Sondheim on Sondheim Will Receive Los Angeles Premiere; Casting Revealed | Playbill

News Sondheim on Sondheim Will Receive Los Angeles Premiere; Casting Revealed Sondheim on Sondheim, the musical exploration of the life of award-winning composer Stephen Sondheim, will be presented by International City Theatre in October.

The production, which will mark the Los Angeles premiere of the musical, will conclude International City Theatre's 30th anniversary season. DJ Gray will direct the cast, which includes Stephanie Fredricks, Barbara Carlton Heart, Shaina Knox, Kevin McMahon, Jake Novak and Josh Wise. Gerald Sternbach will provide musical direction.

Performances will begin Oct. 14, prior to an official opening Oct. 16 at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. The production will run through Nov. 8.

Here's how the production is billed: "Writing songs that reflect the complexity of his characters, Sondheim changed the way we define a great musical. Yet even though millions of fans know his songs by heart, few know much about Sondheim himself. Until now. Originally conceived as a tribute for Sondheim's 80th birthday party, Sondheim on Sondheim is a love letter from Lapine to his friend and frequent collaborator. Exclusive video footage, in which Sondheim offers an inside look at his personal life and artistic process, is combined with sparkling-new arrangements of over two dozen Sondheim tunes."

"The show lets us in on Stephen's creative process," Gray, who assisted Lapine on the Broadway production, said in a statement. "In addition to the well-known songs, there are some that are more obscure, and some that ended up being cut all together from his musicals. It's fascinating to hear Stephen speak frankly about why those didn't work. He's candid, funny and charming. It's a unique window into how he works and what shaped him as an artist."

The eight-time Tony Award winner's works include the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy and the music and lyrics for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, The Frogs, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins, Passion and Road Show. He has also been honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Academy Award, the Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award and the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Gold Medal for Music.

Conceived and originally directed by Lapine, Roundabout Theatre Company premiered Sondheim on Sondheim at its Studio 54 venue on Broadway in 2010. The production garnered a Drama Desk Award for outstanding musical revue and a Drama League Award for distinguished production of a musical. The show was inspired by a concept by David Kernan. The video was created and designed by Peter Flaherty. Orchestrations are by Michael Starobin, and arrangements are by David Loud.

The ICT production will feature set design by Don Llewellyn, lighting design by Tom Ruzika, costume design by Kim DeShazo, sound design by Dave Mickey, props by Patty and Gordon Briles, wigs by Anthony Gagliardi and casting by Michael Donovan Casting. The production stage manager is Pat Loeb.

International City Theatre is located in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center at 300 E. Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach, CA. For reservations and information, call the ICT Box Office at (562) 436-4610 or InternationalCityTheatre.org.

 
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