Paramount Theatre's JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT Cast Announced

Hot on the heels of My Fair Lady, the critically acclaimed, smash hit musical which launched the Paramount Theatre's new Broadway series just last month, the Aurora-based theater is ready to GO, GO, GO, GO to it again.

Next up is an all new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's ever-popular musical portrait of Joseph, the favorite son. Performances are November 2 -20, 2011 at the Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., in downtown Aurora, Illinois. Performances are Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Press opening is Friday, November 4 at 8 p.m.

Already, more than 11,000 musical theater fans have signed up to enjoy four incredible musicals at the Paramount - My Fair Lady, Joseph..., A Chorus Line (January 18-February 5, 2012) and Hair (March 14-April 1, 2012)- for the price of just one show downtown. Single tickets to Joseph... are now on sale for just $34.90-$46.90.To inquire about subscriptions or to purchase single tickets, go to ParamountAurora.com, call the Paramount box office, (630) 896-6666, or visit the box office Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and 2 hours prior to evening performances.

To stage Webber and Rice's beloved, stirring story of Joseph and his coat of many colors, Paramount Artistic Director Jim Corti has passed the directorial baton to Chicago director/choreographer Stacey Flaster. Praised by the Chicago Tribune as "fearless...a young director making her mark on the world of Chicago musicals," Flaster has directed and choreographed for Marriott Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Theatre at the Center, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Light Opera Works and Noble Fool Theatricals. She also has been nominated for two Jeff Awards for her choreography.

In addition, Paramount has assembled another top-flight cast and design team for the company's second self-produced musical, including boy wonder newcomer Brian Bohr, a west suburban native and currently a senior at Northwestern University, in the title role of Joseph. Bohr's fellow cast members are Chris Carter (Naphtali), Robert Deason (Dan), Vasily Deris (Pharaoh), Brian Duncan (Asher), Mike Erickson (Reuben), Lara Filip (Narrator), James Earl Jones II (Simeon), Bobby Johnson (Issachar), George Keating (Jacob/Potiphar), Alex McCrary (Gad), Vincent McPherson (Benjamin), Liam Quealy (Judah), and Cory Stonebrook (Levi). Ensemble members include Karissa Barney, Erin Elle East, Jacqui Graziano, Monique Haley, Nicole Hren, Nicole Miller, Rebecca Pink, Pavi Prockzo, Emily Rogers, Cara Salerno and Katie Spelman. Rounding out the 38-member cast are children's chorus members Kara Blasingame, Sydney Cusic, Sophie Evans, Audrey Hare, Ethan Isaacson, Dan Keller, Brendon McCray, Natalie Pare, Matthew Uzarraga, Janie Voris, Zachariah Wilson and Jake Ziman. What's more, the Paramount Theatre Orchestra, a 16-member live music ensemble, returns to provide lush, full orchestration for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Behind the scenes, Paramount's design team for Joseph... includes Shawn Stengel, music director/conductor; Kevin Depinet, scenic designer; Melissa Torchia, costume designer; Jesse Klug, lighting designer; Ray Nardelli, sound designer; MerEdith Miller, properties designer; Chris Carter, assistant choreographer; Shawn Pryby, stage manager; and Donald E. Claxon, assistant stage manager.

Nominated for eight Tony Awards, and featuring lyrics by frequent Webber collaborator Tim Rice, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat paints a stirring portrait of Joseph, the favorite son. His eleven brothers - jealous to the core. The narrator gently guides this biblical story and colorful cast through Andrew Lloyd Webber's family-friendly and eclectic score of catchy pop music genres: from country western and disco to reggae and rock and roll.

As expected, Paramount's artistic team's vision for staging Joseph... is spectacular - a fresh, hip new production. As Joseph, the role made famous by Donny Osmond, Chicago stage phenom Brian Bohr, a native of nearby Wheaton, graduate of Wheaton Warrenville South High School and currently a senior theater major at Northwestern University, along with a charismatic cast promise to transform big numbers, light-hearted humor and dance into a memorable show sure to touch the hearts of the very young on up.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is a household name, thanks to composing such classic blockbuster musicals as Joseph..., Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera and Sunset Boulevard. His awards include seven Tonys, three Grammys, seven Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, two International Emmys, the Praemium Imperiale, the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre and The Kennedy Center Honor. He currently owns seven London theatres including the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and the London Palladium. He was knighted in 1992 and created an honorary life peer in 1997.

Paramount Theatre's production of Joseph and the Technicolor® Dreamcoat is sponsored by The Daily Herald.

Earlier this spring, the Paramount Theatre turned heads by appointing popular Chicago stage veteran Jim Corti as the company's first artistic director in 80 years, then announcing it would self-produce its first-ever Broadway at the Paramount series in 2011-12, presenting three-week runs of the popular musicals My Fair Lady, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat, A Chorus Line and Hair, each featuring Chicago's top professional directors, actors and designers.

In addition, the Paramount is packing even more top drawer entertainment into the theater's 80th anniversary schedule, including percussive explosion Blast!, the ballroom dance extravaganza Burn the Floor, the fiery magic of Celtic Fire, comedians Frank Caliendo, Bill Engvall, renowned songstress Mary Chapin Carpenter, Judy Garland's daughter Lorna Luft, rock and roll legends Huey Lewis and the News, Los Lobos, Cyndi Lauper with Dr. John, the popular Chicago band Poi Dog Pondering, amazing rock tribute concerts The Pink Floyd Experience and Almost Elton John and The Rocket Band, new "popera" phenoms Il Voce, family-friendly shows like illusionist Mike Super, The Flying Karamazov Brothers, The Von Trapp Children, and Frank Ferante in An Evening with Groucho, two New Year's Eve performances of Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack Show, the side-splitting comedy Southern Fried Chicks, the nostalgic musical Route 66, and an all-new Classic Movie Mondays series.

Celebrating its 80th season in 2011-2012, the Paramount Theatre is the center for performing arts, entertainment and arts education in Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois. Named "One of Chicago's Top Ten Attended Theatres" by the League of Chicago Theatres, the 1,888-seat Paramount Theatre, located in the heart of downtown Aurora at 23 E. Galena Boulevard, attracts an annual audience of more than 150,000, and is nationally renowned for the quality and caliber of its presentations, superb acoustics and historic beauty.

The Paramount Theatre continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Executive Director Tim Rater, Artistic Director Jim Corti, a dedicated Board of Trustees and a devoted staff of live theater professionals. For more information and a complete performance schedule, visit ParamountAurora.com.

 

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