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THEATREWORKS PRESENTS
WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL
“BEING EARNEST”
Book and Lyrics by Paul Gordon
Music by Paul Gordon and Jay Gruska
From the play by Oscar Wilde
Directed by Robert Kelley
PALO ALTO, CA (4 March, 2013) – TheatreWorks, the nationally acclaimed theatre of Silicon
Valley, presents BEING EARNEST, the “Wilde” new musical from Tony Award-nominated
composer/lyricist Paul Gordon (TheatreWorks’ hits Emma, Daddy Long Legs, and Broadway’s
Jane Eyre) and Grammy and Emmy-nominated composer Jay Gruska. A hit at TheatreWorks’
2012 New Works Festival, this lively and lyrical adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest
resets Oscar Wilde’s comic masterpiece in 1965 London’s swingin’ Carnaby Street. BEING
EARNEST, helmed by TheatreWorks Artistic Director Robert Kelley, plays at TheatreWorks
at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts April 3 - 28, 2013 (press opening
April 6). For tickets ($23-$73) and information the public may call (650) 463-1960 or visit
www.theatreworks.org.
In the midst of a London buzzing with mod fashion, new music, and evolving ideas of morality,
handsome, witty young friends Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff each find themselves
adopting the pseudonym “Ernest” for various complicated reasons. When the two women they
court both confess to loving the name as much as the man, and all four unexpectedly meet at
Worthing’s country home under the disapproving eye of Lady Bracknell, one of theatre’s most
sharp-tongued dowagers, a wild comedy of romance and mistaken identities ensues. Infused
with Paul Gordon and Jay Gruska’s infectious score, new musical BEING EARNEST maintains
all the elements of Oscar Wilde’s much-loved comedy – including the infamous handbag – while
adding a modern twist and the signature charm TheatreWorks audiences have grown to expect
from Gordon’s work.
TheatreWorks has assembled a phenomenal cast for this World Premiere, many of whom will
reprise their roles from the staged reading of BEING EARNEST in last summer’s New Works
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MEDIA CONTACT: KELSEY JOHNSON - CARLA BEFERA & CO
3600 West Bayshore Road, Suite 203/ Palo Alto, ca 94303
Phone 650.327.1200 Fax 650.327.6700 Email: [email protected]
THEATREWORKS PRESENTS WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL “BEING EARNEST”
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Festival. Hayden Tee, returning as the mischievous “Jack Worthing,” has appeared in
productions with Alliance Theatre (Into the Woods), Pittsburgh CLO (Camelot), Opera Australia
(My Fair Lady), and New Zealand’s Court Theatre (Kiss Me, Kate), and starred as Marius in the
20th anniversary West End production of Les Miserables. Riley Krull, seen around the Bay Area
in productions at Magic Theatre (Another Way Home), 42nd Street Moon (Sugar), and Diablo
Theatre Company (Legally Blonde), returns as the innocent “Cecily Cardew.” Once again, the
role of the stern “Lady Bracknell” will be played by Maureen McVerry, whose credits include
Learned Ladies of Park Ave and Into the Woods at TheatreWorks and roles at American
Conservatory Theater, Aurora Theatre Company, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Marin Theatre
Company, and Magic Theatre. Diana Torres Koss, who has been seen at TheatreWorks in
Sweeney Todd (Mrs. Lovett), Jane Eyre, Merrily We Roll Along, and many others, will reprise
her role as Cecily’s tutor “Miss Prism.” Brian Herndon, who created the role of “Mr. Elton” in
TheatreWorks’ World Premiere of Paul Gordon’s Emma and continued on with the production to
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and has appeared in
roles with Marin Theatre Company, Aurora Theatre Company, and The San Francisco
Shakespeare Festival, returns as “Dr. Chausable” and “Lane.”
TheatreWorks also welcomes Mindy Lym as the lovely “Gwendolen Fairfax.” Lym created the
role of “Jane Fairfax” in TheatreWorks’ World Premiere of Paul Gordon’s Emma and has starred
as “Eliza Doolittle” in My Fair Lady (Foothill Music Theatre), “Natalie/Ed” in All Shook Up
(Center REPertory Company), “Eva Peron” in Evita (Contra Costa Musical Theatre, Shellie
Award for Best Actress), and “Christine Colgate” in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Broadway by the
Bay). Euan Morton, who originated the role of “Boy George” in the musical Taboo (Olivier
and Tony Award nominations, Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut), and has
gone on to star on Broadway (Sondheim on Sondheim, Cyrano de Bergerac, Taboo), OffBroadway (Leaves of Glass, Howard Katz), in several West End productions, and at regional
theatres including Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, Hartford Stage, and Berkeley Repertory
Theatre, will make his TheatreWorks debut in BEING EARNEST as “Algernon Moncrieff.”
The TheatreWorks production of BEING EARNEST includes musical direction by William
Liberatore, scenic design by Joe Ragey, costume design by Fumiko Bielefeldt, lighting design
by Steven B. Mannshardt, and sound design by Jeffrey Mockus.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
MEDIA CONTACT: KELSEY JOHNSON - CARLA BEFERA & CO.
