Teal Wicks and Aaron Ramey to Lead Goodspeed's THE CIRCUS IN WINTER Premiere This Fall

Goodspeed Musicals marks thirty years of fresh, innovative, and original new musicals at its Norma Terris Theatre with a riveting production of The Circus in Winter. This new work will run from October 23 through November 16 at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn. ­

Step right up for a brand-new musical where legend and lore collide under the big top. Love, lust, betrayal, and tragedy unfold in a series of interwoven stories that reveal the private lives of a death-defying acrobat, sideshow African queen, lonely circus owner, disheveled clowns, and more. With a rootsy, folk rock score, this is one musical that you must not miss!

The cast will feature Aaron Ramey as Wallace Porter. Mr. Ramey has appeared in Broadway's The Bridges of Madison County, Jekyll & Hyde, Young Frankenstein, Curtains, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Irene will be played by Emily Behny of Goodspeed's Something's Afoot. Jennie Dixiana, will be played by Teal Wicks, currently performing in the off-Broadway production of Piece of My Heart. Ms. Wicks' Broadway credits include Jekyll & Hyde and Wicked, as well as Goodspeed's Carousel, 1776, and Pippin. Ollie will be played by James Penca. Pearly will be played by Shannan Antalan, who appeared in Broadway's Caroline, or Change and played the title role in Goodspeed's Abyssinia.

William Parry will play the roles of Colonel and Hollenbach. Mr. Parry's Broadway credits include Gypsy, Sunday in the Park..., Passion, Into the Light, Camelot, and Jesus Christ Superstar. His Goodspeed credits include High Button Shoes at the Goodspeed Opera House and The Gig, Good Sports, and Blanco! at The Norma Terris Theatre. Gus will be played by Charles Gray, who appeared on Broadway in The Color Purple and Grease. Gordon will be played by Jim Hogan. Elizabeth will be played by Victoria Huston-Elem of Goodspeed's Meet John Doe at The Norma Terris Theatre. Mrs. Colonel will be played by Sarah Dacey Charles of Broadway's LES MISERABLES.

The role of Elephant Jack will be played by Noah Plomgren. Daniel Quadrino of Broadway's Newsies and Bye Bye Birdie will play Young Wallace. Young Jennie will be played by Kristen Hoagland. James Porter will be played by Scott Richard Foster. Young Gordon will be played by Avery Baran.

The Circus in Winter features music and lyrics by Ben Clark in his first full-length musical debut. For this piece, he received the Kennedy Center Award for Outstand Musical Composition, and in 2012, received a fellowship at the O'Neill Center. Clark was an invited artist at the Johnny Mercer Writer's Colony at Goodspeed Musicals, where he worked to develop The Circus in Winter. Additionally, Clark works in New York as a recording artist with his band Ben Clark and the Long Shadows.

The new musical's book was written by Hunter Foster and Beth Turcotte. Hunter Foster has written the books for the off-Broadway musicals Summer of '42, Bonnie and Clyde: a Folktale and The Hollow. Additionally, Foster has starred in many recent Broadway productions, including The Bridges of Madison County, Hands on a Hardbody, Million Dollar Quartet, Little Shop of Horrors (Tony Nomination), Urinetown, The Producers, Footloose, King David, Grease, and LES MISERABLES. He has been nominated for two Drama Desk Awards, as well as one Tony Award. Beth Turcotte has been an inspirational theatre artist and educator devoted to the development of new work and emerging talent for the past 30 years. She is a Professor of Theatre and Dance Performance at Ball State University, where The Circus in Winter was originally developed by students participating in the Spring 2010 Virginia C. Ball seminar led by Turcotte. The musical was inspired by the novel by Cathy Day.

The Circus in Winter will be directed by Joe Calarco. Mr. Calaraco is well-known at Goodspeed's Norma Terris Theatre, where he directed the thought-provoking musical LMNOP last summer. This year he received his second Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Director of a Play for his direction of A Christmas Carol at the Theater At St. Clement's. Additionally, he is the recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award, two Barrymore Awards, and five Helen Hayes Awards. Choreography will be by Spencer Liff, who most recently choreographed the Tony-winning production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which starred Neil Patrick Harris. Mr. Liff's work on the past five seasons of the hit FOX television show So You Think You Can Dance earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Choreography. He also choreographed the 2014 Emmy Awards.

The set will be designed by Jason Sherwood, an up-and-coming scenic designer who was voted "Young Designer to Watch" in 2013 by Live Design Magazine. Sherwood recently designed the set for the Drama Desk Award-winning production of The Mysteries. Costumes will be designed by Marina Draghici, who designed the Broadway production of Fela!. She also frequently designs for television shows, including Elementary and Black Sails, as well as the breakout Oscar-winning film Precious. Lighting design will be by Donald Holder, who won the Tony Award for South Pacific and The Lion King and has earned eight additional nominations. Among his numerous Broadway credits are You Can't Take It With You, Bullets Over Broadway, Bridges of Madison County, Big Fish, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. For Goodspeed, Mr. Holder designed All Shook Up, Redhead, Battle Cry of Freedom, and Captains Courageous.

Music Direction and Orchestrations will be by Matt Hinkley, who provided orchestrations for Goodspeed's Cutman at The Norma Terris Theatre and served as Associate Conductor for Broadway's First Date and Godspell. Sound Design will be by Jay Hilton, who is in his 29th season at Goodspeed.

The Circus in Winter will be produced for Goodspeed Musicals by Michael Price and presented by special arrangement with Center Ring Theatrical.

The Circus in Winter will run October 23 - November 16, 2014. Curtain times are Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m, Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are available through the Box Office (860.873.8668), open seven days a week, or on-line at www.goodspeed.org. For show highlights, exclusive photos, special events, and more visit us at goodspeed.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

For 30 years, The Norma Terris Theatre has been Goodspeed's home for developing fresh, innovative, and original new musicals. These new works have been developed in Chester, Conn. before they've moved on to Broadway, off-Broadway, national tours, and other regional theatres. Because this is a developmental theatre, the show can change on a day-to-day basis. New scenes are added, songs are moved, costumes are changed, dialogue is tweaked -- all based on audience response and feedback.

Dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theatre, Goodspeed Musicals produces three musicals each season at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn., and additional works at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., which was opened in 1984 for the development of new musicals. It is the first regional theatre to receive two Tony Awards (for outstanding achievement). In addition to the two theatres and production facilities, Goodspeed maintains The Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre. Goodspeed gratefully acknowledges the Marquee Sponsors for this production, Rich Cersosimo and Valerie Koif and Dr. Anne L. Rothstein and Ms. Jane Hellman, as well as the ongoing support of the Department of Economic and Community Development with support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts. Supported in part by the National Fund for New Musicals, a program of National Alliance for Musical Theatre, with funding from Stacey Mindich Productions - www.namt.org.

Photo by Kevin Yatarola.