Signature Theatre Caps off 21st Season with Side by Side 4/26

The Tony Award®-winning Signature Theatre fittingly wraps up its 2011-2012 season by paying tribute to their "signature" composer Stephen Sondheim, with Side by Side by Sondheim, the renowned musical revue celebrating the early works of America's leading composer. Signature's Resident Director Matthew Gardiner directs and choreographs Broadway stars Nancy Anderson (Wonderful Town, A Class Act) and Matthew Scott (Sondheim on Sondheim, Jersey Boys, Signature's Ace), along with Helen Hayes Award-winner and Signature favorite Sherri L. Edelen (Sweeney Todd, Les Miserables, Side Show ). Musical Director Jon Kalbfleisch (Sunset Boulevard, Show Boat, Les Miserables at Signature) and Associate Musical Director Gabriel Mangiante (Signature's [title of show] and Dirty Blonde) round out the cast and will accompany the trio on pianos.

The award-winning Side by Side by Sondheim features timeless Sondheim songs (covering 1957 - 1976) from some of Broadway's most memorable musicals including West Side Story, Anyone Can Whistle, Follies, A Funny Thing Happened..., A Little Night Music, Company, and Pacific Overtures. With a nationwide reputation for mounting musicals both old and new - and especially the works of Mr. Sondheim - this marks the first time that Side by Side by Sondheim will be produced by Signature Theatre. The design team includes Mischa Kachman (sets), Kathleen Geldard (costumes), Colin K. Bills (lighting), and Matt Rowe (sound).
Matt Gardiner (director of Signature's Art and [title of show]) said, "Each Sondheim show brings with it its own sense of wit, insight, sophistication and heart. What better way to celebrate Signature's favorite composer then this incredibly entertaining revue that features twelve of his works all at once? We have assembled a remarkable trio of voices and two incredible musicians - and I cannot think of a group I'd rather be exploring the music of Stephen Sondheim with than these five performers."

Eric Schaeffer, Signature's Artistic Director added, "It's hard to believe a season without Sondheim at Signature. Having just celebrated the Stephen Sondheim Award, we continue the celebration with a look back at his earliest works with a talented team of artists."

PERFORMANCE DATES & TICKET INFORMATION

Side by Side by Sondheim runs from April 26, 2011 to June 12, 2011. Showtimes are Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:30 pm, Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. A Funders' performance will take place on Tuesday, May 3rd. There is no 2pm performance on Saturday, April 30th.
Signature Theatre will be hosting a special 'Pride Night' performance on Friday, May 20th at 8:00pm.

Tickets range from $55 - $81 and are available by calling Ticketmaster at (703) 573-SEAT (7328) or visiting www.signature-theatre.org. Group discounts are also available for parties of ten or more by calling (703) 820-9771.
SPONSORSHIP

Side by Side by Sondheim is sponsored by the HRH Foundation.
MEDIA SPONSORSHIPS

WJLA/TBD.com, WASH-FM, and Metro Weekly are the media sponsors for Side by Side by Sondheim.
LOCATION - PROXIMITY TO WASHINGTON, DC

Located in Arlington, Virginia and complete with free parking, Signature Theatre is just 5.2 miles from the Washington Monument, an estimated 10-15 minute drive according to googlemaps.com. Using public transportation, Signature can be reached by the 7, 25 and 25A buses from Pentagon Metro Station or via a $12 taxi ride from the Pentagon City Metro stop (on both the Blue & Yellow lines) with a taxi stand located in front of the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Additional Music by Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers,

and Jule Styne

Directed and choreographed by Matthew Gardiner

Continuity by Ned Sherrin

April 26, 2011 - June 12, 2011

The MAX

CAST BIOS
Nancy Anderson BROADWAY: Wonderful Town (Helen, Eileen), A Class Act (Mona). WEST END: Kiss Me, Kate (Bianca, Olivier nomination). TOURS: Kiss Me, Kate (Bianca, Helen Hayes nomination); Doctor Dolittle (Emma). OFF-BROADWAY: York Theater: Yank!, Fanny Hill (Drama Desk nomination), Jolson & Co. (Drama Desk nomination), Burleigh Grimes, The Blue Flower. ENCORES: No, No, Nanette; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. DC AREA: Kennedy Center: Winesburg, By Jeeves. CONCERTS: Carnegie Hall with Michael Feinstein; Atlanta Symphony; Broadway By Year at Town Hall; Birdland. MUFTI: I & Albert, Girl Who Came To Supper. TV: Kiss Me, Kate and South Pacific with Reba McIntyre (Great Performances). REGIONAL: Papermill: Peter Pan (Peter Pan); Westport, Papermill: She Loves Me; Old Globe: The Women; Yale Rep: The Black Monk; Goodspeed: Sweeney Todd (Johanna); Pioneer Playhouse: Crazy for You. CD: Ten Cents a Dance.

