Tony Nominee Marc Kudisch to Direct Neil Berg's THE PHANTOMS OF THE OPERA at Texas A&M, 4/4 & 5

Left Field Productions, Neil Berg, Adam Friedson and MSC OPAS at Texas A&M University have announced that veteran Broadway actor Marc Kudisch will direct the world premiere project that will close the 40th Anniversary OPAS Season at Texas A&M University – Neil Berg's The Phantoms of the Opera.

The three-time Tony Award winner will collaborate with creator/producer Neil Berg and lead the show's creative process including casting and working with the seven Broadway actors that will appear in the concert event. The cast will be announced in early 2013 with rehearsals set to start in New York City this spring.

Mr. Kudisch and Mr. Berg recently led initial creative meetings with OPAS staff, Rudder Theater Complex staff and other community volunteers. Their vision is bold, vibrant, exciting and full of surprises. After touring the Rudder facilities, they are confident their vision will soar at Texas A&M University.

OPAS Executive Director Anne Black states, "It's incredible to witness these artists at the beginning of the creative process. Their enthusiasm and passion is inspiring for everyone involved with this collaboration. Stay tuned for even more exciting announcements about Neil Berg's The Phantoms of the Opera."

Creator/Producer Neil Berg states, "I have worked with Marc for years on a variety of projects and have the upmost respect for him and his impressive talents. The minute Marc heard that we were producing The Phantoms project at Texas A&M, he made it clear to me that he was the guy to direct it and he would do whatever it took to make that happen. He has brought exciting ideas and tremendous energy to the process and we couldn't be happier than to be working on The Phantoms with him."

Marc Kudisch has enjoyed a successful Broadway career scoring Three Tony Award® nominations for his work in Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (2005) and 9 to 5: The Musical (2009). His television credits include "Sex and the City," "All My Children," "As the World Turns," "Blue Bloods" and most recently "Smash." His full bio follows this press release.

Tickets to Neil Berg's The Phantoms of the Opera range from $31-$89 with special discounts for students. They are available now at the MSC Box Office (979-845-1234) and online at www.MSCOPAS.org.

OPAS closes the 40th anniversary season with a world premiere concert event starring 7 Broadway all-stars! Created by award-winning composer and producer Neil Berg, this never-before-seen production celebrates the extraordinary history of the four musical theater adaptations of Gaston Leroux's dramatic tale of obsession and desire, The Phantom of the Opera. Berg and his Broadway creative team masterfully weave the untold history of the major Phantom productions through the most dramatic moments in song beginning with the gorgeous original by Ken Hill, continuing with Kopit and Yeston's masterpiece (Phantom) and concluding with the theater-changing productions by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. Expect lots of surprises on stage, including a full chorus, with this spellbinding theatrical concert you will never forget.

Marc Kudisch, most recently seen in Second Stage's The Blue Flower and Lincoln Center's A Minister's Wife, garnered critical acclaim as well as his third Tony and fourth Drama Desk Award nominations in his most recent Broadway stint creating the role of Franklin Hart in the Dolly Parton Broadway musical 9 to 5, and won a Helen Hayes Award for his performance in the Witches of Eastwick at the Signature Theater. He was previously seen as the Snake, Balladeer, and Narrator in the Roundabout Theatre's revival of The Apple Tree, while doing double duty and performing as the Pirate King in New York City Opera's revival of The Pirates of Penzance. Marc had previously been nominated for the Tony Award first for the role of Trevor Graydon in Thoroughly Modern Millie (Drama Desk and Outer Critics nominations as well), and then for Baron Bomburst in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Outer Critics nomination as well). His other Broadway roles include The Proprietor in Assassins (Drama Desk nomination), Jeff Moss in Bells Are Ringing, Jackie in The Public Theatre's production of The Wild Party, Chauvelin in the 3rd incarnation of The Scarlet Pimpernel, George Kittredge in High Society, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, and Reuben in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Off-Broadway roles include Slick Follicle in Girl Crazy at Encores!, Flaminio Scala in Lynn Ahrens and Steve Flahrety's new musical The Glorious Ones at Lincoln Center; Morito, Husband, CPA in See What I Wanna See at The Public Theatre (Drama Desk Nomination); Tom in The Thing About Men at the Promenade Theatre, Mike in No Strings at Encores!, as well as their Fall Bash of 2004; and Mario in Tamara: The Living Movie at the Park Avenue Armory. Nationally, Marc was seen as Conrad Birdie in Bye Bye Birdie, co-starring Tommy Tune and Ann Reinking. Recent regional appearances include Ricky Ian Gordon's Sycamore Trees at the Signature Theatre, Terrence McNally's The Golden Age at the Kennedy Center, Darryl Van Horne in the American premiere of The Witches of Eastwick at The Signature Theatre Company (D.C.); John Buchanan in Summer and Smoke co-starring Amanda Plummer at The Hartford Stage Company; Zorba in Zorba! at Reprise! in Los Angeles (Garland Award, Ovation and Los Angeles Outer Critics nominations); Vincent Van Gogh in Michael John LaChusia's The Highest Yellow at The Signature Theatre in D.C. (Helen Hayes award nomination). Opera engagements include Carl Magnus-Malcom in A Little Night Music at New York City Opera and Los Angeles Opera. Marc's concert appearances include Portland Symphony, Ravinia Festival, and the Philadelphia Philharmonic, as well as at the popular Broadway By the Year concert series at Town Hall in New York City, where Marc has been a constant performer and director for over 5 years. Marc's television and film credits include Val in Break-In for the Lifetime network, Conrad Birdie in Bye Bye Birdie for ABC Television, guest appearances on Sex in the City and David Letterman, and recurring roles on All My Children and Loving. Marc' s recordings include the OCRs of High Society, The Wild Party, Bells Are Ringing, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Assassins, See What I Wanna See, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and the film of Bye Bye Birdie, as well as live concert recordings from Broadway By the Year 1926, 1960, 1946, and Broadway Unplugged 1, 2 and 3.

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