Brancati, Martin, & Pitre Set For LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE in Toronto, 7/21 - 9/4

Michael Rubinoff and Daryl Roth are proud to announce that Paula Brancati, Lauren Collins, Wendy Crewson, Cynthia Dale, Andrea Martin, and Louise Pitre are to star in the Canadian premiere of the award-winning, New York smash hit Love, Loss, and What I Wore, an intimate collection of stories by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron. This exciting theatrical event at Toronto's Panasonic Theatre (651 Yonge St.) features a cast of five that rotates in four-week cycles. The production will run from July 16 to September 4, 2010. Opening night is July 21.

Gemini and Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee Paula Brancati ("Degrassi: The Next Generation," "Being Erica"), Emmy and Tony Award-winning comedy legend Andrea Martin ("SCTV," My Big Fat Greek Wedding, My Favorite Year, Fiddler on the Roof), and Tony nominee / Dora Award winner Louise Pitre (Mamma Mia!, Les Misérables, Annie Get Your Gun, The Toxic Avenger) will be part of the premiere cast July 16 through to August 7.

Gemini nominee Lauren Collins ("Degrassi: The Next Generation"), five-time Gemini Award winner Wendy Crewson (Away From Her, "24," "ReGenesis"), and Dora Award winner / Gemini nominee Cynthia Dale (Stratford Festival leading lady for 10 seasons, "Street Legal") will be part of the August cycle that runs August 10-September 4.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore is a collection of stories based on the best-selling book by Ilene Beckerman, as well as on the recollections of the Ephrons' friends. Like the popular book, it uses clothing and accessories and the memories they trigger to tell funny and often poignant stories that all women can relate to.

The producers also announced that the Toronto production will be directed by Karen Carpenter, the director of the New York production of Love, Loss, and What I Wore that opened Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre on October 1, 2009 to rave reviews and continues to play to capacity. New York casts have included Rosie O'Donnell, Kristin Chenoweth, Jane Lynch, Samantha Bee, Tyne Daly, Rhea Perlman, Carol Kane, Brooke Shields, Melissa Joan Hart, Fran Drescher, Caroline Rhea and others. A Los Angeles company opened at the Geffen Playhouse on May 13, 2010; also earning raves, and an extension.

Additional casting will be announced shortly.

A portion of the production's proceeds will benefit the Toronto chapter of Dress for Success. To find out more about the charity, visit www.dressforsuccess.org/toronto.

The Toronto production of LOVE, LOSS will play the Panasonic Theatre, 651 Yonge Street, Toronto
Tuesday-Saturday 8pm, Matinees Wednesday & Saturday 2pm. Additional Performances: Sunday, July 18 at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets: $35-$65. Premium seats available. By Phone 416-872-1212 or 1-800-461-3333 or online at www.ticketking.com. For groups of 8+ contact The Group Tix Company 647-438-5559 or 1-866-447-7849

For more info, visit www.lovelossonstage.ca.

NORA EPHRON (Playwright)
Nora Ephron is a journalist, novelist, playwright, screenwriter and director. Her credits include Heartburn, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail and Imaginary Friends. Books include Crazy Salad, Scribble Scribble and I Feel Bad About My Neck. Her most recent film, Julie & Julia, stars Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

DELIA EPHRON (Playwright)
Delia Ephron is an author, playwright, and screenwriter. She has written books for adults, teens, and children- fiction, non-fiction, humor-including the novels Hanging Up and Big City Eyes. Her latest novel, The Girl with the Mermaid Hair, was published by HarperTeen in January 2010 and is a sequel to her critically acclaimed novel for teens, Frannie in Pieces. Her best-selling book, How to Eat Like a Child, was adapted as a musical for television and subsequently became a theatrical musical for children. Screenwriting credits include The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, You've Got Mail, Michael, This Is My Life and Hanging Up.

