March 13, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: [not for release] Laurie Colton; 941-484-4033, x 221; [email protected]
Five Guys Named Moe will take over Venice Theatre’s MainStage in April
“Revusical” invites audiences to sing, dance, have a wonderful time and return to the world smiling
(Venice, FL) Five Guys Named Moe, an exuberant tribute to the music of rhythm and blues pioneer and alto saxophonist Louis Jordan, will open Tuesday, April 1 on Venice Theatre’s MainStage. The musical runs through Saturday, April 19, 2014. (There is no show on Easter Sunday.) Performances are at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $20-$28 for adults, $10-$15 for students, and are available now at the theatre’s box office, online at www.venicestage.com or by phone at 941-488-1115. A special shoulder-season rate of $20 is available (not online) during the first week of the show. Discounted rates are available for groups of 20 or more.
Directed and choreographed by Brad Wages with musical direction by Michelle Kasanofsky, Five Guys Named Moe is built around an energetic quintet of zoot-suited singers named Moe who emerge in a puff of smoke from a radio to offer advice to a love-sick young man named Nomax. Four of the five guys are played by Venice Theatre veterans Edwin Watson (Smokey Joe’s Café, Crowns); Kristofer Geddie (Ragtime, Smokey Joe’s Café and numerous other VT credits); Brandon Michael Fleming (Ragtime, Superior Donuts, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and others); and Sean London Young (Ragtime, Hairspray, and Hello Dolly to name a few). Don Seward and Bradley Small are making their Venice Theatre debuts.
Wages says, “I am thrilled to be directing this production. It’s incredibly fast-paced and lively and the guys are joy to work with. It’s also such a pleasure to bring Louis Jordan’s music to a new audience.”
The show brings to life nearly 30 songs either written by or made popular by Jordan and the bands he fronted from the 1930s through the 1950s. Paving the way for rock ‘n’ roll, Jordan was known as the “The King of the Jukebox”. His biggest selling record was “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby.” Other hits included “Choo, Choo, Ch’boogie”; “What’s the Use of Getting Sober” and “Let the Good Times Roll.” Jordan chose to be more of an entertainer and front-man than some of his jazz and blues counterparts, focusing on humor and a flamboyant performance style. His repertoire also included a variety of novelty songs that work their way into Five Guys Named Moe such as “I Like ‘em Fat Like That”; the Calypso-influenced “Push Ka Pi Shi Pie”; Saturday Night Fish Fry”; “Ain’t Nobody Here but Us Chickens” and the title number.
Five Guys Named Moe was first produced in London in 1991. It was brought to Broadway a year later. It won two Laurence Olivier Awards and was nominated for two Tony Awards. Sarasota Magazine critic Kay Kipling said of a previous area production, “Five Guys Named Moe is an alternately rocking and swinging evening, and it’s bound to leave theatergoers in a satisfied state of mind.”
Tickets for Five Guys Named Moe and all Venice Theatre productions through June 2013 are available at the box office at 941-488-1115 or online at www.venicestage.com. Subscriptions are also on sale now for the upcoming 2014-2015 Season. Venice Theatre is located at 140 W. Tampa Ave. on the island in Venice. Box office hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour before all performances.
###
Five Guys Named Moe
Book by Clarke Peters
Music by Louis Jordan and others
Production Staff
Director / Choreographer – Brad Wages
Musical Director – Michelle Kasanofsky
Stage Manager – Sue Brennan
Assistant Stage Manager – Lisa Figueroa
Technical Director/Scenic Designer – John Andzulis
Lighting Designer – David Castaneda
Costume Designer –Stephanie Gift
Sound Designer – Dorian Boyd
Cast
Big Moe – Edwin Watson
Little Moe – Kristofer Geddie
No Moe – Brandon Michael Fleming
Eat Moe – Don Seward
Four-Eyed Moe – Sean London Young
Nomax – Bradley Small
Credit: Renee McVety
1. Bradley Small makes his Venice Theatre debut as Nomax, a guy in need of some romantic advice, in Five Guys Named Moe.
2. Clockwise from Center: Don Seward as Eat Moe, Sean London Young as Four-Eyed Moe, Edwin Watson as Big Moe, Brandon Michael Fleming as No Moe, and Kristofer Geddie as Little Moe
3. Bradley Small as Nomax gets advice about his love life from five guys named Moe (Standing: Sean London Young, Edward Watson and Don Seward. Kneeling: Kristofer Geddie and Brandon Michael Fleming)
140 W. Tampa Ave
Venice, FL 34285
Tickets: 941-488-1115
