Gary Beach, Eric Kunze, et al. Set for California Musical Theatre's Music Circus Season

Casting for the 61st Music Circus season has been completed. After auditioning performers in New York, Los Angeles and Sacramento, California Musical Theatre Artistic Director Glenn Casale has finalized The Acting Company for the seven-show season at the Wells Fargo Pavilion, including The Producers, Oliver!, Anything Goes, Camelot, Annie Get Your Gun, I Do! I Do! and Miss Saigon.

Tickets available for all productions through the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office. For more information on shows and how to purchase tickets, visit www.SacramentoMusicCircus.com.

The Producers: July 12 - 17

The season will open with the Music Circus premiere of "THE PRODUCERS" starring Tony Award-winner Gary Beach, Bob Amaral and Matt Loehr. Beach returns to the Wells Fargo Pavilion as Roger De Bris, the character he originated on Broadway and in the 2005 film version with Matthew Broderick. Last year, he appeared at Music Circus as King Arthur in Monty Python's "Spamalot" and the year before as Nathan Detroit in "Guys and Dolls." Amaral will play Broadway producer Max Bialystock. He was last seen by Sacramento audiences in the Broadway Sacramento productions of "The Producers," "The Lion King," "Triumph of Love" and at Music Circus in "Anything Goes." Loehr, previously seen at Music Circus as Jimmy Smith in "Thoroughly Modern Millie", will play anxious accountant Leo Bloom. Bill Nolte returns to Music Circus as Franz Liebkind, a part he played on Broadway. Michael Paternostro, seen last year as Eddie in "Funny Girl," will play Carmen Ghia, and Sarah Cornell will play Ulla, a part she has played on Broadway and in Canada. The production will be directed by CMT Artistic Director Glenn Casale with Dan Mojica choreographing.

Oliver!: July 19 - 24

"OLIVER!" stars Ron Wisniski as Fagin and Jacquelyn Piro Donovan as Nancy. Wisniski is familiar to Music Circus audiences, having appeared in Monty Python's "Spamalot," "Oklahoma!," "Funny Girl," "Hairspray," "My Fair Lady," "Annie," "Les Miserables," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "Beauty and the Beast." Donovan holds the distinction of being the first actor to have played the roles of both Cosette and Fantine in "Les Miserables" on Broadway. She last appeared at Music Circus as Grizabella in "Cats." The production will be directed and choreographed by Richard Stafford who directed last summer's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."

Anything Goes: July 26 - 31

"ANYTHING GOES" continues the season with Music Circus favorites Vicki Lewis as Reno Sweeney and John Scherer as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. She is best known for her role in the television comedy "Newsradio" as well as Broadway performances in "Chicago" and "Damn Yankees." Lewis' previous Music Circus roles include Fanny Brice in last summer's "Funny Girl," Baker's Wife in "Into the Woods" and Mama Rose in "Gypsy." Scherer was seen last year as Sir Robin in Monty Python's "Spamalot" and Andre Thibault in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and has previously been seen in Music Circus productions of "1776" and "Hairspray." Joining these two Music Circus favorites will be Broadway veteran David Elder as Billy Crocker and Jason Graae as Moonface Martin. Elder has performed in the Broadway productions of "42nd Street," "Curtains," "Kiss Me Kate," and "Once Upon a Mattress," among others. Graae has starred on Broadway in "A Grand Night For Singing" and "Falsettos", among others, and was also the voice of Lucky the Leprechaun for Lucky Charms cereal. The production will be directed and choreographed by Tony Award-nominee and last summer's director of "Oklahoma!" Marcia Milgrom Dodge.

Camelot: August 2 - 7

The cast of "CAMELOT" will be led by Davis Gaines as King Arthur, Lisa O'Hare as Guenevere, and Sean Hayden as Lancelot. Gaines is best known for performing the role of the Phantom in "Phantom of the Opera" over 2,000 times. He also was the lead in "Whistle Down the Wind" for the world premiere. In London, O'Hare has performed the title role of "Mary Poppins " and as Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady." Hayden performed in the first national tour of "Light in the Piazza" as well as in various concerts. The production will be directed by Glenn Casale with Dan Mojica choreographing.

Annie Get Your Gun: August 9 - 14

The cast of "ANNIE GET YOUR GUN" is led by Beth Malone as Annie Oakley. Malone has appeared in the original casts of "The Marvelous Wonderettes" as Bettie Jean and as Alison in "Bingo." Joining Malone is Edward Watts, as Frank Butler, who has performed in the New York production of "The Fantasticks." Music Circus veteran Heather Lee returns for her 16th production. Audiences may recognize her from her performances under the tent as Miss Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls," Beggar Woman in "Sweeney Todd," and Cinderella in "Into the Woods," among others. The production will be directed by Gary John La Rosa who directed "Footloose"in 2004 and choreographed by John MacInnis, who recently associate choreographed the Tony Award-nominated musical "Book of Mormon" on Broadway.

I Do! I Do!: August 16 - 21

"I DO! I DO!" stars real-life couple Matthew Ashford and Christina Saffran Ashford as Michael and Agnes. Audiences may recognize Ashford as Jack Devereaux on NBC's "Days of Our Lives." Saffran Ashford's may be recognizable from the variety of vocals she has recorded for movies, including "Aladdin," "Mulan," and "Enchanted." Both are familiar to Sacramento audiences, as Mr. Ashford playEd Thomas Jefferson in "1776" and Sky Masterson in "Guys and Dolls." Ms. Saffran Ashford performed in productions of "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Singin' in the Rain," "Grease" and "White Christmas." The production is directed by Emmy-nominated director Will MacKenzie.

Miss Saigon - August 23 - 28

The "MISS SAIGON" cast will be led by Eric Kunze as Chris, Ma-Anne Dionisio as Kim and Kevin Gray as The Engineer. Kunze performed the role of Chris on Broadway, and was last seen at Music Circus as Che in 2008's production of "Evita." Dionisio has performed the role of Kim internationally, including productions in Britain and Australia, as well as performing as Eponine in the US tour of "Les Miserables." Gray starred in the Broadway revival of "Jesus Christ Superstar" as Pontius Pilate. The production will be directed by Stafford Arima and choreographed by Bob Richard.

Tickets for the 2011 Music Circus shows are on sale at the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office, 1419 H Street, by phone at (916) 557-1999 or online at Tickets.com. Tickets start at $42. Youth tickets starting at $30.

Discounts available for 7-show season subscriptions and 3-show mini-series packages by calling (916) 557-1999.

Discounts available for groups of 12 or more people by calling (916) 557-1198.

 

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