September 3, 2014
Asolo Rep Completes its 2014-15 Season Lineup
with Two New Musical Productions:
Luck Be a Lady: The Iconic Music of Frank Loesser
and
Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie
“Loesser hit the jackpot more than once in a career that extended from the Great Depression to the year Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. … With Loesser you always got both – the ‘wisdom and truth’ and the tangy cool martini wit. Long may his songs be sung.” – David Lehman for The New York Times
“Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie is a theatrical patchwork quilt – scraps of biography and social history sewn together with bits of music and drama by four remarkably multi-talented performers. And like the finest of cloth quilts, this one transcends its homespun materials to become a work of art.” – The New York Times
(SARASOTA, September 3, 2014) — Asolo Repertory Theatre completes its highly anticipated 2014-15 season lineup with two new productions: Luck Be a Lady: The Iconic Music of Frank Loesser and Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie.
The world premiere of Luck Be a Lady: The Iconic Music of Frank Loesser replaces the theatre’s previously announced production of It Only Takes A Moment, which was postponed to a future season. This brand new musical revue celebrates the life and music of Frank Loesser, the legendary composer and lyricist of the Tony Award®-winning Broadway classic Guys and Dolls, the Tony and Pulitzer-Prize winning hit How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Most Happy Fella, and more. Throughout his remarkable career, Loesser penned dozens of heartwarming, unforgettable songs for both the stage and film. He received an Academy Award® for his holiday favorite, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” from the film Neptune’s Daughter. His rich canon of hits includes some of the most treasured classics of all time, from “Heart and Soul,” to “On a Slow Boat to China,” “Luck Be a Lady,” and more. Conceived and directed by Gordon Greenberg (Asolo Rep’s Yentl 2012), Luck Be a Lady: The Iconic Music of Frank Loesser opens Friday, May 1 at 8pm and runs through Sunday, May 24, with previews Tuesday, April 28 at 7:30pm, and Wednesday, April 29 and Thursday, April 30 at 8pm.
Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie is a rousing theatrical concert featuring the toe-tapping, heartfelt music of this revolutionary singer/songwriter, including “This Land is Your Land,” “The Ballad of Tom Joad,” and “Goin’ Down That Road Feelin’ Bad.” Four actor/musicians play 15 different musical instruments in this jubilant celebration of the father of American folk music and the social justice that his songs inspired. Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2007 and has since toured Munich, Berlin, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., and London’s West End. Its acclaimed 2013-14 season tour included performances at the Cleveland Play House, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, and TheaterWorks, as well as stops in China and New Zealand. Directed by Nick Corley and devised by David M. Lutken with Nick Corley and Darcie Deaville, Helen J. Russell, and Andy Teirstein, Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie opens Saturday, May 30 at 8pm and runs through Sunday, June 21.
“Luck Be a Lady and Woody Sez spotlight two very iconic American voices. From Guys and Dolls to How to Succeed, Frank Loesser was a self-taught musical sensation who greatly impacted the trajectory of Broadway musicals as well as music in general,” said Michael Donald Edwards, producing artistic director of Asolo Rep. “Woody Sez is a truly unique theatrical experience celebrating Woody Guthrie’s music – the soulful soundtrack of one of this country’s most trying economic periods that continues to stir, uplift and inspire the American people. They are deeply apt and joyful additions to our ongoing American Character Project that I know will enthuse and delight our patrons.”
2014 – 2015 Asolo Rep Season
New Stages Tour: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
By William Shakespeare
Adapted and Directed by Jen Wineman
October and November 2014
SOUTH PACIFIC
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan
Directed by Rob Ruggiero
November 14 – December 28
Previews November 11, 12, 13
THE MATCHMAKER
By Thornton Wilder
Directed by Peter Amster
January 9 – April 11
Previews January 6, 7, 8
GOOD PEOPLE
By David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Greg Leaming
January 16 – March 1
Previews January 14 & 15
BOTH YOUR HOUSES
By Maxwell Anderson
Directed by Frank Galati
January 23 – April 12
Previews January 21 & 22
OUR BETTERS
By W. Somerset Maugham
Directed by Michael Donald Edwards
March 13 – April 19
Previews March 11 & 12
SOTTO VOCE
By Nilo Cruz
Director TBA
In the Historic Asolo Theater
April 2 – 26
Previews March 31 & April 1
WORLD PREMIERE:
LUCK BE A LADY: THE ICONIC MUSIC OF FRANK LOESSER
Conceived and directed by Gordon Greenberg
May 1 – 24
Previews April 28, 29, 30
WOODY SEZ: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF WOODY GUTHRIE
Directed by Nick Corley
Devised by David M. Lutken with Nick Corley and
Darcie Deaville, Helen J. Russell, and Andy Teirstein
May 30 – June 21
TICKETS
Season subscriptions for the 2014-15 season are on sale now and available by visiting the Asolo Rep Box Office, located in the lobby of the theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, or by calling 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388. Subscribers will be able to purchase single tickets beginning Monday, September 15 by phone at the box office. Single tickets will be available to the public online only beginning on Saturday, September 27 at 12:01am. Single tickets will be available to the public at the box office and by phone beginning on Monday, September 29 at 10am.
MAJOR SUPPORTERS
Asolo Rep’s major supporters for the 2014-2015 season are Florida State University and Florida State University Foundation, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Designing Women Boutique, Publix Super Markets Charities, The Shubert Foundation, Woman’s Exchange, Inc. and Tropical Cadillac. Asolo Rep’s artistic programs are paid for in part by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax revenues. Asolo Rep is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. |
