Tony Winner Levi Kreis to Join Broadway's VIOLET as 'The Preacher' on 7/1
By: Nicole Rosky Jun. 11, 2014
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Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) just announced that Tony Award winner Levi Kreis (Million Dollar Quartet) will join the company of Violet as "The Preacher," beginning performances Tuesday, July 1, 2014. Violet stars two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster, Colin Donnell, Alexander Gemignani and Tony Award nominee Joshua Henry. The Tony nominated production plays a strictly limited engagement at Broadway's American Airlines Theatre (227 West 42nd Street) through August 10, 2014.
Levi Kreis made his Broadway debut originating the role of Jerry Lee Lewis in the Tony nominated musical Million Dollar Quartet for which he received the 2010 Tony Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and Drama League nomination. Levi also contributed musical arrangements to the score. Other theater credits include Smokey Joe's Cafe, The Leading Men Of Broadway, One Red Flower, and Rent. Films include Frailty, Don't Let Go, A Thousand Words and Silencers. As a singer/songwriter, Levi's recordings have been featured on "The Vampire Diaries," "So You Think You Can Dance," "Mob Wives," "Sons of Anarchy," "The Apprentice," "Days Of Our Lives," and "Young & The Restless."
The cast of Violet also includes Annie Golden, Emerson Steele, Austin Lesch, Anastasia McCleskey, Charlie Pollock, Jacob Keith Watson, Rema Webb and Virginia Ann Woodruff. Ben Davis will play his final performance as "The Preacher" on Sunday, June 29, 2014.
Based on the short story "The Ugliest Pilgrim" by Doris Betts, Violet features music by Jeanine Tesori, book & lyrics by Brian Crawley and direction by Leigh Silverman. Violet is produced in association with Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, David Mirvish, Barry and Fran Weissler, Elizabeth Armstrong, and Mary Jo and Ted Shen.
Violet received four 2014 Tony Award nominations (Best Revival of a Musical, Best Leading Actress in a Musical, Sutton Foster; Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Joshua Henry; and Best Director of a Musical, Leigh Silverman).
This production is based on the 2013 New York City Center Encores! Off-Center concert production of Violet starring Sutton Foster and directed by Leigh Silverman.
The creative team includes Jeffrey Page (Choreographer), Rick Bassett, Joseph Joubert and Buryl Red (Orchestrations) and Michael Rafter (Music Director). The design team includes David Zinn (Sets), Clint Ramos (Costumes), Mark Barton (Lights) and Leon Rothenberg (Sound).
Violet tells the story of a young woman's quest for beauty amidst the image-obsessed landscape of the 1960s. Facially disfigured in a childhood accident, Violet (Foster) dreams of a miraculous transformation through the power of faith. Convinced that a televangelist in Oklahoma can heal her, she hops a Greyhound bus and starts the journey of a lifetime. Along the way, Violet forms unlikely friendships with her fellow riders, who teach her about beauty, love, courage and what it means to be an outsider.
Violet opened off-Broadway for a limited run at Playwrights Horizons on March 11, 1997. It won the Obie Award, Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical.
Partial underwriting support for Violet provided by Gina and David Boonshoft.
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