| Full Cast & Creative Team Announced for World Premiere of "Welcome to the Big Dipper" A New Musical at York Theatre Company (November 21-December 29, 2024) | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 10:13 am EDT 10/28/24 | |
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| FULL CAST & CREATIVE TEAM ANNOUNCED THE YORK THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF WELCOME TO THE BIG DIPPER A NEW MUSICAL COMEDY MUSIC & LYRICS BY JIMMY ROBERTS BOOK BY CATHERINE FILLOUX AND JOHN DAGGETT ADDITIONAL LYRICS BY JOHN DAGGETT MUSIC DIRECTION BY BETH FALCONE CHOREOGRAPHED BY ASHLEY MARINELLI DIRECTED BY DEMONE SERAPHIN THE THEATRE AT ST. JEAN'S (150 EAST 76th STREET – JUST EAST OF LEXINGTON AVE.) PERFORMANCES BEGIN THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2024 A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON, DECEMBER 29, 2024 OPENING NIGHT SET FOR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2024, AT 7:00PM TICKETS NOW ON SALE The York Theatre Company (Marie Grace LaFerrara, Executive Director) "Where Musicals Come to Life," today announced the cast and creative team for the World Premiere of Welcome to the Big Dipper, a new musical comedy based on a true event (inspired by the play All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go , by Catherine Filloux) with music & lyrics by Jimmy Roberts (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change), book by Catherine Filloux and John Daggett, with additional lyrics by Mr. Daggett. Directed by DeMone Seraphin, choreographed by Ashley Marinelli, with music direction by Beth Falcone, performances are set to begin Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 7:30PM for a limited engagement through Sunday afternoon, December 29, 2024 at The Theatre at St. Jean's (entrance on 150 East 76th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue. For elevator, enter on Lexington between 76th and 75th, to the right of St. Jean's.) Opening Night is set for Tuesday, November 26, 2024 at 7:00PM. The Big Dipper, an historic inn nestled in Bigelow, New York, near Niagara Falls, has been in Joan Wilke's family for decades and is on the brink of closure, when a monster blizzard forces two wildly disparate groups of travelers to shelter in place. For three days and nights, within the walls of this sprawling house, secrets are revealed, young love ignites, and lives are changed in this heartfelt new musical comedy. The cast of Welcome to the Big Dipper is Maybe Burke (Love Letters to Nobody), Jennifer Byrne (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical), Robert Cuccioli ( Jekyll & Hyde - TONY nominee), Christian Magby (Galileo), Jillian Louis (Twist of Fate at The York), Mia Pinero (Sweeney Todd), DeMone Seraphin (Ragtime), Pablo Torres (The Jerusalem Syndrome at The York), Debra M. Walton (Storyville at The York), and Michael Yeshion (Imaginocean). Understudies are Darius Harper (Kinky Boots), Ella Oleson (Fiddler on the Roof), Jayae Riley, Jr. (Trevor: The Musical), and Erik Schark (Rock of Ages). The creative team is Brian Pacelli (set and projection design), Janine Loesch (costume design), Kristen Paige (lighting design), Julian Evans (sound design) and Polly Solomon (properties). The production stage manager is Bernita Robinson. The assistant stage managers are Caroline Pastore and Carter White. The production manager is Noah Glaister. Casting is by Michael Cassara, CSA. General Management is by HIGH HARD HEAT/Dominick Balletta. Welcome to the Big Dipper will play the following performance schedule: Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30pm., with 2:30pm performances Saturday & Sunday. There will be an additional performance on Monday, November 25 at 7:30pm. PLEASE NOTE: There are no performances on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 28 and Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25. Tickets for Welcome to the Big Dipper are now available and are priced at $50 - $80 (plus $4 convenience fee). York Members receive Priority Seating and Discounted Tickets. Tickets may be purchased here or by calling the Box Office at (212) 935-5820, Tuesday – Friday 12:00PM – 5:00PM, or via email at boxoffice@yorktheatre.org. Senior and Student Rush tickets are available in-person beginning one hour prior to performances for $20, subject to availability (one student ticket per valid student ID). The York Theatre also offers $30 tickets for patrons aged 35 years and under through the Gen York program. ??? The York Theatre Company offers a York Plus! Membership Program for $150 with additional perks, including complimentary tickets to Mainstage productions and invitations to several VIP-only presentations throughout the season. The York also offers a York! Membership Program, an exclusive membership package for as low as $75.00—with benefits that include up to 35% off tickets to York Theatre Productions, in addition to special Member-only receptions. York Memberships can be purchased online at www.yorktheatre.org/membership. York Theatre Company Gift Cards are available for any production during the 2024-2025 season by calling the Box Office at (212) 935-5820, Tuesday – Friday 12:00PM – 5:00PM, or via email at boxoffice@yorktheatre.org. SAVE THE