IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU Makes Mid-Atlantic Debut at Richmond Triangle Players

Richmond Triangle Players concludes its 24th Season with the wackiest wedding musical ever onstage, It Shoulda Been You. This delightful farce, with a cast comprised of some of Richmond's finest musical-comedy performers, opens Thursday, June 1, 2017 at 8 pm, following a low-priced preview on Wednesday, May 31. The production, sponsored by Hayes & Fisk Photography and Mosaic Catering, runs through July 1.

In this hilarious and heartwarming new musical, it's a Culture Clash for the ages when two families from wildly different backgrounds come together to celebrate a wedding. The bride is Jewish; the groom is Catholic. Her mother is a force of nature; his mother is a tempest in a cocktail shaker. As if the union wasn't complicated enough, the bride's ex-boyfriend arrives, bringing the wedding to a screeching halt and throwing both families into hysterical chaos. Plots are hatched, pacts are made, secrets are exposed - and the sister of the bride is left to turn a tangled mess into happily ever. It Shoulda Been You invites you to a wedding day you'll never forget, where anything that can go wrong does -- and love pops up in mysterious places!

"The cast of this production is really made up of some of the best of our community's musical-comedy talent," said RTP executive director Philip Crosby. "And how lucky we are to have Jon Kretzu, who guided the West Coast premiere of this show, as our director."

Playing the central role of the bride's sister and co-maid of honor is beloved performer (and RTP's resident cabaret diva) Georgia Rogers Farmer. The bride is played by Grey Garrett (Richmond Theater Critics Circle Best Supporting Actress for RTP's The Boy from Oz) with Luke Newsome (RTP's Perfect Arrangement) as her groom. The bride's parents are played by RTCC award-winners Jacqueline O'Connor (Cadence Theatre's Good People) and Doug Schneider (RTP's Cabaret), with the groom's parents played by Mark Persinger and Susan Sanford, both well known to Richmond audiences for dozens of roles at Virginia Repertory Theatre.

The bride's ex-boyfriend is played by Ian Page (RTCC-nominated for RTP's bare: a pop opera), while the best man and co-maid of honor are played by Durron Tyre (RTP's La Cage aux Folles and Virginia Rep's Dreamgirls) and Jessi Johnson (RTCC nominee for RTP's Psycho Beach Party). Kirk Morton (most recently in RTP's holiday smash Scrooge in Rouge) plays the wedding planner, and Louise Ricks (RTP's Perfect Arrangement) and John Mincks (Swift Creek Mill's Something's Afoot) round out the cast as the bride's aunt and uncle.

Portland (OR) based director Jon Kretzu has helmed productions all over the country, from Shakespeare to American classics to musical comedy. He was RTCC-nominated as best director of a play for Quill Theatre's production of Aaron Posner's Stupid F***ing Bird, and directed the west coast premiere of It Shoulda Been You, before the production's Broadway premiere. Book and lyrics are by Brian Hargrove, who had a long career as an actor before becoming a well-known writer for television, including Wanda at Large and Caroline and the City. Composer Barbara Anselmi has many years of experience as a music director/arranger and orchestrator. Her writing career began after 9/11 with All Join Together, the title song of a CD that raised money for The New York Times 9/11 fund.

Musical director for It Shoulda Been You is RTCC-award winner Kim Fox (Cadence Theatre's Next to Normal) with choreography by Kikau Alvaro. Set design is by Frank Foster, costumes design is by T.C. Williams, and lighting design is by Michael Jarett. Hair and make-up design is by Joel Furtick, and sound design is by Joey Luck. Production stage manager is Lucian Restivo.

Richmond Triangle Players' performances take place at its home at the newly-renamed Robert B. Moss Theatre at 1300 Altamont Avenue, just northwest of the intersection of the Boulevard and West Broad Street. Reserved seat tickets ($35 for Fridays and Saturdays evenings at 8:00 pm, $30 for Thursday evenings at 8:00 pm and Sunday matinees at 4:00 pm, with discounts for groups and students) can be purchased online at RTP's web site at www.rtriangle.org, on RTP's facebook page, or by leaving a message on the RTP Ticket hotline at 804-346-8113.

The Robert B. Moss Theatre is a 4000-square foot performing arts facility accommodating flexible seating arrangements for up to 90 patrons. The building features fully ADA-compliant access and comfortable restrooms, as well as a generous bar, and catering capability, and is also available for cabaret performances and private events.

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