Barbour, Toro, Cassidy, Etc. Set for 'Two Cities' Premiere

Executive Producers Barbra Russell and Ron Sharpe and Producers Sharon A. Fordham, Theatre Associates/David Sonnenberg, The Monagle Group, Fanok Entertainment and Vincent Russell have announced the final casting for Jill Santoriello's sweeping musical epic, A Tale of Two Cities, which will celebrate its World-Premiere-Pre-Broadway-Tryout at Sarasota's acclaimed Asolo Repertory Theatre with two Premiere Galas - Friday, October 26th and Saturday, October 27th.   

Preview performances begin Saturday, October 13th and continue through Thursday, October 25th. The show will run through Sunday, November 18th on the Asolo Repertory Theatre's mainstage, The Harold E. and Esther M. Mertz Theatre which is located at 5555 North Tamiami Trail. 

The production will feature James Barbour (Assassins, Camelot tour) as Sydney Carton, Jessica Rush as Lucie Manette, Derek Keeling as Charles Darnay, Natalie Toro (Les Miserables) as Madame Defarge, Joe Cassidy (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) as Ernest Defarge, Michael Hayward-Jones as Jarvis Lorry, Craig Bennett as Jerry Cruncher, Nick Wyman as John Barsad, Katherine McGrath as Miss Pross and Alex Santoriello as Dr. Manette.  Kevin Greene, Tim Hartman, Jodie Langel, Jay Lusteck, Les Minski, Walter O'Neil, Rob Richardson, Rebecca Robbins, Wayne Schroder and Janine DiVita will be featured among the cast.
 
Santoriello has written the show's book, music and lyrics.  A Tale of Two Cities is being directed by Michael Donald Edwards, choreographed by Warren Carlyle and designed by Tony Walton (scenery), David Zinn (costumes), Richard Pilbrow (lights), Carl Casella and Domonic Sack (sound).   The musical supervision by Wendy Bobbitt Cavett , musical direction by Jerry Steichen, and orchestrations by Edward B. Kessel and Bob Krogstad.

"Set against the epic backdrop of the French Revolution and based on the classic Charles Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities is a sweeping musical about injustice, vengeance and the redemptive power of love. When Dr. Manette is released from the French Bastille after 17 years, he must be resurrected from the brink of madness by his daughter, Lucie. In England they meet two very different men: the exiled French aristocrat, Charles Darnay, whom Lucie marries, and the drunken cynic, Sydney Carton. Soon family secrets and political intrigue combine to draw Lucie and her family back to Paris. At the height of the Reign of Terror, the musical finds an unlikely hero in Carton, inspired by love to make an extraordinary sacrifice," as the show is described in concert notes from last year," as the show is described in press notes from a 2005 concert production.  

The Asolo Repertory Theatre is located in the Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts in Sarasota, FL.  Visit www.asolo.org for more information.

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