Joined by professional dancers from Company C Contemporary Ballet, the Diablo Theatre Company will present Leonard Bernstein’s classic “On the Town,” the high-stepping musical about three adventurous sailors on shore leave in New York. The performances will be held at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek , opening at 8 p.m. September 11 and continuing through September 27 for 13 performances.
“On the Town,” with a fabulous score that includes “New York, New York,” “Lonely Town,” and “I Can Cook, Too,” opened on Broadway in 1944. Five years later it was produced as a movie starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller and Betty Garrett.
“We’re proud to bring the show to the Lesher Center’s Hofmann Theatre for the first time and to engage the extraordinary dancers from the acclaimed Company C Contemporary Ballet,” said Daren A. C. Carollo, artistic director for the Diablo Theatre Company, formerly Diablo Light Opera Company. “ This is a full-fledged song and dance show and audiences will be enthralled with our production.”
When the show premiered on Broadway 65 years ago, it won critical and audience acclaim— not only for Bernstein’s vibrant score— but also for the dynamic choreography of Jerome Robbins. It was his first assignment as choreographer in musical comedy.
“We won’t replicate any of his work,” says Charles Anderson, Company C’s founder and artistic director. “But having worked with Robbins for almost 10 years, I think I know the essence of his creativity. I can really feel him in the music and the collaboration with Bernstein . The show was and still is such a huge undertaking. I think I can bring it into today and not mess with the integrity of the work of these two men.”
As for Bernstein, “his score is great,” says Anderson. “He isn’t making some artistic statement that you’re not in on. That’s what so American here. It's straightforward, f resh, optimistic. They really captured the times. And in many ways we are still that country.”
Mindy Cooper, whose Broadway directorial and choreographic credits include “Dracula: the Musical” is directing “On the Town.” She earned a Shellie Award last year for directing the Walnut Creek Center Repertory production of “Musical of Musicals: The Musical,” and this season, she directed “Cabaret” for the company. Also a performer, Cooper has appeared in the Broadway revival of “Chicago,” “Titanic,” and “Beauty and the Beast” among others.
Starring as the three sailors are Bryan McElroy, who starred as one of the boys in the San Francisco and Chicago productions of “Jersey Boys;” Ryan Drummond, who played Leo Bloom in Diablo Theatre Company’s “The Producers” earlier this year; and Mark Farrell, an award-winning actor who has performed in dozens of productions with TheatreWorks, San Jose Rep, The Willows Theatre Company, and others.
Hope Mirlis, Emma Goldin, and Courtney Iventosch are making their debut with the Diablo Theatre Company as the sailors’ shore-leave companions. Mirlis has performed with the Synchronicity Theatre in Atlanta. Goldin, who grew up in Diablo Theatre Company’s Stars 2000 Teen Theatre program , has appeared in musicals at UC Davis. Iventosch appeared earlier this year in the Center Repertory Company production of “Cabaret.”
Cheryl Yee Glass, Diablo Theatre Company’s resident music director, will conduct a 16-member orchestra performing the Bernstein score. The show’s lyrics were written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who also appeared in the original Broadway production. -- www.dloc.org
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