Ben Whiteley News

Just in time for Halloween, the first national tour of the new musical The Addams Family, will make its Seattle premiere tonight, October 24-November 11, 2012 at The 5th Avenue Theatre. Based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams, this smash Broadway hit brings the darkly delirious world of Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsley and, of course, Lurch to spooky and spectacular life.

Douglas Sills, who plays Gomez in The Addams Family tour, sat down with NBC Fort Worth to talk about various different elements of the show. He said many superlatives, including, but not limited to, 'You haven't lived til you've seen Morticia in this dress,' and 'Director Jerry Zaks has the Nobel Prize in comedy!'

The stars of The Addams Family tour, Douglas Sills (The Scarlet Pimpernel, Tony nomination) and Sarah Gettelfinger (Nine) who play Gomez and Morticia, respectively, sat down to talk with The Column in Dallas to talk about the show. In this video, they discuss the total revamping of the show from Broadway to the tour, Douglas's hilarious knack for keeping the other cast-members on their toes with his ad-libs, Sarah's costume, and much more.

Just in time for Halloween, the first national tour of the new musical The Addams Family, will make its Seattle premiere October 24-November 11, 2012 at The 5th Avenue Theatre. Based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams, this smash Broadway hit brings the darkly delirious world of Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsley and, of course, Lurch to spooky and spectacular life.

Full casting has been announced for the upcoming national tour of THE ADDAMS FAMILY, a new musical based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams, which will make its North Texas premiere October 2-21, 2012, presented by Dallas Summer Musicals at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Producers of THE ADDAMS FAMILY announced additional dates today for the Fall 2012 leg of the musical's North American tour. The production will play Dallas (Oct. 2 - 21), Seattle (Oct. 24 - Nov. 11), Salt Lake City (Nov. 13 - 18), Las Vegas (Nov.20 - 25), Tempe (Dec. 11 - 16) and Costa Mesa (Dec. 18 - 30). Plus, Curtis Holbrook (West Side Story, Xanadu) will join the cast of the national tour as "Lucas Beineke."

The latest extravaganza to grace the stage at The Muny in Forest Park is a hilarious re-working of Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of the Penzance (although some of the tunes are lifted from other works by the pair). PIRATES! (or Gilbert and Sullivan Plundr'd) is a spirited romp with a storyline more akin to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers than the original plot, and lyrics (revised book and lyrics by Nell Benjamin) and rearranged musical arrangements (courtesy of John McDaniel) that will amuse even the staunchest purists among us. This is just plain goofy, pirate-laden fare that owes as much to the recent Pirates of the Caribbean film series as to it does to Gilbert and Sullivan. And that's a good thing, at least it is in this case.

The Muny presents the sixth show of its 94th season, Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder'd), through August 5, directed by Gordon Greenberg and choreographed by Denis Jones. Conceived by Gordon Greenburg, Nell Benjamin and John McDaniel, Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder'd) features lyrics by W.S. Gilbert, and music by Arthur Sullivan. Revised book and lyrics are by Nell Benjamin, and music supervision, new arrangements and orchestrations are by John McDaniel. BroadwayWorld brings you highlights from the show below!

The Muny presents the sixth show of its 94th season, Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder'd), through August 5, directed by Gordon Greenberg and choreographed by Denis Jones. Conceived by Gordon Greenburg, Nell Benjamin and John McDaniel, Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder'd) features lyrics by W.S. Gilbert, and music by Arthur Sullivan. Revised book and lyrics are by Nell Benjamin, and music supervision, new arrangements and orchestrations are by John McDaniel. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from opening night below!

The Muny has announced principal casting for the sixth show of its 94th season, Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder'd), July 30 - August 5, directed by Gordon Greenberg and choreographed by Denis Jones. Conceived by Gordon Greenburg, Nell Benjamin and John McDaniel, Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder'd) features lyrics by W.S. Gilbert, and music by Arthur Sullivan. Revised book and lyrics are by Nell Benjamin, and music supervision, new arrangements and orchestrations are by John McDaniel.

Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre presents Paper Mill Playhouse's production of Damn Yankees- the story of an aging baseball fan who makes a deal with the Devil so his beloved hometown team can beat the Yankees in the race for the pennant. From the songwriting team of The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees is filled with hit songs including 'Two Lost Souls' and the sultry favorite, 'Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets.' The creative team includes direction by Mark S. Hoebee (Paper Mill's Producing Artistic Director), music direction by Ben Whiteley, and choreography by Denis Michael Jones. Check out 'Six Months Out of Every Year' below!

Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre presents Paper Mill Playhouse's production of Damn Yankees- the story of an aging baseball fan who makes a deal with the Devil so his beloved hometown team can beat the Yankees in the race for the pennant. From the songwriting team of The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees is filled with hit songs including 'Two Lost Souls' and the sultry favorite, 'Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets.' The creative team includes direction by Mark S. Hoebee (Paper Mill's Producing Artistic Director), music direction by Ben Whiteley, and choreography by Denis Michael Jones.

Damn Yankees is headed to The 5th Avenue Theatre! This musical comedy is the story of an aging baseball fan who makes a deal with the Devil so his beloved hometown team can beat the Yankees in the race for the pennant. From the songwriting team of The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees is filled with hit songs including "Two Lost Souls" and the sultry favorite, "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets." The Paper Mill Playhouse production will slide into Seattle this April. The creative team includes direction by Mark S. Hoebee (Paper Mill's Producing Artistic Director), music direction by Ben Whiteley, and choreography by Denis Michael Jones.

5th Avenue held its Spotlight Night for Damn Yankees on March 20. The evening took audiences behind the scenes of the new production of the musical comedy classic Damn Yankees. Featuring musical performances by some of Seattle's best singers and the cast of Damn Yankees, the event explored the stories that inspired the hit musical, including the legend of Faust. The night also took audiences through the careers of Damn Yankees book writer George Abbott and songwriters Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Watch Allen Fitzpatrick and the cast of Damn Yankees sing 'Heart' at Spotlight Night in the video below!

Damn Yankees is headed to The 5th Avenue Theatre! This musical comedy is the story of an aging baseball fan who makes a deal with the Devil so his beloved hometown team can beat the Yankees in the race for the pennant. From the songwriting team of The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees is filled with hit songs including "Two Lost Souls" and the sultry favorite, "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets." The Paper Mill Playhouse production will slide into Seattle this April. The creative team includes direction by Mark S. Hoebee (Paper Mill's Producing Artistic Director), music direction by Ben Whiteley, and choreography by Denis Michael Jones.

Paper Mill Playhouse has just announced casting for Damn Yankees, directed by Paper Mill Playhouse's Producing Artistic Director, Mark S. Hoebee, with choreography by Denis Jones. The cast features Howard McGillin (Applegate), Chryssie Whitehead (Lola), Christopher Charles Wood (Joe Hardy), Joseph Kolinski (Joe Boyd), Patti Cohenour (Meg Boyd) and Nancy Anderson (Gloria Thorpe). Damn Yankees begins performances on Wednesday, March 7, 2012, and runs at the Millburn, New Jersey theater through Sunday, April 1, 2012.

Following closely on the heels of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis' sparkling 1950's update of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, audiences at the Muny get the unique opportunity to compare and contrast the original with the musical remake as KISS ME KATE takes the stage in wondrous fashion. The chance to hear a swinging ensemble play Cole Porter's terrific score is reason enough to take in this production of Kiss Me Kate, but when you add in the eye-catching costumes, enthusiastic performances and lively dance numbers, you have the complete package.

The 2011 Muny Season kicked off this week with the Muny premiere of LEGALLY BLONDE (June 20 - 26). Next, the Cole Porter favorite KISS ME, KATE (June 27 - July 3) will grace the stage. Following will be the Muny and St. Louis premiere of Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID (July 6 - 14), opening Wednesday, and featuring 2 extra performances! Tapping its way across the Muny stage next will be SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (July 18 - 24). Complete casting for KISS ME, KATE has been announced!

The 2011 Muny Season kicked off this week with the Muny premiere of LEGALLY BLONDE (June 20 - 26). Next, the Cole Porter favorite KISS ME, KATE (June 27 - July 3) will grace the stage. Following will be the Muny and St. Louis premiere of Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID (July 6 - 14), opening Wednesday, and featuring 2 extra performances! Tapping its way across the Muny stage next will be SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (July 18 - 24). Complete casting for KISS ME, KATE has been announced!