Alley Theatre Announces Cast and Creative Team for Peter Shaffer's Amadeus

Starting in April on the Hubbard stage is the Alley Theatre's production of the thrilling and wickedly sharp Amadeus. Peter Shaffer's Tony Award-winning play is a fictional story, set in the late 18th century, inspired by the historical circumstances of the artistic and personal rivalry between Viennese court composers Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Close to death and fearing that God has abandoned him, Salieri confesses his rage, envy, vengeance and regrets. The complex world of religious faith, moral standards, genuine inspiration and artistic expression are illuminated through a series of theatrical flashbacks seen from Salieri's perspective. Salieri's scandalous and spellbinding tale culminates when the righteous ambitions of a mediocre musician are focused on the tragic destruction of a man graced with heavenly genius, Mozart. Profanity, violence, adult situations. Recommended for mature audiences.

Amadeus, by Peter Shaffer, begins previews Friday, April 1, opens Wednesday, April 6, and runs through Sunday, May 1, 2011, on the Hubbard Stage.

Directed by Jonathan Moscone, the 17-member cast features Jeffrey Bean as Antonio Salieri and making his Alley Theatre debut is Stanley Bahorek as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Jonathan Moscone (Director) is entering his 11th season as Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater where his credits include the world premiere of John Steinbeck's The Pastures of Heaven, Much Ado About Nothing, Happy Days, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby and Twelfth Night. Recently, he was awarded the inaugural Zelda Fichandler Award by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation for "transforming the American theater through his unique and creative work." Regional credits include American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Huntington Theatre Company, Intiman Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Goodspeed Musicals, Dallas Theater Center, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Portland Stage Company, and Magic Theatre. He is an adjunct faculty member of the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program and teaches at Berkeley Rep's School of Theater. Upcoming projects include the world premiere of Ghost Light with collaborator Tony Taccone for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Berkeley Rep. He currently serves as a board member of Theatre Communications Group.

Stanley Bahorek (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) has appeared on Broadway as Leaf Coneybear in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His Off-Broadway credits include See Rock City, Inventing Avi and Queen of the Mist by Michael John LaChiusa with Transport Group Lab. His other recent credits include Candide in Candide at The 5th Avenue Theatre, Hunter in [title of show] at Arizona Theatre Company, Mark Cohen in Rent at Syracuse Stage, Jack in Into the Woods at Pittsburgh CLO, Chad in Wood at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, Ralph Malph in Happy Days at Goodspeed Opera House, Jim Henson's Emmet Otter at Goodspeed Opera House, the world premiere of Ordinary Days at Pennsylvania Centre Stage, the world premiere of Henry Krieger and Bill Russell's Up In The Air at The Kennedy Center, Henrik in A Little Night Music at TheatreWorks, CA, Music Theatre of Wichita, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in Boston and San Francisco. He has also appeared in the National Tour of Big River as Tom Sawyer. He is a founding member and teaching artist with Broadway in South Africa and a member of Actors' Equity Association. He is a graduate of The University of Michigan.

Jeffrey Bean (Antonio Salieri) is in his 16th season as an Alley Company Artist and has appeared in over 100 Alley productions since 1989. Recently he has appeared in August: Osage County as Bill Fordham, A Christmas Carol as Scrooge, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up as Smee, Boeing-Boeing as Robert and Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps as Man #2. Previous Alley highlights include The Farnsworth Invention as David Sarnoff, Mauritius as Philip, Cyrano de Bergerac as Cyrano, The Scene as Charlie, Doubt as Father Flynn, Subject to Fits as Prince Myshkin, Much Ado About Nothing as Benedick, Journey's End as 2nd Lieutenant Trotter, The Pillowman as Michal, Hapgood as Ridley, Twelfth Night as Feste, The Importance of Being Earnest as Algernon, Billy Bishop Goes to War as Billy Bishop, Gross Indecency as Oscar Wilde, Arms & the Man as Bluntschli, The Crucible as Deputy Gov. Danforth, The Foreigner as Charlie Baker and Stones in His Pockets as Charlie Conlon. Broadway credits include Bells Are Ringing as Francis and Amadeus as Kappelmeister Bonno. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts and a Princess Grace Award winner.