3600 West Bayshore Road, Suite 203/ Palo Alto, ca 94303
Phone 650.327.1200 Fax 650.327.6700 Email: [email protected]
THEATREWORKS PRESENTS WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL “BEING EARNEST”
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Composer/lyricist/book writer Paul Gordon was nominated for a 2001 Tony Award for his
score to the Broadway musical Jane Eyre. He won the 2007 Bay Area Critics Circle Award for
his book to the musical Emma, which was developed and received its world premiere at
TheatreWorks and has gone on to productions at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Arizona Theatre Company, and The Old Globe Theatre in San
Diego where it won the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award (Best Musical).
Daddy Long Legs (Ovation Award for Best Music and Lyrics of a New Musical), written with
John Caird, had its world premiere at Rubicon Theatre Company and TheatreWorks. The
production has since gone on to play more than 15 theaters across the country and last year made
its debuts in London and Tokyo, with productions planned for Canada and South Korea in 2013.
His other works include Analog and Vinyl, Death: The Musical, The Sportswriter, and Little
Miss Scrooge.
Composer Jay Gruska is a hit songwriter and a three-time Emmy and Genie (Canadian
Oscar) award-nominated Film/TV composer. BEING EARNEST is his third theatrical musical
collaboration. Mr. Gruska has written songs for a variety of artists including Bette Midler,
Chicago, Michael Jackson, Amy Grant, Robert Palmer, and many others. He has won eight
ASCAP awards, most for performed songs or score of the year, and has had songs on Billboard
charts including #1's and Top 10's on POP, Adult Contemporary, Country, and Dance. As a
composer, he has written the themes and underscores for numerous TV series including the
current seventh season of the CW’s Supernatural.
TheatreWorks Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley directs BEING EARNEST. Kelley
was honored as the Legacy Laureate of the 2012 Artist Laureate Awards by the Arts Council of
Silicon Valley for his lifetime of artistic achievement. Kelley has also received the Bay Area
Theater Critics Circle (BATCC) Paine Knickerbocker Award for lifetime achievement as well as
BATCC Awards for directing TheatreWorks’ productions of Caroline, or Change; Ragtime;
Rags; Another Midsummer Night; the West Coast Premiere of Jane Eyre; and the Sondheim
classics Sunday in the Park with George; Pacific Overtures; Into the Woods; and Sweeney Todd.
Additionally, he is the recipient of Bay Area Drama-Logue Awards for his direction of Pacific
Overtures, Ah, Wilderness!, and Once in a Lifetime; and Back Stage West Garland Awards for
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
MEDIA CONTACT: KELSEY JOHNSON - CARLA BEFERA & CO.
3600 West Bayshore Road, Suite 203/ Palo Alto, ca 94303
Phone 650.327.1200 Fax 650.327.6700 Email: [email protected]
THEATREWORKS PRESENTS WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL “BEING EARNEST”
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his direction of Side Show and Sunday in the Park with George. Since founding TheatreWorks in
1970, Kelley has directed over 150 productions for the company.
With some 100,000 patrons per year, TheatreWorks has captured a national reputation for artistic
innovation and integrity, often presenting Bay Area theatregoers with their first look at
acclaimed musicals, comedies, and dramas, directed by award-winning local and guest directors,
and performed by professional actors cast locally and from across the country. A home for
artists developing new works, it was at TheatreWorks that Memphis, the 2010 Tony Awardwinning musical that played on Broadway for three years before embarking on its current
national tour, was first workshopped and received its world premiere.
FOR CALENDAR EDITORS:
WHAT:
TheatreWorks, the nationally acclaimed theatre of Silicon Valley, presents
World Premiere BEING EARNEST, a new musical take on Oscar Wilde’s comic
masterpiece from Tony Award-nominated composer/lyricist Paul Gordon
(TheatreWorks’ hits Emma, Daddy Long Legs, and Broadway’s Jane Eyre) and
Grammy and Emmy-nominated songwriter Jay Gruska. Set in 1965 London,
this lively and lyrical adaptation moves The Importance of Being Earnest to a
bachelor flat near Carnaby Street, where the exuberance of mod fashion, music,
and morality inspires a quartet of lovers and incurs the wrath of Lady Bracknell,
one of theatre’s most sharp-tongued dowagers.
WHEN:
Previews: Wednesday, April 3 to Friday, April 5, 2013
Press Opening: Saturday, April 6, 2013
Closes: Sunday, April 28, 2013
SHOWS:
Previews: 8:00 PM
Tuesdays and Wednesdays: 7:30 PM
Thursdays and Fridays: 8:00 PM
Saturdays: 2:00 PM, 8:00 PM
Sundays: 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM
WHERE:
Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts
500 Castro St., Mountain View, CA 94041
TICKETS:
$23 (student)-$73; savings available for students, educators, and seniors.
A $5 convenience fee will be assessed for online and telephone orders.
INFO:
For information or to order tickets call (650) 463-1960 or visit theatreworks.org
-30High res photos will be available at: http://www.cb-pr.com/press/beingearnest.html
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
MEDIA CONTACT: KELSEY JOHNSON - CARLA BEFERA & CO.
3600 West Bayshore Road, Suite 203/ Palo Alto, ca 94303
Phone 650.327.1200 Fax 650.327.6700 Email: [email protected]