WEST SIDE STORY Runs 1/9-18 at The Carnegie

Shakespeare's unforgettable love story meets modern-day New York City in The Carnegie's presentation of WEST SIDE STORY Jan. 9-18, 2015 directed by Brian Robertson. Combining playwright Arthur Laurents' touching libretto and a masterful score by Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim, America's most beloved musical is the latest production in The Carnegie's 2014-15 Theatre Series.

Featuring a 14-piece orchestra under the musical direction of William White, WEST SIDE STORY will include timeless songs "Somewhere," "Maria," and "Something's Coming," as Shakespeare's beloved Romeo & Juliet is transformed to tell the tale of two young, idealistic lovers in modern-day New York City. After finding each other, Tony (Marcus Shields) and Maria (Abigail Paschke) are caught between warring street gangs: the "American" Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Their struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence and prejudice is one of the most innovative, heart-wrenching and still relevant musical dramas of our time.

Ticket prices range from $21 to $30 and are available online at www.thecarnegie.com or by calling The Carnegie Box Office at (859) 957-1940 (open Tues-Friday, noon to 5 pm).

WEST SIDE STORY is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI, 421West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019. Phone: 212-541-4684 Fax: 212-397-4684 www.MTIShows.com

About the cast

Marcus Shields (Tony) - Marcus Shields, baritone, is a native of Charleston, South Carolina and is currently completing his master's degree at CCM. In February, Shields will be performing the role of Nerone in CCM's production of "L'incoronazione di Poppea" and this past fall was seen as a soloist in Monteverdi's Versper's of 1610. Operatically, Shields has performed leading roles in Britten's "Albert Herring", Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte", and Weill's "Street Scene."

Abigail Paschke (Maria), who most recently played Maria in The Carnegie's 2014 production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, has performed and covered main stage roles with Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Kentucky Opera, Opera Saratoga, and Cincinnati Opera. Performance credits include Mabel in THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, Adele (cvr) in DIE FLEDERMAUS, Alice in LE COMTE ORY, Valencienne in THE MERRY WIDOW, Barbarina in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, Johanna (cvr) in SWEENEY TODD, Frasquita in CARMEN, Blanche de la Force in THE DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES, Ilia in IDOMENEO, Claudia in NINE, Cosette in LES MISERABLES and Petra in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. Abigail holds a master's degree from CCM and a bachelor's degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

Brian Bailey* (Riff) - has just returned to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area after living in New York City for the past seven years. He has performed at the Aronoff Center with the Broadway national tours of CATS (Mungojerrie) and THE WIZARD OF OZ (Ensemble). Favorite credits include: THE WIZARD OF OZ at Madison Square Garden, the New York revival of SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE (Medium/Aunt Monica) with John Michael LaChuisa, THE PRODUCERS (Carmen Ghia), A CHORUS LINE (Swing), and Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Lumiere). He also worked as a costumer for the revival of FOLLIES, The Gershwin's PORGY AND BESS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, and the puppets for Disney's THE LION KING on Broadway. Brian is a graduate of Northern Kentucky University's BFA program and a proud member of Actor's Equity.

*Actor appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Brian Robertson (Director) is pleased to return to The Carnegie, where his concert stagings of CAMELOT and SOUND OF MUSIC were previously produced. He was recently the director of THE ARABIAN NIGHTS for Northern Kentucky University and wrote and staged an adaptation of CARMEN for the Cincinnati Opera. This past summer, Brian provided fight direction for DEAD MAN WALKING and Peter Brook's THE TRAGEDY OF CARMEN for Des Moines Metro Opera. Locally, Brian has directed the productions COCKFIGHT and BULL for Know Theatre Cincinnati. Over the past 25 years, Robertson has had an extensive career in film, television, theatre and opera. From 1998 to 2002, he was the principal stage director for Cincinnati Opera's education department. Highlights include LA CENERENTOLA, OPERACADABRA, an original production which he co-created, and Hans Krasa's BRUNDIBAR, which was performed at Cincinnati's prestigious Aronoff Center in the fall of 2000. He assisted on mainstage productions of AIDA, MADAME BUTTERFLY, THE MAGIC FLUTE, NABUCCO, ERWARTUNG and BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE.

William White (Music Director) is currently in his third season as Assistant Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO); he is also Music Director and Conductor of Cincinnati's Seven Hills Sinfonietta. White holds degrees from Indiana University and the University of Chicago, and has long-standing associations with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (as a guest lecturer) as well as the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors in Hancock, ME (as conducting Associate.) White maintains a significant career as a composer and arranger, having recently composed scores for the films Cold Turkey (staring Peter Bogdanovich) and Mulligan and the theme music to WVXU's "Cincinnati Edition". His upcoming projects include an orchestral work celebrating the CSYO's 50th season as well as a percussion concerto. White hails from Bethesda, MD, where he began his musical training as a violist.

Jay Goodlett (Choreographer) Celebrated dancer and choreographer Jay Goodlett made his Carnegie performing debut in 2013 as the MC, in CHICAGO, leading the supporting cast. Goodlett, a Northern Kentucky University faculty member and longtime Cincinnati Ballet dancer, was also the Choreographer for PIPPIN in 2011.

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