Sacramento Music Circus has announced the casting for its sixtieth summer season. The seven-show season will include the Music Circus premieres of "Spamalot," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "The Marvelous Wonderettes" and new stagings of "Oklahoma!," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "42nd Street" and "Funny Girl," the latter returning to Music Circus after an 18-year absence.
The season will open with the Music Circus premiere of Monty Python's "Spamalot," which won the Tony Award® for Best Musical in 2005. Written by Eric Idle and John Du Prez and based on the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "Spamalot" will play a 13-performance run July 9-18. The comedy tells the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and includes a bevy of beautiful show girls, cows and a killer rabbit. The Broadway production played for over 1,500 performances in New York and had an extensive national tour. Music Circus will present the major regional theatre premiere of the show. The production, to be staged by CMT Artistic Director Glenn Casale, will include the Tony-nominated original Broadway costume designs. The production will star Gary Beach, of the original Broadway cast of "The Producers," as King Arthur. It will also feature Lesli Margherita (The Lady of the Lake), Mika Duncan (Sir Lancelot), John Scherer (Sir Robin), Ron Bohmer (Sir Dennis Galahad), Steven Strafford (Prince Herbert), Andy Taylor (Patsy), and Ron Wisniski (Sir Bedevere).
The season will continue July 20-25 with "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." This early work by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber is a favorite for Music Circus audiences, with its vibrant costumes and its energetic songs. "Joseph" is a fanciful retelling of the Bible story of Joseph, whose talent for interpreting dreams takes him on incredible adventures through Egypt. Directed and choreographed by Richard Stafford, who has staged a national tour of the show, this summer's production will use the new London script for the first time, utilizing a 40-person choir of local children. The production will star Max Von Essen (Joseph), Jennifer Paz (Narrator), Paul Ainsley (Jacob/Potiphar), David Engel (Pharaoh/Levi), Shannon Stoeke (Reuben), Lain Gray (Judah), Jeff Skowron (Simeon), and Naomi Hubert (Mrs. Potiphar). Tickets will be half-price for children 4-11.
The works of Rodgers and Hammerstein are the foundation of the American musical theatre as well as Music Circus. To celebrate the 60th Music Circus season, "Oklahoma!," the first collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, will return to Music Circus July 27-August 1. Perhaps the most American of musicals, "Oklahoma!" celebrates the pioneer spirit on the Western frontier and features many of the most recognizable musical classics, including "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" and "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top." Marcia Milgrom Dodge, whose production of "Ragtime" just completed its critically acclaimed Broadway run, will direct "Oklahoma!" for Music Circus. The production will star Jeremiah James (Curly), Brandi Burkhardt (Laurey), Heather Jane Rolff (Ado Annie), Michael Jablonski (Will Parker), Kevin Earley (Jud Fry), Amir Talai (Ali Hakim), Kay Walbye (Aunt Eller), Ron Wisniski (Andrew Carnes), John Williford (Dream Jud), Patrick Pulkrabek (Dream Curly), and Amanda Peet (Dream Laurey).
