Hollis Resnik Leads Milwaukee Rep's END OF THE RAINBOW Tonight

Milwaukee Repertory Theater announced today that multi-award-winning actor Hollis Resnik will perform the lead role in End of the Rainbow, a theatrical homage to the late, great Judy Garland. An accomplished stage, television and film actor, Resnik brings the depth of acting and musical experience to portray the iconic Garland as well as the emotional intensity and high energy that the role demands. End of the Rainbow runs through March 9 and opens tonight, January 10 on The Rep's Quadracci Powerhouse main stage theater.

Hollis Resnik can currently be seen in the national tour of Sister Act performing the role of Mother Superior. Other national tours include LES MISERABLES, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Recent credits include: Angels in America (Court Theatre); Follies(Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Candide (Goodman Theatre and The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C.); The Light in the Piazza (Arena Stage); A Streetcar Named Desire (Cleveland Play House) and Grey Gardens (Northlight Theatre and Philadelphia Theatre Company). Resnik is a ten-time Jeff Award winner and 17-time nominee, most recently having won for her role as The Old Woman in the Goodman Theatre's production of Candide. She is also a 2011 recipient of the Helen Hayes Award for Candide performed at The Shakespeare Theatre. Other awards include three After Dark Awards and two Sarah Siddons Awards. TV/film credits include: Playboy Club, Little Big Top, Backdraft, Cupid and The Untouchables. Resnik was also a recipient of the 2012 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship.

End of the Rainbow will be directed by Artistic Director Mark Clements who begins his fourth season at Milwaukee Repertory Theater and recently renewed his contract for another four years. In addition to directing End of the Rainbow, Clements will also direct Ragtime and The History of Invulnerability for The Rep's 2013/14 60th Anniversary Season.

"A pre-eminent singer and movie star, Judy Garland is a seminal figure in American entertainment and a cultural icon, who still makes a huge impact across generations, even over forty years after her death," says Mark Clements. "Rainbow - not a musical, but a play with classic songs - offers the opportunity for a truly tour-de-force performance that explores the joy and the heartbreak that sum up Judy's life so well."

The creative team for End of the Rainbow includes: Mark Clements (Artistic Director/Director); Dan Conway (Scenic Designer); Holly Payne(Costume Designer); Jesse Klug (Lighting Designer) and John Tanner (Music Director/Sound Designer).

Mark Clements (Artistic Director/Director) is an award-winning international theater director who began his tenure at Milwaukee Repertory Theater with the 2010/11 Season. His work has appeared in over 100 major theaters throughout Europe and the United States. Recent Rep directing credits include Clybourne Park, Assassins, Othello, Next to Normal, Death of a Salesman and Cabaret. Other recent credits includeOliver!, Born Yesterday, Great Expectations and LES MISERABLES for Walnut Street Theatre.

Dan Conway (Scenic Designer) returns to The Rep after having designed the multi-layered set for The Diary of Anne Frank last season. He has extensive design credits throughout the United States including over 100 productions in the Washington, D.C. area. He is a ten-time Helen Hayes nominee for the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Set Design and a winner in 2000 and 2008 for Stunning (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company). In addition to designing End of the Rainbow, Conway will also be designing Noises Off running November 19 - December 22 in The Rep's Quadracci Powerhouse.

Holly Payne (Costume Designer), recently The Rep's Costume Director, returns to The Rep after having designed Ring of Fire: The Music ofJohnny Cash, Blues in the Night and The Mountaintop last season. Other Rep credits include The Complete Works of William Shakespeare(abridged), Yellow Man and Lombardi (2011/12 Season) and The Bomb-itty of Errors, Speaking in Tongues and My Name is Asher Lev (2010/11 Season). Other design credits include: Skylight Music Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks and American Players Theatre. She holds an MFA in costume design and technology from the University of Arkansas.

Jesse Klug (Lighting Designer) returns to The Rep after having recently designed Rep productions of Clybourne Park (2012/13 Season), To Kill a Mockingbird (2011/12 Season) and My Name is Asher Lev (2010/11 Season). Credits also include Screwtape Letters (national tour) and Off-Broadway: The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Diety (Second Stage, Hewes Nomination); The Screwtape Letters (Westside Arts); Hunchback Variations (59E59); Romulus (Guggenheim Museum) and The Hourglass (New York Musical Theatre Festival). Klug also has extensive regional theater credits and is a Jeff Award and After Dark award winner.

John Tanner (Music Director/Sound Designer), a Rep Associate Artist, returns to The Rep after Music Arranging A Christmas Carol this past season. He is a composer, sound designer and one of the Principals of Tanner-Monagle Inc, a video and audio production and post-production house in Milwaukee. His experience covers a broad range of work in scoring, arranging and music composition for television, documentaries, radio, industrial video and theater. In addition to Milwaukee Rep, Tanner has written original scores for Yale Repertory Theatre, American Players Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and First Stage Children's Theater, among others.

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Subscriptions for The Rep's 2013/14 Season are now on sale. Subscription prices for the 2013/14 Season range from $70 - $490. Packages available are the Ultimate 11-play package which includes the entire season spanning all three of The Rep's performance spaces; Quadracci Powerhouse/Stackner 9-play package; Quadracci Powerhouse/Stiemke Studio 7-play package; Quadracci Powerhouse 5-play package; Stackner Cabaret 4-Play package as well as a Create Your Own Season package and Flex Passes. For additional information on subscription offerings, please contact Milwaukee Rep's Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 or visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com.

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