DANNY & SYLVIA to Close at St. Luke's, 4/27

By: Mar. 20, 2012
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"DANNY and SYLVIA: THE Danny Kaye MUSICAL", the long-running musical at St. Luke's Theatre, 308 West 46th Street, which opened May 13, 2008, will close on Friday, April 27th after a special added performance at 1 PM. The musical would have celebrated its 3rd anniversary this May.

The musical love story, with book and lyrics by Robert mcElwaine and music by Bob Bain, stars Helen Hayes Award-winner Brian Childers as Danny Kaye and Kimberly Faye Greenberg as his wife and creative partner, Sylvia Fine who wrote many of his most famous songs. Produced by Hy Juter and Edmund Gaynes, directed by Pamela Hall with choreography by Gene Castle, the musical follows the duo from the time the young undisciplined comic Danny Kaminsky meets aspiring songwriter Sylvia Fine at an audition in the 1930s. Under Sylvia's guidance as mentor, manager and eventually, wife, Kaye rises from improvisational comic to international film star. Many of Danny's hit songs are featured including "Tchaikovsky," "Anatole of Paris," "Minnie the Moocher" and "Deenah." The musical has also been presented successfully in London and Washington, DC.

ROBERT MC ELWAINE (book and lyrics) was director of Advertising and Publicity for the Goldwyn Studios in the 1950s, where he met Danny Kaye and became his publicist and confidant for 20 years. As member of the Board of John F. Kennedy Productions, Mr. McElwaine worked on more than 80 stage productions for the Kennedy Center. He was also Chairman of the Board of the Writers Center, an organization dedicated to the development of new writers. Bob Bain has composed music for three musicals in collaboration with Bob McElwaine.

Brian Childers received the 2002 Helen Hayes Award for "Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical" and the 2001 Mary Goldwater Award for his performance as Danny Kaye in Danny and Sylvia: A Musical Love Story. He also received the 2005 Star-Ledger Award for "Best Actor in a Musical" for his portrayal of Harry Witherspoon in Lucky Stiff at the Forum Theater. Brian will next be starring in the upcoming musical Obama in Naples at the June Havoc Theatre. His other NY credits include Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical (Marvin Shellhammer), Promenade (Prisoner 105) with Legacy: The Musicals of Off-Broadway, Scandalous Behavior (Joseph Surface), On the Town (Gabey), Meester Amerika (Joey). NATIONAL TOUR: The Kid from Brooklyn (Danny Kaye - Original), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Tom Sawyer). REGIONAL: Lucky Stiff (Harry Witherspoon), Becoming George (The Prince), The Boys in the Band (Emory), The Robber Bridegroom (Jamie Lockhart), Joseph and the Amazing... (Joseph), My Fair Lady (Freddy Eynsford Hill), Assassins (The Balladeer), West Side Story (Tony). SOLOIST: Hollywood Bowl (Featured Performer) A Ball at The Bowl, Dodger Stadium (Special Guest Entertainer), Lincoln Center (A Tribute to Danny Kaye), Kennedy Center (Not a Day Goes By).

Kimberly Faye Greenberg, who plays Sylvia Fine, has performed across the United States in national tours, regional theatres, cabarets and theatre for young audiences. She recently starred in two off-Broadway musicals simultaneously – Danny & Sylvia and in the solo show One Night With Fanny Brice for which she received critical acclaim including a nomination for Best Solo Performance, 2011 Patrick Lee ITBA Award (Cast Album on Original Cast Records). Other notable credits during her run as Sylvia Fine have included playing Fanny Brice, again, in the new musical Ghostlight at NYMF 2011, as well as starring as Doris Walker in Miracle on 34th Street (Here's Love) and as Nell Henderson in Mr. President (Actors Fund Benefit). Other roles include Sylvia Fine in The Danny Kaye Story (Maltz Jupiter Theatre and Broward Stage Door Theatre), Fiddler On The Roof (Tzeitel and Hodel), Mary Magdalene in The Passion Play, The Musical (the oldest Passion Play in the U.S. at the Park Theatre, NJ), and the Off-Broadway revival of Al Carmines' Christmas Rappings at Theatre at Judson. On TV Kim was featured on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed and ER and as the host of the Educational TV Series, Personal Best. Kimberly is Creator/Executive Producer of www.BroadwayBlogspot.com, an educational theatrical website featuring Broadway professionals who work both onstage and behind-the-scenes.

