'The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber' Opens at Kennedy Center Tonight 12/27

Jeffrey Finn Productions is presenting a special return holiday engagement of THE MUSIC OF Andrew Lloyd Webber for two weeks only at the Kennedy Center’s newly-renovated Eisenhower Theater, Tuesday, December 23, 2008 through Sunday, January 4, 2009.  The engagement marks the first return of the special concert since a sold out holiday run at the Kennedy Center Opera House in December 2004.  The official Opening Night is tonight Saturday, December 27 at 7:30 p.m.

Featuring a 30-piece onstage symphony, this stirring event features the best-loved songs from the scores composed by the Tony®, Grammy and Academy Award®-winning composer and 2006 Kennedy Center Honoree, including Cats, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Jesus Christ Superstar, Song & Dance, Starlight Express, Aspects of Love, Whistle Down the Wind, The Beautiful Game, The Woman in White and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  THE MUSIC OF Andrew Lloyd Webber is presented by special arrangement with The Really Useful Group.  

THE MUSIC OF Andrew Lloyd Webber has been presented in various incarnations and versions throughout the years.  This new edition has been personally devised by Andrew Lloyd Webber for this exclusive engagement for Washington audiences.  Like the 2004 version, which Lloyd Webber also oversaw, it will also include the U.S. premiere of new music by the composer.  In 2004, that included songs from two then-forthcoming projects for the composer: his new musical The Woman in White and the film version of The Phantom of the Opera.  

Headlining the show will be six Broadway stars that will include Tony Award® nominee Liz Callaway (Baby, Cats, Miss Saigon), Eric Kunze (Jesus Christ Superstar, Whistle Down the Wind, Miss Saigon), Shoshana Bean (Wicked, Hairspray), Ron Bohmer (the title role in The Phantom of the Opera, The Woman in White, Sunset Boulevard), David Josefsberg (Les Misérables, Grease, Altar Boyz) and Laurie Gayle Stephenson (Christine in The Phantom of the Opera).  

The creative and design teams for this engagement will reunite the team behind the 2004 production: director Tom Kosis, musical supervisor and conductor Edward G. Robinson, lighting designer Brian Nason and sound designer Lucas J. Corrubia, Jr.  Mr. Robinson, who will be Center Stage conducting the 30-member symphony, has a long history working on Andrew Lloyd Webber shows including Cats, The Phantom of the Opera and previous tours of THE MUSIC OF Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Performances of THE MUSIC OF Andrew Lloyd Webber will run Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. with matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 1:30 p.m.  Tickets cost $25-$110 and may be purchased at the Kennedy Center Box Office or by calling Instant Charge at (202) 467-4600.  Tickets for performances on Wednesday, December 31 at 6:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. cost $25-$150 and include admission into the Kennedy Center’s New Year’s Eve party in the Grand Foyer.  Those patrons living outside the Washington metropolitan calling area may dial toll-free at (800) 444-1324 or visit our website at kennedy-center.org.

Theater at the Kennedy Center is presented with the generous support of Stephen and Christine Schwarzman.  For more information about the Kennedy Center, please visit kennedy-center.org. 

Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer of The Likes of Us, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, By Jeeves, Evita, Variations and Tell Me on a Sunday combined as Song & Dance, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down the Wind, The Beautiful Game and The Woman in White. He composed the film scores of Gumshoe and The Odessa File, and Requiem, a setting of the Latin Requiem Mass, for which he won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Composition. He has also produced in the West End and on Broadway, not only his own work, but the Olivier Award-winning plays La Bête and Daisy Pulls It Off. In 2004 he produced the film version of The Phantom of the Opera. In 2006 he oversaw a new London production of Evita, Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular and pioneered television casting for musical theater with the hit BBC series “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?” which won an International Emmy.  He followed this with the equally successful series “Any Dream Will Do.” His awards include seven Tonys®, three Grammys, six Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, an International Emmy, the Praemium Imperiale and the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre. He was knighted in 1992 and created an honorary life peer in 1997.  He’s a 2006 Kennedy Center Honoree.
 

Tom Kosis (Director) is currently the Resident Choreographer for the Broadway and National Tour of Mary Poppins.  He was the Associate Director/Choreographer for the Broadway productions of Side Show, The Scarlet Pimpernel and Flower Drum Song.  Tom was the supervising Director/Choreographer for the national tour of Disney’s On the Record.  He has previously directed productions of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Kennedy Center Opera House, Hartford and Toronto.  Tom directed and choreographed the national tour of Flower Drum Song and Regional productions of Once on This Island, My Fair Lady, Oklahoma! and Kiss Me, Kate.  Upcoming projects include the Broadway revival of Bye, Bye Birdie and a national tour of Dreamgirls.

 
Edward G. Robinson (Conductor & Musical Director) has enjoyed a long association with the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber starting with playing keyboards for the Broadway production of Evita, followed by the European Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar (musical director). He was musical director of Cats (Broadway/national tour/Mexico City) as well as associate musical supervisor of all U.S. companies. He has conducted the L.A. production of The Phantom of the Opera as well as the first national tour. He has conducted The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber across the country, including at the Kennedy Center. Other Broadway credits include musical director of Miss Saigon and Shogun: The Musical. He served as musical director of the North American and U.S. premieres of Mamma Mia! and was musical supervisor of the first national tour. As a guest conductor, Robinson has been seen with the North Carolina Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Singapore Symphony and the Bolshoi Symphony in Moscow.

Jeffrey Finn (Producer) received the 2005 Tony Award® nomination for Best Play Revival for the Broadway production of On Golden Pond starring James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams, which played a pre-Broadway engagement at the Kennedy Center. Additional credits include the 2006 revival of the Pulitzer Prize winning drama The Subject Was Roses at the Kennedy Center; The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber in productions across the U.S. and Game Show, for which Mr. Finn is also a co-author.  Previous U.S. tours include On Golden Pond; The Who’s Tommy; A Few Good Men...DANCIN' (U.S. and international productions); Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tell Me On A Sunday; Leader of the Pack; Promises, Promises; Company; Chess; and a series of national concert tours produced under the aegis Broadway Songbooks.  Since 1997, Jeffrey Finn Productions' corporate division, Hot On Broadway, has customized entertainment with Broadway stars for Fortune 500 companies. Upcoming projects include the Broadway premiere of the first stage version of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Photo of Shoshana Bean by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

Performance Photo by Scott Suchman

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