Cassandra Murphy to Lead EVITA at Cabrillo Music Theatre This Fall

For the first time in its history, EVITA, this revolutionary Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical is being produced by Cabrillo Music Theatre.

Argentina's controversial First Lady is the unlikely subject of this dynamic musical masterpiece. Told through a compelling score that fuses haunting chorales with exuberant Latin, pop, and jazz influences, EVITA's songs include favorites such as "Buenos Aires," "On This Night of a Thousand Stars," "Another Suitcase in Another Hall," and the electrifying "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina." Don't miss Cabrillo Music Theatre's all-new production of this beloved Tony Award-winning musical!

EVITA opens on Friday, October 14th, 2016, playing until Sunday, October 23rd, 2016 at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

EVITA is the rags-to-riches story of Eva Duarte Peron, the actress-turned-First Lady of Argentina. Set in Buenos Aires between 1934 and 1952, EVITA is presented almost entirely in song and editorialized on by the show's narrator, Che. At a young age, Maria Eva Duarte leaves home to pursue stardom. Through dogged determination and cunning seduction, Eva finds herself at the right hand of rising political figure, Juan Peron. As a couple, the two became one of the most powerful and influential political couples in Argentina's history.

Cabrillo Music Theatre's brand-new production of EVITA features passionate, controversial characters, sweeping music, and illustrative dance. The all-star lineup of talent is led by Cassandra Murphy as the charismatic and seductive "Eva Peron." Cassandra is best known for starring in the hit Disney musical ALADDIN: A MUSICAL SPECTACULAR. As the longest running "Jasmine," Cassandra had the honor of closing the show this past January after its historic 13 year run. Joining Cassandra is New York transplant Marc Ginsburg, as the intensely antagonistic narrator, "Che," "The Office's" David Kirk Grant, as the charming "Juan Peron," and Bill Ledesma as the suave and dulcet "Agustin Magaldi." As is the custom at Cabrillo, local talent abounds, including: Lyrissa Leininger (CINDERELLA, THE SOUND OF MUSIC,THE LITTLE MERMAID), Kendyl Yokoyama (MARY POPPINS, OKLAHOMA!, CHILDREN OF EDEN), and Jacqueline Rosenthal (SECRET GARDEN, CAROUSEL). This talented company will also include Los Angeles's finest and most versatile singers and dancers, bringing this historic tale to life with passion and heat!

Seasoned Director, Roger Castellano, is joined by Choreographer Cheryl Baxter, who delighted audiences with her Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious choreography in MARY POPPINS as well as Cabrillo's OLIVER!, ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, and 2010 HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR. Cabrillo favorite, Dr. Cassie Nickols, (MEMPHIS, COMPANY, DAMN YANKEES, CHILDREN OF EDEN, THE LITTLE MERMAID) will Music Direct, and Dan Redfeld (2010 HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR) returns to conduct the Cabrillo Music Theatre Orchestra.

"EVITA is a 7-time Tony Award winner," says the newly-appointed Managing Director, Will North. "Our audiences have been demanding it for a long time and Cabrillo has never produced it." Adds North, "I'm particularly excited about this creative team, some of So Cal's best! In addition, this is an all-star cast of Los Angeles professional talent. EVITA has all of the ingredients to be a huge hit that audiences will remember for years to come."

Cabrillo Music Theatre's brand-new production of EVITA is appropriate for audiences ages 12 and up, and features thematic elements and mild language. As with all Cabrillo shows, EVITA will feature a signed performance for the deaf and hard-of-hearing on Friday, October 21st, at 8:00PM. Let Cabrillo Music Theatre's EVITA transport you to the streets of Buenos Aires with Andrew Lloyd Webber's sung-through score, exciting dance numbers, and passionate storytelling!

