Bucks County Playhouse to Hold Talk Back for NATIONAL PASTIME

Bucks County Playhouse (BCP) As the bats crack for the start of the baseball season next month, BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE begins its season with NATIONAL PASTIME, a new musical comedy about baseball and romance, playing April 2 to 19 at Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA.

With music and lyrics by Albert M. Tapper and book by Tony Sportiello, NATIONAL PASTIME is choreographed by Lorin Latarro and directed by Hunter Foster, both Artistic Associates at BCP, where last season they collaborated on the hit musical AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'.

NATIONAL PASTIME is set in 1933 in a small Iowa town and follows the antics of Barry, the owner of the local radio station WZBQ, as he tries to save it from going under. His first formidable foe is Karen, WZBQ's co-owner, who wants to sell the station. Will a crazy scheme involving baseball change Karen's mind, and might she fall in love in the process? NATIONAL PASTIME is a musical valentine to love, baseball and the American dream, and is reminiscent of musicals from Broadway's golden age.

The cast of NATIONAL PASTIME includes Matthew Bauman, Meredith Beck, Will Blum (THE BOOK OF MORMON on Broadway), Daniella Mia Diniz, Janine DiVita (GREASE, MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, ANYTHING GOES on Broadway), Stephanie Gibson (CINDERELLA, ADDAMS FAMILY and SPAMALOT, all on Broadway), Abe Goldfarb, Andrew Kober (LES MISERABLES, HAIR on Broadway), Kelli McGuire (previous productions of NATIONAL PASTIME and SESSIONS), Michael Dean Morgan (the upcoming AMAZING GRACE on Broadway), Spencer Plachy (Romeo & Juliet, MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD on Broadway), and Alexandria Van Paris.

On Friday, March 20 at 7:30 pm at Bucks County Playhouse, Albert M. Tapper - an ardent fan of musicals from Broadway's 'golden age,' as well as an avid collector of baseball memorabilia - will host a screening of the documentary film which he produced, "Broadway: The Golden Age." Followed by an audience Q&A with Mr. Tapper, the film depicts a host of theatrical legends - performers, composers, writers - and how they came to New York and created a century's worth of legendary American theatre.

In addition to NATIONAL PASTIME, Albert M. Tapper is the composer and lyricist of the Off-Broadway musicals SESSIONS and AN EVENING AT THE CARLYLE. He won a Peabody Award for his documentary "Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy." NATIONAL PASTIME has had several developmental productions prior to its Bucks County Playhouse premiere.

Tony Sportiello has written numerous plays - produced internationally in locales such as London, Russia, Finland and China - which include CONTRACT TIME and NATIONAL PASTIME, both in the collection at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

Hunter Foster directed BCP's productions of SUMMER OF '42, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, and AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'. He will direct COMPANY for BCP later this season. As an actor, he has appeared on Broadway in THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, THE PRODUCERS, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS and LES MISERABLES.

Lorin Latarro has choreographed the Broadway productions of CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT, AMERICAN IDIOT and WAITING FOR GODOT with Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen, as well as her many productions at BCP, including, FOREVER PLAID: PLAID TIDINGS, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW and SUMMER OF '42.

Musical direction, arrangements and orchestrations for NATIONAL PASTIME are by David Wolfson; scenic design by Jason Sherwood; costume design by Jennifer Caprio; lighting design by Jake DeGroot; sound design by David A. Thomas. Greg Santos is associate director and Abbey O'Brien is associate choregrapher. Rebecca McBee is production stage manager; Christopher R. Flores is assistant stage manager.

NATIONAL PASTIME will perform April 2 to 19. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased by calling 215-862-2121 or online at www.bcptheater.org

NATIONAL PASTIME opens Bucks County Playhouse's 76th anniversary season, which continues this spring, summer and fall with productions of COMPANY, ON GOLDEN POND, ANIMAL CRACKERS, and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY.

Following last season's Broadway production of Terrence McNally's play MOTHERS AND SONS - which began its journey at Bucks County Playhouse in 2013 - it was announced last week that another BCP production, MISERY, based on Stephen King's novel, will open on Broadway next season starring Bruce Willis, marking the 2nd time in three years that a BCP show has landed on the Main Stem.

Alexander Fraser is BCP'S Producing Director; Robyn Goodman is Executive Producer; Stephen Kocis and Josh Fiedler are Producers.

Bucks County Playhouse, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, provides the finest theatrical entertainment for visitors and residents of New Hope, Doylestown, Lambertville and the Delaware Valley. Under the direction of Alexander Fraser and Robyn Goodman, its mission is to present first class professional entertainment and regain The Playhouse's historic place in the national theatrical landscape; and to stimulate, support, inspire and celebrate the performing arts via community programs, partnerships and arts education.

Located between Philadelphia and New York, Bucks County Playhouse opened in 1939 in a converted 1790 gristmill after a group of community activists, led by Broadway orchestrator Don Walker and playwright Moss Hart, rallied to save the building. The Playhouse quickly became one of the country's most famous regional theaters, featuring a roster of American theatrical royalty including Helen Hayes, Kitty Carlisle, Colleen Dewhurst, Shirley Booth, Lillian Gish, Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, Bert Lahr, Walter Matthau, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Alan Alda, Tyne Daly, Liza Minnelli and Audra McDonald and remained in continuous operation until December 2010. In 2012, The Playhouse re-opened thanks to the efforts of the Bridge Street Foundation, the nonprofit family foundation of Kevin and Sherri Daugherty, and Broadway producer Jed Bernstein. Terrence McNally's Mothers and Sons, starring Tyne Daly, received its world premiere at The Playhouse in 2013 and opened on Broadway in February 2014, where it was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. This returned The Playhouse to its roots as an incubator for Broadway, including 1951′s The Fourposter starring Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, Neil Simon's first play Come Blow Your Horn, and Barefoot in the Park starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. The Bucks County Playhouse is located at 70 South Main Street in New Hope, PA.

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