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BARITONES UNBOUND:
Celebrating the UnCommon Voice of the Common Man
Opens June 7 at Asolo Rep
“[The Baritones] take their audience on an educational and highly entertaining time-traveling ride from Rossini to Rodgers and Hammerstein, ‘The Barber of Seville’ to the ‘Demon Barber of Fleet Street,’ Gilbert and Sullivan to Sinatra and Sondheim, and ‘Rigoletto’ to Rock ‘n’ Roll.” – Broadway World
“The show has no lowlights. High fives and chest bumps attest that baritones just want to have fun.” – The Boston Globe
(SARASOTA, May 15, 2014) — Spotlighting some of the greatest music ever written for this classically American register, Baritones UnBound: Celebrating the UnCommon Voice of the Common Man opens Saturday, June 7 and runs through Sunday, June 29 at Asolo Rep, with one preview on Friday, June 6. Baritones UnBound was originally produced in Boston, MA by ArtsEmerson: The World On Stage [Rob Orchard, Founder and Executive Director; David Dower, Director of Artistic Programs] in association with Holy Moses, Inc.
In this brand new musical event conceived by Broadway leading man and three-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch and created by Merwin Foard, Marc Kudisch, Jeff Mattsey, and Timothy Splain, three dynamite baritones take the stage to give us a captivating musical tour of the baritone voice throughout history. Veteran singers Jeff Mattsey and Mark Delavan join Kudisch in an illuminating performance studded with classics from Broadway, opera and beyond. From Gregorian chants to well-known arias (“Ah! Per sempre,” “Largo”) including show tunes (“I am a Pirate King,” “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’”) and popular music (“It Was a Very Good Year,” “It’s Now or Never,” “Pretty Women”), Baritones UnBound: Celebrating the UnCommon Voice of the Common Man is a celebration of the baritone voice and its emergence as the revolutionary sound of the common man in one enchanted evening ringing with music, laughter and showmanship.
“Baritones UnBound is truly for everybody. The baritone represents the regular guy, the regular girl, the regular family, and we show that through the course of this musical event,” said Marc Kudisch, creator and co-star of Baritones UnBound. “Every great song you love to listen to is in this show but you’re going to hear it in a whole different way, and it’s going to be sung by some of the best singers on the face of the planet.”
Baritones UnBound continues the second season of Asolo Rep’s five-year American Character Project, an in-depth look at this nation and its people. No other voice has defined the United States quite like the booming sound of the baritone. From Sinatra to Elvis and much more, this musical journey chronicles some of the most beloved singers and songs of all time.
“Baritones UnBound is a unique show packed with humor and extraordinary music. Featuring three of the most dynamic baritone singers in the world, it is a compelling, insightful and delightful look at a quintessentially American sound that I know will capture our patrons’ hearts,” said Michael Donald Edwards, Producing Artistic Director of Asolo Rep.
CAST
Marc Kudisch*
Jeff Mattsey*
Mark Delavan*
Timothy Splain |
Baritone
Baritone
Baritone
Pianist/Music Director |
SELECTED CREATIVE TEAM MEMBERS
Director
Production Design
Stage Manager
Assistant Lighting Supervisor
Associate Technical Director |
David Dower
Alexander V. Nichols
Larry Baker*
Dan Carr
Ben Clark |
*Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.Directors are members of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society; Designers are members of the United Scenic Artists Local USA-829; Backstage and Scene Shop Crew are members of IATSE Local 412.
SELECTED ARTIST BIOS
(In Alphabetical Order)
MARK DELAVAN GUEST ARTIST, FIRST SEASON (Baritone) regularly appears in the title roles of The Flying Dutchman, Falstaff and Rigoletto, and as Iago in Otello, Scarpia in Tosca, Jochanaan in Salome, and Amonasro in Aida. This season he was seen as Don Carlo in La forza del destino at Washington National Opera, as well as the Dutchman with Arizona Opera and the Four Villains in the Tales of Hoffmann at Palm Beach Opera. Next season, he returns to San Francisco Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Scarpia. He will also create the role of Giovanni in the world premiere of Marco Tutino’s Two Women (La Ciociara) at San Francisco Opera. Highlights of last season include performances in Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini and Wotan/Wanderer in Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle, both at the Metropolitan Opera, and Scarpia in Tosca for San Francisco Opera among others. Music Theatre credits include the title roles on Gilbert & Sullivan’s the Mikado, and Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd opposite Elaine Paige.
