Robert Longbottom to Direct the Hollywood Bowl's INTO THE WOODS

Director/Chorographer Robert Longbottom and Musical Director/Conductor Kevin Stites have been announced for the Hollywood Bowl's upcoming production of Into the Woods, the darkly humorous and hauntingly beautiful masterpiece with book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, which will be the 20th annual LA Phil / Hollywood Bowl-produced, fully-staged summer Broadway musical at the historic venue.

The Hollywood Bowl will be transformed into an enchanted world of magic beans, towering giants, and handsome princes. As the Baker and his Wife travel through the forest trying to reverse a witch's curse, they come across Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and other famous storybook characters all in search of their own wishes...but "happily ever after" turns into a tale of "be careful what you wish for," when granted wishes have unexpected effects. This is Sondheim at his finest, with such memorable songs as "Children Will Listen" and "No One Is Alone." Casting will be announced at a later date.

Into the Woods will have three performances at the Hollywood Bowl this summer - Friday, July 26, at 8PM; Saturday, July 27, at 8PM; and Sunday, July 28, at 7:30PM, with single tickets on sale Sunday, May 5.

Robert Longbottom recently directed a new production of La Fille du Regiment for The Washington National Opera that included a cameo appearance by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and was included in the Oscar-nominated documentary RBG. He made his Broadway debut as the director and choreographer of the original Broadway production of Side Show, which earned four Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical.

Other Broadway credits include Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Songwith a new book by the playwright David Henry Hwang. This production earned Longbottom a Tony Award nomination for his choreography, as well as Fred Astaire and Outer Critics Circle nominations. Other Broadway credits include The Scarlet Pimpernel, Bye Bye Birdie, and a new production of Dreamgirls that premiered at the Apollo Theatre and went on to play Seoul, Johannesburg, three stands in Tokyo, and two national tours of the United States.

Longbottom conceived, directed, and choreographed the original Off-Broadway hit Pageant, which was nominated for four Outer Critics Circle Awards and a Drama Desk Award. His other credits include: Disney's On the Record, Carnival for the Kennedy Center, directing and choreographing The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular 1994-1999, Show Boat at Carnegie Hall, South Pacific at the Muny Opera starring Howard Keel, Camelot at the Glimmerglass Festival starring Nathan Gunn, and Into the Woods at Theatre Under The Stars in Houston.

His plays include Mister Roberts for the Kennedy Center and Hay Fever for The Old Globe, and he is currently developing a new Broadway musical based on the life of Tammy Faye Bakker with Henry Krieger, David Yazbek, and Robert Horn, to star Kristin Chenoweth.

Returning to the Hollywood Bowl after also having served as Musical Director / Conductor of our productions of Les Misérables (2008), Guys and Dolls (2009) and The Producers(2012), Kevin Stites recently conducted the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a Lerner and Loewe tribute, an all-star Broadway evening with a 400-voice choir and the New York Chamber Orchestra in Carnegie Hall for Manhattan Concert Productions, and has completed his fourth season as Music Director for The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. Stites has conducted the LA Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall with Brian Stokes Mitchell, several symphonic concerts with Kristin Chenoweth (including with the LA Phil at the Hollywood Bowl), and the Boublil and Schönberg concert tribute Do You Hear the People Sing with the Oklahoma City and Hartford symphony orchestras. Kevin is Music Director / Pianist for Deborah Voigt's Voight Lessons and was Music Director ofGrey Gardens, with Betty Buckley and Rachel York, at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Additionally, Kevin was Music Director for MCP's concert presentations of Crazy for You and Titanic (at David Geffen Hall), and conducted the mono-opera Falling Man by Kenneth Fuchs at the 9/11 Museum & Memorial. As Guest Conductor, Kevin has led the Grant Park Symphony in tribute concerts to Sondheim, Bernstein, Gershwin, Loesser, and Porter.

On Broadway, Kevin has been involved with 13 productions, including Titanic, Fiddler on the Roof, A Tale of Two Cities, On the Town, The Threepenny Opera, Oklahoma!, Sunset Boulevard, the revival of Nine starring Antonio Banderas, the 2006 revival of Les Misérables, and the revival of On the Twentieth Century starring Kristin Chenoweth.

Stites' future projects include the Broadway revival of Crazy For You, Maltby and Shire's Take Flight, Cy Coleman's posthumously produced Pamela's First Musical, and the further development of Austin's Pride.

He earned his Bachelor and Master's Degrees in Music from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, studying under the tutelage of Professor Kenneth Drake and Professor Emeritus John Wustman, and was awarded the Creative and Performing Arts Fellowship in 1979/80.

Subscriptions and single tickets for performances during the Hollywood Bowl 2019 summer season are available at hollywoodbowl.com, or via credit card phone order at 323 850 2000, and in person from Sunday May 5 at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office.

For further details or questions, call 323.850.2000 from 10AM - 6PM daily, or visit hollywoodbowl.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos