Cast Announced For PAGEANT At Sierra Rep

The breakdown of Pageant, the musical comedy beauty contest, is simple. Six contestants from across our vast country are competing for the title of Miss Glamouresse (Glamouresse being a cosmetics company). Miss Deep South, Miss West Coast, Miss Great Plains, Miss Bible Belt, Miss Industrial Northeast, and Miss Texas compete in evening gowns, talent, swim-wear and spokes-modeling, plus the finalists answer actual calls from the Glamouresse Beauty Crisis Hotline. Added bonus? Select audience judges get to pick the winner of the pageant, which adds more suspense than you might think. That's right, Pageant is a pageant. Judges selected from the audience actually vote and determine the winner at each performance. So bring a friend, shake off what ails you, and delight in the pageantry.

Oh yeah, and... the female contestants are all played by men.

With book and lyrics by Bill Russell (Side Show) and Frank Kelly, and music by Albert Evans, Pageant is directed by SRT favorite Russell Garrett who appeared as Miss Texas in the original Off-Broadway production.

"In New York I was struck by how it was embraced by the entire spectrum of ages and experiences," say Garrett. "What surprises an audience is how sweet the whole thing is. Everyone from children to grandmothers were having a good time and pinching our cheeks and laughing when they would see us leave the theater after the show. There is no specific and categorized audience for the show - it can be enjoyed by all."

Pageant offers a bevy of handsome ladies making their Sierra Rep debuts, starting with Adam Estes as Miss Texas. Estes theatrical credits include Forever Plaid, The Andrews Brothers, and Route 66 with Milwaukee Repertory Theatre; The Story of My Life with Milwaukee Opera Theatre; A Chorus Line, La Cage Aux Folles, Cabaret with Marriott Lincolnshire; Cabaret, Buyer & Cellar, [title of show] (Lake Dillon Theatre Company); Saturday Night Fever, La Cage Aux Folles, A Chorus Line with Arvada Center. He has also appeared with The Goodman, The Paramount, Skylight Music Theatre and The Fireside.

Clint Hromsco plays Miss Great Plains. Hromsco has appeared Off-Broadway in It Came from Beyond, Lili Marlene, and Flight School. He has also appeared in national tours of Jekyll & Hyde, The Wizard of Oz, and Nickelodeon's Storytime Live! Other New York credits include Your Name on My Lips, The Secret Garden, Yosef. Matt Mitchell joins Pageant in the role of Miss Deep South. Mitchell has appeared as Burrs in Lippa's The Wild Party with JetCo in NYC as well as originating the roles of Josef in Lili Marlene (St. Luke's Theatre) and Sam in Name On Your Lips (Theatre for the New City). Enrique Vega plays Miss Industrial Northeast. Vega studied at The Groundlings Comedy Improv School, performed stand up at The Hollywood Comedy Store, and has starred in a variety of TV and commercial spots, including the ID Network, NBC, Nationwide and Ford. He is also the host The Enrique Vega Hour for KCSS Radio. Craig First plays Miss West Coast. First most recently appeared as Tom in A Chorus Line at The Gateway Playhouse.

Griffin Barr returns to Sierra Rep to play Miss Bible Belt. He was last seen in Sierra Rep's My Fair Lady as Lord Boxington. Other regional credits include Joseph...Dreamcoat (Asher), Footloose (Jeter), and Anything Goes (Purser).

David Johnson makes his Sierra Rep debut as Frankie Cavalier, the genial celebrity host of Pageant. Johnson has appeared in the national tours of The Producers, She Loves Me, and Jesus Christ Superstar. He has also appeared regionally with Ogunquit Playhouse, Papermill Playhouse, Arkansas Repertory, Arizona Broadway, and Riverfront Theatre. Johnson's TV credits include leading roles in ABC's "I, Witness", Comedy Central, TruTV's "Hack my Life", A&E's "The Unit", HBO'S "The Deuce", Oxygen's "Homocide for the Holidays", and ID's "Shadow of Doubt", "Perfect Murder" and "On the Case with Paula Zahn".

Pageant is directed and choreographed by Russell Garrett. Garrett was most recently seen on the Sierra Rep stage as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady and as Harry Bright in Mamma Mia! But he is mostly known to SRT audiences for staging Beehive!, The Drowsy Chaperone, Smokey Joe's Cafe, I Love a Piano, Red, White, and Tuna, and several more. His regional credits include productions of Chicago, Hairspray, Cabaret, The Who's Tommy, Guys and Dolls, and Gypsy. The production is music directed by Benjamin Van Diepen (National tour: Jesus Christ Superstar; Broadway Across America: Million Dollar Quartet). Diepen appeared earlier this year in Sierra Rep's Million Dollar Quartet as well as serving as music director for the company's production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

Tickets for Pageant can be purchased online at www.SierraRep.org, or by phone at (209) 532-3120, e-mail: tickets@sierrarep.org, or by visiting the East Sonora Theatre Box Office (Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11am - 5pm). Performances at the East Sonora Theatre (13891 Mono Way, Sonora, CA 95370) begin on July 13, and plays through August 19. Performance times are Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 2pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm. Ticket prices range from $32 to $47. Discounts for seniors, children, and students (18 and over with student ID) are available for all performances. Special discounts for groups of 20 or more are also available. For more information about Sierra Repertory Theatre and upcoming shows, please visit www.SierraRep.org or call the box office at (209) 532-3120. Follow Sierra Rep on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

Under the direction of Scott Viets, Sierra Repertory Theatre is a professional non-profit theater located in California's beautiful Sierra Nevada Foothills. Since 1980, Sierra Rep has focused on its original mission: to present audiences with a broad range of theatrical literature at the highest production quality possible.

Sierra Rep gratefully acknowledges MicroTronics for their sponsorship of Pageant.

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