David Engel And Michael Kostroff Join Cast of Carnival! At Goodspeed

Goodspeed Musicals has announced that Goodspeed veteran David Engel will return to East Haddam to join the cast of the current production Carnival! in the role of Marco the Magnificent Mr. Engel will replace Mike McGowan who will be joining the Toronto production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical prior to its move to Broadway in Spring 2011. David Engel returns to this stage after appearing in Goodspeed Musicals' production of Dames At Sea. Broadway: Putting It Together (with Carol Burnett), Seussical: The Musical and the original Broadway production of La Cage Aux Folles. Mr. Engel was the original Smudge in Forever Plaid and Plaid Tidings.

Michael Kostroff will replace Laurent Giroux as Schlegel. After 20 years in LA, Michael marks his east coast return with this production, his Goodspeed debut. Best known for his work on HBO's "The Wire" and Disney's "Sonny with a Chance", Michael toured nationally in The Producers and Les Misérables. He is the author of Letters from Backstage and an advice columnist for Back Stage.
Carnival! is the magical and heart-warming tale of a naïve young woman who eagerly joins a traveling circus. Surrounded by a riot of acrobats and jugglers, music makers and clowns, she is dazzled at first by the troupe's manipulative magician. In the end she finds happiness with a disillusioned puppeteer who can only express himself through his delightful puppets. Based on the film Lili and with songs like "Love Makes the World Go Round" and "Her Face," Carnival! casts a romantic spell over the entire audience.

Carnival! which features Music and Lyrics by Bob Merrill, Book by Michael Stewart, based on Material by Helen Deutsch with Revisions by Francine Pascal is currently playing to enthusiastic audiences through September 18, 2010. Carnival! is sponsored by Bank of America, Amica and Mohegan Sun. Carnival! is produced for Goodspeed Musicals by Michael P. Price.

Dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theatre, Goodspeed Musicals produces three musicals each season at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn., and an additional three at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., which was opened in 1984 for the development of new musicals. Two-time Tony Award winner (for outstanding achievement), Goodspeed also maintains The Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in the Musical Theater. Goodspeed gratefully acknowledges the support of Bank of America, Connecticut Light & Power and Yankee Gas, American Airlines, official airline of Goodspeed Musicals, The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, and Blum Shapiro.

Photo credit: Jan Nargi