PAULA BRANCATI (Actor)
Paula Brancati is best known for starring in two current hit Canadian television shows also broadcast on cable in the United States. She plays Jane Vaughn on "Degrassi: The Next Generation," a role that earned her a 2009 Gemini Award nomination for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series and Jenny Zalen, Erica's best friend on "Being Erica." She will feature prominently in the Degrassi TV Movie, Degrassi Takes Manhattan, scheduled to air July 16 on MuchMusic in Canada and TeenNick in the U.S. Her past television credits include a leading role on the CBC series "The Blobheads," and guest appearances on Doc, Veritas, Angela's Eyes, Life with Derek and Heartland. She also played principal roles in the Disney Channel movies Cow Belles and Jump In. Brancati's film debut came in 2003 in the feature Cold Creek Manor alongside Sharon Stone and Dennis Quaid, and in that same year, she made her professional theatre debut with the Canadian Stage Company in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. In 2006, Paula was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series for her work on the Emmy-winning YTV series, "Dark Oracle." Brancati has also found success on Toronto's stages. She earned two 2009 Dora Award nominations in the Best Performance by a Featured Actor category for her role as Cinderella in Ross Petty's annual holiday pantomime and her role as Van's Sister in Michael Rubinoff's production of Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.

LAUREN COLLINS (Actor)
Lauren Collins is best known for playing Paige Michalchuk on eight seasons of "Degrassi: The Next Generation." The role earned her a Gemini nomination for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program. She starred in last year's Degrassi TV-movie, Degrassi Goes Hollywood, TeenNick's highest rated program ever. She has appeared on a number of Canadian television series including "Once a Thief," "Noddy," "I Was a Sixth Grade Alien," "In a Heartbeat" and "Being Erica." She is also known as Derek's ex-girlfriend Kendra on "Life with Derek." Collins also had a recurring role on "The Best Years." In 2006, Collins made her feature film debut in Take the Lead, appearing alongside Antonio Banderas. The following year she appeared in Charlie Bartlett. In 2008, she co-starred in Picture This, opposite Ashley Tisdale.

WENDY CREWSON (Actor)
Wendy Crewson is one of Canada's most successful film and television actresses. She has won 5 Gemini Awards and been nominated multiple times for Canada's other acting prizes. Among Crewson's recent notable roles on film and television is Dr. Anne Packard on Fox's hit series "24," Madeleine Montpellier in Sarah Polley's award-winning Away From Her, Laura Miller in Tim Allen's The Santa Clause franchise and Rachel Woods on "ReGenesis." Crewson sharpened her versatile talent in a number of TV productions, including Heartsounds, Murder: By Reason of Insanity, and Robert Altman's acclaimed political satire Tanner '88. Though Crewson continued to work in television with such performances including The Lives of Girls and Women, From the Earth to the Moon, and At the End of the Day: The Sue Rodriguez Story, she increasingly branched out into features. Crewson played such roles as the mother of a psychotic Macauley Culkin in The Good Son, Tim Allen's ex-wife in the comedy hit The Santa Clause, and Peter Gallagher's unfortunate blind date in the tearjerker To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. After playing a tough lawyer in the crime thriller Gang Related, Crewson further displayed her ability to convey strength as Harrison Ford's undaunted First Lady in Wolfgang Petersen's summer blockbuster, Air Force One. Crewson has also worked along side Sidney Poitier in The Last Brickmaker In America, Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Sixth Day, and following her role in the independent romantic comedy Better Than Chocolate, Crewson starred as one of Robin Williams' original owners in the fantasy Bicentennial Man.

