White Christmas
November 28 - December 30, 2009
Overview | Cast | Artists | Multimedia | Events & Offers | Ticket Info | Group Discounts
Artists
IRVING BERLIN (Music & Lyrics) Born Israel Beilin in a Russian Jewish shtetl in 1888, he died as Irving Berlin in his adopted homeland of New York, New York, U.S.A., in 1989. Songwriter, performer, theatre owner, music publisher and soldier, he defined Jerome Kern's famous maxim: "Irving Berlin has no place in American music. He is American music." Berlin wrote over 1200 songs, including "White Christmas," "Easter Parade," "Always," "Blue Skies," "Cheek to Cheek," "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Alexander's Ragtime Band" and "God Bless America." He wrote the scores to more than a dozen Broadway musicals, including Annie Get Your Gun, and provided songs for dozens of Hollywood movie musicals. An unabashed patriot, his love for—and generosity to—his country is legendary, and through several of his ongoing foundations, including The God Bless America Fund, he has donated millions of dollars in royalties to Army emergency relief, the Boy and Girl Scouts and other organizations. Among his many awards and accolades were the Academy Award for "White Christmas," a Congressional Gold Medal, a special Tony Award and commemoration on a U.S. postage stamp.
DAVID IVES (Book) was born in Chicago and is a graduate of Yale School of Drama. A former Guggenheim Fellow in playwriting, he is probably best known for his evening of one-act comedies called All in The Timing. His short plays are collected in two anthologies, All In The Timing (Vintage) and Time Flies (Grove). He is also the author of two young-adult novels: Monsieur Eek, the almost-true story of how a chimpanzee got mistaken for a Frenchman; and Scrib, the tale of a boy who runs away to the Wild West, where he writes love letters for cowboys and desperadoes.
PAUL BLAKE (Book) is the Executive Producer of the St. Louis Muny, which at 11,350 seats is America's largest theatre. At The Muny, where Irving Berlin's White Christmas began, Mr. Blake has produced over 100 productions, which starred such legends as Phyllis Diller, Captain Kangaroo, the Radio City Rockettes, and even baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith. His Roman Holiday, with a score by Cole Porter, set box office records during its three-year tour of Italy. Upcoming in 2009 are Mr. Blake's 20th season at the Muny and productions of Roman Holiday in England and Germany.
JAMES A. ROCCO (Director/Choreographer). At The 5th Avenue Theatre: White Christmas, Wonderful Town, The Sound of Music, Singin' in the Rain, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Jesus Christ Superstar. Broadway: The Wizard of Oz, Cats (playing Rum Tum Tugger). Off-Broadway: Streakin'! (co-writer with Albert Evans), Sweeney Todd. Regional: Love, Janis (Ivey Award), Singin' in The Rain, Galaxy Express (world premiere Tokyo), The Melody Lingers On, She Loves Me, The Bad Seed, Crazy For You (Ovation Award Nominee), Chess, Glorious Feeling (world premiere), As Bees In Honey Drown, A Little Night Music, Grey Gardens, Smokey Joe's Café (multiple awards) Guys & Dolls (multiple awards), On The Town, Violet, and 50 more. Film & Television: The World We Create (regional Emmy nominee). Commissioned: A Country Christmas Carol. Currently, he is Vice President of Programming and Producing Artistic Director at the Ordway, where he is responsible for producing, presenting and booking theatrical programming on the Main Hall stage (1,900 seats) and The McKnight Theatre (300 seats).
DAVID ARMSTRONG (Producing Artistic Director) has directed acclaimed productions of Hello, Dolly!, Mame, White Christmas, Sweeney Todd, Hair, A Little Night Music, The Secret Garden, Company, The Rocky Horror Show, Pippin, Yankee Doodle Dandy and Anything Goes at The 5th. His direction and choreography has been seen in New York, Los Angeles and at many leading regional theaters across the country including The Kennedy Center, Berkshire Theatre Festival, The Ordway Center, Cincinnati Playhouse, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, The Repertory of St. Louis, California Musical Theatre, Ford's Theater and The Paper Mill Playhouse. Since coming to The 5th Avenue in 2000, Mr. Armstrong has helped to establish this Theatre, a nationally recognized producer and developer of new musicals including the world premiere productions of Catch Me If You Can, Hairspray, The Wedding Singer, Princesses, Shrek and Memphis. As a playwright, Mr. Armstrong created the book for The 5th's world premiere musical Yankee Doodle Dandy, and was commissioned by Theatreworks/USA to create the books for two musicals - Gold Rush!, which premiered at New York's Kaye Playhouse and has been touring for more than 11 years, and a new version of A Christmas Carol that has toured for 10 seasons and played off-Broadway at New York's Lucille Lortel Theatre. The Cole Porter revue, Hot N' Cole, which Mr. Armstrong devised and directed, has been produced by scores of theaters throughout America.
JAMES MAY (Music Director). Broadway, as conductor and/or associate music director: Teddy and Alice, Les Miserables, Sunset Boulevard. National tours: A Chorus Line, La Cage Aux Folles, Kiss Me Kate, Man of La Mancha, Beauty and the Beast; Los Angeles companies: Les Miserables, The Lion King, White Christmas, Wicked; in Spain and Mexico: La Bella y la Bestia and Mamma Mia; Les Miserables at The Hollywood Bowl. Many regional theaters, including St. Louis Muny Opera, The Goodman Theater in Chicago, and Sacramento Music Circus. Also a composer and arranger, his Christmas CD with Renee Bondi, My Christmas Wish, was released last fall. Jim is very happy to be back at The 5th Ave!!!
