sweeney Todd at the Denver Center. Joining them will be Lee Harrington, who will reprise her role in A Connecticut Christmas Carol. Ms. Harrington performed in Into the Woods at Roundabout Theatre and Sharon Playhouse's I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. Lee's upcoming films include Richard Linklater's Where'd You Go, Bernadette and Last Flag Flying. Noah Plomgren returns to Goodspeed as a new member of the cast having previously played Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls at The Goodspeed and Elephant Jack in The Circus in Winter at The Terris Theatre. Mr. Plomgren just finished the first National Tour of Finding Neverland directed by Diane Paulus. Other credits include playing Claude in the National Tour of HAIR, Treasure Island and From Here to Eternity - both at Finger Lakes Music Theatre Festival, Noises Off at Pittsburgh Public Theater, Lend Me A Tenor at Bay Street Theatre, Titanic at Westchester Broadway Theatre and Next to Normal at Hangar Theatre.

Returning to the ensemble this year will be Celeste Rose, who appeared in Sister Act at Ogunquit Playhouse and in Titanic at Westchester Broadway Theatre, as well playing Bernice in the world premiere of Bernice Bobs Her Hair at Lyric Theatre Of Oklahoma; and Ali in Kerrigan and Lowdermilk's immersive musical The Bad Years; joining them will be Alex Stewart who is new to A Connecticut Christmas Carol but will be familiar to Goodspeed audiences having performed in this summer's Oliver! and last year's Oklahoma!. His other credits include the National Tour of Elf: the Musical!, Oklahoma! (PCPA, Sierra Repertory Theatre, Garbeau's Dinner Theatre), Pirates of Penzance, Rogers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, My Fair Lady (PCPA), Nice Work If You Can Get It and Boeing Boeing (Summer Repertory Theatre). Jeff Williams, who performed as part of the Quintet in Goodspeed's Rags last year, joins the ensemble. Mr. Williams previously performed in the Goodspeed productions of Where's Charley? and Wonderful Town. Williams made his Broadway debut in the 2000 revival of The Music Man and most recently performed in the Off-Broadway production of Death for Five Voices. Other Broadway and Tour credits include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Pirate Queen, The Will Rogers Follies and Me and My Girl.Reprising her ensemble role in A Connecticut Christmas Carol will be Daisy Wright, who recently performed in The Wizard of Oz at The MUNY, Beauty and the Beast at North Shore Music Theatre and Hello, Dolly!; Oklahoma! and Mamma Mia! at Music Theatre Wichita.

A Connecticut Christmas Carol features a book by LJ Fecho, who serves as Artistic Director of Genesius Theatre in Reading, PA. Fecho has worked for Broadway Producer Alexander H. Cohen, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Goodspeed Musicals, Hudson Guild, Manhattan Theatre Club and Fulton Theatre. His play Just Another Illegitimate Child of John Lennon was presented at the Philadelphia Fringe. He wrote the book for Genesius - The Musical, which was presented at the 2006 Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals.

Music and Lyrics are by Goodspeed's own Michael O'Flaherty. O'Flaherty has been Goodspeed's Resident Music Director for twenty-seven seasons. His Broadway credits include By Jeeves, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and A Streetcar Named Desire. His regional credits include Paper Mill Playhouse, North Shore Music Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, Ford's Theatre, The Brooklyn Academy Of Music, The Kennedy Center, Pittsburgh Public Theatre and the Smithsonian Institution. Michael served as Musical Supervisor and Cabaret Director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival for 11 years.

This newly revised edition of A Connecticut Christmas Carol will once again be directed by Hunter Foster, who co-wrote Goodspeed's The Circus in Winter at The Terris Theatre in 2014. In addition, Hunter directed the hit production of The Drowsy Chaperone currently entertaining audiences at The Goodspeed through November 25. Most recently, Mr. Foster directed the new off-Broadway musical The Other Josh Cohen, which begins performancesOctober 26 at The Westside Theatre. Hunter was nominated for an Outer Critic Award for Best New Off-Broadway musical for Summer of '42, which had a developmental production at The Terris Theatre in 2000. Hunter won a Suzie Bass Award for Best World Premiere for Clyde and Bonnie. He has directedMillion Dollar Quartet (Westchester Broadway, Ogunquit Playhouse, Casa Manana, St. Louis Rep, Paper Mill Playhouse and Geva Theatre) and The Bridges of Madison County, Clue and The Buddy Holly Story, among many others, for Bucks County Playhouse.

