ON
THE 20th CENTURY
Book & Lyrics by
Betty Comden & Adolph Green
Music by Cy Coleman
Based on plays by Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur & Bruce
Millholland
A
flamboyant theatrical impresario schemes to sign a film
star for his next production and outwit his rivals,
while getting rid of a religious nut and the star's
boyfriend in Cy Coleman, Betty Comden & Adolph Green's
merriest musical.
8 PM Saturday, April 8, 2006
2 PM Sunday, April 9, 2006
Directed
by Claudia Zahn
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Cast:
Eric Jensen*
(Oscar Jaffee)
appeared previously with Showtunes! as Jupiter in Out of This World.
Recent regional credits include: Sweeney Todd at 5th Avenue, South
Pacific and Man of LaMancha at Village theatre, and Red, Hot and
Cole at CLO. He was last seen here at KPC as Sweeney Todd in
SweeneyTodd :In Concert for Eastside Musical Theatre. |
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 Anna
Lauris* (Lily Garland)
is very excited to be working with Showtunes! Other roles
include Maria in The Sound of Music, Anita in West Side Story,
and BJ in the new musical Dick Danger. Anna's also a part of the
new Noel Coward revue A Marvelous Party which will next be seen
at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach California this winter. |
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Ellen McClain* (Letitia Primrose)
enjoys a busy career in theatre and opera. She played Magnolia
in Show Boat to sold-out houses in Europe, and created the role
of the Social Worker in Anthony Davis’ opera, X, The Life and
Times of Malcolm X at the American Music Theater Festival in
Philadelphia. Ellen performed on Broadway in My Fair Lady with
Sir Rex Harrison and with Peggy Lee in her show, Peg. |
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John Patrick Lowrie* (Oliver
Webb)
has led a varied career as a composer, musician, conductor,
author, actor and director for the last thirty-five years. Roles
include: Buck Jasper - Play It By Heart, The Chairman - Drood
(Village Theatre), Inspector Bones - Jumpers (ACT), Jerome -
Henceforward... (Portland Rep.), Charley - Death of a Salesman,
Mr. van Daan – The Diary of Anne Frank (Montana Rep/National
Tour), Mr. Darling - Peter Pan (Intiman), Wotan – Das Barbecu
(The Dallas Theater Center and ACT). |
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John X. Deveney (Owen O’Malley)
John is excited to be making his debut for Showtunes! with On
the 20th Century. John has worked at the Village Theatre the
past several years appearing in The Music Man (Mayor Shinn),
South Pacific (Stewpot), Damn Yankees (Coach Benny Van Buren),
Oklahoma! (Andrew Carnes) and Annie. |
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Ian Lindsay ( Bruce Granite)
would like to applaud all the folks at Showtunes! for their
amazing work, we could not have all this fun without you. He is
currently touring the state's elementary schools as Elvis with
the 5th Avenue's Adventure Musical Theatre program. Ian was
recently a spastic monkey in Seussical at Seattle Children's
Theatre, and can be seen soon in Opera's Macbeth as Chorus
member number 23. |
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Maggie Stenson (Imelda) is
co-founding Producing Artistic Director of ST!, and has appeared
onstage with the company as Lizzie in 110 In The Shade and as
the Narrator in Do I Hear A Waltz? She thanks the cast and crew,
our generous donors, and YOU for supporting Showtunes! Hope to
see you here next season. Carpe diem! |
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 Jason
Kappus (Conductor Flanagan)
Showtunes! audiences will recognize Jason from Fiorello! and
Flora earlier this year. He may also look familiar to local
students, as he’s spent his first two years in Seattle touring
to hundreds of Puget Sound schools performing with Taproot, and
Open Door Theatre. Previously, he studied music and theatre at
EWU. In Seattle, he’s been privileged to spend his evenings with
Harlequin, ReAct, Eastside Musical Theatre, and Village Theatre,
including this spring’s Hello, Dolly! |
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Gail Hebert (Dr. Johnson)
previously appeared with Showtunes! as Mrs. Pomerantz in
Fiorello! Her favorite musical roles Favorite roles include
Maggie Jones in 42nd Street, Miss Lynch in Grease, Pauline in
No, No, Nanette, and the Reverend Mother in Nunsense, which won
her the 2003 Portland Critics’Award. Since her return to seattle
you may have seen Gail at CLO as Mrs. Lord in High Society, and
Elsa Maxwell in Red, Hot and Cole, or at Village Theatre as Mrs.
