Faith Prince and Marc Kudisch to Star as Writer and Editor in LA Opera's WONDERFUL TOWN

Tony Award winner Faith Prince will star as sharpwitted aspiring reporter Ruth Sherwood opposite three-time Tony nominee Marc Kudisch as sympathetic editor RoBert Baker in LA Opera's December presentation of Wonderful Town.

Tony Award winner Roger Bart will perform numerous roles and also serve as the narrator, and Ben Crawford, star of Broadway's Shrek: The Musical, is featured as football hero Wreck in the beloved musical by composer Leonard Bernstein and lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

Three semi-staged concert performances of Wonderful Town will be conducted by LA Opera's Resident Conductor Grant Gershon at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion from December 2 through 4.

Additional casting for Wonderful Town will be announced shortly.

Brimming with Broadway snap and sizzle, Wonderful Town kicks off LA Opera's three-season celebration leading up to Leonard Bernstein's 100th birthday in 2018. Bernstein's beloved score and the brilliant lyrics by Comden and Green make Wonderful Town one of the greatest treasures of Broadway's Golden Age. Two sisters move to New York, eager to take the big city by storm. One can't find a man no matter what she does, and the other can't keep them away. The original 1953 Broadway musical starred Rosalind Russell in a legendary performance as Ruth Sherwood.

Wonderful Town is a musical adaptation of My Sister Eileen, a 1940 play by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov based on a series of short stories by Ruth McKenney, originally published in The New Yorker and reprinted in book form in 1938.

ABOUT THE CAST:

One of Broadway's best loved leading ladies, Faith Prince (Ruth Sherwood) has been dazzling audiences since winning the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her performance as Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. In 2008, she was nominated for Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for A Catered Affair. Other Broadway credits include Annie, The Little Mermaid, Bells Are Ringing (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle nominations), Nick & Nora (Outer Critics Circle Award), Jerome Robbins' Broadway (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), Little Me, The Dead and Noises Off. She had a recurring role as Joey Lawrence's mother on ABC Family's long running Melissa & Joey and a five-season run as Brooke Elliott's mother on Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva. She was a series regular on Showtime's Huff and recurred for five seasons on Spin City.

Marc Kudisch (RoBert Baker) made his LA Opera debut in 2004 as Count Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music, and he returned earlier this year as Joshua Crouch in the world premiere of anatomy theater. His numerous Broadway appearances include 9 to 5 (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Tony, Outer Critics nominations), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics nominations) and Assassins (Drama Desk nomination).

Roger Bart (Narrator and other roles) won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his performance on Broadway in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He received Tony and Drama Desk nominations for his performance as Carmen Ghia in The Producers, a role he recreated on film. He is currently appearing on the new Epix series Graves opposite Nick Nolte.

Ben Crawford (Wreck) has appeared on Broadway as Shrek in Shrek: The Musical and as Don Price in Big Fish, with additional appearances in On the Twentieth Century and Les Miserables. He also appeared in Merrily We Roll Along at City Center Encores!

There will be three performances of Wonderful Town at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, 90012): Friday, December 2, 2016, at 8pm; Saturday, December 3, 2016, at 8pm; and Sunday, December 4, 2016, at 2pm

Tickets are on sale now. Tickets begin at $24 and can be purchased in person at the LA Opera Box Office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, by phone at 213.972.8001 or online at LAOpera.org. For disability access, call 213.972.0777 or email LAOpera@LAOpera.org.

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