Off-Broadway Pamela Hall directed Dietrich and Chevalier: A Musical Love Story, The Rise of Dorothy Hale, Trolls, the long-running Picon Pie and Emily Mann's Annulla. She also directed the National Tour of Gilligan's Island: The Musical. She was nominated for an Ovation Award for her direction of the Los Angeles premiere of The Taffetas and also directed the West Coast premieres of Jeff Daniels' Shoe Man; the Fred Allen bioplay Mr. Allen, Mr. Allen; Maltby and Shire's Starting Here, Starting Now, and the long-running original musical Crazy Words, Crazy Tunes. Ms. Hall directed Hand in Hand: The Un-Musical, the first musical created and performed by the TONY-nominated Deaf West Theatre. As an actor, Ms. Hall has played leading roles on Broadway as Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Phil Silvers, Nina in Dear World with Angela Lansbury, and Martha Jefferson in 1776 and was featured in the all-star Sondheim: A Musical Tribute at the Shubert Theatre in New York.

Choreographer Gene Castle, currently directing, choreographing and starring in TIN PAN ALLEY, directed and choreographed the OFF-BROADWAY production of BABALU-CY, and also did the musical staging for the Off-Broadway productions of LOVE DIVIDED BY, and DIETRICH & CHEVALIER and the national tour of GILLIGAN'S ISLAND. He directed & choreographed ON THE TOWN for the San Jose CLO, which won him the BAY AREA THEATRE CRITICS OUTER CIRCLE AWARDS for BEST DIRECTION, BEST CHOREOGRAPHY and BEST MUSICAL. He also wrote, directed & choreographed nine original productions for DR PEPPER.
Additional choreographic credits include the EMMY AWARDS starring Jason Alexander; the feature film KISS ME GOODBYE starring Sally Field & James Caan; the television specials BONNIE AND THE FRANKLINS and the Doc Severinsen SHOW; MOVIN' ON, an original Sondheim musical for the Laguna Playhouse; STRIKE UP THE BAND for REPRISE/LA; THE DYBBUK at the Mark Taper Forum as well as celebrity tribute shows at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. He also choreographed episodes for television series and commercials.

A native of South Africa, producer Hy Juter was president of that country's largest theatrical booking and public relations company, handling tours for Frankie Laine, Trini Lopez, Englebert Humperdinck, Buddy Greco, Sarah Churchill and many others. In England and Europe he worked with Peter Sellers, Sophia Loren, Eva Bartok and John Mills among others. He produced "Incident at Paradise Beach" for MGM and "Puppets," an award-winning documentary. He has produced Off-Broadway and national tours of The Jazz Singer, King and I, Continental Nights, Say Who You Are, The Boyfriend, Antigone, Chevalier, and Boeing Boeing.

Off-Broadway Edmund Gaynes is currently producing Black Angels Over Tuskegee, now in it's third year, The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith and Tin Pan Alley, He has also produced the Drama Desk Award-winning Zero Hour, The Rise of Dorothy Hale, The Big Voice: God or Merman?, A Brush With Georgia O'Keeffe, Picon Pie, Emily Mann's Annulla, Trolls, Panache, Chaim's Love Song, Matty: An Evening with Christy Mathewson and Bein' With Behan (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination). He produced the National Tour of Gilligan's Island: The Musical. He also appeared as an actor in 13 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows including Promenade, Edward Albee's Bartleby and Best Foot Forward, in which he co-starred with Christopher Walken and Liza Minnelli. His TV credits range from Mary Martin's "Peter Pan" to "Cheers", "Kojak", "The Ed Sullivan Show" and two years as "Paul Stewart" on "As the World Turns". Mr. Gaynes currently operates St. Luke's Theatre and Actors Temple Theatre.

Sets for "DANNY and SYLVIA" have been designed by Josh Iacovelli with lighting by Graham Kindred. The General Manager is Jessimeg Productions.

DANNY & SYLVIA currently plays Sundays at 2 PM. Tickets at $36.50 and $59.50 are available through www.TeleCharge.com or (212) 239-6200. Premium seats at $75 are also available. For additional info visit www.dannyandsylvia.com.



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