Marin Mazzie Joins 'GETTING TO KNOW YOU' Benefit at Bucks County Playhouse Tonight

Bucks County Playhouse Producers Robyn Goodman and Alexander Fraser are thrilled to welcome the addition of Broadway's beloved Marin Mazzie to the cast of GETTING TO KNOW YOU: An Enchanted Evening of Oscar Hammerstein II, the Saturday night benefit concert of the inaugural Oscar Hammerstein Festival.

Mazzie, who will assume a variety of roles from the Hammerstein canon including "Julie" from Showboat, joins Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana, the original, Tony-nominated stars of the current hit production of Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella. Osnes and Fontana will recreate songs from that production, in addition to Hammerstein classics such as "Indian Love Call" from Rose Marie. Also featured in the cast will be Lewis Cleale (The Book of Mormon) and Mandy Gonzales (In the Heights).

The Oscar Hammerstein Festival -- named in honor of the master writer whose countless accomplishments during his illustrious career include having mentored a young Stephen Sondheim at Hammerstein's Bucks County farm -- is a year-long musical theatre development program that focuses on the importance of lyrics in the creation of new musicals and offers expert mentorship to early career composers and lyricists. Each year, the Festival will culminate in a weekend with musical theatre experts, artists, and enthusiasts and various events open to Festival Passholders. This inaugural Festival will launch September 26 - 28, 2014. Tickets for the concert begin at $75. To buy tickets or to purchase a Festival Pass, visit www.bcptheater.org.

BIOS:

MARIN MAZZIE: Critically acclaimed actress and singer, MARIN MAZZIE has been heard in many of the country's major symphony halls, cabaret and concert venues, and has been seen starring in some of the most memorable musicals on the Broadway stage and London's West End.

Marin most recently co-starred in the highly anticipated Off-Broadway revival of CARRIE (the musical) based on the Stephen King novel. Prior to that, she starred on Broadway in NEXT TO NORMAL opposite real-life husband Jason Danieley. Marin received Tony and Drama Desk nominations and an Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance as Lilli/Katharine in the hit revival of KISS ME, KATE, and later received an Olivier Award nomination when she made her West End debut in the show. Other Broadway credits include: ENRON (Drama League nomination), MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT (also West End), RAGTIME (Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics nominations), PASSION (Tony nomination), MAN OF LA MANCHA, INTO THE WOODS, BIG RIVER, and OUT OF THIS WORLD and KISMET (Encores!). Her Off-Broadway appearances comprise of: THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, THE TROJAN WOMEN: A LOVE STORY, and THE WORLD GOES ROUND (also National Tour).

Some of the regional theatres Marin has played include Barrington Stage Co., The Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, The Denver Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, and Pittsburgh CLO.

Marin's extensive concert career spans the country from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl under the batons of Michael Tilson Thomas, Marvin Hamlisch, Skitch Henderson, Keith Lockhart, Paul Gemignani, Peter Nero, Patrick Summers, John Mauceri, and Doc Severinson to name a few. She has been seen with the NY Philharmonic in two of their more recent PBS specials: SONDHEIM: THE BIRTHDAY CONCERT and their Live at Lincoln Center production of CAMELOT as Guenevere. Marin and her husband, Jason Danieley, have performed their cabaret concerts HE SAID/SHE SAID and OPPOSITE YOU at The Cafe Carlyle, Feinstein's at the Loews Regency, Lincoln Center's American Songbook series, Joe's Pub, the Cinegrill, and numerous other venues nationally.

Marin's television appearances include the recurring character of Kathy Halverson on STILL STANDING (CBS) and guest appearances on WITHOUT A TRACE, NUMB3RS, JAKE IN PROGRESS, STACKED, PRYOR OFFENSES, and ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Other television appearances include many on PBS' Great Performances: PASSION, MY FAVORITE BROADWAY: THE LEADING LADIES, and MY FAVORITE BROADWAY: THE LOVE SONGS, all on DVD, and also the long-running PBS series AN EVENING WITH THE POPS, the Boston Pops' tribute to Jerry Herman, as well as appearing on two of the Boston Pops' annual POPS GOES THE FOURTH OF JULY celebrations for television.

Albums include: OPPOSITE YOU (PS Classics), CARRIE (Ghostlight), KISS ME, KATE (DRG), RAGTIME (RCA), PASSION (Angel), and OUT OF THIS WORLD (DRG), SORTA LOVE SONGS (Sh-K-Boom), MY FAVORITE BROADWAY: THE LEADING LADIES, MY FAVORITE BROADWAY: THE LOVE SONGS (Hybrid), JULE STYNE IN HOLLYWOOD (PS Classics), BROADWAY DIVAS (RCA), THE STEPHEN SCHWARTZ ALBUM (Varese Saraband), and John Adams' opera I WAS LOOKING AT THE CEILING AND THEN I SAW THE SKY (Nonesuch).

Marin holds an honorary doctorate and has a musical theater scholarship in her name from her alma mater, Western Michigan University.

OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN (1895-1960) spent nearly 40 years writing lyrics for some of Broadway's most innovative musicals. In collaboration with such composers as Sigmund Romberg, Vincent Youmans, Rudolf Friml, Jerome Kern and most notably Richard Rodgers, Hammerstein's life work garnered eight Tony Awards and two Academy Awards. Joining forces in the early 40's, Rodgers & Hammerstein went on to become the most successful partnership in American musical theater. Their first joint venture OKLAHOMA! (1943) was the first of its kind, blending Rodgers' sophisticated style of musical comedy with Hammerstein's innovations in operetta. His numerous credits include SHOWBOAT, CINDERELLA, CAROUSEL, SOUTH PACIFIC, THE KING AND I, FLOWER DRUM SONG and THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

ROBYN GOODMAN is currently lead producer of Rodgers + Hammerstein's CINDERELLA on Broadway. She developed and produced the musicals AVENUE Q (2004 Tony Award) and IN THE HEIGHTS (2008 Tony Award). Other Broadway productions include STEEL MAGNOLIAS, BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, THE PERFORMERS, BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO with the late Robin Williams, WEST SIDE STORY, AMERICAN IDIOT, METAMORPHOSES and Off-Broadway's ALTAR BOYZ.

ALEXANDER FRASER, currently Producing Director of Bucks County Playhouse, has worked as a theatrical producer, general manager and non-profit executive for over 75 Broadway, off-Broadway, West End and touring productions including KINKY BOOTS, Larry Kramer's THE NORMAL HEART (for which he received the 2011 Tony Award), Nora and Delia Ephron's LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE (including NY, Chicago, Toronto, LA and Sydney), Charles Busch's THE DIVINE SISTER, August Wilson's JITNEY, Stephen Sondheim's SATURDAY NIGHT and Suzan-Lori Parks' TOPDOG/UNDERDOG (Pulitzer Prize).

ABOUT THE BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE - 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 Robyn Goodman and Alexander Fraser, 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, which included 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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