Camille at Rivendale Park Theatre

Camille: La Dame aux Camelias a Romantic Musical Drama with music and lyrics by Julia Gregory and libretto by Renato R. Biribin, Jr. and Julia Gregory will have 3 performances in the Santa Clarita Shakespeare Festival at the Open Space at Rivendale Park in Towsley Canyon, Santa Clarita. Camille will be produced by David Stears (Executive Director of the Santa Clarita Shakespeare Festival) and Biribin. It is directed by Mary Ann Hermansen (Broadway- Chicago). It is starring Julia Gregory (Broadway- Showboat, Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) in the title role, Nick Tubbs (Regional- A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Thoroughly Modern Millie) as the lover Armand Duval, and Kevin Bailey as the foil Baron Varville (Broadway- Annie Get Your Gun, Lion King). Supporting roles include Janna Cardia as Prudence the broker of all courtesans and Cornelius Jones, Jr. as Gaston Rieux, Armand’s confidant. Joe Hebel and Nina Herzog play the young lovers Gustav Ledoux and Nichette Duval while Jacquelin Lorraine Schofield plays Dominique, Nichette’s chaperone. Pat Towne portrays Mssr Duval and Talya Sindel is Julie, Camille’s faithful handmaid. The cast is rounded out with a versatile ensemble playing multiple parts; Alden Kelly Bettencourt, Andrew Ge, Christopher James Hester, Jeremy Ingraham, Carson Christ, Abigail Kate Thomas, Kelsey Lee Smith, Ariel Silvana Murillo, Caroline Kelly, and Jayla Bryant.

Camille is the centuries old story of famous Parisian courtesan Camille Marguerite Gautier, the jealousy and betrayal to control her, and the battle for her true love. Camille is based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas fils, first published in 1848. The story has been the source material for many versions ranging from the play adaptation that made Sandra Bernhardt an acting icon to the opera La Traviata to the movie version with Greta Garbo, to the movie musical Moulin Rouge directed by Baz Luhrman.

This exciting new adaptation focuses on Camille's journey, struggles and the powerful forces she fights against to try and live in peace while struggling with a debilitating disease. In the recent past much more information including three non-fiction studies have been written about the muse for Dumas fils’ Camille, Marie Duplessis. More details of how she went from a child sold into sex slavery, rescued from townspeople, fled to the woods, and evantually established herself in Paris as a debutante and the premiere courtesan and muse for emperors, artists and composers was revealed in these studies. This adaptation focuses on more of the real-life aspects that Duplessis herself had to deal with as she rose to fame and also spiraled from the spotlight.