ORPHAN TRAIN: A New American Musical

Creative Team

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** PATRICIA BIRCH (Director) In a career that crosses all media, Patricia Birch has earned two Emmy Awards, five Tony nominations, as well as Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Barrymore, Billboard and MTV awards as well as a Directors Guild nomination and the prestigious Fred Astaire Award for her choreography and direction of music-driven projects ranging from Sondheim to the Rolling Stones.

She has created the musical staging for more than a dozen original Broadway and off Broadway shows including YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, THE ME NOBODY KNOWS, GREASE, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, CANDIDE, OVER HERE, DIAMOND STUDS THE HAPPY END, PACIFIC OVERTURES, THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG, GILDA RADNER, LIVE FROM NEW YORK, ZOOT SUIT, ROSA, LIKE JAZZ, THE GREAT OSTROVSKY and PARADE.

Direction as well as choreography credits include CELEBRATING GERSHWIN, the all-star production at BAM and televised concert production of ON THE TOWN (both with Michael Tilson Thomas), the Melissa Manchester musical I SENT A LETTER TO MY LOVE, original production of Maurice Sendak and Carole King's REALLY ROSIE, Joe Raposo's RAGGEDY ANN, ELVIS: A MULTI-MEDIA CELEBRATION, THE SNOW QUEEN (a new musical by Adrian Mitchell and Richard Peaslee), BAND IN BERLIN (a multi-media theatre docu-musical about the Comedian Harmonists). Ms. Birch also directed the Cy Coleman musical, EXACTLY LIKE YOU and PORTRAITS IN JAZZ by Coleman and Marilyn and Alan Bergman, at the Kennedy Center in 2002, THE THOMASHEFSKY PROJECT with Michael Tilson Thomas as well as a double bill of OF THEE I SING and LET 'EM EAT CAKE staged for the San Francisco Symphony.

Opera and music projects include SALOME, THE MIKADO, CANDIDE, STREET SCENE for New York City Opera, and for The Opera Company of Boston direction of THE MASS (by Leonard Bernstein, with Sara Caldwell) and THE BALCONY, also presented at the Bolshoi Theatre, and, this past season, A WEDDING by Bolcom, Weinstein and Robert Altman at Chicago Lyric Opera.

Ms. Birch's film credits include choreography for all musical sequences for GREASE, choreography and direction for GREASE 2, staging musical sequences for BIG, WORKING GIRL, THE STEPFORD WIVES, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY, STELLA, AWAKENINGS, BILLY BATHGATE, ROSELAND, THE WILD PARTY, FIRST WIVES CLUB and THE HUMAN STAIN with sequences for Anthony Hopkins, Gary Sinese and Nicole Kidman.

For television she has directed NATALIE COLE, UNFORGETTABLE WITH LOVE, CELEBRATING GERSHWIN (Emmy Awards in direction for both), DANCE IN AMERICA, 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF GREAT PERFORMANCES and NATALIE COLE'S UNTRADITIONAL TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS featuring Elmo (Directors Guild nomination). She spent three years on staff for CTW's The Electric Company and spent six years with SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE staging numbers for Gilda Radner, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, John and Jim Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, and many guest stars. Ms. Birch has directed music videos for Cyndi Lauper, Rolling Stones, Oak Ridge Boys, Carly Simon and the NBC Olympics.

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** JONATHAN STUART CERULLO (Producer) is a dancer, choreographer, director, event producer and designer. He has choreographed BUGSY MALONE (Black Spectrum Theatre), CAMELOT (Berkshire Theatre Festival), 2003-04 Big Apple Circus show CARNIVALE, 2004-2005 Big Apple show PICTURESQUE and has served as assistant director for Candide (Arena Stage) and private dance instructor to Frank Gorshin as George Burns in SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE and Uta Hagen in preparation for her role in SIX DANCE LESSSONS IN SIX WEEKS (Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles). Jonathan made his national television debut choreographing Offenbach's ORPHEUS DESCENDING for "Evening at Pops" (Boston Pops Symphony Orchestra). Other Broadway credits include assistant director and choreographer for BAND IN BERLIN, associate choreographer for ANNA KARENINA and assistant to director Joe Layton on THE THREE MUSKETEERS.

His association with director/choreographer Patricia Birch include the feature films THE FIRST WIVES CLUB, THE COWBOY WAY and THIS IS THE MOMENT and Natalie Cole's UN-TRADITIONAL TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS SPECIAL co-starring Elmo. He conceived, co-authored and directed the play THE STRINDBERG DIARIES that premiered at CAP 21 and conceived and directed UTA HAGEN'S 50-YEAR TRIBUTE at Town Hall hosted by Celeste Holm and SO YOU WANNA BE ON BROADWAY? A REVUSICAL (Lambs Theatre). As an event producer and designer Jonathan's production company, JSC Productions, has been responsible for several lavish New York events, most notably the IFC Annual Fund raiser with celebrity artists Philip Glass, James Taylor and guest speaker President Clinton. This holiday season he will be designing HOLIDAY AT HEARTLAND for the Heartland Brewery at the Empire State Building.

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** DEANNA DYS (Staging Associate) is honored to be continuing her association with Pat Birch after working with her on the Broadway revival and New York City Opera productions of CANDIDE, Cy Coleman's THE GREAT OSTROVKSY and the films THE FIRST WIVES CLUB, STEPFORD WIVES and LITTLE MANHATTAN. Choreographic credits include CRAZY FOR YOU (Germany, Switzerland), regional productions of THE FULL MONTY, CHICAGO, SWEET CHARITY, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, STATE FAIR (Column Award nomination), a series of Emmy-winning promos for major league baseball and daytime drama ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Other choreography credits include: Walt Disney world, Ford Motor Company, general Motors, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. As a performer she has been featured on Broadway in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, CRAZY FOR YOU, CANDIDE, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, 42ND STREET and LEGS DIAMOND.

