MOON OVER BUFFALO Begins Tonight at Gulfshore Playhouse

Gulfshore Playhouse (www.GulfshorePlayhouse.org) - Southwest Florida's premier professional theatre - presents Ken Ludwig's MOON OVER BUFFALO, a madcap comedy from the author of The Fox on the Fairway and The Game's Afoot, scheduled for February 13 through March 13 at The Norris Center in Naples.

Sure to be Gulfshore Playhouse's biggest crowd pleaser of the season, Ken Ludwig makes his return in this zany comedy tradition of Lend me a Tenor. Moon Over Buffalo centers on George and Charlotte Hay, fading stars of the 1950s. Currently they're performing in Private Lives and Cyrano De Bergerac in rep in Buffalo, New York with only five actors. On the edge of a catastrophic breakup caused by George's supposed indiscretion with a young ingénue, they receive news that they just might have one last shot at stardom. Frank Capra - a prominent American film director, producer, and writer - is coming to town to see their matinée, and if likes what he sees, he just might cast them in his movie remake of The Scarlet Pimpernel. But everything that could go wrong does go wrong as misunderstanding surrounds everyone who enters the theatre including the Hays' stage manager, lawyer, a visiting daughter and her clueless fiancé, and Charlotte's elderly, deaf mother who George. But, the show must go on!

Ludwig serves on GulfShore Playhouse's Artistic Advisory Board and audiences love his big, comedic style.

Premiering on Broadway in 1995, Moon Over Buffalo was nominated for two Tony Awards and marked Carol Burnett's triumphant return to the stage after 30 years, where she starred opposite Philip Bosco. Subsequent Broadway casts included Lynn Redgrave and Robert Goulet. In London it has played at the legendary Old Vic and starred Joan Collins and Frank Langella.

Gulfshore Playhouse's cast of Moon Over Buffalo is as follows:

Steve Vinovich as George Hay - Vinovich has been doing this acting thing for a while. His has had roles in Broadway productions of All The Way, Loose Ends, Lost in Yonkers, The Magic Show, The Robber Bridegroom, The Grand Tour, and The Secret Rapture. He had a role in the Off-Broadway production of Old Jews Telling Jokes and in the national tour of The Dinner Party. He has been a part of over 100 regional productions including most recently the American Funny Thing Happened Forum with Shakespeare Festival; Diary of Anne Frank with Westport Playhouse; and Ben Franklin 1776 with Pittsburgh Public. His has had parts in films including The Intern, The Santa Clause, Awakenings, Mannequin, Puffin in The Swan Princess; and over 100 television guest spots and two series on such iconic shows as 3's Company, LA Law, Hill Street Blues, Roseanne, Star Trek, ER, Everybody Loves Raymond, Law and Order, Matlock, Touched by an Angel, Malcom in the Middle, and yes even Hannah Montana. He trained at the Juilliard Acting School under John Houseman, Strasberg Institute, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Larry Moss. He has been awarded with three LA Drama Logue Awards.

Elizabeth Meadows Rouse as Charlotte Hay - Meadows Rouse's New York credits include The Rose Tattoo on Broadway; Ursula in Much Ado, Bianca in Othello with John Douglas Thompson, and Adriana in Comedy of Errors with Theater for a New Audience; New World Stages; and T.A.C.T. Her London credits include Mistress Allwitt in A Chaste Maid in Cheapside opposite Mark Rylance with Shakespeare's Globe. Her favorite regional credits include All The Way with Repertory Theatre of St Louis; Mae West in Dirty Blonde with Cleveland Playhouse; Louise in The Underpants with Portland Center Stage; and Adriana in Comedy of Errors and Humana Festival with Actor's Theater of Louisville. Her television appearances include 30 Rock, The Carrie Diaries, The Sopranos, and Law and Order SVU. She earned a Master of Fine Arts from University of Washington under Jack Clay and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Southern Methodist University.

