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Joining Kudisch are a trio of Broadway ladies to portray the witches: Jacquelyn Piro Donovan returns to the Signature stage (110 in the Shade, Nevermore) as Suki, Christiane Noll will appear as Jane, and Tony® nominee Emily Skinner is to portray Alexandra. Click here to read more about these three lovely stars. A testament to Signature’s national reputation as one of the leading producers of musical theater, Signature has been selected as the only venue to present the musical’s American premiere. Eric Schaeffer, who will direct, originally developed The Witches of Eastwick, based on the novel by John Updike and the Warner Bros. motion picture, with book writer and lyricist John Dempsey, composer Dana P. Rowe and producer Cameron Mackintosh — the same creative team behind the American premiere of The Fix presented at Signature in 1998. Schaeffer originally directed the world premiere of The Witches of Eastwick in London’s West End at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and Prince of Wales theatres to great critical acclaim. The story takes place in the tiny New England town of Eastwick, Rhode Island, where three unhappy witches innocently plot and conjure for their perfect man over a heady brew of brownies and weak martinis. When their longings are made flesh in the arrival of one Darryl Van Horne, all hell breaks loose. Quite literally. The Washington Post called Schaeffer’s London production, “Wicked fun… astonishing — the kind of beautiful, funny, glittery, joyfully stagey stuff that musical comedy dreams are made of.” “The Witches of Eastwick — despite its various English, Russian, Japanese, and Australian productions — is an American musical,” stated collaborators Dempsey and Rowe. “How wonderful it is then to be bringing it to American soil at long last. In deciding upon a national premiere, we could think of no greater launching pad than the Signature Theatre, having had such a wickedly good time there doing The Fix a few seasons back. We hope the Signature audiences enjoy dancing with the devil as much as we enjoyed dreaming up the dance.” Tickets are currently on sale. Signature subscribers may add this show to their current season package at a special discounted rate. Please call the Signature Box Office directly at (703) 820-9771, as subscriber price is not available online. SINGING SHAKESPEARE CABARET PERFORMANCE ADDED An evening of great songs from American musical’s based on the writings of Shakespeare, such as West Side Story, Kiss Me Kate, and The Boys from Syracuse, will be presented as part of the city-wide Shakespeare in Washington Festival. April 4 – 7, 2007 Tickets are now available for Saturday, April 7 at 2pm. Only $27! Click here to purchase tickets to the first cabaret in Signature’s new home.
FREE EVENTS WITH ERIC AND KATHIE LEE GIFFORD
Monday, April 2, 2007 “I’m thrilled Signature’s doing the world premiere of Saving Aimee,” states Director Eric Schaeffer. “The story and music are enthralling and it’s a project close to my heart – one I’ve been helping Kathie Lee Gifford develop for a couple of years now." Eric Schaeffer is known for his work developing and producing new musicals, as well as for his significant expertise in re-envisioning classic musicals. Under his direction, Signature has been a home to theatrical giants such as Cameron Mackintosh, Stephen Sondheim, Terrence McNally, John Kander, and Fred Ebb. Signature was recently awarded a $1 million grant from The Shen Family Foundation for the creation of The American Musical Voices Project. Commissions were awarded to composers to develop new musicals for production at Signature. If you want to know more about the world premiere of Saving Aimee, The American Musical Voices Project, and other works in development at Signature, join Eric Schaeffer at the Shirlington Library on Monday, April 2. A collaborative series with Arlington County Public Library, Signature’s From Page to Stage conversation series is free for the community. No reservations required. From Page to Stage, the informative and entertaining discussion series held in conjunction with Signature Theatre and The Arlington Central Library, has expanded to include additional discussions at the new Shirlington Library. Click here for a complete 2006-07 calendar of Free Events.
Thursday, April 5, 2007 Kathie Lee Gifford, the book writer and lyricist for Saving Aimee, has enjoyed a long and varied career since she began singing professionally at the age of 14. She’s recorded over 20 CDs, written seven books, and has appeared on numerous television shows including Seinfeld, Spin City, The Insider, and Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. Her first production credit as a writer was for the musical Under the Bridge for which she wrote the book and lyrics. Signature's own Eric Schaeffer directed this production which enjoyed a successful Off-Broadway run in 2005. Eric and Kathie Lee's professional relationship began earlier when he directed her in the Broadway run of Putting It Together. But this relationship has developed as they began working on Saving Aimee during not only the workshop production in 2005, but this production Signature is thrilled to premiere. The journey to the world premiere of Saving Aimee is a fascinating one. Bring your lunch and join Kathie Lee as she discusses this production — how and when she became interested in the life of Aimee Semple McPherson and the trials and tribulations the author faced in writing the musical. Signature’s Brown Bag Thursday conversation series is free for the community. No reservations required.
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BROWN BAG THURSDAY |