AVENUE Q Original Broadway Cast And Creative Team To Celebrate 15 Year Run on Broadway At BroadwayCon on January 12

January 10, 2019January 10, 2019 ~ bpwlcadmin ~ Leave a comment

AVENUE Q – winner of three 2004 Tony Awards including Best Musical – will celebrate its 15+ year run on the BroadwayCon MainStage this weekend, Saturday, January 12, when Original Broadway Cast and Creative Team members will reunite for a special Q&A Panel. Robert Lopez, Carmen Ruby Floyd, Howie Michael Smith, Erin Quill, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, and Ann Harada are confirmed to attend. BroadwayCon moderators, Ben Cameron and Danny Jordan will host the event scheduled to take place from 4:40-5:30pm at the Ziegfeld Ballroom, (141 West 54 St.) in Manhattan.

Ann Harada. Photo by Lia Chang

Erin Quill

Powered by its Tony for Best Musical and additional Tonys for Best Music and Lyrics to Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, and Best Book of a Musical to Jeff Whitty, AVENUE Q’s victory at the 2004 Tony Awards was considered an historic upset and effectively redrew the landscape for innovation, originality and success on Broadway. The musical recouped its investment in just 10 months, and with its fresh and funny tale about people and puppets just out of college looking for their purpose in life, AVENUE Q has been groundbreaking in its appeal to young theatergoers who relate to the characters and the challenges they face learning adult life lessons about racism, coming out, unemployment, dating, sex and porn. The show has indeed captivated audiences of all generations with it singular, hilarious take on the traditional story of boy-meets-girl, boy-loses girl, boy tries to win girl back – except in Avenue Q, the boy and girl just happen to be puppets.

Late last year, it was announced by the show’s producers, Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, Jeffrey Seller, Vineyard Theatre and The New Group that AVENUE Q will close on April 28, 2019. The show will have played a total of 6537 performances upon closing: from its first Broadway preview on July 14, 2003 to its final performance at New World Stages (340 W. 50 St.)

AVENUE Q’s unforgettable cast of characters include Princeton, Kate Monster, Rod, Lucy The Slut, Trekkie Monster, Gary Coleman, The Bad Idea Bears, Mrs. Thistletwat, Christmas Eve and Brian.

The current cast of AVENUE Q includes Katie Boren, Grace Choi, Matt Dengler, Jamie Glickman, Imari Hardon, Jason Jacoby, Gizel Jiménez, Nick Kohn, Lacretta, Michael Liscio, Jr., and Rob Morrison.

AVENUE Q has music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, book by Jeff Whitty, and is directed by Jason Moore. Based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, with puppets conceived and designed by Rick Lyon, musical supervision by Stephen Oremus, choreography by Ken Roberson, scenic design by Anna Louizos, costume design by Mirena Rada, lighting design by Howell Binkley, and sound design by ACME Sound Partners. Music director is Brian Hertz. Animation design is by Robert Lopez, incidental music is by Gary Adler, and casting is by Cindy Tolan & Adam Caldwell. Christine M. Daly is Production Stage Manager.

At New World Stages, AVENUE Q performs Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:30 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 3:00 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased through Telecharge by calling 212-239-6200 or visiting www.telecharge.com. A limited number of rush tickets are available at the box office for each performance.

For more information about Avenue Q, please visit: AvenueQ.com

Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2019 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Arena Stage’s World Premiere of DAVE opens July 27

The company of DAVE. Photo Credit: Margot Schulman

July 23, 2018July 23, 2018 ~ bpwlcadmin ~ Leave a comment

Arena Stage is presenting the world premiere of Dave by Thomas Meehan, Nell Benjamin and Tom Kitt through August 19, 2018 in the Kreeger Theater. Opening night is July 27. Click here for tickets.

Drew Gehling. Photo Credit: Margot Schulman — Drew Gehling and the company of DAVE. Photo Credit: Margot Schulman

Dave is inspired by the Academy Award-nominated American political comedy film. Helmed by Tony Award nominee Tina Landau, Dave features choreography by Tony Award nominee Sam Pinkleton and music direction by Rob Berman. Dave tells the story of high school teacher (and presidential lookalike) Dave Kovic, who is hired by the Secret Service as a stand-in for the Commander-in-Chief. When the President falls ill under less than “presidential” circumstances, Dave is thrust into the Oval Office to avoid a national scandal, and must find a way to gain the trust and love of the American people…and the First Lady.

Drew Gehling stars as President Bill Mitchell and the title role of Dave with Mamie Parris (Broadway’s Cats, School of Rock) as First Lady Ellen Mitchell, Douglas Sills as Chief of Staff Bob Alexander, Josh Breckenridge (Broadway’s Come From Away), Rachel Flynn (Off-Broadway’s Heathers the Musical), Bryonha Marie Parham (Broadway’s Prince of Broadway) and Jonathan Rayson (Broadway’s Little Shop of Horrors).