Mary Stout as Ethel - Stout is a seasoned Broadway performer appearing in Jane Eyre, Beauty and The Beast, Copperfield, Me and My Girl, My Favorite Year, and A Change in The Heir. She has toured nationally in numerous shows including as Yente in Fiddler on the Roof; played Eugenia Bremer on AMC's award-winning series Remember Wenn and was a featured voice on Disney's Aladdin and Hunchback of Notre Dame. For three years, Mary was Mrs. Santa at Radio City's Christmas Spectacular. She played Mrs. Leacock in a successful run of Far From Heaven at Playwright's Horizons and Williamstown Theatre Festival; played Mother Dear in the North American debut of Betty Blue Eyes at Music Theatre of Wichita; Stella in Dividing The Estate at Palm Beach Dramaworks; and Jeannette in The Full Monty at Theatre Aspen. She most recently completed a television pilot of the story and comedy of Nunsense, hopefully to be seen on a network in the not-too-distant future.

Alex Keiper as Rosalind - Keiper is so excited to make her Gulfshore debut! Most recent credits include Alcyone in Metamorphoses; Marie in Incorruptible; Iola Stover in Parade; and Petra in A Little Night Music all with Arden Theatre Company. She also played Mogo in Field Hockey Hot and Debra in Ordinary Days with 11th Hour Theatre Company; Catherine in Proof with Walnut Street Theatre; and Sophia in Down Past Passyunk with InterAct Theatre Company. Thanks to Pfieff and all the wonderful collaborators at Gulfshore!

Spencer Plachy as Howard - Plachy is absolutely delighted to be here for Moon Over Buffalo, and it is a true pleasure to finally get to work with Mr. Pfeiffer, a director whose he has long admired. He has had roles in the Broadway productions of Romeo & Juliet and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. He has been in the Off-Broadway production of The Common Pursuit and on tours of Oklahoma!, and Fiddler on the Roof. He was most recently seen in Tim and Scrooge at Westchester Broadway Theatre and in National Pastime at Buck's County Playhouse. He was involved in several seasons at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival including the following shows Pericles, The Two Noble Kinsman, 1776, South Pacific, Antony and Cleopatra, Amadeus, and My Fair Lady.

Jenni Putney as Eileen - Putney is over the moon to be making her debut at Gulfshore Playhouse! Her credits include The Pool Skimmer with Clubbed Thumb; Three Sisters, Our Town, and A Dram of Drummhichit with La Jolla Playhouse; Orpheus and Eurydice with Theater Lab NYC; Venus in Fur with Philadelphia Theater Company/George Street Playhouse; Blithe Spirit, Clybourne Park, and Fox on the Fairway with Northern Stage; Midsummer Night's Dream with Portland Center Stage; Fallsway, Winnemucca with Shelby Company; Much Ado About Nothing, and The Mock Tempest with Shakespeare Santa Cruz. She earned a masters in fine arts from the University of California, San Diego; BFA: Chapman University.

Michael Doherty as Paul - Doherty is excited to be making his Gulfshore Playhouse debut. His Off-Broadway productions include Dublin by Lamplight with 59E59/ Inis Nua. He has had roles in numerous regional productions including Charley's Aunt, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona with Utah Shakespeare Festival; Ragtime and A Christmas Carol with Milwaukee Repertory Theater; Assistance with The Wilma Theater; La Bête, Next to Normal, and The History Boys with Arden Theatre Company; and Mr. Hart and Mr. Brown with People's Light & Theatre Company. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of the Arts.

Stephen D'Ambrose as Richard - D'Ambrose is a 40-year stage veteran, with performances in theaters across the country, including St. Louis Repertory, the Guthrie, The Old Globe, San Jose Repertory, Arizona Theater Company, The Children's Theatre Company, The Jungle Theater, and The Folger Shakespeare Theatre in DC. National tours include the Guthrie Theater's Great Expectations and the Broadway tour of Tracy Letts' acclaimed August: Osage County. This past autumn he was in All The Way at the St. Louis Repertory. Last spring he appeared as Igor Stravinsky in Small World at the Penguin Repertory in New York. He performed the world premiere, one-man show of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried at the History Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. He worked at the Pioneer Theater Company in the world premiere of Alabama Story. In 2000, he was awarded the McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowship, in recognition of his career contributions as an actor in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. His film credits include: Sweet Land, Herman USA, Factotem, The Cure, A Christmas Carol, Trauma, and Vixen Highway.