Amadeus features Alley Theatre Artists Jeffrey Bean as Antonio Salieri, James Belcher as Baron Van Swieten, James Black as Count Orsini-Rosenberg, Chris Hutchison as Joseph II, Charles Krohn as Johann Kilian Von Strack, David Rainey as Giuseppe Bonno/Citizen of Vienna, Emily Neves as Citizen of Vienna and Melissa Pritchett as Constanze Weber.

The cast also features Stanley Bahorek as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Alley Debut), Patrick Damien Earl as Priest/Citizen of Vienna (Alley's Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up), Dylan Godwin (Alley's Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up) and Adam Van Wagoner (Alley's Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up) as The Venticelli, Steve Irish as Major Domo/Citizen of Vienna (Alley Debut), Amanda Kingston as Katherina Cavalieri/Citizen of Vienna (Alley Debut), Kalob Martinez as Salieri's Cook/Citizen of Vienna (Alley's Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up), Anne Quackenbush as Teresa Salieri/Citizen of Vienna (Alley's Harvey) and Santry Rush as Salieri's Valet/Citizen of Vienna (Alley's Our Town).

The design team for Amadeus includes scenic design by Daniel Ostling (Alley Debut), with costume design by Katherine Roth (Alley Debut). Lighting design is by Christopher Akerlind (Alley's Gruesome Playground Injuries) with sound design by Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen (Alley's Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up) with assistant director Elizabeth Bunch (Alley Company Artist) and Dramaturg Robert Shimko (Alley's Boeing-Boeing).

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to Amadeus start at $21. All tickets to Amadeus are available for purchase at www.alleytheatre.org, at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue, or by calling 713.220.5700. Groups of 10 or more can receive special concierge services and select discounts by calling 713.220.5700 and asking for the group sales department. The added convenience of reservations by phone or Internet is available for a nominal fee. Tickets purchased in person at the Alley Theatre Box Office have a $1 building restoration fee.

MUSIC THERAPY CENTER OF HOUSTON $10 TIX
Saturday, April 2
The Alley Theatre continues its efforts to make the theatre affordable to patrons. Partnering with other social non-profit organizations, the Alley seeks to generate in-kind donations and reward patrons with $10 Tix for select performances. The $10 Tix are available in person only on Saturday, April 2 and are limited to two tickets per person. With your donation, you can purchase two $10 tickets for either Saturday, April 2 at 2:30 p.m.; Tuesday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m.; or Thursday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. Donate and purchase in person at the box office (615 Texas Ave.) on Saturday, April 2 only. Limited availability. The $10 Tix partner for Amadeus is Music Therapy of Houston. The date to donate and purchase is Saturday, April 2, beginning at noon. The donated item is new CDs (any kind).

CAPTIONED AND AUDIO DESCRIBED PERFORMANCE
Sunday April 3, 7:30 p.m.
The Alley Theatre is pleased to offer open captioning and audio description for many of our productions throughout the season. To ensure that your seats will accommodate your needs, please call the box office 713.220.5700 when ordering tickets to this performance. Discounted tickets are available for groups of 10 or more.

TALKBACK
Saturday, April 9, 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 12, 7:30 p.m.
Members of the cast return to the stage following the performance to take questions from the audience. TalkBacks are led by a member of the Alley Artistic Staff.

ACTOUT
Thursday, April 14, 6-7:15 p.m.
Houston's premiere theatre group for gay and lesbian theatre fans and their friends celebrates the Alley Theatre's production of Amadeus. This pre-curtain event is free with your ticket to the Thursday, April 14, 7:30 p.m. performance of Amadeus. To buy a ticket, required for this event, use the promo code: ACTOUT. Purchase online at www.alleytheatre.org or call the box office at 713.220.5700.

Amadeus is generously sponsored by Supporting Sponsor: Porter Hedges LLP; and Associate Producers: The Gordon A. Cain Foundation, Cornelia and Meredith Long; Beth Madison; Connie and Roger Plank; and Rob and Susan Reedy. The Alley Theatre is supported by the 2010-2011 season sponsor United Airlines, the official airline of the Alley Theatre.

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