DATE: The York Theatre Company will honor musical theater legend Bernadette Peters (Hello, Dolly!, A Little Night Music, Gypsy) with the 2024 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theater and producer Ted Snowdon with The York Theatre Company Founders' Award at the 32nd Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala on Monday evening, November 11, 2024 at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street). Tickets are now on sale by visiting our website at www.yorktheatre.org . For further information, including sponsorship opportunities, please email Marie Grace LaFerrara at mlaferrara@yorktheatre.org. For additional information, please visit www.yorktheatre.org . THE CREATIVE TEAM Jimmy Roberts (Music/Lyrics) composed the music for I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Off-Broadway's second longest-running musical (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations as Best Musical), produced in all 50 states and 25 countries worldwide. He also composed the score for The Thing About Men (Outer Critics Circle award for Best Musical, 2003). His children's musical, The Velveteen Rabbit (Theaterworks USA), toured the country for well over a decade. His songs were featured in two Off-Broadway musicals, A…My Name Is Still Alice and Pets! Among his compositions is a commissioned work: The Heart of the Matter, words by poet Dana Gioia (Guggenheim Museum Works & Process). Jimmy Roberts is also a performer and vocalist whose entertaining programs feature unique mixtures of classical and popular music. Recent engagements include Merkin Concert Hall, the Deutsche Bank Center, the 92nd Street Y, Steinway Hall, St. Peter's Church, and the National Arts Club. He has presented educational programs at St. Francis College (Brooklyn), the Cab Calloway School of the Arts (Wilmington, Delaware), and the Newark School of the Arts (lecture/recital on Leonard Bernstein's music). A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, he studied with noted pianist Constance Keene. His poems have appeared often in the New York Times Metropolitan Diary, and most recently in a newly-published anthology entitled The Traveler's Vade Mecum (Red Hen Press). Catherine Filloux (Book) is an award-winning French-Algerian-American playwright and librettist who has been writing about human rights for many decades. Filloux's new play How to Eat an Orange was commissioned by INTAR and premiered at La MaMa Downstairs Theatre in New York City in 2024. Catherine's plays have been produced nationally and internationally, and widely anthologized and written about; her play White Savior was nominated for The Venturous Play List. Filloux is also the librettist for four produced operas; Orlando (composer Olga Neuwirth) is the first opera by a woman composer-librettist team at the Vienna State Opera and is the 2022 Grawemeyer Award winner. Catherine has traveled for her plays to conflict areas including Bosnia, Cambodia, Guatemala, Haiti, Iraq, Sudan, and South Sudan. Other opera productions: New Arrivals (Houston Grand Opera, composer John Glover), Where Elephants Weep (Chenla Theatre, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, composer Him Sophy) broadcast on Cambodian national television and Broadway on Demand, and The Floating Box (Asia Society, New York City, composer Jason Kao Hwang) an Opera News Critic's Choice available on New World Records. Filloux has been a guest on a wide range of media outlets and served as a speaker for theater and human rights organizations around the world. Catherine worked on the development of five films for the Reimagining Myself transition prison reentry program with RTA, is the board president of CultureHub, and mentors many writers. www.catherinefilloux.com John Daggett (Book/Additional Lyrics) Mr. Daggett's career spans over 45 years, as an actor, writer, director, and producer. He starred Off-Broadway in the critically acclaimed plays Lemkin's House, Teahouse of the August Moon, and Love Lemmings. Other New York credits include Rome, Portrait of a President, An Artist's Life, The Witches Triptych, and his one-man show Flying by the Seat of My Pants (Theatre Row). Regional: Guthrie, Merrimack Rep, Jewish Repertory Theatre, Portland Stage, Roxy Theatre, Odyssey Theater, Kavinoky Theatre, and H.T.Y. Numerous roles for Pennsylvania Shakespeare, Orlando Shakespeare, Shakespeare in Delaware Park, and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare. John was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1981 and is proud to have served as a member of the Government Relations Committee of the National MS Society. DeMone Seraphin (Director) is an actor, director, artistic director & educator. As an actor, DeMone has appeared Off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally as a principal and featured performer in such shows as Ragtime, Miss Saigon, Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar, Memphis, Side Show (Jeff Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical), Ain't Misbehavin', The Best of Both Worlds, Uncle Vanya, Othello, Once on This Island, Big River, Crowns, and Sweet Charity. On screen, he has appeared in "Person of Interest," "Law and Order: SVU," The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, Hush, The Subject, The Magic Door, and Bad Street. As a director, DeMone's work has been seen Off-Broadway, internationally, and regionally. Most recent credits include Five Guys Named Moe at the Fulton Theatre, the Regional Premiere of Chicken and Biscuits at Virginia Rep Theatre, and Topdog/Underdog (Helen Hayes nomination for Outstanding Direction of a Play), The Gospel at Colonus, How I Learned What I Learned at Avant Bard Theatre, where he serves as a Lead Producing Partner, and Billy and George (world premiere at Avant Bard Theatre - Pulitzer Prize Recommended). Other directing credits include the German premiere of August Wilson's Jitney, Once Uponzi Time: An American Scheme at The McCarter Theatre in association with Princeton's Triangle Club, the Off-Broadway revivals of Dutchman and Split Second, and the world premiere of The King: The Final Hours: An Elvis Presley Musical. As an educator, DeMone has been a guest lecturer, artist in residence, and visiting professor/director at such prestigious institutions as Harvard University, Princeton University, Ryder University, NYU Steinhardt, University of Virginia, and the University of Utah. DeMone is also a member of the Tony Award-winning Broadway Inspirational Voices. Ashley Marinelli (Choreographer) is thrilled to be working on this beautiful, timely show and can't wait to share a ham sandwich with you. Favorite choreographic credits include Stranger Sings: The Parody Musica_l (Off-Broadway, Winner of Broadway World's "Best Off-Broadway Choreography" Award), A Musical About Star Wars (Off-Broadway), The Perfect Game (Off-Broadway), Once Uponzi Time (McCarter Theater), American Psycho (Little Theater), The True and Unquestionable Account of Dr. Joseph Snodgrass (Players Club, NYC), Mystic Pizza (Engeman Theater), and Techies_ (Miller Theater, Winner of Kennedy Center CTF's "Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Choreography" Award). Ashley graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and currently teaches at Marymount Manhattan College and Long Island University. She lives in Brooklyn with her partner and her puppy. @alm433 Beth Falcone (Music Direction) is an experienced music director, pianist, conductor, composer-lyricist Wanda's World), and vocologist. Among numerous awards, she is a Kleban Prize Winner for Most Promising Lyricist in American Musical Theater and a Harrington Award Winner for Outstanding Creative Achievement. She is a member of many music/theater entities, including MAESTRA, the BMI Musical Theatre Songwriting Workshop, and the Dramatists Guild (fellow). https://www.bethfalcone.com/ The York Theatre Company, "Where Musicals Come to Life," is the only theatre in New York City—and one of very few in the world—dedicated to developing and fully producing new musicals and preserving notable shows from the past. For over five decades, York's intimate, imaginative style of producing both original and classic musicals has resulted in critical acclaim and recognition from artists and audiences alike. Since 1997, The York has focused on new musicals in its Mainstage Series—most of them world, American, or New York premieres—by some of the field's most esteemed creators and has also helped launch the careers of many talented new writers. Over 45 cast recordings from York Theatre Company productions are now available, including its acclaimed revival of Closer Than Ever (2013 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Revival). Commercial transfers of such York premieres as The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), Souvenir (Tony Award Nomination for actress Judy Kaye), and Jolson & Company, and revivals of Pacific Overtures and Sweeney Todd (four Tony Nominations including Best Revival) have all showcased the importance of The York and its programs. Recent York productions have included A Sign of the Times (New World Stages), The Jerusalem Syndrome, Vanities—The Musical,, Hoagy Carmichael's Stardust Road, Penelope: or How the Odyssey Was Really Written, Cheek to Cheek: Irving Berlin in Hollywood, A Taste of Things to Come, Marry Harry, and Rothschild & Sons. The critically acclaimed musical Yank! received its Off-Broadway debut at The York, and subsequently to rave reviews in London—as did York's Rothschild & Sons. The hit musical Cagney received its York premiere in 2015, transferring to the Westside Theatre for over 15 months. In 2017, Desperate Measures received a total of 15 award nominations (and three wins) that included Best Musical from the Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Off-Broadway Alliance and subsequently transferred across town to New World Stages. The York is the recipient of a special Drama Desk Award for "Developing and Producing New Musicals," a special Outer Critics Circle Award for "50 Years of Producing New and Classic Musicals." Due to a flood in their home of 30 years at Saint Peter's Church in January 2021, The York is currently producing at The Theatre at St. Jean's at 76th Street and Lexington Avenue. www.yorktheatre.org Instagram: @yorktheatre Twitter: @yorktheatrenyc www.facebook.com/yorktheatrecompany/ www.youtube.com/user/yorktheatre |
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