Paroo in The Music Man, where she will next appear as Mrs. Rose
in their spring production of Hello,Dolly! |
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 David-Edward
Hughes (Senator Lockwood)
was last onstage as Morris in Showtunes! Fiorello! and is
co-founding producing artistic director of ST!. He looks forward
to directing a show in the 2006-07 season. Special thanks to the
whole ST! board, especially MSP and MW, and to CZ, DC, SP and a
great cast and crew. Read his recent 10 questions with interview
at Seattleactor.com and support that great website. Love to
James & Miss Carlisle. |
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 Charissa
Bertels (Agnes)
is delighted to return to Showtunes! after playing Maggie in
Flora. Charissa will perform in the upcoming run of Stunt Girl
at Village Theatre and this summer at Coeur d’Alene Summer
Theatre. Recent show credits include Love is Love, Mata Hari,
Pirates of Penzance, Red Hot & Cole, South Pacific, On the Town,
and Annie Get Your Gun. She would like to thank God, her family
and friends and her amazing husband, James. |
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 Marcus
Wolland (1st Officer)
Marcus’ Showtunes! credits include Do I Hear A Waltz?, Fiorello!
and Flora, The Red Menace. Marcus is Producing Artistic Director
for local theatre company Straight-Edge Theatrics, and recently
appeared as King Herod in their production of Oscar Wilde’s
Salome. The DVD of his one-man show The Magnificent Welles is
available through Netflix, Amazon and PBS online
(www.shoppbs.org). |
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Mo Brady (Max Jacobs/Porter)
created roles for Stephen Schwartz (Snapshots), and both Martin
Charnin and Thomas Meehan (Robin Hood) at Village Theatre. He
performed in the 5th Avenue Theatre's acclaimed production of
Sweeney Todd, and currently tours in their Adventure Musical
Theatre production of It Happened at the World’s Fair. Other
local credits include Godspell at ACT Theatre (BC/EFA). Upcoming
roles include Ambrose in Hello, Dolly! at Village Theatre.
Thanks to JBS. Love to Case. |
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 Casey
Craig (Porter)
is glad to make his debut with Showtunes! on this exciting
project. Casey was last seen at Village Theatre in CATS, The
Music Man, How to Succeed…, and Joseph… (Benjamin). Past credits
include Anything Goes (Moonface), Peter Pan (Peter), and You’re
a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Charlie). Casey is a dance major
attending the University of Washington, and a local
choreographer working with Village Theatre KIDSTAGE, EMP, Studio
East, and the Kent School District. Enjoy! |
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Jadd Davis (Porter #3)
is thrilled to be debuting at Showtunes! He has been seen
locally at the 5th Avenue, Village Theatre, ReAct and others.
Recent highlights include The Sound of Music (Rolf) and Sweeney
Todd... at the 5th, and working on a whole bunch of Rich Gray
material in various locations. Love to Chrissy! |
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 Timothy
Glynn (Finch/Porter#4)
most recently appeared in Straight-Edge Theatrics' production of
Salome as the singing Page Boy. Other recent performances
include Jamie in The Last Five Years, Jack in Saucy Jack and the
Space Vixens, Too Darn Hot at The Cabaret de Paris and Thumpers,
Joseph in CLO's Joseph, and Cinderella's Prince in ReAct
Theatre's Into The Woods. He is proud to be a part of Showtunes!
vision of bringing to stage hidden gems in the history of
musical theatre. Thanks for all of your support! |
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 Natalie
Backman (Emily)
is thrilled to return to Showtunes! after debuting in Fiorello!
Since then she appeared in CATS with the Village Theatre, Rich
Gray’s Cold Turkey and The 5th Avenue’s school tour, It Happened
At The World’s Fair. Natalie’s also enjoyed working with The
Seattle Shakespeare Company, CLO, Second Story Repertory and
Harlequin Productions. Love to her family and students! |
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Greta Bloor (Stranded Girl)
This is Greta's debut performance with Showtunes! and she is
very excited to be here. Last June she graduated wih her BS in
neurobiology from UW and is so happy to be done with school for
the time being. Past credits include Robin Hood (Village
Theatre), Three Sisters (Intiman), Barefoot in the
Park(ArtsWest), and big! The Musical (CLO). Look for her next as
Ermengarde in Village Theatre's production of Hello, Dolly! |
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Patricia Britton (2nd Officer)
Patricia’s local credits include work at Theater Schmeater, the
5th Avenue, Village Theatre, Annex Theatre, Civic Light Opera,
Tacoma Actors Guild, Breeders Theater, and the very first
Showtunes! production. She has appeared in print ads,
commercials, and industrials, and, long ago, on "Almost Live."
By day, Ms. Britton wrangles publications for Seattle Repertory
Theatre and serves on the board of Theatre Puget Sound, a
resource and advocacy organization for the theatre community. |
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*
denotes a member of Actors Equity Assn, the Union for stage
professionals.