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

Roger Castellano (Director) works extensively as a director/choreographer of Theatrical and Special Events, creating original shows, parades and special events for many theme parks as well as Regional Theatre. Recent theatrical credits include: The Real Housewives of Toluca Lake for the Falcon Theatre, Young Frankenstein, The Drowsy Chaperone, Legally Blonde for Performance Riverside, The Wizard of Oz for Moonlight Productions, A Chorus Line for Musical Theatre West, the World Premier of Roger Bean's The Marvelous Wonderettes: Caps & Gowns at the Laguna Playhouse, Legally Blonde and Xanadu for Music Theatre of Wichita, the first all Japanese productions ofShow Boat, Hello, Dolly! and Me and My Girl in Japan and the World Premier of South Street at the Pasadena Playhouse. Theatrical awards include: LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award Nominee for Best Choreographer (Jekyll & Hyde - Cabrillo Music Theatre, The Andrews Brothers- Musical Theatre West); LA Times Critic's Pick (Me & My Girl - Musical Theatre West); Drama Logue's Critic Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre - Best Choreography (A Little Night Music - The Center Theatre Group, La Cage Aux Folles and Oliver! - The Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities); Inland Theatre League Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre - Best Director (The Drowsy Chaperone & Suessical - Performance Riverside); AriZoni Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre - Best Choreography (A Chorus Line [personal creation] - The Phoenix Theatre). Roger is a frequent faculty member of several universities and colleges such as UCLA, UCI, CSUF, Fullerton College and The Young Americans College of Performing Arts.

Cheryl Baxter (Choreographer) has been in the entertainment business for over 35 years working in theater, commercials, film and television. She started her career as an assistant choreographer to Gene Kelly and Kenny Ortega in Coppola's film, "One From the Heart" and went on to assist Meryl Streep in "Death Becomes Her." Film credits include: "Xanadu," "Tap," "Grease 2," "Pennies From Heaven," "500 Days of Summer," "The Wild Wild West" and "The Muppet Movie." She has worked with legends such as: Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr., The Nicholas Brothers and Donald O'Connor. Television credits include "Glee," "2 Broke Girls," the Academy and Golden Globe Awards, "How I Met Your Mother," "Community," "Mike and Molly" and "My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." Cheryl has performed in the Los Angeles and First National companies of Cats and 42nd Street and was in the Broadway telecast of Sophisticated Ladies. She has directed and choreographed extensively for Universal, Disney and Sesame Street Live, and has set Theater Productions through out the U.S. Europe and Japan. Past Cabrillo shows include: Oliver, Once Upon a Mattress, Mary Poppins and The Cabrillo Holiday Spectacular starring Shirley Jones and Patrick Cassidy.

DR. CASSIE NICKOLS (Musical Director) This is Cassie's seventh production with Cabrillo, and she's so excited to be working with this talented group of people! An LA native, Cassie has become a sought-after accompanist, musical director, performer, teacher, and coach, winning such accolades as Most Outstanding Graduate from the Thornton School at USC. Her performances have taken her to New York and London and range from classical recitals to rock concerts to musical theatre. Credits: Musical Director: Children of Eden (Cabrillo);Damn Yankees (Cabrillo), Company (Cabrillo); Memphis (Cabrillo); Assistant Musical Director: The Little Mermaid (Cabrillo); In the Heights(Cabrillo), Next to Normal (La Mirada).

