Claybourne Elder to Lead KC Rep's SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE This Fall

Eric Rosen, Artistic Director of Kansas City Repertory Theatre, today announced the casting for the lead roles for Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Pulitzer-Prize winning masterpiece, Sunday in the Park with George. Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Nominee Claybourne Elder (Bonnie & Clyde, Road Show, Allegro) will lead the cast as George, reprising his critically-acclaimed performance in Signature Theatre's award-winning 2014 production. Broadway veteran Sara Jean Ford (A Little Night Music, The Phantom of the Opera, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Finian's Rainbow) has been cast in the legendary role of Dot. Rosen will direct the production, to be produced in a unique partnership with the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.

In Sunday in the Park with George, the struggles of the great painter Georges Seurat to complete his famous "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" are paired with the story of his fictional grandson, also an artist, to find his voice. Widely acknowledged as one of Sondheim's most breathtaking scores, Sunday merges past and present into a beautiful, poignant evocation of life, love and the quest for artistic brilliance. The production begins Friday, Sept. 11 and runs through Sunday, Oct. 4 at the Atkins Auditorium at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

Additional casting information will be announced soon.

About the Artists

Eric Rosen (Director) was the founding Artistic Director of Chicago's About Face Theatre (AFT) from 1995 to 2008, and is a writer, director and producer. Original projects include Venice (KC Rep, Center Theatre Group-LA, Public Theater-NYC, "Best Musical of 2010"-TIME Magazine); Wedding Play (Steppenwolf/AFT, Jefferson nomination); Winesburg, Ohio (Step­penwolf/AFT-Jeff Award, Philadelphia's Arden Theatre Company-Barrymore Award, KC Rep); Clay (AFT, Lookingglass Theatre-Chicago, Center Theatre Group, KC Rep, Lincoln Center/CT3-Drama Desk Nomi­nation, Jeff Award); and Undone, Whitman and Dream Boy (Jeff Award, several productions across the country). In addition to Venice, other KC Rep directing credits include: Clay; Winesburg, Ohio; world premiere of A Christmas Story, The Musical! (a hit musical on Broadway-three Tony nominations, including Best Musical); Cabaret; August: Osage County; The Whipping Man; Pippin; Death of a Salesman; Ro­meo and Juliet; and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Additional directing credits include productions at Lincoln Center, Center Theatre Group, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Alliance, Lookingglass, Chicago Shakespeare, Hartford Stage, 5th Avenue, Prince, Cincinnati, Melbourne (Australia) and workshops at Sundance, O'Neill, Playwrights Horizons, and the Public Theater. He has developed and produced over 40 world premieres, including Doug Wright's Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning I am My Own Wife and work by Mary Zimmerman, Frank Galati, Stephen Flaherty, Moisés Kaufman, David Cale and The Civilians, among others. He holds a doctorate in performance studies from Northwestern University, has twice served as an NEA panel­ist, and serves on the Board of Directors of Theatre Communications Group, the national organization of non-profit theatres.

Claybourne Elder (Georges/George) KC Rep: Angels in America (Joe Pitt), Pippin (Pippin), Cabaret (Cliff), Into the Woods (Wolf/Cinderella's Prince). Broadway/NYC: Original companies and cast albums of Bonnie and Clyde (Buck), Sondheim's Road Show (Hollis), Venice (Michael Victor). One Arm (Ollie, Drama Desk Nomination Best Actor), Allegro (Joe, Lucille Lortel Nomination Best Actor) Two by Two (Japheth, with Jason Alexander), Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration Concert. Regional: Sunday in the Park with George (George, Signature Theatre, Helen Hayes Award Best Musical); Cinderella (Prince, Kansas City Starlight); Curtains (Aaron Fox, Music Theatre of Wichita); Take Flight (Lindbergh, McCarter Theater). Developmental: A Star is Born (with Idina Menzel), Mortality Play (Yale Repertory Theatre); Sounds Like Love (Lincoln Center). Film & TV: "The Carrie Diaries," "Flatbush Luck," "According to My Mother" (2015 Release) AEA Member.

Sara Jean Ford (Dot) KC Rep: Debut Broadway/NYC: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Smitty), A Little Night Music (Petra), The Phantom of the Opera (Christine), Finian's Rainbow (Arlene), Wicked (Glinda) National Tour: The Fantasticks (Louisa) Off Broadway: It's a Bird..It's a Plane..It's Superman (Ensemble) Regional: The Music Man (Marion Paroo), Little House on the Prairie (Nellie Olson), Crimes of the Heart (Babe), Into the Woods (Cinderella), Carousel (Carrie Pipperidge), Candide (Cunegonde), The Dutchess of Malfi (Sylvia) Education: Carnegie Mellon University. AEA Member.

Performances begin Friday, Sept. 11 and run through Sunday, Oct. 4 at the Atkins Auditorium at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Press night is scheduled for Opening Night Friday, Sept. 18. High res rehearsal photos can be found here .Appropriate for ages 11 +.

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