Creative Team:

Kristen Coury - Coury is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, Florida and has directed nearly all their productions to date. Kristen made her feature film directorial debut with Friends and Family, a comedy starring Tony Lo Bianco and Tovah Feldshuh, and has directed several new works, produced a CD and worked on a variety of musicals on Broadway and regionally in various stages of development. Kristen worked in production/management for Walt Disney Theatrical Productions, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Company, and for London's English Shakespeare Company in the Press and Marketing Department.

Matt Pfeiffer, Director - Pfeiffer is a Philly born actor and director who serves as the Associate Artistic Director of Theatre Exile. Previously at Gulfshore he directed The Whipping Man. Recent directing credits; the world premieres of Funnyman with Arden Theatre; Down Past Passyunk with Interact; To The Moon with 1812 Productions; and the Los Angeles premiere of Completeness. Other credits include Two River Theatre, Walnut St. Theatre, Delaware Theatre Co, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Lantern theatre, UArts, and 17 seasons with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Pfeiffer is an eleven-time Barrymore nominee and winner, for his direction of The Whale. He's also a recipient of the F. Otto Haas Award.

Ken Ludwig, Playwright - Ludwig has had six shows on Broadway and six in the West End, and he has won two Laurence Olivier Awards, three Tony Award nominations and two Helen Hayes Awards. His work has been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and has been performed in thirty countries in over twenty languages. Broadway and West End shows include Crazy For You; Lend Me A Tenor; Moon Over Buffalo; Twentieth Century; The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Treasure Island. Other major plays include Shakespeare in Hollywood; Leading Ladies; Be My Baby; The Beaux' Stratagem, an adaptation with Thornton Wilder at the request of the Wilder Estate; The Three Musketeers; The Fox on the Fairway; Twas The Night Before Christmas; Midsummer/Jersey and The Hound of the Baskervilles. His book, How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare, was published in 2012. He studied music at Harvard with Leonard Bernstein and theatre history at Cambridge University in England.

Michael Cassara, CSA, Casting Director - Cassara casts theatre and film in New York City, and is thrilled to be returning for a seventh season with Gulfshore Playhouse, where he has cast 25 plays since 2009. Recent credits include the off-Broadway premiere of Gigantic with Vineyard Theatre, I Love Lucy Live On Stage with the 2014-15 national tour, Forbidden Broadway in the last two editions/cast albums, and the Denver Center/world premiere of The 12. His film credits include The Hyperglot, Paper Dreams, Contest, and Grantham & Rose. Regional theatre credits include productions for The Old Globe, San Jose Rep, Olney, Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival and many more. He is the Resident Casting Director for the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) since 2007 and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) since 2013. Michael is a native Clevelander and a member of the Casting Society of America.

Christopher Colucci, Sound Designer - Colucci is a Philadelphia-based sound designer and composer. His previous work with Gulfshore Playhouse includes Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, The Glass Menagerie, and The Whipping Man. His recent projects include Metamorphoses with Arden Theatre; Disgraced with Philadelphia Theater Company; and The Hound of the Baskervilles with Lantern Theater Company. Colucci has received seven Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Original Music and Sound Design as well as an Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts in 2012.

Becky Lynn Dawson, Production Stage Manager - Dawson is from Lehi, Utah and holds a Masters in Fine Arts from Mason Gross School of the Arts and a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Utah State University. Selected Stage Management credits include Saturday Night Fever, West Side Story, Mary Poppins, On the Town, Legally Blonde, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, CATS, Cabaret, The Drowsy Chaperone, 42nd Street, Hairspray with Merry-Go-Round Playhouse; The Spitfire Grill, Chicago, M. Butterfly, I Hate Hamlet with Northern Stage; Divinamente New York 2009 & 2010 with EH Arts International; An Eclectic Evening of Shorts II & III with Artistic New Directions; Warning: Adult Content, Nemesis with Theatre 54; Spain with Bridge Theatre Company; Monster, House with English Rose Productions.