Sherri L. Edelen SIGNATURE: Walter Cronkite is Dead., Sweeney Todd, Les Misérables (Helen Hayes Award), Urinetown, Elegies (Helen Hayes nomination), Side Show (Helen Hayes Award). DC AREA: Kennedy Center/Sondheim Celebration: Sunday in the Park with George, Merrily We Roll Along; Shakespeare Theatre: Design for Living; Olney: She Loves Me (Helen Hayes nomination); Rep Stage: Kimberly Akimbo; Round House Theatre: The World Goes 'Round, The Diary of Anne Frank; Arena: Cabaret (Helen Hayes nomination); REGIONAL: NY Fringe Festival: Citizen Ruth; Arden Theatre: Our Town; Caroline, or Change (Barrymore nomination); Philadelphia Theatre Co.: The Light in the Piazza (Barrymore Award), Elegies (Barrymore nomination); Stages St. Louis: The Music Man, Annie Get Your Gun.

Jon Kalbfleisch (Music Director) SIGNATURE (Resident Music Director): Sunset Boulevard, Show Boat, First You Dream, Les Misérables, Anyone Can Whistle, The Visit, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Merrily We Roll Along, The Witches of Eastwick, Into the Woods, Assassins, Pacific Overtures, The Highest Yellow, One Red Flower, Elegies, Allegro, Follies, 110 in the Shade, Grand Hotel, Putting It Together, Forum, A Stephen Sondheim Evening, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, The Fix, Sunday in the Park with George, Passion, Cabaret, Wings, First Lady Suite, Company. BROADWAY: Les Misérables (Associate Conductor). DC AREA: Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, National Theatre, Warner Theatre, Studio Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre. REGIONAL: Mark Taper Forum: Putting it Together; Martin Guerre, James Joyce's The Dead. OTHER: Carnegie Hall, Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra, Capitol Hill United Methodist Church. TV: "Good Morning America." AWARDS: Grammy nomination; Bernstein MASS, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, pianist. Five Helen Hayes Awards and 21 nominations. EDUCATION: Master of Music, SMU.
Gabriel Mangiante SIGNATURE: [title of show], Dirty Blonde (music director); And the Curtain Rises, Sunset Boulevard, Chess, Giant (keyboard); The Boy Detective Fails (21/24 Workshop); Partial Eclipse; Signature Sings: 2000-2004; Signature Sings: 1995-1999; LaChiusa's Ladies; Ricky, Joe, and Michael John; December Divas; Lost Songs of Broadway Volumes I and II; Revenge of the Understudies I and II; cabarets with Emily Skinner, Will Gartshore, Natascia Diaz, and others. DC AREA: Studio Theatre: Reefer Madness (Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Resident Musical), This Beautiful City.
Matthew Scott SIGNATURE: First You Dream: The Music of Kander and Ebb, Ace. BROADWAY: Sondheim on Sondheim (Cast Album), Jersey Boys, A Catered Affair, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Actor's Fund). REGIONAL: Philadelphia Theatre Company: The Light in the Piazza (Best Supporting Actor Barrymore Award); La Jolla Playhouse: Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin (San Diego Theatre Critics nomination); O'Neill Theatre Center: Eden; Paper Mill Playhouse: Ragtime, My Fair Lady, Carousel; Alliance Theater: Tick, Tick...Boom!, MUNY: West Side Story (Kevin Kline Award nomination); Pittsburgh CLO: 1776, Les Misérables, Swing!; PMT: Bat Boy; York Theater: Greenwillow. TV: All My Children. EDUCATION: Carnegie Mellon University, BFA with honors.

SIGNATURE'S 2011-12 SEASON TICKETS

Signature Theatre has announced their new 2011-2012 line-up featuring the Tony Award®-winning shows Hairspray and God of Carnage and the Washington DC premiere of the cult classic musical Xanadu. The season also features an unprecedented five world premiere works, including The Hollow, The Boy Detective Fails (both in repertory), Brother Russia, and Really Really. In addition to the mainstage shows, Signature will be presenting three productions with limited engagements, including the world premiere of A Second Chance and Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South, based on the award-winning book. Stephen Sondheim's first musical Saturday Night will be a special concert event that will play for four performances only.

Subscription packages are available by calling Signature's Box Office at (703) 820-9771. For more information on the 2011-12 season, please visit www.signature-theatre.org.

ABOUT SIGNATURE

Recipient of the 2009 Regional Theatre Tony Award®, Signature Theatre is a non-profit professional theater company in Arlington, Virginia dedicated to producing contemporary musicals and plays, reinventing classic musicals, and developing new work. Under the leadership of co-founder and Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer and Managing Director Maggie Boland, Signature has presented 32 world premiere productions and is renowned for combining Broadway-quality productions with intimate playing spaces.

In addition to hosting the finest talent from the DC metropolitan area and New York, Signature has been home to such theatre luminaries as Chita Rivera, George Hearn, Hunter Foster, Emily Skinner, Marc Kudisch, Judy Kuhn, John Kander and Fred Ebb, Cameron Mackintosh, Terrence McNally, and the company's signature composer, Stephen Sondheim. Since its founding in 1989, Signature has won 70 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in the Washington, DC region's professional theater and has been honored with 293 nominations.

Signature is partially supported by a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts and by a gift from Arlington County through the Arlington Commission for the Arts and the Cultural Affairs Division of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources.
Directions

Signature Theatre is located at 4200 Campbell Avenue (22206) off I-395 at the Shirlington exit. After the exit, blue Signature signs mark the way to the theatre. Free parking is available in two adjacent public garages. Please note that Campbell Avenue is a new street and some GPS online mapping systems do not yet recognize Signature Theatre's address. For directions visit http://signature-theatre.org/map.htm.

 

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