Connecticut Playmakers Present DINNER WITH DISNEY, Beginning Tonight

Connecticut Playmakers' production of Dinner with Disney at the First Congregational Church in Old Greenwich in May is the sixth collaboration for the theatre company of a long-time creative partnership of director Michele Grace of Fairfield and jazz pianist Chris Coogan of Weston.

The show opens tonight, May 8 and runs weekend performances through May 24 with cabaret-style seating so audience members may bring in food and beverages.

Grace describes the show as "a colorful and fun tribute" to the music from Disney's animated feature films. "The great songs from Disney cross so many cultures and generations," she says, "that this show will appeal to people of all ages."

The Grace/Coogan collaborative partnership extends over 20 years. They co-directed four previous sold-out Connecticut Playmakers productions featuring the music of iconic composers George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Rogers and Hammerstein. At times, the productions have featured more than 50 members in each cast.

They also have collaborated on two smaller shows for the group. In addition, the two regularly perform Broadway, jazz and pop music together as a duo in the area. Says Grace: "We know each other so well we can almost read each other's minds. That's what makes working with Chris on these shows so special."

The show represents musical pieces from almost every decade of the 75-year Disney animated catalogue, focusing on periods that were especially prolific for Disney. Many classics such as "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast, "Let It Go" from Frozen and "When You Wish Upon A Star" from Pinocchio have been selected for presentation by a 19-member cast, ranging in age from 12 to 75. Dinner with Disney is the second production this year for the Playmakers 68th season.

Born into a family of musicians that once operated the popular Fraioli Music stores in Greenwich and Port Chester, NY, Grace studied with Uta Hagen and has appeared professionally in the U.S. and abroad as an actress, singer, director, playwright, vocal coach and voice-over narrator.

The Disney production features The Chris Coogan Quartet, a jazz band lead by Coogan at the keyboard of Victor Borge's Steinway grand piano, donated to the First Congregational Church by the late pianist/comic (1909-2000) and former resident of Greenwich. Coogan's quartet has Jim Clark of Norwalk playing reeds, Peter Hohmeister of Greenwich on drums and John Mobilio Waterbury on bass.

Coogan has recorded eight CDs as a jazz and gospel musician and has been described by the New York Times as "a masterful pianist." He has performed with luminaries like Paul Shaffer, Ben E. King, Gene Wilder, Chevy Chase, Carol Burnett, Rosie O'Donnell and Whoopie Goldberg. He is also a faculty member at the University of Bridgeport.

The production features performers Linda Colucci, Peggi de la Cruz, Cathy Hickey, Jodi Maxner, Karen Joyce-Miller of Stamford, Mickey Raimondi, Martin Diamond, Laura Skutch, Norris Wakefield, Rosalind Cormier of Norwalk, Leslie Duchin, Dan Swartz, Maryann Ferrara Ramos, Gracie Marinelli of Greenwich, Janice Rudolph of Ridgefield, Stephen Bustamante of Monroe, Eric Sporborg of Vista, NY and Kara Hodge of Port Chester.

Ticket are $25. The curtain is 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights and 2 p.m. for the Sunday matinees. For reservations and information:www.ctplayermskers.org or 203.249.5419.

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