THE BIG BANG Returns to Philadelphia,9/14-10/30

The Big Bang, starring award-winning actors Tony Braithwaite and Ben Dibble, returns to the Kimmel Center stage September 14-October 30. Tickets for the return engagement are currently on sale and can be purchased at www.kimmelcenter.org or by calling the box office at 215-893-1999. Talk Backs with the actors will take place after select performances.

"We're thrilled to bring The Big Bang back to Philadelphia," says co-producer Howard Perloff. "Tony and Ben have been with the production since it's debut in 2004 and continue to breathe new life into every absurdly wild performance!"

The musical, directed by Barrymore-nominated Richard M. Parison, Jr. and choreographed by the multi-talented Karen Getz, tells the story of two wannabe producers, Jed and Boyd (Dibble and Braithwaite), who try to line up backers for The Big Bang, the most expensive and lavish Broadway musical ever written. With a budget of $83,500,000, a cast of 318 wearing 6,428 costumes and 1,400 wigs, the pitched show will depict the entire history of the world - from the formation of the planets to the building of the pyramids, from Napoleon's France to present. Some of the most famous people in history appear including Adam and Eve, Nefertiti and the slaves, Caesar, Mrs. Ghandi, Attila, Columbus, Minnehaha, Tokyo Rose, Eva Braun and more. Will their enthusiastic narration of The Big Bang be convincing enough to get this show on Broadway? You be the judge!

The Big Bang, hailed as the "...funniest, most spirited and downright goofy 80-minute survey of history we've ever seen" (Philadelphia Inquirer), debuted in 2004 where the show and both actors were nominated for Barrymore Awards - and Braithwaite won! In 2005, The Big Bang was performed at the Kimmel Center and in 2008 at ACT II Playhouse. The show takes the stage back at the Kimmel in 2011.

The Big Bang features set design by Barrymore Award winner Bradley Helm (Daughters of Genius) and lighting design by Barrymore Award winner Shelley Hicklin (Noises Off, Woody Allen One Acts). Sonny Leo is the show's musical director.

The Big Bang is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.

ABOUT TONY BRAITHWAITE:
Tony Braithwaite (Boyd) won the 2005 Barrymore Award for this performance (Best Actor in a Musical), and has been with this particular version of The Big Bang since the beginning: at Act II Playhouse in Ambler (2004), at The Kimmel Center (2005) and at The Chicago Theatre in Illinois (2006). Braithwaite works regularly with Montgomery Theatre, 1812 Productions and Arden Theatre Company, among others. Next up: Laughing All the Way (in December), and Let's Pretend We're Married (in January, with Jen Childs), both at Act II Playhouse, where he will also portray Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady in April. Braithwaite is a 12-time Barrymore nominee, a 4-time Barrymore M.C., and a three-time Barrymore winner. For 17 years, Braithwaite has also been the Director of Dramatics at his beloved alma mater St. Joe's Prep where he is currently directing his 35th show, A Few Good Men, opening November 11th. www.tonybraithwaite.com

ABOUT Ben Dibble:
Ben Dibble is an award-winning actor, singer, and educator who has called Philadelphia his professional home for over a decade. Dibble has appeared in over 50 productions on such stages as the Arden, the Wilma, the Walnut, the Lantern, Act II Playhouse, Prince Music Theatre, Delaware Theatre Company, People's Light, 1812 Productions, Lenape R.P.A.C., Boarshead (Michigan), Chicago Theatre (Chicago), Roundhouse (D.C. area), and Kimmel Center with Philadelphia Orchestra. Career highlights include Leo Bloom in The Producers, Freddy in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Balladeer/Oswald in Assassins, Chris in Miss Saigon, Anthony in Sweeney Todd, Toad in A Year with Frog and Toad, and the title roles in Candide and Bat Boy: The Musical. Dibble has appeared in seven world premiere musicals in the Philadelphia area, and has performed his solo cabarets in such venues as Plays and Players, Act II Playhouse, Odett's in New Hope, Westminster Chapel in Princeton, and the Kimmel Center. As an educator, Dibble has taught music theatre to elementary students with the Arden, high school students with Westminster Choir College, and is an adjunct professor of musical theatre at West Chester University, Temple University, and The University of the Arts. Dibble was the recipient of the 2006 F. Otto Haas Emerging Artist Barrymore Award and holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from The University of the Arts.

 

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