Fanny: 50th Encore production announces cast



Fred Applegate, George Hearn, David Patrick Kelly, Michael McCormick, Rondi Reed, Elena Shaddow, James Snyder and Ted Sutherland have been cast in Fanny, the 50th Encores! musical produced by New York City Center since 1994 and the second Encores! production of the season.

Fanny, running from 4 - 7 Feb 2010, has music and lyrics by Harold Rome and book by S.N. Behrman and Joshua Logan, and is based on Marcel Pagnol's trilogy Marius, Fanny and Cesar. Fanny will be directed by Mark Bruni and choreographed by Lorin Latarro.

Fanny is set in Marseille and features one of Broadway's great love stories - a tale of a young girl's (Elena Shaddow) passion for a young man so in love with the sea that he leaves her, little realizing that she is pregnant with his child. Her marriage of convenience to a wealthy older man (Fred Applegate) desperate to have an heir is complicated by the sailor's return years later.

Harold Rome's score includes the title song, "Restless Heart" and "Never Too Late For Love." Fanny opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theater on 4 Nov 1954 and played for a total of 888 performances.

Fred Applegate (Panisse) appeared on Broadway as 'Max Bialystock' in 'The Producers' and as 'Max Detweiler' in 'The Sound of Music' (also London), and in 'Happiness' and 'Young Frankenstein.'

George Hearn (Cesar) won Tony Awards for 'Sunset Boulevard' and 'La Cage aux Folles' and received nominations for 'Putting It Together,' 'A Doll's Life' and 'Watch on The Rhine'. He also appeared on Broadway in 'Wicked,' 'The Diary of Anne Frank,' 'Meet Me in St. Louis,' 'I Remember Mama,' 'A Time for Singing,' 'An Almost Perfect Person,' 'The Changing Room' and 'Ah, Wilderness!'

David Patrick Kelly (The Admiral) has appeared on Broadway in 'Twelfth Night' (Lincoln Center) and at leading theaters throughout the United States. At the Hartford Stage he starred in the title roles in 'Woyzeck and Tartuffe' and played 'Iago' in 'Othello' and 'Hoss' in 'Tooth of Crime.' He has appeared in four Richard Foreman plays: 'Pearls for Pigs,' 'The Mind King,' 'Film Is Evil/Radio Is Good' and 'The Cure.' In 1998 he received an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence.

Michael McCormick's (Escartifique) many Broadway credits include 'Curtains,' 'Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,' 'The Pajama Game,' 'Gypsy,' 'Marie Christine,' 'Kiss Me Kate,' '1776' and 'Kiss of the Spider Woman.'

Rondi Reed's (Honorine) Broadway credits include 'August: Osage County,' for which she won a Tony Award, 'The Rise and Fall of Little Voice' and 'The Grapes of Wrath.' Reed has been a member of the Steppenwolf Ensemble for 30 years, appearing in more than 50 productions at Steppenwolf Theatre, her artistic home, and in festival productions for Steppenwolf in Australia, Ireland and the U.K. In 2005, she originated the role of 'Madame Morrible' in the Chicago company of the musical 'Wicked.'

Elena Shaddow (Fanny) appeared on Broadway in 'The Woman in White,' 'Fiddler on the Roof,' 'Nine,' 'Sweet Smell of Success' and as 'Cosette' in 'Les Misérables.' She played 'Magnolia' in 'Show Boat' in London and was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for her performance as 'Clara' in the national tour of 'The Light in the Piazza.'

James Snyder (Marius) made his Broadway debut as the title role in John Waters' 'Crybaby' after starring in the world premiere engagement at La Jolla Playhouse. Other stage credits include 'Three Generations' at The Kennedy Center, the Los Angeles productions of 'Rock of Ages' (also Las Vegas) and 'Happy Days.'

Marc Bruni (Director) recently directed 'Ordinary Days' for Roundabout Underground. Other directing credits include 'Such Good Friends' (NYMF Directing Award), 'The Music Man,' 'My One and Only,' 'High Spirits' and 'Glimpses of the Moon.' He was Associate Director of the Broadway, London and touring productions of 'Legally Blonde' and appeared on MTV's "Search for Elle Woods." He has been associated with Walter Bobbie, Kathleen Marshall, Jerry Mitchell and Jerry Zaks on 13 Broadway shows including 'Irving Berlin's White Christmas,' 'The Pajama Game,' 'Grease,' 'Wonderful Town,' 'High Fidelity,' 'Sweet Charity,' 'La Cage Aux Folles' and 'Little Shop Of Horrors' (Broadway/Tour) as well as on City Center Encores! productions of 'Finian's Rainbow' 'No, No, Nanette,' 'Applause,' 'Bye, Bye Birdie' and '70, Girls, 70.'

Lorin Latarro (Choreographer) recently choreographed Cy Coleman's 'The Best Is Yet to Come' at The Rubicon Theater, which garnered two Ovation nominations with director David Zippel. Other choreographic credits include 'Hansel and Gretel' on PBS's "Live From Lincoln Center," 'Lysistrata' at Avery Fischer Hall, 'Broadway By The Year '79' and ''65' at Town Hall, 'The Jerusalem Syndrome' (NYMF), H'ow To Succeed...' at White Plains Performing Arts Center, 'Love of Three Oranges' and 'The Magic Flute' for The Juilliard Opera Company, 'Kickin' It' at Alvin Ailey, and 'Erotic Broadway' at The Triad. She is currently the associate choreographer of Greenday's 'American Idiot' with director Michael Mayer.

New York City Center Encores! (Jack Viertel, Artistic Director; Rob Berman, Music Director) has, since 1994, celebrated the rarely heard works of America's most important composers and lyricists. Conceived as concert versions, each Encores! season gives three scores the chance to be heard as originally intended by their creators. Over the years, Encores! has presented the works of the Gershwins, Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Kurt Weill, Bock and Harnick, Burt Bacharach, Kander and Ebb, Comden and Green, and many others. The program is the recipient of a special 2000 Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre.

Originally published on

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