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Rudinoff and Wildrick Headline Wonderful Town at 5th Avenue Theatre
By: BWW News Desk Jan. 20, 2006
The story and characters of the musical Wonderful Town were inspired by the real-life adventures of writer Ruth McKenney and her beautiful sister Eileen. They first appeared in short stories in The New Yorker magazine that were soon gathered together in a best-selling book, which in turn was adapted into a hit play (My Sister Eileen), a hit movie, a stage musical, a completely different film musical and a television production of the stage show. As a musical, Wonderful Town opened on Broadway in 1953 and won 5 Tony Awards, including Best Choreography and Best Musical. The 2002 hit revival starring Donna Murphy marked its first appearance on Broadway in 50 years.
"With Leonard Bernstein's swingingest score and witty lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green (Singin' in the Rain), this effervescent musical comedy tells the story of two sisters, fresh off the bus from Ohio and bursting with dreams of making it big, falling in love and living happily ever after in New York City. Ruth, a levelheaded would-be writer, and Eileen, a dewy-eyed man-magnet, venture into the madcap Manhattan of the 1930s in search of fame, fortune and fellas," according to press notes. "The brassy score includes such tremendous tunes as 'It's Love,' '100 Easy Ways to Lose a Man' and 'Ohio.' Full of buoyant misadventures and happy endings, this Wonderful Town makes for a wonderful time."
The cast of 27 features Sarah Rudinoff (Go There at Re-bar, Smokey Joe's Café) as Ruth; Billie Wildrick (Philia, A Funny Thing....Forum) as Eileen; Timothy McCuen Piggee (Milos Gloriosus, A Funny Thing....Forum) as Robert; Nicole Boote as Helen; Brandon O'Neill (Thuy, Miss Saigon) as Wreck; Chad Jennings as Frank; Carol Swarbrick (Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd) as Mrs. Wade; and David Pichette (Henry Higgins, My Fair Lady) as Appopolous.
Ensemble cast members include Greg Michael Allen, David Alewine, Neil Badders, Matthew Bariletti, E. Scott Brating, Evan Bryant, Kari Lee Cartwright, Marc delaCruz, Ann Evans, Brigitte Graf, Richard Gray, Jayme McDaniel, Stacee Nault, Matt Owen, Maya RS Perkins, Bhama Roget, Pamela Turpen and Katie Young.
Wonderful Town is directed by The 5th Avenue's Associate Artistic Director, Bill Berry (The Wizard of Oz, Smokey Joe's Cafe). The choreographer is Jamie Rocco (Singin' in the Rain) and the conductor/musical director is Joel Fram (A Little Night Music). Tom Sturge (Sweeney Todd, Miss Saigon) is the lighting and set designer, Andy Horka (Miss Saigon) is the sound designer, Lynda Salsbury is the costume designer, and Mary Pyanowski is the hair/make up designer.
"The 5th Avenue Theatre is Seattle's premier musical theater showplace. The 2005-2006 season marks the 25th anniversary of the non-profit 5th Avenue Theatre which, in 1980, began producing and presenting top-quality live musical theater for the cultural enrichment of the Northwest community. The 5th Avenue Theatre maintains a subscription audience of 24,000 and an annual attendance of 200,000 300,000. It ranks among the nation's largest and most respected musical theater companies.
The 5th Avenue Theatre will continue its season in 2006 with Pippin from May 2nd through 21st, 2006.
Tickets to Wonderful Town go on sale Friday, January 20 and range in price from $19-$71. Tickets are available over the phone through Ticketmaster at (206) 292-ARTS (2787), online at ticketmaster.com or in person at any Ticketmaster Ticket Center as well as The 5th Avenue Theatre Box Office, 1308 5th Avenue in downtown Seattle. There is no service charge when purchasing tickets in person at The 5th Avenue Theatre Box Office.
Visit www.5thavenuetheatre.org for more information.
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