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** L.E. McCULLOUGH (Book) is a prize-winning journalist and author who has written 48 books of fiction, non-fiction and plays, including 177 published stage and script works for drama publisher Smith & Kraus, iUniverse and EduPress. He has won 47 awards in 32 national literary competitions, published 183 poems and short stories in 93 North American literary journals and received the 1995 Emerging Playwright Award for the New York premiere of his play BLUES FOR MISS BUTTERCUP, based on the life of blues piano legend Leroy Carr.

Last year Dr. McCullough's PLAYS OF AMERICA FOR YOUNG ACTORS was named to the Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Recommended Reading List alongside classics like TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, LORD OF THE FLIES and MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. His recent commissions include plays on World War II journalist Ernie Pyle, 1920s jazz artist Charlie Davis, corporate patriarch Eli Lilly, Catholic activist Dorothy Day, singer-heiress Libby Holman and, for the new National Constitution Center, a play on the U.S. Constitution.

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** MICHAEL BARRY GREER (Lyrics) has been represented off-Broadway as lyricist or composer-lyricist by the revues BREAK A LEG and THE WAY IT IS. His cabaret piece COLUMBUS AVENUE was performed at Don't Tell Mama, and his musical SPLIT was presented at the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. Other musicals include MISTER! (w/ Obie-winner Leslie Lee), LEGS, MY MAN GODFREY, SOMEONE SEEKING and ICE CREAM IN AUGUST. He is also a novelist and screenwriter. As an actor, he has appeared on and off-Broadway, at most major regional theatres, in film and on television. He is a member of The Dramatists Guild.

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** DOUG KATSAROS (Music) has a lengthy theatre résumé that includes writing the opening theme and special material for the Tony Awards. For Broadway he received a Drama Desk Nomination for orchestrating the current hit ALTAR BOYZ, conducted FOOTLOOSE, vocal and dance arranged THE LIFE, orchestrated THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, co-starred in and musical directed CY COLEMAN'S EXACTLY LIKE YOU, starred as Berger in HAIR, served as composer/lyricist for Jackie Mason's LAUGHING ROOM ONLY. For Off-Broadway he composed and directed ABIE'S ISLAND ROSE, composed JUST SO, co-composed and orchestrated A...MY NAME IS ALICE and co-composed Hal Prince's DIAMONDS.

He has written the original symphonic and rock scores for the Macy's NBC JULY 4TH FIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA since 2003, wrote a season of music for the Ringling Brothers Circus and was composer/lyricist/co-star in the BROADWAY PROJECT for PBS. He co-hosted and musical directed VH-1's STAND-UP SPOTLIGHT and was the subject of a documentary on TV Nation. His band Balance had 2 Billboard hits, and he has played keyboards, sung and orchestrated on CDs for Judy Collins, Donny Osmond, Cher*, Diane Schuur, Kiss*, Live*, Peter Frampton, Bon Jovi*, Gloria Estefan*, Sinéad O'Connor, Richie Havens, Peter, Paul & Mary, Raul DiBlasio, Frank Sinatra*, B. B. King and Todd Rundgren among others and arranged several tunes for Rod Stewart's American Songbook.* (* Platinum)

Mr. Katsaros has scored and conducted 6 films, including Sandra Bullock's ME AND THE MOB, Sarah Jessica Parker's IF LUCY FELL and the sci-fi classic STAR CRYSTAL, and has written thousands of TV themes and commercials including Elton John's "Diet Coke" spots, the new ABC SATURDAY NIGHT MOVIE theme, MANCUSO FBI, THE TICK, THE JIM HENSON HOUR and the immortal "By Mennen". He musical directed Elayne Boosler's Showtime special, played in Barry Manilow's big band, arranged the first parade for Universal Studios Florida and has toured the world with various international musical artists.

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The 2005 New York Music Theatre Festival
Presents the World Premiere of
ORPHAN TRAIN

Sept. 22 at 8:00 p.m.
Sept. 24 at 1:00 p.m.
Sept. 28 at 2:00 p.m.
Sept. 30 at 9:00 p.m
Oct. 1 at 1:00 p.m.
Oct. 1 at 5:00 p.m.

Theatre at St. Clements
423 West 46th Street
New York, NY, 10036

Call (212) 352-3101 for tickets
or order from: www.nymf.org
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~ THE CAST ~

Grace Clary
Brian D'Addario
Booth Daniels
Scott Galina
Michael Barry Greer*
Robert Hager
Stephanie Hepburn*
Justin R.G. Holcomb*
David McDonald*
Danielle Piacentile
Zoë Raquel
Jerold E. Solomon*
Tamara Spiewak*
Katie E. Tomlinson*
Jill Melanie Wirth*

Stage Manager:
Jack Dyville*

Asst. Stage Manager:
John Simmons

~ THE BAND ~

Jack Bashkow
(flute/clarinet)
Gary Haase
(acoustic bass)
John Guth
(acoustic guitar)
David Shenton
(violin)
Doug Katsaros
(conducting/piano/harmonica)

© 2005 L.E. McCullough, Michael Barry Greer, Doug Katsaros