Faith Prince & Davis Gaines to Star in Orlando 'Sweeney Todd'

   

The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra collaborates with Mad Cow Theatre to present one of this writer's favorite musicals, the Sondheim masterpiece, Sweeney Todd. Two performances are scheduled. The first on Friday, March 6 at 8:00 PM and the second on Saturday, March 7 at 8:00 PM, at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, 401 W. Livingston Street, Orlando.

Broadway's Davis Gaines takes the starring role as the demon barber of Fleet Street along with Tony Award winner Faith Prince as the diabolical Mrs. Lovett. The two have worked together before on several projects including Guys and Dolls in Seattle and In Living Color in New York and Orlando.

"I'm so looking forward to working with Faith once again," says Gaines. "Not only is she a great comedic actress, but she infuses each role with pathos and heart. That's why I think she'll make a terrific Mrs. Lovett!"

The Event Sponsor is philanthropist Harriett Lake. "I am so proud to support this production of Sweeney Todd here in Orlando," says Lake. "Not only is it one of my favorite all time musicals, I am equally pleased by the collaboration of two of my favorite cultural organizations - the Orlando Philharmonic and Mad Cow Theatre. Adding to the excitement is the phenomenal casting of Davis Gaines and Faith Prince - two dynamic actors with fantastic voices. This is a production not to be missed in Orlando!"

This partnership marks the second theatrical production with the creative talents of Mad Cow Theatre, especially Artistic Director Alan Bruun. In 2007, the two organizations worked in collaboration to present the highly successful semi-staged musical, The Music Man.

Bruun says, "This is a truly exceptional event - two top Broadway stars, full orchestra, cast of 25, all to perform one of the greatest musicals of all time here in Orlando - it doesn't get much better than this. It's a pleasure and a privilege to be working again with our friends at the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra on one of this season's biggest nights!"

This production of Sweeney Todd is presented in a semi-staged format, with the musicians of the orchestra on stage with the actors.

"Sweeney Todd is an historic event in The Life of the Orlando Philharmonic," says Orlando Philharmonic Music Director Christopher Wilkins. "We are blessed with a premiere cast, performing one of the greatest of all American musical dramas, and supported by a full symphony orchestra (something very rare even on Broadway these days.) Sondheim's score - once you get past the initial shock of it - is incredibly lush, much more about love in all its varieties than mayhem. The chance for us to enter the theater world for one weekend, to join with the brilliant Davis Gaines and Faith Prince, and to enjoy the partnership we have developed over time with Alan Bruun and Mad Cow Theatre, is the chance of a lifetime."

Mad Cow Theatre auditioned over 150 performers throughout the summer and fall of 2008 in preparation of assembling the cast for the production. Local favorites appearing are Laura Hodos in the role of The Beggar Woman and Stephan Jones in the role of Judge Turpin.

Davis Gaines performed the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera more than 2,000 times, for over five million people, during his run on Broadway, in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where he received the Bay Area Critics' Award for Best Actor. Subsequently, he was chosen by Hal Prince and Lloyd Webber to play the leading role in the world premiere of Whistle Down the Wind in Washington, D.C. Other Broadway and national tour credits include Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera, Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly! with Carol Channing, Camelot with Richard Burton and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas with Alexis Smith. Film work includes a featured role in Warlock: The Armageddon with Julian Sands and television credits include Charmed, Chicago Hope, Veronica's Closet, Bodies of Evidence and Murder, She Wrote. He appeared in three PBS Great Performances broadcasts (the Emmy Award-winning Sweeney Todd with the San Francisco Symphony, Broadway Originals with the Boston Pops and Jerry Herman's Broadway at the Bowl,) as well as the televised specials of the 1994 Kennedy Center Honors and the opening ceremony of the 1998 Goodwill Games. Additionally, Gaines has sung for five U.S. Presidents and with every major symphony orchestra in North America, including the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl.

Faith Prince was most recently seen on the Broadway stage in A Catered Affair where she received a Tony Nomination for Best Actress in a Musical as well as Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and Drama Desk nominations. Prior to that, she was a series regular on Showtime's critically acclaimed original series Huff. Prince starred as Kelly Knipers, the lovable and quirky love interest of . She can be seen in the recently released independent film Our Very Own with Allison Janney and Cheryl Hines, and opposite Hilary and Haily Duff in their feature film Material Girls. Prince is best known for her Tony-winning turn as the perennially unwed Miss Adelaide in the 1992 Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls, for which she also won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards. She was nominated for two other Tonys for her portrayal of "Ella Peterson" in the revival of Bells Are Ringing (for which she again received an Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk nomination) and Jerome Robbin's Broadway (also coupled with a Drama Desk nomination.) On television, Prince recurred for five seasons on Spin City and on the critically acclaimed Now and Again. Her television credits also include, among others, the self-titled series Faith, NBC's Sweet Potato Queens, Grey's Anatomy, House, Monk, Welcome to New York and Law and Order. Additional film credits include Picture Perfect, Dave, and My Father the Hero. Oliver Platt

An Exclusive VIP Package is available. Premium seating for the concert performance and a ticket to the post concert cast party with Davis Gaines and Faith Prince for $200. This package can be purchased by phone at 407-770-0071. Concert tickets can be purchased by phone at 407-770-0071 or online at www.OrlandoPhil.org.