Pioneer Theatre Company to Present SWEET CHARITY, 5/9-24

Pioneer Theatre Company presents the Bob Fosse musical Sweet Charity, May 9 through May 24, 2014.

Charity Hope Valentine is a dancehall girl who dreams of love and believes the man of her dreams is just around the corner. A great score, including the songs "Hey Big Spender!" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now," incredible dancing - originally choreographed by Broadway legend Bob Fosse - and one of the most memorable heroines of the past sixty years combine to make Sweet Charity a must-see show. Never before produced at PTC, Sweet Charity is a razzle-dazzle closer for the 2013-14 season.

NANCY LEMENAGER plays the title role of Charity Hope Valentine. Lemenager's Broadway credits include Velma in Chicago, Brenda in Twyla Tharp and Billy Joel's Movin' Out and Penny in Never Gonna Dance, plus Kiss Me, Kate, Dream, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Guys and Dolls. Regionally, she has appeared in the world premiere of What We're Up Against by Theresa Rebeck at The Alley, and productions at such theatres as the Actors Theater of Louisville, Virginia Stage Company, Hartford Stage, and She Loves Me at the Arena Stage, D.C., for which she received a Helen Hayes Award nomination. She has appeared on television in Elementary, Girls, The Good Wife, Nurse Jackie, 30 Rock, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: SVU. She last appeared at PTC as Brooke Wyeth in Other Desert Cities.

SEAN MCDERMOTT plays Vittorio Vidal, a celebrity who takes advantage of Charity's affections. McDermott is recognized as one of Broadway's leading performers, having starred as Chris in Miss Saigon (opposite Jonathan Price and Lea Salonga), Whizzer in Falsettos (opposite Mandy Patinkin), Rusty in Starlight Express (opposite Jane Krakowski), Danny Zuko in Grease (opposite Lucy Lawless), Billy Flynn in Chicago, the title roles in Jekyll and Hyde, Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, Billy Bigelow in Carousel, Gaylord Ravenal in Showboat, and Tony in West Side Story directed by Karen Azenberg in Sydney, Australia. This is his PTC debut.

NATALIE HILL and ANGIE SCHWORER play Charity's dancehall friends and coworkers Helene and Nickie, respectively. Hill has appeared on Broadway in Wonderland (Original Cast Recording), Bye Bye Birdie (Rosie u/s opposite John Stamos) and Grease (Cha Cha, Original Cast Recording). She performed in the Las Vegas productions of Jersey Boys (Mary Delgado) and Footloose (Rusty). Her national tour credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator opposite Patrick Cassidy) and Hairspray. A Utah native, she returns to PTC after appearing in Miss Saigon and In the Heights.

Schworer was last seen on Broadway in Big Fish. Other Broadway credits: Catch Me If You Can, Young Frankenstein, The Producers, (Ulla with Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane), Annie Get Your Gun, Chicago, Sunset Boulevard, Crazy For You and The Will Rogers Follies. Her television credits include Law & Order: CI, Queer Eye, As the World Turns and Smash. She was also seen in the film The Producers. She has been seen at regional theatres across the country. This marks her PTC debut.

JOHN SCHERER plays the role of Oscar, one of Charity's suitors. Scherer starred in the Broadway and film versions of Andrew Lloyd Webber's By Jeeves, written and directed by Sir Alan Ayckbourn. Other Broadway credits include Harold Prince's LoveMusik, Sunset Boulevard and Funny Girl. Off-Broadway credits include Olympus on My Mind and Dames at Sea, and other New York credits include The Most Happy Fella (NYC Opera), Out of This World (City Center) and A Tribute to Comden and Green at Carnegie Hall. Television and film credits include Spinning Into Butter, The Shield, Crossing Jordan, Titus, Guiding Light and Law & Order. This is his PTC debut.

GERRY MCINTYRE plays the role of Big Daddy Brubeck, the musically spirited leader of the Rhythm of Life Church. McIntyre appeared in A Christmas Carol: The Musical for three years at Madison Square Garden with Tim Curry, Jim Dale, and F. Murray Abraham. Broadway appearances include Uptown It's Hot, Anything Goes, Once On This Island (original cast), and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Off-Broadway he appeared in The Audience (Drama Desk Nomination, Best Musical), Enter Laughing (Drama Desk Nomination Best Revival), Broadway Jukebox, Sidd, Joan of Arc at the Stake with Glenn Close and William Hurt. His film credits include Stealing Martin Lane, The Kiss, Broadway Damage, The Next Step, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring Donny Osmond.

BILL BATEMAN plays Herman. Bateman's Broadway credits include Gypsy with Patti LuPone, Peter Pan, Bring Back Birdie and Hello, Dolly! His national tour credits include Annie Get Your Gun, Annie, Peter Pan, Woman of the Year, Pippin, Sugar and Hello, Dolly! He has appeared at many regional theatres across the country. This is his PTC debut.

MARZA WARSINSKE plays the role of Ursula. Past stage credits include Vanda in Venus in Fur at Salt Lake Acting Company, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady for Lyric Light Opera, and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet with Bag & Baggage. She studied Musical Theatre at Weber State University. She returns to PTC after playing Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing.

The ensemble consists of Equity actors JESSICA BLAIR, LENNY DANIEL, RICHARD GATTA, RHETT GUTER, COURTNEY IVENTOSCH, MICHAEL JABLONSKI, ADAM PELLEGRINE, CAROL SCHUBERG and CARLY BLAKE SEBOUHIAN. Rounding out the cast are local actors ANGELA AVILA, JARON BARNEY, ASHLEY GARDNER CARLSON, LEAH HASSETT, ALEXANDRA HICKEN, DAVID GUY HOLMES, BRIAN NELSON and JOEL PELLINI.

PTC Artistic Director KAREN AZENBERG directs and choreographs, after directing A Few Good Men and directing and choreographing Something's Afoot earlier this season. Originally from New York, Azenberg's 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). Other credits include National Tours of Carousel and Brigadoon, Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Regional Theatre Premiere at Geva), over fifteen productions of West Side Story, one of which earned her a Drama-Logue Award for Outstanding Choreography, and many others.

Guest artist PHIL RENO is the show's musical director and conductor. Reno music directed and conducted the world premiere of Sweet Charity, directed by Bob Fosse. Other world premiere credits include Starlight Express and Music of the Night. Reno has been the music Director/Conductor for eight Broadway shows: Promises, Promises, Elf - The Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Producers, Thou Shalt Not, Dame Edna: The Royal Tour, Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance, and Cats. This is his PTC debut.

Scenic design is by PTC resident artist GEORGE MAXWELL. Some of Maxwell's 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. Maxwell is a member of United Scenic Artists.

Guest artist PATRICK HOLT designs costumes for the production. Holt's work includes The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Shen Wei Dance Arts), The American Dance Festival, The Alabama Shakespeare Festival (The Three Musketeers, Peter Pan, West Side Story, As You Like It, Treasure Island), the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard III, Henry V, Hamlet), the John Houseman Theater (Never the Sinner), The Public Theater (On the Town), HBO and CBS. He heads the costume design program as an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona.

Lighting design is by guest designer MICHAEL GILLIAM. Gilliam returns to PTC after designing for The Odd Couple, Of Mice and Men, Next to Normal, Rent, A Chorus Line and others. His Broadway credits include Brooklyn, Big River and Stand-Up Tragedy. He also designed for the national tours of Brooklyn, Guys and Dolls and Big River, and has won the Los Angeles Ovation Award, Drama-Logue Award, Garland Award and the 1999 Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.

Sound design is by JOSHUA C. HIGHT. Hight is an established live sound engineer in both London and Salt Lake City. His other projects of note include working with Sommerset House for the 2012 Olympic Games, Of Monsters and Men, Collective Soul, Fallout Boy, Slash, the Psychedelic Furs, Citizen Cope, the Dropkick Murphys, Gogol Bordello, Kate Nash, Easton Corbin, Sevendust and many more. Hight is a Graduate with Distinction of London's Alchemea College of Audio Engineering and the Resident Sound Designer for PTC.

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