Arden, Colella and Kandel Star in Tharp-Dylan Piece The Times They Are A-Changin'

By: Dec. 16, 2005
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Casting--as well as the plot--has been announced for The Times They Are A-Changin,' the new musical-dance collaboration between Twyla Tharp and Bob Dylan.

As with Movin' Out, in which she directed and choreographed a narrative dance piece set to the songs of Billy Joel, Tharp will envision a theatrical world based on the songs of the legendary Dylan. The show will begin performances at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre on January 25th, 2006, and run through March 5th; opening night is set for February 9th.

Michael Arden, Jenn Colella and Paul Kandel will headline the show, which is "set within a low-rent traveling circus run by Capt. Arab, whose wagon hasn't moved from its location in some time – though not by lack of effort from his ragtag band of clowns and performers. One such performer is the animal trainer Cleo, a young woman exploited by Capt. Arab and loved by his son, Coyote. Coyote longs for a world outside the confines of the family business, and as the circus show plays out, he must decide whether to flee or stay, and if he does stay, how to inspire change within the troupe," according to press notes. Kandel will play Capt. Arab, while Colella and Arden will be featured as Cleo and Coyote, respectively.

The show's design team will feature Santo Loquasto (sets and costumes) and Donald Holder (lighting), while Michael Dansicker will handle musical direction, orchestrations and arrangements.

Arden made his Broadway debut in the revival of Big River, and has been seen off-Broadway in Swimming in the Shallows and Bare; a workshop of Lestat, Harold and Maude and It's Only Life are other credits. Colella's New York theatre credits include Urban Cowboy, the NYMF production of The Great American Trailer Park Musical and Slut. Kandel, who received a Tony Award nomination for his performance in The Who's Tommy, has been seen on Broadway in Jesus Christ Superstar and Titanic, while his off-Broadway credits include Shockheaded Peter and the New York International Fringe Festival's recent Silence--The Musical (in which he played Hannibal Lecter).

Dylan, an iconic singer-songwriter who personified authority-thwarting, free-thinking cool in the 1960s, is famous for a distinctively gravelly voice and songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind," "Like A Rolling Stone," "Just Like a Woman," "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." A Grammy and Kennedy Center Award-winner, he has recorded albums of country and Christian music as well as rock.

Tharp won a 2003 Tony Award for choreographing the Vietnam War-era Movin' Out, and was also nominated for her direction of the piece. Her other credits include directing and choreographing Singin' in the Rain, directing the dance piece The Catherine Wheel (also produced by her Twyla Tharp Foundation) and choreographing the ballet Push Comes to Shove. A major and influential modern dancer and choreographer since the 1960s, she also has "two Emmy Awards, seventeen honorary doctorates, the Vietnam Veterans of America President's Award, the 2004 National Medal of the Arts and numerous grants including the John D. and a Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship, among other honors.

For tickets to The Times They Are A-Changin', call Globe Ticket Services at (619) 23-GLOBE or at the Globe Box Office, 1363 Old Globe Way in San Diego's Balboa Park. Visit www.theoldglobe.org for more information.




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