CYNTHIA DALE (Actor)
Cynthia Dale is one of Canada's most-respected performers. For a decade she was the leading lady at the Stratford Festival where her credits included Edythe Herbet (My One and Only), Nellie Forbush (South Pacific), Maggie (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Sarah Brown (Guys and Dolls), Reno Sweeney (Anything Goes), Eliza (My Fair Lady), Maria (The Sound of Music), Aldonza (Man of La Mancha), Annie Sullivan (The Miracle Worker), Bianca (The Taming of the Shrew), Guinevere (Camelot), The Mikado and The Gondoliers. Other theatre credits include Syncopation (MTC/Mirvish); Tamara (New York City); Pal Joey (Tarragon Theatre - for which she received a Dora Mavor Moore Award) and Dames at Sea (Premiere Dance Theatre). On television she is best known for her unforgettable role as Olivia Novak on CBC's "Street Legal" for 6 years and 107 episodes, for which she earned three Gemini nominations for Best Actress. Recently, she was a judge for two seasons, alongside Garth Drabinsky, Sergio Trujillo, Marvin Hamlisch and Adrian Noble on CBC's ground-breaking performing arts reality television series "Triple Sensation!". Other television credits include CTV's Taking The Falls, Showtime's Thanks Of A Grateful Nation, PT Barnum: The Fabulous Showman on A&E, and most recently Dale filmed 3 episodes of Shaftesbury Films new half-hour teen comedy series "Baxter" for YTV. Some of Dale's notable film credits include Margaret in Boy In Blue, Samantha Blair in Heavenly Bodies, and Sheila in Norman Jewison's Moonstruck. She also just completed a highly successful run as the title role in Sweet Charity. Dale has performed with The National Arts Centre Orchestra, The Kitchner/Waterloo Symphony, and has done her solo concert shows across Canada. She has also recorded three CD's "ŠTo Dream", "MoreŠ" and "Enchanted". Most recently, Dale co-produced and starred in a CBC Christmas musical movie entitled Christmas Dreams.

ANDREA MARTIN (Actor)
Andrea Martin, born in Maine, won a role in a Canadian touring company of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. She relocated from New York City to Toronto in 1970 and played the character of Robin in Godspell, with a cast that included future comedy stars Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, singer and actor Victor Garber, and musical director Paul Shaffer. In 1975, she joined then-unknowns John Candy, Dave Thomas, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis and Joe Flaherty on the Canadian sketch comedy television series "SCTV." Martin most notably portrayed leopard-print-wearing station manager Edith Prickley. Her 1970's stage work eventually included the Toronto branch of the improvisational comedy troupe The Second City, a group which produced almost the entire cast of SCTV. In 1992, she made her Broadway debut in the musical My Favorite Year, for which she won the Tony Award, Theatre World Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Additional Broadway credits include Candide (1997) and Oklahoma! (2002) - both of which brought her Tony nominations - and Fiddler on the Roof (2005-2008).
She wrote and performed in the critically acclaimed one-woman show Nude, Nude, Totally Nude in Los Angeles and New York City, where she garnered a 1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One Person Show. She has won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program. She has done considerable voice work in such animated film and television productions as Anastasia, The Simpsons (as Apu's mother) and SpongeBob SquarePants. She also appeared in the 1993 television adaptation of Gypsy starring Bette Midler. Her many screen credits include Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Producers and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, in which she portrayed Aunt Voula, a role she reprised in the short-lived small-screen adaptation.

LOUISE PITRE (Actor)
Receiving a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut in the smash hit Mamma Mia! was a highlight for Louise Pitre, Canada's first lady of musical theatre, in a career that spans theatre, television and concert stages across North America and Europe. In addition to headlining the Toronto, Broadway and U.S. touring company casts of Mamma Mia!, Pitre is known for her signature performances as Fantine in Les Misérables (Toronto, Montreal and Paris) and the title character in Edith Piaf. She also earned raves for leading roles in Annie Get Your Gun; Song & Dance; Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris; I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change; The World Goes 'Round; Blood Brothers; Tartuffe; Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?; The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd; Applause; Rock 'n' Roll etc.; and The Toxic Avenger, for which she was recently nominated for a 2010 Dora Mavor Moore Award. In September, 2009, Louise made her Carnegie Hall debut singing the role of Ulrika in the concert version of the musical Kristina by ABBA's Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. She reprised this role when Kristina opened at London's Royal Albert Hall in April, 2010. She can currently be seen as the host of "Star Portraits" on Bravo!.Pitre is the winner of a National Broadway Touring Award, a New York Theatre World Award, a San Francisco Theatre Critics' Award, a Betsy Mitchell Award and three Dora Mavor Moore Awards, all for best performance by a leading actress in a musical.

