George Dvorsky Stars in Pioneer Theatre Company's THE MUSIC MAN, Beginning Tonight

Pioneer Theatre Company presents the Tony Award-winning musical The Music Man, tonight, May 1 through May 16, 2015.

Fast-talking Harold Hill sweeps into a sleepy town, and soon there's trouble, right here in River City. Hill is selling marching bands, despite the fact that he doesn't know the difference between a treble clef and a trumpet. Hill plans on skipping town with their cash before anyone's wiser, but he didn't count on falling for Marian, the town's librarian. The show features such rousing numbers as "Seventy-Six Trombones," "The Wells Fargo Wagon," and "Trouble."

GEORGE DVORSKY makes his PTC debut playing the title role of Harold Hill. Broadway credits include the title role in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Gentlemen Prefer Blonds, the Tony Award Winning Passion, Marilyn: An American Fable and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Dvorsky starred in the NYC Premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella as Prince Charming at Lincoln Center. He was featured in PBS' Emmy Winning Passion: Live at Lincoln starring Patti LuPone and starred with Bea Arthur and the Boston Pops in Bernstein's Broadway, also on PBS.

Playing opposite Dvorsky as Mariann Paroo is LIZZIE KLEMPERER. Klemperer starred in A Christmas Story and The Most Happy Fella on Broadway. Other credits include Fiorella at City Center Encores, Somewhere in Time at New York Theatre Workshop, Mother Jones and the Children's at the New York Musical Theatre Festival and Bunked at Fringe. She has also been in the First National Tours of The Addams Family and Little House on the Prairie - The Musical. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and the Southwest Florida Symphony. This is her PTC debut.

Local favorite MARY FANNING DRIGGS plays Mariann's mother, Mrs. Paroo. Driggs has appeared in numerous PTC productions, including The 25th Putnam County Spelling Bee, Elf-The Musical, LES MISERABLES, Sunset Boulevard, White Christmas, 42nd Street, The Producers, My Fair Lady, Disney's Beauty and the Beast and Smokey Joe's Café.

MAX ROBINSON plays River City's Mayor Shinn. Robinson has appeared in nearly 100 PTC productions including One Man, Two Guvnors, Much Ado About Nothing, Noises Off, My Fair Lady, The Producers, A Midsummer Night's Dream, LES MISERABLES (Thénardier), Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Amadeus, The Importance of Being Earnest. He played Oscar Wilde in Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde at The Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., which earned him a Helen Hayes Award nomination.

ANNE STEWART MARK plays Mayor Shinn's wife, Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn. Most recently Mark was seen in LES MISERABLES and Annie. Other PTC credits include My Fair Lady, Noises Off, Paint Your Wagon, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Macbeth, Peter Pan, Tartuffe, The Three Musketeers, Laughing Stock, Misalliance, Arcadia, Private Lives, Blithe Spirit and Camelot.

JESSICA BLAIR plays the mayor's fresh-faced daughter, Zaneeta Shinn. She was last seen at PTC in Sweet Charity and A Christmas Carol: The Musical. Her other credits include: Brigadoon (Goodman Theatre) Hello Dolly! (Drury Lane Oakbrook) A Year with Frog and Toad (Dorset Theatre Festival) A Christmas Carol and Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Alabama Shakespeare Festival).

GARETT HAWE plays Tommy Djilas, the young man courting Zaneeta. Hawe's past Broadway credits include Newsies (Original Cast- Albert, U/S Davey, Crutchie), Mary Poppins (Neleus), Matilda. His TV credits include this year's Peter Pan Live! on NBC (Lost Boy), Nurse Jackie (Showtime), Dancing With The Stars (ABC). This is his PTC debut.

ROBERT ANTHONY JONES plays Harold Hill's old friend Marcellus Washburn. Jones has appeared most recently at PTC as Mr. Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol: The Musical. New York Theatre credits include: The 101 Dalmatians Musical (National Tour, originated the role of Jinx Baddun, director Jerry Zaks, choreography Warren Carlyle), Dorian Gray (Sir Henry Wotton, York Theatre) and The Prince and the Pauper (Original Cast and Original Cast Recording Lamb's Theatre).