Choreography will be by Lisa Shriver. In addition to choreographing last year's A Connecticut Christmas Carol, Ms. Shriver has choreographed Goodspeed's The 60's Project, The Story of My Life and Where's Charley?. Most recently, she served as choreographer for Broadway's Jesus Christ Superstar, North Shore Music Theatre's Beauty and the Beast and the National Tour of Into the Woods. Ms. Shriver's other Broadway credits include The Farnsworth Invention, The Story of My Life and Ring of Fire. She served as Assistant Choreographer for 10 Broadway productions, including The Producers, Titanic, Oklahoma!. A few of her favorite credits include Fiasco Theatre Company's Into the Woods (Lucille Lortel nomination) and Phish'sNYE Madison Square Garden concert - for three years in a row.

Scenic design will be by two-time Helen Hayes Award nominee Adam Koch. His designs for theater, opera and nightlife have been seen in New York City and across the country. Internationally he designed the recent production of Dreamgirls in Seoul, South Korea. Koch has designed productions for The Goodman Theatre, The Apollo Theater, New World Stages and Theatre Row NYC, as well as Signature

Theatre, Ford's Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Syracuse Stage, Portland Stage, Geva Theatre Center, Paper Mill Playhouse, Casa Manana, The Human Race Theatre Company and The Engeman Theater, among many others. Most recently he designed the critically acclaimed outdoor production of Titanic for Serenbe Playhouse. Adam was the recipient of the USITT Oren Parker Award for Excellence in Scene Design and the 2007 Kennedy Center Design Fellowship.

Costume design will be by Nicole V. Moody, whose regional credits include Off-Broadway's Love, Loss and What I Wore (Chicago Tour, Asolo Rep); Sleuth and The Glass Menagerie at Olney Theatre; The Other Josh Cohen at Geva Theatre; What is the Cause of Thunder? at Williamstown Theatre Festival; Our Town for Apen Theatre and numerous productions for Bucks County Playhouse, Media Theatre and Cape Fear Regional Theatre.She has also been the Assistant Costume Designer for many Broadway shows, including Born Yesterday, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and The Royal Family.

Lighting design will be by Jennifer Schriever, whose work can currently be seen on Broadway in The Book of Mormon. Ms Schriever's other Broadway credits include Eclipsed, Ghetto Klown, A Raisin in the Sun, Death of a Salesman, The Color Purple and Fiddler on the Roof. Jennifer's recent Off-Broadway credits include Strange Interlude for Transport Group; School Girls, or the African Mean Girls Play at MCC; ...Discord at Primary Stages; On The Exhale at Roundabout and The Moors at Playwrights Realm. Ms. Schriever's designs for Goodspeed Musicals include The Theory of Relativity, Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas and 13.

Sound design will be by Jay Hilton, whose long association with Goodspeed Musicals includes designing countless productions at both The Goodspeed and The Terris Theatre. His work has also been heard on Broadway, National Tours and Regional Theatres from coast to coast. In addition to his design work, Jay also serves as Goodspeed's Audio Supervisor.

Wig and Hair design will be by Mark Adam Rampmeyer, whose work has been seen at The Goodspeed in the current production of The Drowsy Chaperone as well as the over 20 other productions including Oliver!, The Will Rogers Follies, Rags, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Oklahoma!, Anything Goes, Bye Bye Birdie and Chasing Rainbows, as well as La Cage aux Folles, Good News!, 42nd Street and Big River, to name a few. On Broadway, he designed West Side Story, Lysistrata Jones and The Farnsworth Invention. Off-Broadway, he designed The Toxic Avenger, Horton Foote's Orphans' Home Cycle, The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore withOlympia Dukakis and, most recently, Talley's Folly at Roundabout Theatre Company. As a stylist he was fortunate enough to be a part of the Broadway productions of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Sunset Boulevard, Kiss of the Spider Woman and 42nd Street

Dan Pardo returns as Music Director. Previously Mr. Pardo served as Music Director for The Fabulous Lipitones. He was Goodspeed's Assistant Music Director for The Great American Mousical, Hello! My Baby, The Bikini's, LMNOP, Cutman a boxing musical and Amazing Grace, for which he was also the Assistant Conductor on Broadway. Mr. Pardo's Off-Broadway credits include The Office! A Musical Parody , Found, Soot and Spit , Rothschild and Sons and Skippyjon Jones: Snow What?! .

Orchestrations will be provided by Dan DeLange, who has created the orchestrations for over 40 Goodspeed productions. Dan's work was recently heard in the West End's production of Show Boat that was nominated for Best Musical Revival at the 2017 Olivier Awards in London. He has orchestrated for The Jim Henson Company, Julie Andrews, Rosie O'Donnell, Live Theatricals at Universal Studios and composers Paul Williams, Jerry Herman, Harvey Schmitt, Charles Strouse, Peter Link and Mark Hollman. His scores have been heard on Broadway, London's West End, National and European tours, film, television and at Regional Theaters around the world.

A Connecticut Christmas Carol will run November 30 - December 30, 2018. Single tickets for performances of A Connecticut Christmas Carol start at $49 with Special Kids tickets starting at $25. Visit www.goodspeed.org for more.

Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff