BEING ALIVE: A SONDHEIM CELEBRATION to be Presented at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will close its 53rd season with the World Premiere of a new musical tribute honoring Stephen Sondheim, Being Alive: A Sondheim Celebration. Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley returns to TheatreWorks, collaborating with TheatreWorks Resident Musical Director William Liberatore to conceive this unique musical celebration of the legacy of one of Broadway’s greatest composers. Being Alive: A Sondheim Celebration will be presented June 5-30, 2024 at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.
 
Throughout his storied career, Sondheim chronicled the depth of human relationships, exploring love and loss as well as breakdowns and breakthroughs in a wealth of unforgettable musicals, including Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, Company, Pacific Overtures, Passion, Merrily We Roll Along, and many more. With brilliant wit, exquisite melodies, and astonishing lyrics, he became TheatreWorks’ most-produced composer in its 54 seasons of presenting musicals and plays. In this revelatory World Premiere revue, Sondheim’s profound understanding of the human heart takes center stage. Being Alive: A Sondheim Celebration spotlights an interconnected group of performers, exploring the tumultuous and ever-changing nature of love in their personal lives. A paean to both the theatrical titan himself and the process of creating theatre, this musical also showcases the performers’ journey staging a show through dress rehearsals all the way to opening night.
                                                                                                          
TheatreWorks is committed to creating an environment that is accessible for all audiences in its community. American Sign Language interpretation will be available at the performance of Being Alive: A Sondheim Celebration at 7:30pm Tuesday, June 18. In partnership with c2 Caption Coalition, TheatreWorks will include open captioning (a screen displaying all dialogue and a description of sound effects) for the performances 2pm and 7pm on Sunday, June 23 and 2pm Wednesday, June 26. TheatreWorks is collaborating with Gravity Access Services in offering audio descriptions to assist patrons who are visually impaired. This service will be available 8pm Saturday, June 29 and 2pm Sunday, June 30. (To utilize audio description, patrons should pre-register at 877-662-8978 after purchasing tickets). Assistive listening devices are offered at every performance with no advance registration required. For more information about accessibility programs at TheatreWorks the public may visit TheatreWorks.org/accessibility.
 
TheatreWorks will hold post-show discussions with the cast following the Wednesday, June 12 and Wednesday, June 26 performances of Being Alive: A Sondheim Celebration.
 
TheatreWorks will require face masks to be worn for the performances of Being Alive: A Sondheim Celebration at 8pm Friday, June 14; 2pm Saturday, June 15; and 2pm Sunday, June 23. For up-to-date information about COVID-19 health and safety procedures the public may visit TheatreWorks.org/safety.
 
Director Kelley has assembled a talented cast to bring Sondheim’s remarkable music to life. Anne Tolpegin makes her TheatreWorks debut in this work. Seen on Broadway in A Tale of Two Cities and Les Misérables, she has also appeared in the national tours of Kinky Boots, Billy Elliot, Mamma Mia, and Ragtime. Off-Broadway credits include Carrie at MCC Theater and Sweeney Todd at Barrow Street Theatre. Her TV credits include USA Network’s “Mr. Robot,” Marvel Television/ABC Studios’ “Iron Fist,” and ABC Studios’ “All My Children.”
 
Nick Nakashima returns to TheatreWorks where he was featured in Little Shop of Horrors, Sense and Sensibility, both TheatreWorks productions of Jane Austen’s EMMA (2007 & 2015), The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue, and A Little Night Music, as well as TheatreWorks New Works Festival workshops of Jane Austen’s EMMA, Burnt Part Boys, and Unlock’d. Nakashima has appeared in productions at 42nd Street Moon, Foothill Music Theatre, San Jose Musical Theatre, Jewel Theatre Company, and American Musical Theatre of San Jose.
 
Melissa WolfKlain returns to TheatreWorks where she performed in Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Tinyard Hill, as well as TheatreWorks New Works Festival workshops of Pride and Prejudice, Caraboo, and Asphalt Beach. She won a Theatre Bay Area (TBA) Award for Dames at Sea at 42nd Street Moon as well as SFBATCC Awards for her appearances in Broadway By the Bay’s Singin’ in the Rain and Crazy for You. Seen in the national tours of White Christmas and 42nd Street, WolfKlain has also performed at regional theatres including San Francisco Playhouse, Hillbarn Theatre, and Arizona Repertory Theatre. Her film and TV credits include FOX TV’s “America’s Most Wanted” and Lifetime’s “The Truth about Jane.”
 
Noel Anthony Escobar returns to TheatreWorks where he was seen in the World Premiere of A Little Princess, as well as Ragtime, Sense and Sensibility, Rags, The Secret Garden, Sweeney Todd, Jane Eyre The Musical, and Merrily We Roll Along, and in several New Works Festivals. Anthony won San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics (SFBATCC) and Shellie Awards for his performance in She Loves Me and Shellie Awards for his performances in The Music Man and Les Misérables. He has starred in leading roles at local theatres including American Conservatory Theater, Broadway By the Bay, Marin Theatre Company, Center Repertory Company, Diablo Theatre Company, American Musical Theatre of San Jose, and has performed with Alameda Civic Light Opera and Symphony Silicon Valley.
 
 Also making her TheatreWorks debut in this production is Solona Husband, who has been seen on Bay Area stages including Hillbarn Theatre, Masquers Playhouse, Palo Alto Players, Sunnyvale Community Players, and Plethos Productions.
 
Sleiman Alahmadieh, who has performed at Berkeley Playhouse, Throckmorton Theatre, Pacifica Spindrift Players, Masquers Playhouse, and Novato Theater Company, makes his TheatreWorks debut in this production.
 
Being Alive: A Sondheim Celebration features choreography by Alex Perez, scenic design by Wilson Chin, costume design by Fumiko Bielefeldt, lighting design by Pamila Z. Gray, and sound design by Cliff Carruthers. Randall K. Lum serves as stage manager with Laura Hicks as assistant stage manager.
 
Stephen Sondheim is widely acknowledged as the most innovative, most influential, and most important composer and lyricist in modern Broadway history. He received eight Tony Awards, more than any other composer, including a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. He also won eight Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Pulitzer Prize. Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics for Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, Company, Pacific Overtures, Passion, Merrily We Roll Along, Assassins, Follies, Anyone Can Whistle, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Road Show as well as the lyrics for West Side Story, Gypsy, Do I Hear a Waltz?, and additional lyrics for Candide. Revues of his work include Side by Side by Sondheim, Putting it Together, Marry Me a Little, You're Gonna Love Tomorrow, and Sondheim on Sondheim. He composed the film scores of Stavisky and Reds and songs for Dick Tracy, for which he won the Academy Award. He also wrote songs for the television productions and provided incidental music for plays. He won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for Sunday in the Park with George.

For tickets ($27-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call 877-662-8978.

Photo credit: Jerry Jackson

 

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