DAVID DOWER FIRST SEASON (Director) As Director of Artistic Programs for ArtsEmerson in Boston, David developed and directed the premiere of Baritones UnBound there. He has directed new works around the country, including at Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Seattle’s Intiman and dozens of world premiere productions in the San Francisco Bay area. Before joining ArtsEmerson in the spring of 2012, he spent six seasons as Associate Artistic Director at Arena Stage, where he directed the Artistic Development team and co-founded HowlRound, now located at Emerson College. He served as the artistic producer on Arena’s offerings from 2007 – 2011, including the Tony/Pulitzer-winning Next to Normal. Prior to joining Arena he was the founding Artistic Director of The Z Space (a theatre development center focused on new plays) and a founder of its predecessor, the producing ensemble The Z Collective, both in San Francisco.
MARC KUDISCH GUEST ARTIST, FIRST SEASON (Co-Creator and Baritone) is a three-time Tony Award nominee, four-time Drama Desk nominee and two-time Outer Critics Circle Award nominee. Broadway credits include 9 to 5 (Franklin Hart), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Baron Bomburst), The Apple Tree (Roundabout Theatre), Assassins (The Proprietor, Roundabout Theatre), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Trevor Graydon), Bells Are Ringing (Jeff Moss), LaChiusa’s The Wild Party (Jackie, The Public Theater), The Scarlet Pimpernel (Chauvelin), and High Society (George Kittredge). Off-Broadway: Hand to God (MCC), The Holiday Guys (co-creator) at The York Theatre, The Blue Flower at Second Stage, A Minister’s Wife and The Glorious Ones at Lincoln Center, The Pirates of Penzance and A Little Night Music at New York City Opera. Film/TV: 27 East, Power (Starz), Gossip Girl, Blue Bloods, Smash, and Sex and the City.
JEFF MATTSEY GUEST ARTIST, FIRST SEASON (Co-creator and Baritone) is known worldwide for the baritone roles that have defined his career. He made his operatic debut as Marcello in La bohéme opposite Luciano Pavarotti with the Opera Company of Philadelphia. He joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in 1997, made his house debut in 1998 in their production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and has since returned in Così fan Tutte, Gianni Schicchi, Roméo et Juliette, Un Ballo in Maschera, La bohéme, La Fanciulla del West, Rigoletto, Dr. Atomic, The Magic Flute, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Carmen, L’Elisir d’Amore and Francesca da Rimini, among others. He has appeared with opera companies including the San Diego Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Vancouver Opera, and Edmonton Opera. He can be seen on Kultur International Films DVD of Pavorotti’s La Bohéme in China and The Met’s releases of La Fanciulla del West and Michael Mayer’s Vegas Rigoletto.
TIMOTHY SPLAIN FIRST SEASON (Co-Creator and Music Director) is a New York-based musician. New York credits include: Lincoln Center: A Minister’s Wife; Atlantic Theater Company: 3 Kinds of Exile; Minetta Lane: Adding Machine; York Theatre: The Holiday Guys, Storyville; NYMF: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice; Atlantic for Kids: The Hundred Dresses. National Tour: Little House on the Prairie. Regional: Writers Theatre: A Minister’s Wife, She Loves Me, A Little Night Music; Milwaukee Rep: Next to Normal; American Theater Company/About Face: Rent (dir. David Cromer); Hypocrites: The Threepenny Opera; Paper Mill Playhouse: Little House on the Prairie. Credits as Orchestrator include Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Anatole, Neil Berg’s Phantoms of the Opera, and The Hundred Dresses.
SPECIAL PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
Meet the Actors Sunday, June 22nd FREE EVENT
Take part in a special moderated post-show discussion with members of the cast immediately following the 2pm show.
TICKETS
Tickets for Baritones UnBound and the entire 2013-2014 Asolo Repertory Theatre season are on sale now. Tickets for Baritones UnBound start at $20. To purchase tickets, call 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388, visit www.asolorep.org, or visit the Asolo Repertory Theatre Box Office, located in the lobby of the theatre. Asolo Repertory Theatre is located at 5555 North Tamiami Trail in the Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts. Box office hours are Monday 10am – 4pm, Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 8pm, and Sunday 10am – 2pm. The box office closes at 5pm when there are no evening performances and phone lines close one hour prior to the start of any performance. Season subscription packages are also available online and by visiting or calling the box office.
SPONSORS
Asolo Rep is able to bring Baritones UnBound to the stage thanks to the generosity of its sponsors. Sponsors for Baritones UnBound are Udell Associates and Biz 941. Asolo Rep’s season sponsors are Florida State University, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Designing Women Boutique, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Woman’s Exchange, Inc. 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.
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