The Barber Shop Quartet is played by New York based equity actors KILTY REIDY, BILLY SHARPE andDON REY, along with local actor RICKY PARKINSON. Reidy's past credits include Broadway's The Drowsy Chaperon and In My Life. Sharpe's credits include Off Broadway's Five Course Love and Take It Easy. Rey's credits include the National Tours of White Chirstmas and The Sound of Music. Parkinson has recently appeared in LES MISERABLES at the Hale Center Theater Orem.

The role of Mrs. Paroo's son, Winthrop Paroo, will be shared between WALLY INKLEY and MASON SHANKS. The role of young Amaryllis will be shared by ALYSSA BUCKNER and ABIGAIL SCOTT. The rest of the children ensemble include MACLAYNE INKLEY, MATTHEW REES and MAGGIE SCOTT.

The ensemble of Equity actors includes MARIA BRIGGS, HOWARD KAYE, MICHAEL MCARTHUR, and JAKE WEINSTEIN.

Rounding out the cast is BEN ABBOTT, JARON BARNEY, MICHELLE BLAKE, ASHLEY GARDNER CARLSON, SUSIE CARROLL, CECILY ELLIS-BILLS, LEAH HASSETT, BRIAN NELSON, LATOYA RHODES, TYLER SCHANK and FALLON SCHWURACK.

PTC's Artistic Director KAREN AZENBERG directs and choreographs the show. This marks Azenberg's third season as Artistic Director here at PTC. She directed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Alabama Story this season. Last season she directed Something's Afoot, A Few Good Men and Sweet Charity. In previous seasons as a guest artist, she directed Next to Normal (regional premiere), Rent and Miss Saigon. She created the musical staging for the record-breaking 2007 production of LES MISERABLES. Originally from New York, her work there includes Lyrics and Lyricists (92nd St. Y), Blocks (a collaboration with Jonathan Larson), Prom Queens Unchained, and choreography for Richard Greenberg's The Dazzle (Roundabout).

LENNY DANIEL returns to PTC as the Assistant Director/Choregrapher. Daniels has assisted Ms. Azenberg on such shows as The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Concert), Sweet Charity, A Christmas Carol: The Musical (PTC), Mary Poppins, Peter Pan (Alabama Shakespeare), Brigadoon, Carousel(Troika & NYU), West Side Story (Virginia Opera) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (NYC workshop). He directed and choreographed Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical at TexArts Theater along with many others.

MICHAEL RICE returns as the show's musical director and conductor. Rice's past PTC credits include Annie, Sunset Boulevard, 42nd Street and The Light in the Piazza. He has also conducted at Sacramento Music Circus, The Muny, Ford's Theatre, the Alley, Signature Theatre and Trinity Repertory Company, where he is Resident Musical Director.

Scenic design is by Resident Scenic Designer GEORGE MAXWELL. This season he also designed Peter and the Starcatcher. Some of Maxwell's past PTC designs include A Christmas Carol: The Musical, Next to Normal, Rent, Sunset Boulevard, Chicago, LES MISERABLES, The Importance of Being Earnest, West Side Story, Proof, Peter Pan and Miss Saigon. He has designed the sets for Utah Opera Company's The Coronation of Poppea and The Ballad of Baby Doe, productions for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and 21 productions for the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

Resident designer K.L. ALBERTS is designing costumes for the show. Previous designs at PTC include: the world premieres of Dumas' Camille and Laughing Stock, as well as Elf-The Musical, Of Mice and Men, Annie, White Christmas, 42nd Street, Miss Saigon, The Producers, LES MISERABLES(2007 and 2013), Metamorphoses, West Side Story, Ragtime, Proof, Phantom, Communicating Doors, and A Raisin in the Sun.

Lighting Design by by Karl Haas. Haas' has designed shows for PTC since 1985. Previous PTC credits include last season's Deathtrap, Miss Saigon, LES MISERABLES, West Side Story, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, South Pacific, Death of a Salesman, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the 2010 revival of Our Town. Regional theatre designs include work at Actors Theatre of Louisville - as Resident Designer, The Mark Taper Forum, the Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

Sound design is by JOSHUA C. HIGHT and hair and make up is by AMANDA FRENCH.

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