'The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber' Returns to Kennedy Center Starting 12/23

Jeffrey Finn Productions announces 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 will be Saturday, December 27 at 7:30 p.m.

Featuring a 30-piece onstage symphony, this stirring event will feature 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.  Details on new music being included for the 2008 edition will be announced in the coming weeks.

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), 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).  A sixth cast member will be announced imminently.

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.

TICKET INFORMATION

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.  There is no performance on December 24 and there will be an additional matinee performance on December 26 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. 

BIOGRAPHIES
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.
 
Ron Bohmer’s Broadway and national tour roles include The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard (Jefferson Award nomination), the swashbuckling title role in The Scarlet Pimpernel (NBTA nomination), Alex in Aspects Of Love (L.A. Robbie Award), the evil Sir Percival Glyde in The Woman in White, Enjolras in Les Misérables, and Fyedka in Fiddler on the Roof.  Off-Broadway: Forbidden Broadway S.V.U. (2005 Drama Desk), Sebastian in The Thing About Men. Regional: Ravenal in Showboat at NSMT, title role in Floyd Collins at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Volodya in Bed & Sofa at the Wilma Theatre (Barrymore Award nomination). Television: “Rescue Me,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Ryan’s Hope” and “As the World Turns.” Recordings: 2 solo CDs (Everyman and Another Life), cast recordings of The Thing About Men, Forbidden Broadway-S.V.U., Broadway Musicals of 1929 and Broadway Unplugged 2.  He’s married to actress/author Sandra Joseph, who he met on the national tour of The Phantom of the Opera, while he was playing the title role opposite her Christine. 

Liz Callaway’s Broadway credits include Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along (Broadway debut), Baby (Tony® nomination), The Three Musketeers, Miss Saigon (originating the role of Ellen), Cats (as Grizabella) and The Look of Love. Other New York appearances include The Spitfire Grill (Drama Desk nomination), Follies in Concert at Lincoln Center, No Way to Treat a Lady, Marry Me a Little, Brownstone, Fiorello! for Encores! and Hair in Concert. Sibling Revelry, created with sister Ann Hampton Callaway, premiered at New York’s Rainbow and Stars, was recorded live by DRG Records, won MAC and Bistro Awards and has been seen in L.A., Chicago, Cannes and London.  The sequel, Relative Harmony, recently played New York and L.A. Liz has performed extensively in concert across the U.S. and around the world, including the 2004 The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Kennedy Center, and has lent her singing voice for leading characters in the animated features Anastasia, The Return of Jafar, Aladdin and the King of Thieves and The Swan Princess. She received an Emmy Award for hosting “Ready To Go,” a daily, live children’s program on CBS in Boston. Her numerous recordings include three solo CDs: The Beat Goes On, The Story Goes On and Anywhere I Wander: The Music of Frank Loesser. 

David Josefsberg has appeared on Broadway in Les Misérables, Grease, The Wedding Singer and On the Twentieth Century.  Off-Broadway he created the role of Abraham in the original cast of the long-running hit Altar Boyz, for which he earned a Drama League nomination.  He can be heard on the original cast recording.  Additional Off-Broadway credits include Slut, Joys of Sex and Night Blooming Jasmine.  David was seen as TV icon Arthur (“The Fonz”) Fonzarelli on NBC’s The Mork and Mindy Story, and in the films Limbo and Carlito’s Way. For the past year, he’s been touring Europe and the U.S. with comedy legend Stephen Lynch.  David has been performing his own original material, as well as songs co-written with Mr. Lynch and Jeff Gurner. (Central Park, Vegas and Miami comedy festivals) 

Eric Kunze most recently starred in the National Tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Whistle Down the Wind and played the title role in the composer’s Jesus Christ Superstar. His Broadway credits include Marius in Les Misérables, Chris in Miss Saigon, and Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees opposite Jerry Lewis. Regional credits include the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Evita (as Che, Ovation nomination), as well as lead roles in The Who’s Tommy and Pippin (Los Angeles Robbie Award). Eric has also performed in numerous concert and symphony events across the country.

Laurie Gayle Stephenson made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award®-winning The Secret Garden where she performed the role of Lily. No stranger to the work of Andrew Lloyd Webber, for two years she performed the lead role of Christine in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera.  She previously made her debut as Christine with the first national touring company at the Kennedy Center.  Laurie was an original cast member of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, touring the U.S. singing opposite Michael Crawford. She also performed in the 2004 version at the Kennedy Center. Other concert work includes Tribute to Richard Rodgers at the Kennedy Center, Stephen Sondheim's 75th Birthday Celebration Concert on Broadway, the popular concert series Bravo Broadway with most major symphony orchestras across the country and international engagement with the Royal Philharmonic at London’s Palladium and the Bolshoi Symphony in Moscow. National tours include Annie, Camelot and Dames at Sea. She can currently be heard on the original cast albums of the shows she’s appeared in and on her debut solo album Till You Find Your Dream.

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.

Brian Nason (Lighting Designer). Broadway: Thurgood, On Golden Pond with James Earl Jones (also at the Kennedy Center), Fortune’s Fool, Taller Than a Dwarf, 1776, Metamorphosis with Mikhail Baryshnikov (Tony® nomination), A Month in the Country (Outer Critics Circle nomination), Arthur Miller's Broken Glass, Threepenny Opera with Sting, M. Butterfly, Cyrano: The Musical. Off-Broadway: Showtune; Bailegangaire; The Dog Problem; The Picture of Dorian Gray; The Cripple of Inishmaan; An Empty Plate; Neat (Audelco nomination); Cellini, Four Dogs and a Bone; The Cocoanuts; Grace and Glorie; Richard II (Audelco nomination); Durang, Durang; Amphigorey; Pretty Fire; Cantorial (OCC nomination); Advice from a Caterpillar; A Life in Theatre. Opera: Dead Man Walking (NYCO, Opera Pacific, Cincinnati, Austin Lyric), Salome (NYCO, Opera Pacific), West Side Story (La Scala, Beirut, Japan).  

LUCAS J. CORRUBIA, JR. (Sound Designer) Better known on Broadway as “Rico,” Lucas toured the U.S. and internationally with such acts as Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Bernadette Peters, and both national tours of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber starring Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. Associate Broadway credits include The Who’s Tommy; Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk; 42nd Street; and Dance of the Vampires. Touring designs include the U.S. tours The Music Man and Miss Saigon and the international touring production of Burn the Floor. 

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.

Photos by Scott Suchman

To post a comment, you must register and login.