THE BOY FROM OZ Returns To New York State After 20 Years Away

OFC Creations Theatre Center will be presenting The Boy From Oz The Musical, opening their 2024-2025 Broadway in Brighton Series in Rochester, NY. The show running September 12-29 marks the first time the show has been performed in New York state since the 2003 Broadway run starring Hugh Jackman (who won the Tony Award for best actor). 

OFC's production stars Blake McIver Ewing, well known for playing Waldo in THE LITTLE RASCALS and as Derek in FULL HOUSE, as Peter Allen and Tony Award Nominee, Marcia Mitzman Gaven, a well-known Broadway actress who starred in the original Broadway casts of THE WHO’S TOMMY as Mrs. Walker and CHESS as Svetlana, as the one and only Judy Garland. 

Ewing and Gaven will reunite on stage in The Boy From Oz, after originally performing together almost 30 years ago in the 1997 World Premiere production of RAGTIME in Los Angeles. Gaven starred as Mother and Ewing starred as her son, Edgar. In OFC’s The Boy From Oz, Ewing will once again perform as her son.

The Boy From Oz follows the true life story of singer/songwriter, Peter Allen. From humble beginnings growing up and singing in country pubs throughout the Australian outback, Peter Allen’s career took off without warning after being discovered and taken under the mentorship of Judy Garland. As her opening act, Peter relocated to New York City and was introduced to Judy’s daughter and future wife, Liza Minnelli.

Peter Allen rose to international stardom in the 1980s, best known for his hits including ‘I Honestly Love You,’ ‘Best That You Can Do,’ ‘Not The Boy Next Door,’ ‘Everything Old Is New Again,’ and the show stopping, ‘I Go to Rio.’ From winning an Oscar, to selling out performances in Radio City Music Hall, and receiving adulation when he returned to Australia, Peter struggled through divorce, heartbreak, failure, and navigating through the unknowns of the AIDS epidemic.

Under the direction of OFC’s owner and artistic director, Eric Vaughn Johnson, Ewing and Gaven will lead the professional cast at OFC Creations comprised the actors from New York City, Los Angeles and across the country assembled under Johnson’s leadership.

The full cast has recently been announced:

Peter Allen - Blake McIver Ewing
Judy Garland - Marcia Mitzman Gaven*
Liza Minnelli - Channing Weir
Marion Woolnough - Laura Jean Diekmann
Dee Anthony - Tripp Hanson
Greg Connell - Andreas Wyder*
Chris Bell - Jacob Anspach
Mark Herron - Paul Watt-Morse
Ensemble - Sam Guida
Ensemble - Rico Velazquez
Ensemble - Nellie Cotrupe
Ensemble - Claire Kennard
Ensemble - Julia Polisoto
Ensemble - Qawiyya Haqq
Young Peter Allen - Cameron Korzinski
Young Peter Allen Understudy - Jack Hartman

“The success of last year’s season was a resounding message that OFC’s Broadway in Brighton Series has filled a need in our community and beyond,” shared Johnson.  “Last season when we brought Garrett Clayton (Disney’s Teen Beach Movie, Hairspray LIVE) in as a headliner, our audiences raved about the uniqueness of OFC bringing national artists into our area to lead high caliber productions. We are fortunate to share Blake and Marcia’s incredible talent with Rochester, and there is much more to come!”

The Boy From Oz will kick off OFC’s 2024-2025 Broadway In Brighton Series with a focus on bringing beloved shows and stories of heroes of generations to the stage, many that are not typically performed in Rochester.

The series includes: The Boy from Oz, a regional premiere; West Side Story, a timeless musical; The Prince of Egypt, an upstate NY and Rochester premiere- of which OFC is one of the first performing arts centers in the country to be granted permission to present this show; the classic musical Anything Goes; and Gypsy a golden age musical starring Jodi Benson. Closing out the 2024-2025 season will be the hugely popular Jersey Boys, produced locally for the first time.

OFC Creations has been a fixture of the Rochester, NY performing arts scene since 2005. After opening the 260-seat OFC Creations Theatre Center in 2020, OFC has continued to expand with the largest educational theater program for young actors in New York State, opening an immersive theatrical restaurant and cabaret performance venue in 2022. The 2024-2025 season marks the second year of the Broadway in Brighton Series, a professional regional theater season guaranteeing theatrical excellence for audiences.

OFC’s extremely popular Season Subscription package returns for the 2024-2025 season for those attending the full six show series, including a 15% discount. 

Season subscriptions are available now. 

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