Mary Testa & Michael Starobin Set To Perform At Cape May Stage 7/13

Broadway veteran Mary Testa has just finished her regular gig performing as General Cartwright in Guys & Dolls on Broadway and is slated to perform her latest musical presentation, Sleepless Variations, on July 13 at Cape May Stage. The score features songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein, Jimi Hendrix, and Bjork. For this one evening performance in Cape May, Testa will collaborate with another Broadway veteran, orchestrator Michael Starobin (Assassins, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Falsettos, etc). As an added bonus, Starobin, who recently won the TONY Award for Orchestrations for Next to Normal will debut his newest works to Cape May Stage audiences for the first time.

Sleepless Variations is a song cycle exploring where a woman's mind wanders when she can't sleep. The story unfolds in the middle of the night where Testa, desperately trying to fall asleep, appears on stage in tailored pajamas alongside a bed, a few tables, and a piano. With her ability as a physical comedienne as well as her strong vocal talents, Testa takes The Common frustration of those familiar sleepless nights to a brand new level of exploration. "Sleepless Variations fits the rubrik of staged concert," says Elyse Sommer in a Curtain Up review. "Testa is fun to watch and a superb singer that lights up otherwise dark Monday nights at the theatre."

Cape May Stage has assembled casts with multiple award-winning performers and Broadway veterans this season. "Mary Testa exemplifies the world-class artists that we are bringing to the theatre," notes new Artistic Director Roy Steinberg. "This TONY award nominee is renowned throughout Broadway and we are honored to have her, as well as Michael Starobin, contributing to the momentum that is building at Cape May Stage."

Mary Testa's Broadway credits include Guys and Dolls, Xanadu (Drama Desk nomination), Chicago, 42nd Street (Tony nomination), Marie Christine (Cast Album), On the Town (Tony Nomination) ...Forum (Cast Album), The Rink, Marilyn, Barnum. Also, Encores! The Zeigfeld Follies of 1936 (Cast Album). Off-Broadway Testa was seen in Regrets Only, See What I Wanna See (Drama Desk & Drama League Nomination -- Cast Album), First Lady Suite (Drama Desk nomination), String of Pearls (Drama Desk Nomination), The Vagina Monologues, The Wax, From Above (Obie Award), Lucky Stiff, The Knife, A New Brain (Cast Album), Tartuffe, On the Town (Obie Award), Scapin (CSC), In Trousers (Cast Album), Daughters. On film, Testa appeared in Four Single Fathers, Stay, Tony n' Tina's Wedding, The Business of Strangers, The Out-of-Towners, Sleepers, Queens of the Big Time, Two Bits, Mac, Stanley and Iris, Going in Style and in television she was seen in "Electric Company", "Life on Mars", "Cashmere Mafia", "Waterfront," "Whoopi," "Cosby," "Sex and the City," "Linc's," "Witness to the Mob," "Law & Order," "City Kids," and numerous others.

Michael Starobin is a well-known orchestrator and arranger working on Broadway and in Hollywood. He has been the orchestrator for some of Broadway's most innovative musicals such as Falsettos, Sunday in the Park with George and Assassins (2004 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations). He was the conductor and orchestrator for Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame, and recently contributed orchestrations to Disney's Once Upon a Mattress and the film version of Chicago. He recently won the 2009 Tony Award for Orchestrations for Next to Normal.

Sleepless Variations performs July 13 at 8PM for one night only at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse of the Cape May Stage. Tickets are $50 general admission. Call (609) 884-1341 for tickets and information or visit the theatre's website, www.capemaystage.com. Audio enhancement, wheelchair accessible seating, and large print programs are available with advance notice by calling the box office at (609) 884-1341.

This production is generously sponsored by Chris and Dave Clemans.

 

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