Bucks County Playhouse Announces 2012 Holiday Show
Contact: Rick Miramontez / Molly Barnett / Elizabeth Wagner rick@oandmco.com / molly@oandmco.com / elizabeth@oandmco.com 212-695-7400 Local Contact: Mandee Kuenzle
Mandee@bcptheater.org
908-246-0882
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE
ANNOUNCES
2012 HOLIDAY SHOW
“IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY”
BY JOE LANDRY
BEGINS PERFORMANCES
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13TH
New Hope, PA (8/7/12) – Bucks County Playhouse (BCP) (Jed Bernstein, Producing Director) has announced its much anticipated 2012 holiday production, the third show of this inaugural season. It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry will run from Thursday, December 13th through Sunday, December 30th at the Bucks County Playhouse (70 South Main Street).
Directed by Gordon Greenberg, choreographed by Lorin Latarro, and inspired by the classic American film, It's a Wonderful Life, It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is performed as a 1940s live radio broadcast in front of a studio audience. This beloved American holiday classic, that tells the story of idealistic George Bailey as he considers his demise one fateful Christmas Eve, comes to captivating life with the help of an ensemble that brings over two dozen characters to the stage. It premiered in 1996 and has since been produced countless times around the country to critical acclaim.
“The return of the Bucks County Playhouse has been well received by this community and we hope that celebrating the holiday season at the Playhouse will become a lasting family tradition for all those visiting New Hope and the surrounding area,” said Producing Director Jed Bernstein.
The cast of It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play will be announced shortly.
It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com)
It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play will play the following schedule: Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m., Wednesdays at 2:00p.m and 7:30 p.m, Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. There is no matinee performance on December 13th. There will be no evening performance on Dec 23. There is no performance on Christmas Eve (Dec 24) and Christmas Day (Dec 25). For full details, and to purchase tickets, please visit bcptheater.org or call 215-862-2121.
Located 90 minutes from New York City, the Bucks County Playhouse opened in 1939 on the site of a grist mill dating from the late eighteenth century. Ironically, the structure was at that time in danger of demolition; however playwright Moss Hart and the local community rallied to save the building and re-opened it as a theatrical venue, which quickly became one of the country’s most famous regional theaters, with a veritable who’s who of American theatrical royalty including Kim Hunter, Helen Hayes, Kitty Carlisle, Colleen Dewhurst, Shirley Booth, Lillian Gish, June Lockhart, Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, Bert Lahr, Leslie Nielsen and Walter Matthau and remained in continuous operation until December 2010. Thanks to the Bridge Street Foundation, the non-profit family foundation of Kevin and Sherri Daugherty with Tanya Cooper as President, this beloved theatrical landmark was re-opened and celebrated on July 2, 2012, exactly 73 years and day from when it originally opened in 1939.
