The Man, The Myth, The Legend Sammy Dazzle is the new voice of And The Beat Goes On. This is not a photo of him.
In the latest James Bond thriller, Quantum of Solace, Anatole Taubman (WV ’92) plays Elvis, the sidekick to the Bond adversary, sporting a monkish fringe, and Tarantino bad looks.
Leah Hocking (WV ’88), who created the role of Mum in the Tony-winning Billy Elliot, returned to the acclaimed musical at the Imperial Theatre Sept. 15.
Tally Sessions (WV ’03) is in the cast of the Lincoln Center Theater production of South Pacific which launched a nationwide tour Sept. 18 in San Francisco. Mary Rodgers and Alice Hammerstein were among those in attendance at the first rehearsal, held Aug. 24 in New York.
Scott McGowan (WV ’01), currently in rehearsal for The Pursuit of Happiness by Richard Dresser with Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre in South Orange, NJ, can also be seen in the production of Ebenezer at Surflight Theatre this holiday season.
Elizabeth Stanley (WV ’03) starred as Kira in Xanadu, for a six month run at Chicago’s Drury Lane Water Tower Theatre, following the national tour launch at the La Jolla Playhouse on November 11, 2008.
The current national tour of Fiddler On the Roof, starring Topol, features three Weathervane alums: Jaime Davis (WV ’05) as Hodel, Colby Foytik (WV ‘01) as Perchik, and Arthur Atkinson (WV ‘89) as the Fiddler.
In January 2008, Sebastian Arcelus joined the Broadway hit Jersey Boys; a year later, he played a hard-driving businessman in Susan Stroman’s chamber musical Happiness at Lincoln Center Theater in a limited run. He has rejoined the cast of Jersey Boys.
Brian Hargrove (WV ’77) and Barbara Anselmi (MD of many of our WVAA alumni shows) are collborators on a new musical, It Shoulda Been You, which was part of the 2009 fall festical of new works presented by the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. T.O. Sterrett (WV ’76) was the Music Director.
On February 24, 2009, the Illinois Arts Alliance held its its 2009 Members’ Meeting and Reception at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago. Close to 300 arts leaders and supporters attended. Keynote speaker Ben Cameron (WV ’75), Program Director of Arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and nationally renowned speaker, former theater professional, and arts activist, explored the devastating plunge in our national economy and the vast array of challenges facing the arts community.
“Like it or not, change is the ever accelerating constant that guides our lives today, and like the famous line in Alice in Wonderland, we must run as fast as we can to stay in the game – and if we want to get anywhere, we must run twice as fast as that. Nimbleness, flexibility, responsiveness, creative opportunism: all will be valued as never before,” said Ben Cameron.
To read Ben’s comments, CTRL + click this link:
www.artsalliance.org/docs/meeting/Ben%20Cameron%20Remarks.pdf
Guil Fisher (WV ‘97) will direct The Natural Flights, Rhinebeck, and Throwing Ice Cubes at the Sun, all in 2010 for his company, Theatre Group East.
Cullen Titmas (WV ’01) is Nicky, Trekkie Monster and Bear, among others in the recently reopened Off-Broadway production of the Tony Award-winning musical, Avenue Q, in performances at New World Stages.
Corey Pajka (WV ’01) appeared in Twelfth Night at Sunset Park, an outdoor theatre in Brooklyn.
Dan Lendzian (WV ‘04) performed in Frog and Peach Theatre Company’s production of Much Ado About Nothing at the West End Theatre.
Michael Weems (WV ’01) and his wife Christine, have a son, Thomas, and are expecting a second child in January 2010. His play, Necessary Adjustments, was recently produced by Phare Play productions at the Beckmann Theatre.
Barrett Hall (WV’05) played Jerry in The Full Monty at the Ivoryton Playhouse in CT, last July.
SUPER FLY James Solomon Benn and Kevin Smith Kirkwood in Dial N for Negress. Photo: C. Rosegg
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