Prince Music Theater Gets Star Treatment: Mary Jane Houdina to Speak at FOLLIES Intermission, 10/24

Mary Jane Houdina, a member of the original 1971 cast of the Tony Award-winning Stephen Sondheim / James Goldman masterpiece "Follies" will speak during the intermission of the performance on Saturday, October 24 at 8 p.m. at the Prince Music Theater. She will be interviewed by David Anthony Fox, a member of the Brind School faculty who writes theater criticism for the Philadelphia City Paper.

Students and faculty from the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts at the University of the Arts have collaborated on the presentation of this landmark musical, which will be performed this weekend on October 23 and 24. "Presenting historic works in a meaningful context is essential to the mission of our school, and it's an honor to be able to present the Philadelphia premiere of this brilliant show," says Brind School Director Charles Gilbert. "A visit from a guest like Mary Jane makes the experience that much more meaningful."

Mary Jane Houdina played "Young Hattie" in the original production of Follies in 1971 and was an assistant to choreographer Michael Bennett. Mary Jane has directed, choreographed, and acted with a "who's who" of stage and television, including Peter Gennaro, Gower Champion, Jean Stapleton, Juliet Prowse, Gavin MacLeod, and Graciela Daniele. She is currently in Philadelphia choreographing Oliver at the Walnut Street Theater, where her choreography for past productions of Crazy For You and 42nd Street won her Barrymore Awards.

Moderator David Anthony Fox teaches Musical Theater History in the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts at the University of the Arts and serves as a theater critic for the Philadelphia City Paper. David is a Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania in Theatre Arts and English, Director of New Student Orientation and the Penn Reading Project, Associate Director of College Houses and Academic Programs, and webmaster of Penn's Arts and Culture page. As a guest lecturer, Fox has worked with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera League, Opera Club of New Jersey, Norton Simon Museum (Los Angeles), Philadelphia Museum of Art, and others.

Set in a crumbling, soon-to-be demolished Broadway theater, "Follies" is about a cast reunion of the musical revue "Weismann's Follies." Amid the reminiscing, two troubled middle-aged couples, Buddy Plummer and Sally Durant Plummer, and Benjamin and Phyllis Stone (and their youthful counterparts) confront some unpleasant truths about their past and present and come face to face with the future.

Brind School Musical Theater students will perform the younger roles, while faculty members are cast in the older roles. Gilbert and sophomore Brendan Dalton (Drexel Hill, Pa. / La Salle College High School) play Benjamin Stone; assistant director Richard Stoppleworth and senior Greg Nix (Tucson, Ariz. / University High School) play Buddy Plummer; adjunct assistant professor Mary Ellen Grant Kennedy and junior Carrie Bauer (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / University School of Nova University) are cast as Sally Durant Plummer; and senior lecturer D'Arcy Webb and junior Michelle Vezilj (Phoenix, Ariz. / Mountain Pointe High School) are in the role of Phyllis Stone.

Director Frank Anzalone, an adjunct assistant professor, and music director Owen Robbins, an assistant professor, will oversee a cast of more than 30 that will be joined by a 23-piece orchestra of faculty and students from the University's School of Music. Adjunct assistant professor Karen Cleighton will handle the tap dance choreography, while senior lecturer Rex Henriques will manage the musical staging. The show is part of the Brind School's new "Platform" series of concert-style presentations of noteworthy classic and contemporary works.

Tickets are $30 for general admission and $10 for senior citizens (65+) and students. All proceeds from ticket sales benefit scholarship funds for Brind School students. Tickets can be ordered online at uarts.ticketleap.com or by telephone at 215-717-6499.

For over 25 years, the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts at the University of the Arts has trained aspiring professionals for careers in the theater. Each of its four BFA programs - Acting; Directing, Playwriting and Production; Musical Theater; and Theater Design and Technology - combines highly focused technique training with a comprehensive exploration of the artist's role in society. Brind School alumni like Jen Childs (artistic director of 1812 Productions) and Ben Dibble (winner of the F. Otto Haas Emerging Artist Award) are well known to Philadelphia audiences. On the national scene, Brind School alumni can also be found in the cast and backstage at Broadway shows like "Hair," "Wicked," and "August Osage County," and popular television shows (Kate Flannery in "The Office," Ana Ortiz in "Ugly Betty" and KaDee Strickland in "Private Practice").

The University of the Arts is the nation's first and only university dedicated to the visual, performing and communication arts. Its 2,400 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs on its campus in the heart of Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts. The institution's roots as a leader in educating creative individuals date back to 1868.

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