KAREN CARPENTER (Director)
Steel Magnolias, Paper Mill Playhouse; seven award-winning seasons as Associate Artistic Director, The Old Globe, directing many critically acclaimed productions: Splendour; Two Sisters and a Piano; Smash; Betrayal; As You Like It and producing all, including Nora Ephron's Imaginary Friends. NYMF: Top of the Heap, Director's Choice Award. William Inge Theatre Festival, Inge: Complex (also conceived/curated). Arena Stage, CenterStage, Huntington, Seattle Rep, Williamstown, Martha Graham. Concerts: Hear Art/See Music Live! and Riot of Spring (conceived/scripted), Indianapolis Symphony. Creative Producer, UN/WHO global campaign: Deliver Now for Women and Children, inaugural Clinton Global Initiative. Faculty, Yale Drama, 1991-1996.

ILENE BECKERMAN (Original Book and Drawings)
Ilene Beckerman was nearly 60 when she began her writing career. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Ladies Home Journal, and many other places. Her books have been translated into German, Japanese, French and Portuguese; she has done spot drawings for the New Yorker and her art has been included in exhibitions at the Museum of the City of New York.

MICHAEL RUBINOFF (Producer)
Michael Rubinoff earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Bachelor of Laws (Valedictorian) from the University of Western Ontario. Soon after being called to the Ontario Bar, he launched M. Rubinoff Productions Inc., a commercial theatre company producing in the City of Toronto. Credits include Toronto premieres of the Off-Broadway plays Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, which earned a Dora nomination, Jewtopia and Game Show. His production of BoyGroove The Musical was nominated for 5 Dora nominations including Best New Musical and was winner of the inaugural Dora Audience Choice Award for outstanding production. BoyGroove toured Ontario in 2008. Additional credits include Toronto productions of Adam Brazier's He Sang, She Sang; Evil Dead The Musical (General Manager); A Chorus Line; Evita; This Is Our Youth directed by Woody Harrelson, Free To Be...You And Me; Side by Side By Sondheim; and Plane Crazy at the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival (Next Link Selection). Rubinoff is a 2004 graduate of the Commercial Theatre Institute, Intensive Program in New York and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts.

DARYL ROTH (Producer)
Daryl Roth is proud to hold the singular distinction of producing six Pulitzer Prize-winning plays: Tracy Letts' August: Osage County; David Auburn's Proof; Margaret Edson's Wit; Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive; Edward Albee's Three Tall Women; and Nilo Cruz's Anna in the Tropics. Other award-winning Broadway productions include: Bea Arthur on Broadway; Caroline, or Change; A Catered Affair; The Country Girl; Curtains; Desire Under the Elms; Deuce; Inherit the Wind; Irena's Vow; Is He Dead?; Mary Stuart; Medea; Salome, the Reading; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?; Thurgood; Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; The Year of Magical Thinking. Off-Broadway credits include: The Baby Dance; Beckett/Albee; Camping with Henry and Tom; Closer Than Ever; Dear Edwina; Defying Gravity; Die, Mommie, Die!; Esoterica; Fuerzabruta; Harlem Song; Indoor Outdoor; Manuscript; Not a Genuine Black Man; Old Wicked Songs; Our Lady of 121st Street; Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby; Snakebit; Talking Heads; Tea at Five; The Temperamentals; Thom Pain (based on nothing); What's that Smell?; Vigil; and De La Guarda, which ran for 7 years as the inaugural production at the Daryl Roth Theatre, a landmark building on Union Square. Current productions include: Come Fly Away; Fela!; A Little Night Music and Love, Loss, and What I Wore (currently playing in New York and Los Angeles, future productions include Australia, London, Toronto and the U.S. Tour). Her award-winning documentary, My Dog: An Unconditional Love Story, explores the relationships of well-known New Yorkers and their dogs and is available for purchase at www.DarylRothProductions.com.

 

 

 

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

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