Drew Gehling, Bryonha Marie Parham, and Douglas Sills. Photo Credit: Margot Schulman

While Mr. Sills recovers from minor unexpected surgery, Dave cast member Jared Bradshaw will step into the role of Bob Alexander.

Mamie Parris and Drew Gehling. Photo Credit: Margot Schulman

Rounding out the company are Jenny Ashman (Kansas City Repertory’s Evita), Jared Bradshaw (Broadway’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Dana Costello (Jekyll and Hyde national tour), Trista Dollison (Broadway’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Sherri L. Edelen (Arena Stage’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike), Kevin R. Free (The Neo-Futurists’ Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind), Erin Quill (Broadway’s Avenue Q), Jamison Scott (Broadway’s Motown the Musical), Thomas Adrian Simpson (Arena Stage’s A Raisin in the Sun and Carousel) and Vishal Vaidya (Broadway’s Groundhog Day).

The creative team for Dave also includes scenic design by Tony Award nominee Dane Laffrey; costume design by two-time Tony Award nominee Toni-Leslie James; lighting design by five-time Tony Award nominee Japhy Weideman; sound design by Tony Award nominee Walter Trarbach; projection design by Drama Desk Award winner Peter Nigrini; and casting by Telsey + Company/Patrick Goodwin, CSA.

Click here for full company bios.

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Ali Ewoldt, Raymond J. Lee, Telly Leung, Shoba Narayan and Erin Quill Set for BroadwayCon 2018: FAN TAN FANTASTIC Panel at Jacob Javits on Jan. 27

January 6, 2018February 11, 2018 ~ Lia Chang ~ Leave a comment

On Saturday, January 27, Erin Quill will moderate a panel at BroadwayCon 2018 called FAN TAN FANTASTIC- Asian American performers how far we have come and how much further we intend to go – featuring Asian American Broadway stars Ali Ewoldt (Phantom of the Opera), Raymond J. Lee (Groundhog Day), Telly Leung (Aladdin) and Shoba Narayan (Hamilton) at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center at 10AM.

BroadwayCon 2018 will take place January 26–28, 2018 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001. Click here for tickets and here for more information.

Ali Ewoldt as Christine Daaé. Photo by Matthew Murphy

Ali Ewoldt is currently starring as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut as Cosette in Les Miserables, appeared in Lincoln Center’s recent Tony Award Winning revival of The King and I and has played Maria in numerous productions of West Side Story across the nation and the world. Her other credits include: The Fantasticks (Luisa) Off-Broadway, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Philia) at The Muny in St. Louis, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s The King and I (Tuptim), McCarter Theatre’s A Christmas Carol (Fan/Mrs. Bonds) and concerts at Feinstein’s/54 Below, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall and The Town Hall. TV/Film: The Michael J. Fox Show, Yield and Drama: The Web Series. Ali has a BA in psychology from Yale University. www.aliewoldt.com

Andrew Call as Gus, Raymond J. Lee as Ralph and Andy Karl as Phil in GROUNDHOG DAY.

Raymond J. Lee recently originated the role of Ralph in Groundhog Day on Broadway. Other Broadway credits: Honeymoon In Vegas, Anything Goes, Mamma Mia! Off-Broadway: Two Gentlemen of Verona (The Public), The Wild Party (Encores!). Regional: Tiger Style! (La Jolla), Stuck Elevator (A.C.T.), Nerds (PTC), Great Wall (Village Theatre), Spelling Bee (PCS), Seussical(MUNY). TV/Film: “Billions,” “Succession,” “Smash,” “The Jim Gaffigan Show,” “Fame,” “Red Oaks,” The Mikado Project, Ghost Town. Thanks for having me BroadwayCon 2018! For more information, please visit www.raymondjlee.com and follow @raymondjlee

Telly Leung as Aladdin. Photo by Matthew Murphy

Telly Leung is currently playing the title role in Disney’s ALADDIN on Broadway. Other Broadway & National Tour credits: In Transit, Allegiance (with George Takei and Lea Salonga), Godspell, Rent (final Broadway company), Wicked (Boq, Chicago company), Pacific Overtures, & Flower Drum Song. Off Broadway: MTC’s THE WORLD OF EXTREME HAPPINESS. Television: “Wes, the Warbler” on “Glee” (Fox), “Instinct” (CBS), “Odd Mom Out” (Bravo), “Deadbeat” (Hulu), “Law and Order: Criminal Intent’ (NBC). He has released two solo albums – I’ll Cover You (2012) and Songs for You (2016) and can be heard on many original Broadway cast recordings. BFA Carnegie Mellon University. Website: www.tellyleung.com.

Shoba Narayan in "Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812". Photo by Nick Gaswirth — Shoba Narayan in “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812”. Photo by Nick Gaswirth

Shoba Narayan will be starring as Eliza Hamilton in the HAMILTON Tour (Philip Company) in 2018. Originally from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Ms. Narayan is a New York- based actor, singer, and dancer. She was also in the original cast of the 12-Time Tony Nominated musical Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 on Broadway. Her previous TV credits include: QUANTICO, GOSSIP GIRL, HALAL IN THE FAMILY, THE GOOD WIFE and LIMITLESS. She has played supporting roles in films such as GROWING UP SMITH (starring Jason Lee), COIN HEIST (starring Sasha Pierterse), PRICE FOR FREEDOM (starring Navid Negahban) and MISTRESS AMERICA (starring Greta Gerwig). Narayan is also a Bharatanatyam (South Indian Classical) dancer and teacher. She has performed extensively throughout the US and India, and has placed first in international dance competitions. Youtube videos of her performances have gathered upwards of 500,000 hits.

Erin Quill graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a BFA in Performance. She was a member of the OBC of Avenue Q, played Madame Rita in the 50th Anniversary Production of Flower Drum Song, and toured with The King and I as Lady Thiang. As an activist and blogger, she has been quoted or sourced for information by BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, The NY Times, The LA Times, International Business Times, Playbill.com, BroadwayWorld.com, Backstage.com and many more. Her blog, www.FairyPrincessDiaries.com came to prominence with her post ‘Moises Kaufman can Kiss my Ass and here’s why’ and has been on the forefront of Asian American Representation on stage, Television and Film ever since.

Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

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Erin Quill, Charl Brown, Saycon Sengbloh, Erich Bergen, The Doo Wop Project and More Set for 6th Annual SPARKLE: An All-Star Holiday Benefit Concert on December 3

November 30, 2017November 30, 2017 ~ bpwlcadmin ~ Leave a comment

The annual star-studded holiday event SPARKLE: An All-Star Holiday Concert returns to New York City on Sunday, December 3rd for its 6th consecutive year, once again benefiting the programs and services of The Actors Fund. This one-night-only extravaganza, produced and hosted by TV personality Scott Nevins (Bravo’s “The People’s Couch”), will take place at The Cutting Room (44 E 32nd St.) at 7:30pm.

The all-star cast is lead by four Tony Award nominees: Constantine Maroulis (“American Idol,” ), Max von Essen (An American in Paris, Evita, Les Miserables), Saycon Sengbloh (ABC’s “Scandal,” Eclipsed) and Charl Brown (Motown: the musical), plus Drama League Award nominee Eden Espinosa (Brooklyn, Wicked), one of the stars of CBS’ hit show “Madam Secretary” and the Jersey Boys film, Erich Bergen, two-time Drama Desk Award nominee, celebrity vocal impressionist and YouTube sensation Christina Bianco (“The Ellen Degeneres Show,” Forbidden Broadway), from NBC’s “The Voice,” Katrina Rose (Hairspray), original cast member of the TONY Award winning musical Jersey Boys, Daniel Reichard (The Midtown Men), Recording artist Shayna Steele (Hairspray, RENT, Jesus Christ Superstar), Broadway’s Nick Adams (Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Wicked, A Chorus Line), Kevin Smith Kirkwood (Kinky Boots), Marty Thomas (Wicked, Xanadu), and Erin Quill (Avenue Q – Original Broadway Company), a special performance by The Doo Wop Project, and more! The evening will once again be produced and hosted by TV personality Scott Nevins (Bravo’s “The People’s Couch,” “truTV Presents: World’s Dumbest…”) with Benjamin Rauhala serving as Music Director and Arranger. *Cast is subject to change without notice.

General Admission Tickets for the show are $65 each; VIP Tickets (which include premium seating and a post-show VIP Meet & Greet) are $100 each.

Doors open at 6:30pm. There is a $20 min per person as a full dinner and bar menu will be available. To purchase tickets or to get more information about the evening, please visit www.purplepass.com/SparkleNYC.

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Peter Kim, Christine Mok, Erin Quill and Lloyd Suh Set for Asian-American Theater Symposium at Princeton University on February 11

February 9, 2017February 9, 2017 ~ bpwlcadmin ~ Leave a comment

Brian Eugenio Herrera will moderate an Asian-American Theater Symposium featuring Peter Kim, Christine Mok, Erin Quill and Lloyd Suh on Saturday, February 11th from 2-6 p.m. in the Marie and Edward Matthews ’53 Acting Studio at 185 Nassau Street in Princeton, NJ.

East West Theater — Princeton University’s Asian-American theater company — is presenting the symposium about Asian-American artists and representation of Asian-Americans in theater, in conjunction with the Theater Program’s production of Charles Francis Chan Jr’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery.

East West Theater’s goal is to increase the visibility of Asian-American artists in the University community and add diversity to theater throughout the Princeton campus, through this discussion on theater, activism, and performance in relation to Asian-American identity. The guest artists will discuss their work, their experiences as Asian-American theater artists, challenges they have faced, advantages they possess, and will answer questions from the audience in the last ten minutes of each panel. In addition, the third panel will be with students who were involved in Charles Francis Chan Jr’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery.

The symposium, presented by East West Theater Company with support from the Lewis Center and Program in American Studies, is free and open to the public.