Bios_______________________________________________________________
Gordon Greenberg is a writer, director and producer living in New York and, occasionally, Los Angeles. He recently directed and revised Studs Terkel's Working in an acclaimed new production for Broadway In Chicago, developed with Stephen Schwartz and Lin Manuel Miranda. It had an extended engagement at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower, after productions at the Old Globe and Asolo Theatres. He directed the new production of Yentl (score by Jill Sobule, Asolo Rep.), the new national tour of Guys & Dolls, the Off-Broadway revival of Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well… (Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Award noms), Band Geeks! (also co-writer – recipient of NEA and NAMT grants for production at Goodspeed), Disney’s Believe (created with Kirsten Childs – Disney Creative Entertainment) and the Disney Fantasy Christening (with Neil Patrick Harris & Jerry Seinfeld), Pirates! Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d (created w/Nell Benjamin – Huntington, Goodspeed, Paper Mill), the Lortel nominated best Off-Broadway musical 2010 We The People (Theatreworks USA, Lortel Theatre),33 Variations (Capital Rep), Floyd Collins (Signature), Happy Days (First National Tour, Bob Boyett Theatricals; Paper Milll, Goodspeed, redeveloped with Garry Marshall),Arts & Crafts with Sandra Bernhart and Justin Vivian Bond at Joe’s Pub, the original production of Vanities, a new musical (Theatreworks Palo Alto – winner, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Award for Best Musical Production), Theory of Three (by Alexandra Cunningham, NY Stage & Film), 1776 (Paper Mill), Citizens Band: The Panic Is On (Spiegeltent, NY), The Baker's Wife (revised and reworked with Joe Stein and Stephen Schwartz for Goodspeed and Paper Mill Playhouse), O. Henry’s Lovers (Goodspeed), Cam Jansen (by Larry O’Keefe & Nell Benjamin, Lambs Theatre), the National Tour of Peter Pan (Big League), The Broadway Divas tours of the U.S., Canada and Brazil and numerous television commercials. Current projects include writing Scramble Band, an original movie musical for the Disney Channel, Pirates! Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d (Muny 2012), The Happy Elf (with Harry Connick, Jr.), The Single Girls Guide – Book Writer, Goodspeed (workshop), Capital Rep (premier, 2013), Stars of David (with Charles Busch, Tom Kitt, William Finn, Marvin Hamlisch etc. for Philadelphia Theatre Company and Daryl Roth Productions), Ben Folds Project (The Producing Office), and Guys & Dolls (West End, London, 2013/14). Born in Texas and raised in New York, Greenberg performed in his first Broadway show at age 12. He attended Stanford University and NYU Film School before joining J. Walter Thompson Worldwide for a stint as a producer/director of commercials. He then moved back into theatre — first performing on Broadway and on television and soon directing and writing. He is also deeply involved in arts education and is Co-Director of The Broadway Teaching Group, Broadway’s largest education program, comprised ofBroadway Teachers Workshop, Broadway Student Summit and the Broadway Online Learning Center – all in conjunction with Music Theatre International and Jujamcyn Theatres. He is a member of the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society and the Lincoln Center Directors Lab.
Lorin Latarro (Choreographer, A Grand Night Singing) choreographed Encore’s Fanny at City Center, Live From Lincoln Center’s Hansel and Gretel (Sendak) for PBS, Cy Coleman’s The Best Is Yet To Come for David Zippel (Ovation Award) at The Rubicon and 59E59th Street Theater, Saving Aimee at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theater, pieces for Momix, the upcoming City Club at Minetta Lane, Apassionata’s international tour and currently Broadway’s American Idiot (Associate). TV includes Greenday’s Grammy’s performance and staging for numerous TV appearances, NBC’s Grease reality TV show and NBC’s Clash of the Choirs (associate) and a dance commercial for Savion Glover and Twix. Lorin co-wrote the musical The Cosmopolitan (award winner at NAMT) and as a performer has performed in 14 Broadway shows including lead roles in Movin Out, Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, Fossen, Swing!, Kiss Me Kate, and Spamalot. She was an Associate Choreographer on many Broadway shows throughout her performing career and has worked with numerous award winning directors and choreographers.
Joe Landry (Playwright) At age 12, Joe's first job was in the film department at the library in his hometown of Fairfield, CT. This was before the dawn of home video, back in the days of 16mm, and their permanent collection included It's a Wonderful Life, The Lady Vanishes and other early Hitchcock films. Joe's other main interest was the theatre. Encouraged by his parents, Joe was introduced to various theatres which he came to call home, including Playwrights Horizons and Roundabout Theatre Company in New York, Westport Country Playhouse and others. In 1995, Joe founded Second Guess Theatre Company, which produced over two dozen new plays, adaptations and revivals to critical-acclaim. In 1997, It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play premiered in Stamford, CT and has since enjoyed productions around the country. Joe's other plays include Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play and an adaptation of the cult classic Reefer Madness. Other projects include Mothers and Sons, a musical co-written with Kevin Connors and Lifeboat, Dahling! with Bert Bernardi. www.joelandry.com
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