Dan Redfeld (Conductor) received his training at New England Conservatory before transferring to UCLA, graduating with a degree in composition/conducting. In June 2016, "A Hopeful Place - A Song Cycle for Soprano & Chamber Orchestra," was released on Navona Records, with music by Redfeld and text by John Gabriel Koladziej featuring soprano Kristi Holden and the Hollywood Studio Symphony. Redfeld's Arioso premiered with the Santa Barbara Symphony under the direction of Maestro Nir Kabaretti and oboe soloist Lara Wickes in 2015. Recent works include January 15, 1947 for Solo Harp, Fantasy for Violin & Piano, Travels for Piano Quartet, Dance Sketches andVineyards for Octet, In 2001, Little Women - An American Musical, with music by Redfeld, lyrics by Christina Harding and John Koladziej, and book by Steven Ganci and Ralph Lucas, was workshopped in Los Angeles and New York with Elaine Stritch and Deborah Gibson. Among Redfeld's twenty-five film scores are the AFI-produced "Cline E" and film noir "Moustache", which garnered him several national awards. Redfeld's studio work as an arranger/producer includes "I Once Was Told," "Music from the Twilight Saga," "Schindler's List: The Film Music of John Williams" and "Titanic: An Epic Musical Voyage," commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster and the re-release of James Cameron's Academy Award-winning film. For the stage, orchestrations Beaches: A New Musical, A Christmas Story(national tour, adapted from Larry Blank's original orchestrations), the Broadway Medley for the Los Angeles Music Center's 50th anniversary and shows in the West End and continental U.S. As music director/conductor, Redfeld has worked on forty-plus musicals including The Addams Family, The Who's Tommy (with Alice Ripley), Chess - the London Version (with Susan Egan and Matt Morrison), My Fair Lady (with Jonathan Pryce and Laura Michelle Kelly), Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Into the Woods and The Secret Garden. Redfeld has been the conductor of Los Angeles Opera's Secondary In-School-Opera since 2003 and made his debut with Montana Lyric Opera in 2010. More info can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and www.danredfeld.com. His discography is available at Amazon, iTunes and other retail outlets.

ABOUT THE CAST

Cassandra Murphy (Eva Peron) is delighted to be making her debut with Cabrillo Musical Theatre. Recent credits include: "Fantine" in the LA regional premiere of Les Miserables at La Mirada Theater (Ovation nominated for Best Musical) and again at Musical Theatre West, "Ellen" in Miss Saigon at the Macau International Music Festival with McCoy Rigby Entertainment, and "Princess Jasmine" in Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, which closed after an amazing 13 year run. Cassandra, as the longest running Jasmine, had the honor of closing the show. She also recently celebrated her 10 years working for The Walt Disney Company doing numerous shows, voice-overs and recordings. Thanks to Anthony Boyer and the Stage9/DDO team. Love to her fiancé John, family and Archie. Jeremiah 29:11. www.cassandramurphy.com.

Marc Ginsburg (Che) is so grateful to be making his debut at Cabrillo in this bucket list role with this incredible cast and creative team! A Philadelphia native and New York transplant, Marc's favorite roles include: playing 18 roles as "The Man" Real Housewives of Toluca Lake, "Aaron" First Date, "Lord Farquaad" Shrek, "Lawrence Jameson" Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, "Quixote/Cervantes" Man of La Mancha, "Leo Bloom" The Producers, "Billy Bigelow" Carousel, "Foreman/Lesgles" Les Miserables, and "Fagin" in Cameron Mackintosh's First National Tour of Oliver!.

David Kirk Grant (Juan Peron) is honored to making his debut at Cabrillo Musical Theatre! David's National touring credits include:42nd Street "Julian Marsh," The Music Man "Charlie Cowell" and "Harold Hill," H.M.S. Pinafore "Dick Dead-Eye," The Pirates of Penzance"The Pirate King," and a New Zealand production of The Secret Garden "Dr. Craven." Regional credits include: Kiss Me Kate "Thug # 1" (starring Wayne Brady at the Pasadena Playhouse), Side Show (directed by Academy Award winner Bill Condon at The La Jolla Playhouse),How the Grinch Stole Christmas "Ensemble" and "Grinch" (at The Old Globe), Parade "Hugh Dorsey," Man of La Mancha "Governor" and "Innkeeper" (S.D. Critic's Circle Award Nominee), The Great American Trailer Park Musical "Norbert," Aida "Zosar," Pump Boys and Dinettes"Jim," Smoke on the Mountain "Burl Sanders," I Do! I Do! "Michael," Chess "Walter Anderson," Footloose "Rev. Shaw Moore," Company"Peter" and "Larry," and Evita "Juan Peron" (at Moonlight Apm and Performance Riverside). Mr. Grant was a co-star on NBC's "The Office" and recently finished shooting on location in Montana for the upcoming feature film "The Thin Line." David is a proud member of SAG and Actors' Equity Association.

