The Renaissance and Richland Academy Partner in Musical Revue
December 10th, 2007
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Barb Byrd, Marketing Manager
Phone: 419-522-2726, ext. 202
FAX: 419-524-7005
EMAIL: barb@mansfieldtickets.com
WEBSITE: www.mansfieldtickets.com
MANSFIELD, OHIO. The Renaissance Performing Arts Association and Richland Academy of the Arts are partnering to present the local production of The World Goes 'Round, a musical revue showcasing the songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb. The three performances will be held at Richland Academy, 75 N. Walnut St. in Mansfield, on Saturday, December 29th at 8PM and Sunday, December 30th at 5PM and 8PM. Tickets are on sale at the Renaissance Theatre Box Office, Monday - Friday, by calling 419-522-2726 and online at www.mansfieldtickets.com. The cabaret style seating at Richland Academy is limited to 125 tickets per show and all tickets are $18.50.
Taking its title, And The World Goes 'Round, from a tune the songwriting team wrote for Liza Minnelli to sing in the Martin Scorsese film New York, New York, the eclectic collection of love songs, torch songs, and acerbically witty comic numbers was conceived by director Scott Ellis, choreographer Susan Stroman, and librettist David Thompson, who collaborated on such Kander and Ebb shows as Steel Pier and the 1996 revival of Chicago. It opened on March 18, 1991 at Manhattan's off-Broadway Westside Theatre, where it ran for 408 performances. The original cast consisted of Karen Ziemba, Robert Cuccioli, Karen Mason, Brenda Pressley, and Jim Walton. Joel Blum and Marin Mazzie were replacements later in the run.
The World Goes 'Round won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical, and Cuccioli received the Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance. Additional honors included Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Musical Revue, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Ziemba), and Outstanding Director of a Musical. An original cast recording was released by RCA Records.
The following year, Ziemba, Blum, and Mazzie were joined by John Ruess and Shelley Dickinson for a 10-month national tour. With scenic and technical embellishments added and the title simplified to The World Goes ‘Round, the revised edition included mostly upbeat, unfamiliar songs from the team's lesser musicals: The Happy Time, The Rink, The Act, Flora the Red Menace, and what was then a work-in-progress, Kiss of the Spider Woman.
This production of The World Goes 'Round is directed by Matthew Joslyn, executive director of the Renaissance Theatre, and Michael Thomas, who has recently returned to the area after writing for Saturday Night Live, Second City, 30 Rock and many other shows. The cast includes Lori Turner, Betsy Gerhard, Adena Williams, Stephen Joshua Thompson, Michael Miller and Matt Feck. Richland Academy and The Renaissance are thrilled to be producing and presenting The World Goes 'Round as the first co-produced event between the two downtown arts organizations.