Photo Flash: Mitzi Gaynor Visits the cast of Dietrich & Chevalier

Ms. Gaynor was a long time friend of Marlene Dietrich, portrayed in the show by Jodi Stevens. She regaled the cast, which also includes Robert Cuccioli as Maurice chevalier and Donald Corren, with stories of Dietrich, who she met when they both headlined in Las Vegas. They remained close even after Dietrich moved to Paris, speaking every week by phone.

DIETRICH & CHEVALIER, a new musical by Jerry Mayer, starring Robert Cuccioli, Jodi Stevens and Donald Corren, will make its Off-Broadway premiere at St. Luke's Theatre, 308 West 46th Street (between Eighth & Ninth Avenues). DIETRICH & CHEVALIER is set to begin performances June 5th with opening night set for Sunday, June 27th at 7pm.

Pamela Hall will direct the production, which will feature musical direction by Ken Lundie and additional musical staging by Gene Castle.
Marlene Dietrich and Maurice chevalier were the top film stars at Paramount Pictures in the 1930s. Married to others, they fell in love and remained friends for life. DIETRICH & CHEVALIER is the fascinating true story of their complicated relationship set against the backdrop of WWII. This new musical features many of their great signature songs including Falling in Love Again; Louise; Lili Marleen; Mimi; No Love, No Nothin'; Valentine; and The Boys in the Backroom.

Robert Cuccioli made his Broadway debut as Javert in Les Miserables, and is best known for his critically acclaimed performance as the duel title roles in Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde, for which he received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. Off-Broadway credits include Temporary Help, Enter the Guardsman, And the World Goes ‘Round (Outer Critics Circle Award), The Rothschilds, and he was most recently seen in the acclaimed production of Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. Robert has performed in such notable regional theatres as The Guthrie (Antony & Cleopatra), Paper Mill (1776, Oklahoma, Lend Me a Tenor, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Sound Of Music), The Shakespeare Theatre Of NJ (Amadeus, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Carnival), The Shakespeare Theatre Of DC (Hamlet, Lorenzzaccio), the McCarter Theatre and George Street Playhouse (The Seafarer, A Moon to Dance By with Jane Alexander). Robert just completed a production of Nine at The Westchester Broadway Theatre, for which he received critical praise for his performance as Guido Contini. Films include Woody Allen's Celebrity and The Stranger.

Jodi Stevens appeared in the original Broadway companies of Jekyll & Hyde and Urban Cowboy. Off-Broadway and regional credits include Heaven Help Us (Denver Center and Florida Stage), Harmony, Dracula (La Jolla Playhouse), I Can Get It for You Wholesale (Mufti at the York), Eliot Ness in Cleveland, Body Shop (Westbeth), Antigone: The Musical (TADA!), 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (INTAR), Annie: the 20th Anniversary (Goodspeed), Twelfth Night (Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival).

Donald Corren was most recently seen on Broadway opposite Judy Kaye in Stephen Temperley's Souvenir. Also on Broadway, he starred in Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy, a performance which earned him both the Los Angeles and San Francisco Drama Critics' Circle Awards while on tour. Off-Broadway appearances include the original cast of Jonathan Tolin's The Last Sunday in June, Stephen Sondheim's Saturday Night and Tom Lehrer's Tomfoolery. Regional appearances include Speed in The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Autolycus in The Winter's Tale at The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C, Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, Chico in Animal Crackers at Arena Stage, and John in A Life in the Theatre at The Goodman.

Playwright Jerry Mayer wrote scripts for such classic TV series as "All in the Family," "M*A*S*H," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Bob Newhart Show," where he was appointed Story Editor. He was also Executive Producer of "The Facts of Life." Jerry wrote six of Mitzi Gaynor's legendary TV Specials. He is the author of nine plays including the hit musical You Haven't Changed a Bit, and Other Lies, written with his son, composer Steve Mayer. Jerry has received Drama-Logue awards for comedy playwrighting and his plays have been performed all over the USA, in Canada and in many European countries.

Director Pamela Hall directed the Off-Broadway productions of Danny and Sylvia, The Rise of Dorothy Hale, Trolls, the long-running hit Picon Pie, and Emily Mann's Annulla. She was nominated for an Ovation Award for her direction of the L.A. premiere of The Taffetas and she also directed the West Coast premieres of Jeff Daniels' Shoe Man; the Fred Allen bioplay Mr. Allen, Mr. Allen; Maltby and Shire's Starting Here, Starting Now; and the long-running original musical Crazy Words, Crazy Tunes. Pamela directed Hand in Hand: The Un-Musical, the first musical created and performed by Deaf West Theatre. As an actor, she has played leading roles on Broadway in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Phil Silvers, Dear World with Angela Lansbury, 1776, and she was featured in the all-star Sondheim: A Musical Tribute at the Shubert Theatre.

Performances will be Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 pm and Sundays at 2pm & 7pm. Tickets from $36.50 are available through Telecharge.com or by calling 212/239-6200.

For more information, visit DietrichAndChevalierthemusical.com.

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