Ken Goldstein, Scenic Designer - Goldstein returns to Gulfshore Playhouse having designed The Whipping Man, The God Game, Something Intangible, and last season's Body Awareness. He has also designed at Baystreet Theatre, Arkansas Repertory, Capital Repertory Theatre, Northern Stage, Adirondack Theatre Festival, The Skylight Music Theatre, The Hangar, and, at The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. Goldstein is also the designer for Jim Henson's Dinosaur Train Live! and Sid the Science Kid Live! national tours and upcoming projects for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines. He is a member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829, and is the Associate Professor of Set Design at SUNY at New Paltz.

Zolan Henderson, Fight Choreographer - Henderson is so happy to be back at Gulfshore Playhouse. He has always been an avid fan of stage combat and has studied the "illusion of violence" at the University of Southern Mississippi and with the United Stuntman's Association in Seattle at their International Stunt School. Zolan's Gulfshore Playhouse productions include Bob in Beau Jest, Eric in Unnecessary Farce, and George in All My Sons. Roles he has played at Florida Repertory Theatre include Chris in Arthur Miller's All My Sons, Noah in The Rainmaker, Jack in The Boys Next Door, and Paul in Moon Over Buffalo. Other Florida theatre productions that Zolan has been involved in are Timmy Cleary in The Subject was Roses with Palm Beach Dramaworks and Todd in Thumbs with Actors' Playhouse.

Laura Perkins, Costume Designer - Perkins holds a Masters in Fine Arts in theatre with an emphasis in costume design and makeup design from the University of Memphis, a Masters of Arts in communication studies and theatre from Arkansas State University, and a Bachelors of Fine Arts in theatre design/technology from Arkansas State University. Some recent design credits include Lysistrata Jones, The Women of Lockerbie, The Winter's Tale, University and Peer Gynt at Simpson College; The Quiet Man at the Winterset Stage; The Crucible for the Repertory Theatre of Iowa; Willie Wonka, Jr., Berenstain Bears on Stage, Disney's The Jungle Book Kids and Pippi Longstocking's Musical Adventure at Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, ME; Streetcar Named Desire, Love in a Time of War, Dark of the Moon, and Blood Brothers at the University of Memphis; and Prelude at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, MA. Currently she is the assistant costume shop manager at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS.

Thom Weaver, Lighting Designer - In New York Weaver's work includes Exit Strategy with Primary Stages; The Total Bent with NYSF/Public; The Liquid Plain, How I Learned What I Learned, King Hedley II (Signature), Teller's Play Dead, Thrill Me with York; Frankenstein with 37 ARTS; Masked with DR2; and SPF, NYMF, Lincoln Center Institute, and Lincoln Center Festival. His has worked with many regional theatres including CenterStage, Arden, Huntington, Children's Theatre Company, Folger, Syracuse Stage, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Cal Shakes, Wilma, Williamstown, Walnut Street, Shakespeare Theatre, New Paradise, Chicago Shakespeare, Milwaukee Rep, Portland Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Cleveland Playhouse, Asolo Rep, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Hangar, Spoleto, City Theatre, Pittsburgh Public, and Yale Repertory. He has three Barrymore Awards and 21 nominations; two AUDELCO Awards; and three Helen Hayes nominations. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon and Yale.

Gulfshore Playhouse's production of Moon Over Buffalo will take place from February 13 through March 13 at The Norris Center, located at 755 8th Avenue South in Naples. Tickets start at $45 per person. Two special preview performances will take place tonight, February 11 and tomorrow, February 12, with tickets available for just $30 per person. To purchase tickets, visit www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org or call 239.261.PLAY(7529).

Gulfshore Playhouse is passionately committed to enriching the cultural landscape of the region by producing professional theatre to the highest artistic standards and providing unique educational opportunities to diverse groups of people in a spirit of service, adventure, and excitement. Gulfshore Playhouse's work is inspired by a belief in the magic of theater to expand the imagination, challenge the senses, provoke discussion, and revitalize in the audience an understanding of common humanity. This belief drives the care with which Gulfshore Playhouse treats its artists, audiences, students, staff, and members of the greater community. For more information about Gulfshore Playhouse, visit www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org.

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