Gordon Clapp of NYPD BLUE to Star in TOMMY AND ME at Bucks County Playhouse

Emmy-winner and Tony-nominee Gordon Clapp, who played Detective Greg Medavoy for all 12 seasons on ABC's "NYPD Blue," will star as Tommy McDonald in a new production of Ray Didinger's "Tommy and Me," at Bucks County Playhouse, May 19 through June 17. The show kicks off the Playhouse's 2023 season - its 84th and the 11th since reopening in 2012.

Directed by Nick Corley, "Tommy and Me" recalls a seminal time in Didinger's life when he helped his idol, Philadelphia Eagles legendary wide receiver Tommy McDonald, gain his place in the NFL Hall of Fame. The timing of the play also celebrates the recent success of The Philadelphia Eagles NFC Championship season and the excitement around the NFL draft.

Magical things can happen when a boy meets his sports idol. Legendary Sports journalist Ray Didinger's lifelong relationship with famously tough, Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver, Tommy McDonald, led both down an unexpected path - straight to Canton, OH and the National Football League's Hall of Fame. "Tommy and Me" is a valentine to the relationship between sports stars and fans everywhere.

Gordon Clapp is thrilled to play this role as he was a huge Tommy McDonald fan when he was a young boy living in New England. He appeared on Broadway in the 2005 revival of "Glengarry, Glen Ross" for which he was nominated for a Tony. He received a Theatre World Award for his performance. Other Broadway credits include "The Great Society" (Lincoln Center) and "To Kill A Mockingbird." Other theater credits include "Blood From A Stone," and The New Group's "Early History Of Fire" both Off-Broadway. Regional appearances include "Pru Payne" (Arizona Theatre Company), "Man In The Ring" (Huntington Theatre-IRNE Award), "A Christmas Carol," "A Doll's House," "Trick Or Treat" (Northern Stage (VT) "Art", "Our Town", "On Golden Pond" (New London Barn), "Auld Lang Syne", "Stella And Lou", "Our Town" (Peterborough Players), "Dig" (Dorset Theatre Festival) and "Midvale High School 50th Reunion" (Nora Theatre). He was seen in the films "Return Of The Secaucus Seven," "Eight Men Out," "Matewan," "Flags Of Our Fathers," "Peter And John," and "Game Plan." In addition to "NYPD Blue" (12 seasons, Emmy, SAG Award), TV viewers know Clapp from appearances on "Damages," "Chicago Fire," "Mare Of Easttown," "American Rust," and "Deadwood."

Starring opposite Clapp, is Broadway veteran Karl Kenzler in the role of Ray. Kenzler appeared on Broadway in the "Fiddler on the Roof" (2015 revival), "You Can't Take It with You", "Mary Poppins", "Twelve Angry Men", "The Caretaker", "Dinner at Eight", "The Heiress". NY Theatre includes: "Twilight: Los Angeles" (Signature, Lucille Lortel Award), "All Our Children" (Sheen Center), "Usual Girls" (Roundabout), "Three Wise Guys" and "Beyond Therapy" (TACT), "Clinton: The Musical!" (NYMF), "Peter & The Starcatcher" (NYTW). TV audiences have seen Kenzler in "How To Fix A Drug Scandal", "FBI: Most Wanted", "The Blacklist", "Blue Bloods", "Madam Secretary", "Suits", "Mister Robot", "House of Cards" (recurring), "Law & Order: SVU" (recurring), "Person of Interest", "Made in Jersey", "The Good Wife", Law & Order", "Darwin: The Series".

Rounding out the cast are William Bednar ("Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" - San Francisco) as young adult Tommy, and Jacob Beser and Matthew Lamb (New York Theater Workshop's "Merrily We Roll Along") alternating in the role of Young Tommy. Understudies are Bruce Sabath (2006 Broadway revival of "Company") and John Brodsky.

Jack Magaw (BCP's "American Jade") is Scenic Designer. Lighting Designer is Paul Miller (Broadway's "Amazing Grace" and "The Illusionists"). Costume designer is Lisa Zinni (Broadway's "Freestyle Love Supreme"). Joanna Lynne Staub (BCP's "Dames at Sea") is Sound Designer. Brian Pacelli (The Fulton's "Five Guys Named Moe") is Projection Designer. Rebecca Monroe is Production Stage Manager. April Ann Kline is Assistant Stage Manager. Casting is by Paul Hardt.

"This year The Philadelphia Eagles captured the attention of the entire region with a truly exciting season. When I saw the "Tommy and Me" a year ago, I was so moved I wanted to mount our own production," says Alexander Fraser, Producing Director. "We hope to keep the spirit of the Eagles season going by revisiting this play and are excited to welcome football fans, and theater fans, back to the Playhouse."

"I'm delighted to bring the story of 'Tommy and Me' back to the Bucks County Playhouse," says Ray Didinger, playwright and award-winning journalist. "We had a wonderful run there last spring. We had full houses almost every night with many in the audience wearing Eagles green, but the story of my friendship with Hall of Famer Tommy McDonald connected with even non-football fans. It's a story about little boys, their heroes and dreams coming true. Those are themes that will resonate with anyone."

Ray Didinger was the first print journalist inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. As a columnist for the Philadelphia Bulletin and Philadelphia Daily News, he was named Pennsylvania Sportswriter of the Year five times. In 1995, he won the Dick McCann Award for long and distinguished reporting on pro football, and his name was added to the writers' honor roll at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He also won six Emmy Awards as a writer and producer for NFL Films. He has authored or co-authored twelve books including "One Last Read: The Collected Works of the World's Slowest Sportswriter" (Temple) and "The Ultimate Book of Sports Movies."

Tickets can be purchased at BucksCountyPlayhouse.org or by calling 215-862-2121.

ABOUT BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE

Steeped in a theatrical history that stems back to its founding in 1939 by a roster of theatrical royalty, Bucks County Playhouse is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its 2012 re-opening and restoration. With more than 75,000 patrons walking through its doors every year, the Playhouse is leading the economic resurgence of New Hope and the surrounding community. In 2014, Tony Award-winning producers Alexander Fraser, Robyn Goodman and Josh Fiedler took the helm of the Playhouse, reclaiming its reputation of attracting Broadway and Hollywood artists. Playhouse productions of "Company" starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn's "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" were named by Wall Street Journal to its "Best of Theatre" list for 2015. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal again hailed the Playhouse and Artistic Associate Hunter Foster in its Best of the Year listings for its production of "42nd Street" and in 2019 labeled the Playhouse "one of the best regional theaters on the East coast." Box office records have been repeatedly broken by Signature Productions of "Steel Magnolias" directed by Marsha Mason, "Mamma Mia!" directed by John Tartaglia and "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," "Million Dollar Quartet," "42nd Street," and "Guys & Dolls" (all directed by Hunter Foster). In 2021, the team developed and presented Candace Bushnell's "Is There Still Sex in the City?," which the Playhouse then partnered to move to New York. The creative teams who come to create new productions at the Playhouse are among the most talented artists working in the professional theatre today and relish the opportunity to work on the historic stage where Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, and Jessica Walter began their careers.

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