BILL LEDESMA (Magaldi) is a true native Angelino. (Yes, they do still exist.) Born in San Gabriel and raised in South Pasadena, Bill's love of Music, Theatre and the Arts began at an early age, and thru the support and encouragement of Family and Teachers his passion turned into his Career. Bill is no stranger to the music of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber as he has played the roles of "Joseph" in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, "Juancito" in Evita, and in Spring of last year was seen as "Munkustrap" in Cats. Portraying the role of "Agustin Magaldi" has been a longtime dream since he was first introduced to the song "On This Night of a Thousand Stars," which he has sung many times since in Cabarets and Revues. Other favorite roles/shows that Bill has had the pleasure of doing are: "Al Deluca" -A Chorus Line, "Johnny Cantone"-1940's Radio Hour, "Sky Masterson"-Guys and Dolls, "Sgt. Fogarty"-Chicago (with Bebe Neuwirth), as well as National Tours of The Will Rogers Follies, Pippin, and Camelot. Bill also enjoyed singing all over the world as a Lead Vocalist with Royal Caribbean Productions for a decade and most recently was seen in Aladdin-A Musical Spectacular during the last 4 years of its record-breaking run at the Hyperion Theatre in Disney's California Adventure. Bill is currently a Lead with the Dapper Dan's of Disneyland.

EVITA will open on Friday, October 14th, 2016, and run through Sunday, October 23rd, 2016. Performances are Thursday at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, and Saturdays and Sunday the 16th at 2:00pm, with a special early performance at 1pm onOctober 23rd. A post-show discussion with cast, staff, and audience will follow the Saturday, October 16th, 2:00pm performance. A signed performance for the deaf and hard-of-hearing will be on Friday, October 21st, at 8:00PM.

Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Box Office located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks, or through www.cabrillomusictheatre.com, or by phone at (800) 745-3000. For groups of 10 or more, call Group Sales, Cabrillo Music Theatre at (805) 497-8613 x3. Ticket prices range from $35-$79. For ticket and theatre information, call (805) 449-ARTS (2787). EVITA performs exclusively at the Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Bank of America Performing Arts Center, at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

CABRILLO MUSIC THEATRE'S 2016-2017 Season includes EVITA (Fall 2016), SISTER ACT (Spring 2017) and PETER PAN (Summer 2017). This season all three high-Flying Musicals will be produced in the 1,800 seat Kavli Theatre. For membership and ticket information, call 805-497-8613 X 6 or visit www.cabrillomusictheatre.com.

Cabrillo Music Theatre is the Ovation Award-winning Resident Musical Theatre Production Company of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, and a non-profit theatre organization. For over three decades, Cabrillo has been enriching the cultural life of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties and the surrounding areas by providing an extraordinary performing arts experience through live, Broadway-quality productions of musical theatre. It is Cabrillo's mission to provide the highest quality musical experience, to foster educational opportunities, and to promote cultural and artistic enrichment to enhance the quality of life in Southern California. By creating opportunity for up-and-coming performers and artists, Cabrillo has launched hundreds to success in theatre, movies, television and music, including Adam Lambert, Katharine McPhee, and Tony nominee Stephanie J. Block. In addition, Cabrillo Music Theatre goes "Beyond the Footlights" with Outreach programs to give back to the community, and to provide enhanced theatre experiences for all audiences. Since the inception of "Beyond the Footlights," over 49,000 underserved children, in-need seniors, and active military have enjoyed Cabrillo Music Theatre's productions at no charge. In addition, Cabrillo provides ASL signed performances of every production; talkbacks with cast and staff; and Cabrillo's Animal Rescue program, which raises funds and awareness for homeless and abused dogs and cats.

For more information about Cabrillo Music Theatre's "Beyond the Footlights" programs call (805) 497-8613 x1 or write toinfo@cabrillomusictheatre.com.