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The Production Staff: |
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Claudia Zahn (Director) is
delighted to be working again with Showtunes! She directed their
2001 production of Cole Porter's Out of This World. Claudia is
Director of Opera and Musical Theatre at the UW School of Music
where her recent productions include Bock and Harnick's She
Loves Me, Offenbach's Orphee aux Enfers, and Tartuffe by Kirke
Mechem. In May, the SOM will present Mozart's Le Nozze di
Figaro. In addition to her work in Seattle, Claudia has directed
for the Caramoor International Festival of Music since 1998. Her
work there includes productions of Handel's Deidamia, Mozart's
The Magic Flute and Rossini's Otello. In 2004 she spent the
spring in Leipzig, Germany, directing Britten's The Turn of the
Screw at the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater. This summer
Claudia directs Hoiby's Bon Appetit! and Argento's A Water Bird
Talk for the new Annas Bay Music Festival in Union, WA. |
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David Close (Musical Director)
was Showtunes! associate musical director and keyboard player on
Fiorello! He holds a degree in K-12 Choral education. Prior to
coming to Seattle he was a music director and accompanist in the
San Francisco Bay Area for 10 years. Locally he has worked as an
accompanist for The 5th Avenue Theatre, Village Theatre, and
Studio East. |
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Samuel Pettit (Musical
Staging) has choreographed and staged She Loves Me, Psycho Beach
Party, Red-Hot and Cole, The Wiz, Grease, Anything Goes, and
Little Shop of Horrors. He is also co-Founder of Origami Girl
Productions, which is dedicated to producing innovative dance
works. He is currently touring with Story Book Theatre in
Rumpelstiltskin for Studio East. Sam is thrilled to be working
with Claudia Zahn
again on such a fun project. |
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John Allman ( Assoc. Music
Director)
graduated from UW, then studied composition privately in New
York. NYC Premieres include Agamemnon and Henry V at La MaMa
ETC. In Santa Fe, John produced a workshop of The Mask of Alice,
his musical based on Alice in Wonderland, at the Museum of
International Folk Art. John performed original songs in NYC at
Village Gate, Eighty-Eight’s, and Sidewalk Café. Seattle theater
credits include Sweeney Todd with Eastside Musical Theater, and
CATS at Village Theatre. |
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Josh Hamon (Stage Manager)
is very excited to be working on his first production with
Showtunes. Recently he has been working on the Village Theatre's
production of On Golden Pond. He recently graduated from WWU and
married the most beautiful woman in the world (no that is not an
exaggeration) last September. |
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Joel Waage (Asst. Stage Manager)
is pleased to return to Showtunes! after having ASM’d for 110 in
the Shade. Joel is a local director and stage manager. Favorite
shows include Godspell, Pippin, Sylvia, and Lost in Yonkers. He
is currently directing The Fantasticks at Tahoma High School,
and this summer will be directing Beauty and the Beast for
Village Theatre's KIDSTAGE program in Everett. |
Synopsis:
On the Twentieth Century is based on the hit Broadway play and
early 30's film starring John Barrymore and Carole Lombard. In this
musical comedy of raging egos, Broadway producer and director Oscar
Jaffe is leaving Chicago just one step ahead of his creditors since
his latest production has been a disaster. His actors are unpaid and
his assets have been seized. Larger than life Oscar finds out that
his former protégée and leading lady Lily Garland is going to take
the Twentieth Century Limited train from Chicago to New York. Lily
has become a legendary movie star and she is going to New York to
star in a Max Jacobs theatrical production. Oscar quickly devises a
plan for a last ditch, career-saving endeavor to convince Lily to
star in his latest play. That Oscar completely lacks funds, the
absence of a script and the fact that Lily now despises Oscar are
the hurdles that must be overcome. Also traveling with Lily is her
narcissistic lover and movie co-star Bruce Granite who uses Lily as
a meal ticket. Others onboard are Oscar's world weary cronies Oliver
and Owen, and the pixillated Letitia Perabody Primrose, who is a
rabid religious fanatic and a faux heiress. What happens when these
zanies collide? Get thee to Kirkland Performance Center and find out
for yourself, as Showtunes! presents the Seattle metro area debut of
this Tony-award winning toe-tapper by Cy Coleman, Betty Comden &
Adolph Green.
Song List
Act I
Overture
Stranded Again
Saddle up the Horse
On the Twentieth Century
I Rise Again
Veronique
I Have Written A Play
Together
Never
Our Private World
Repent
Mine
I've Got It All
On The Twentieth Century (Reprise)
Act II
Entr'acte: Life is Like A Train
Five Zeros
Sextet
She's a Nut
Babbette
The Legacy
Lily Oscar
On the Twentieth Century (Reprise)
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