Heller Leads FORUM at Goodspeed Opera House; Opens Tonight, 10/21

Goodspeed Opera House, the only two time Tony Award winning theatre in the country, is proud to announce the opening of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM. This musical comedy of errors from the director who brought Goodspeed's On the Twentieth Century and Promises, Promises will run from Oct. 21 - Nov. 29 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. This production will be sponsored by Bank of America and associate sponsor Connecticut Light and Power.

Forum features Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart.

Returning to Goodspeed Musicals as Pseudolus will be Adam Heller who previously performed in Goodspeed's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Mr. Heller's Broadway credits include Caroline, or Change; A Class Act and Victor / Victoria. Hero will be played by Sam Pinkleton and Philia will be played by Emily Thompson who returns to Goodspeed where she performed this spring in 42nd Street. Senex will be played by David Wohl whose Broadway credits include The Man Who Had All the Luck, Dinner at Eight and Fiddler on the Roof.

Ron Wisniski returns to Goodspeed where he previously appeared in Me and My Girl, Finian's Rainbow and Annie (1996) at the Goodspeed Opera House and Gotham! at The Norma Terris Theatre. Mr. Wisniski, who performed as Lumiere in the National Tour of Beauty and the Beast will play Marcus Lycus. Mary Gutzi who performed numerous roles in the Broadway production of Les Miserables will play Domina.

Erronius will be played by Mark Baker who was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Featured Actor for his role in Candide. Nat Chandler whose Broadway credits include The Scarlet Pimpernel will play Miles Gloriosus.

The role of Hysterium will be played by John Scherer. Goodspeed audiences may remember Mr. Scherer as George M. Cohan in the Opera House production of George M! as well as his roles in The Apple Tree and as Bertram Wooster in Goodspeed's production of By Jeeves at The Norma Terris Theatre. Mr. Scherer reprised the role of Wooster for the Broadway production of By Jeeves. His other Broadway credits include Lovemusik and Sunset Boulevard.

Members of the ensemble include Jason Babinsky and Kurt Domoney who appeared on Broadway in A Chorus Line and in the Goodspeed Musicals production of Very Good Eddie in 2003. Panacea will be played by Semhar Ghebremichael, Gymnasia will be played by Laura Kellner, and Vibrata will be played by Kara Kimmer. Steve Konopelski, whose Broadway credits include Gypsy, Hot Feet and Beauty and the Beast joins the ensemble along with Stephanie Lynn Nelson who will play Tintinabula, Abbey O'Brien from Broadway's Pal Joey and Spamalot and Krista Saab also from the Broadway production of Pal Joey. Both will be playing Geminae. The swings will be Michael Biren and Emily SusAnne Franklin.

Forum will be directed and choreographed by Ted Pappas. Mr. Pappas returns to Goodspeed where he directed and choreographed the Opera House productions of On the Twentieth Century; The Apple Tree and Promises, Promises; directed Kiss Me, Kate and helmed The Norma Terris Theatre production of Gotham! as director / choreographer. Mr. Pappas provided additional choreography for Zorba on Broadway.

Scenic design will be by James Noone, whose designs have been seen in Broadway's The Gin Game, Jekyll and Hyde, The Rainmaker, The Sunshine Boys and Hot Feet. His previous set designs for Goodspeed include Singin' in the Rain; Princesses; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; Gotham!; The Apple Tree; Kiss Me, Kate and Bells Are Ringing. Costumes will be designed by Martha Bromelmeier who also designed The Norma Terris Theatre productions of Gotham!; Glimmerglass and Double Trouble. Ms. Bromelmeier's Associate Costume design credits include the Broadway productions of Gypsy, Sweet Charity, La Cage aux Folles, Hairspray, The Producers, The Music Man, Cabaret and Steel Pier. Lighting design will be by Kirk Bookman whose designs for Goodspeed include Singin' in the Rain; Li'l Abner; Abyssinia; Mack & Mabel; Babes in Arms; Kiss Me, Kate and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, among others. Mr. Bookman's designs have been seen in the Broadway productions of Brighton Beach Memoirs, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Gin Game, The Sunshine Boys, and Band in Berlin.

The Music Director for Forum will be Michael O'Flaherty. He is in his 18th season as Goodspeed's Resident Music Director. William J. Thomas will be assistant music director. Orchestrations will be provided by Dan DeLange, who provided the orchestrations for Goodspeed Musicals' Camelot; 42nd Street; Half a Sixpence; High Button Shoes; Singin' in the Rain; The Boy Friend; Call Me Madam; Babes in Arms and Red,Hot and Blue!. Forum is produced for Goodspeed Musicals by Michael P. Price.

Forum will run Sept. 25 through Nov. 29, 2009 [Official Press Opening October 21, 2009]. Curtain times are Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (with select performances at 2:00 p.m.), Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (with select performances at 6:30 p.m.).

THANKSGIVING WEEK SCHEDULE: Monday, November 23, at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Friday, November 27, at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, November 28, at 3:00 p.m. and 8 p.m.,; and Sunday, November 29, at 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available now through the Box Office 860.873.8668 or at goodspeed.org.

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 productions at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., which was opened in 1984 for the development of new musicals. The only regional theatre to receive two Tony Awards (for outstanding achievement), Goodspeed also maintains the Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in the Musical Theater. Goodspeed gratefully acknowledges the supper of Bank of America; Connecticut Light & Power; Blum, Shapiro & Company P.C. and support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.

 

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