LARRY BLANK (ORCHESTRATOR).Tony-nominated orchestrations for The Drowsy Chaperone and Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Fame Becomes Me for Marc Shaiman, the revival of La Cage Aux Folles. Larry assisted on the orchestrations for the stage and film productions of The Producers, the film version of Chicago. Larry co-orchestrated An American in Paris in Houston and several films for composer Marc Shaiman. Most recently Larry was co-orchestrator for Catch Me If You Can.
ANNA LOUIZOS (Set Design). Broadway: Avenue Q (2004 Tony Award, Best Musical), Steel Magnolias, Golda's Balcony (U.S. tour). Las Vegas: Avenue Q. Off-Broadway: Birdie Blue with S. Epatha Merkerson (Second Stage), Altar Boyz (U.S. tour), The Foreigner with Matthew Broderick (Roundabout), Jonathan Larson's tick, tick…BOOM! (world premiere, U.S. tour). Regional: Disney Live Winnie the Pooh (U.S. and world tours), The Baker's Wife (Paper Mill), Much Ado About Nothing, Beyond Therapy (Old Globe). Also: Goodspeed, Bershire T.F., Alley, Merrimack Rep, Charlotte Rep, George St., Williamstown T.F., Art Direction, film/TV: Sex and the City, Secret Lives of Dentists.
CARRIE ROBBINS (Costume Design). B'way: over 30 including Class Act, Grease (Tony Nom.), Over Here (Tony Nom.), Agnes of God, Yentl, Octette Bridgeclub, Sweet Bird of Youth (Bacall), Frankenstein, Happy End (Streep). Awards: Five Drama Desks, Maharam, two USITT/Prague, L.A. Dramalogue, F.I.T.'s Surface Design. Regional: Arena Stage (M. Butterfly, On the Verge, both dir. by Tazewell Thompson), Mark Taper, Guthrie, Williamstown, Seattle. NYC: Many for Lincoln Center Rep, Chelsea Theatre Center, The Acting Co., NY Shakespeare Festival. Opera: Glimmerglass Death in Venice, Samson et Dalila SF Opera (Domingo), Houston Grand (Graves), Opera Co. of Boston, Hamburg Statsoper. Profiled: Costume Design, Techniques of Modern Masters. Illustrated: children's book on Mozart, Master Teacher Costume Design. NY Univ. Tisch School of the Arts. Film: In the Spirit. TV: SNL, PBS series, several unseen pilots.
TOM STURGE (Lighting Design). 5th Avenue: Hello, Dolly!, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Cabaret, Wonderful Town, Hair, Rocky Horror Show, Smokey Joe's Café, White Christmas, Company, Sweeney Todd, Miss Saigon, Most Happy Fella, My Fair Lady, Singin' in the Rain, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Seattle area: ACT, Village Theatre, Children's Theatre. Broadway: Those Were the Days, Gypsy Passion. Off-Broadway: Public, Blue Light, Circle Rep, Circle in the Square, Irish Arts, Lucille Lortel, La Mama ETC. Dance: Alvin Ailey, Ballet Hispanico. Regional: Huntington, Papermill Playhouse, Alliance, Ordway, Pittsburgh Public, Goodspeed, Cincinnati Playhouse, AMTSJ, Studio Arena,Walnut Street. Opera: Spoleto Festival, Boston Lyric. Tours: Go Diego Go, Dora the Explorer. Love to Istara & Dylan. www.LTSLighting.com.
KEN TRAVIS (Sound Design). Broadway Designs: Memphis, The Three Penny Opera, Barefoot in the Park, Steel Magnolias. Numerous regional theaters and companies including: 5th Avenue Theater (Sunday in the Park with George, Hello, Dolly!, Mame, Into the Woods, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers), La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Rep, The Guthrie Theater, Dallas Theater Center, McCarter Theater, Playwrights Horizons, The New Group, NYSF Public Theater, CSC, SoHo Rep, The Civilians, Mabou Mines, and festivals across Europe and the US. When not designing theater, Ken is a FOH and monitor engineer for rock bands and groups across the globe.
Mary Pyanowski (Hair & Make-up Design) has worked on the pre-Broadway shows Catch Me If You Can, Shrek, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Lonestar Love, Princesses, Memphis, Hairspray and Wedding Singer. Her design contributions to The 5th span 21 seasons of productions, including the Ivey Award-winning Cabaret, as well as national and international opera, theater, ballet and musicals, and the tours of Madness of George III as U.S. wig Supervisor and Phantom of the Opera. Film and TV credits include Northern Exposure, Orleans, Mr. Holland's Opus, Rose Red, and Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, to name but a few.
AARON TUTTLE (Associate Director) was the Associate Director of Sweeney Todd at The 5th, the Assistant Director of Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby (National Tour) and assisted Hal Prince on Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular (The Venetian Resort). His productions of The Hairy Ape and Noises Off! were awarded Best Production of Year (Las Vegas Review Journal). Aaron is a graduate of the U.C. Davis and holds an M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Jeffrey K. Hanson (Production Stage Manager). Previously at The 5th, Jeffrey K. was the Production Stage Manager for Mame and Hello, Dolly!. Later this season he will add Candide to this list. Jeffrey K. is also the Production Stage Manager at ACT Theatre, where his resume includes over 50 productions there since 1990. Other regional credits include productions at Seattle Children's Theater, Seattle Repertory Theater, Intiman and the Arizona Theatre Company.
Stina Lotti (Assistant Stage Manager). Recent stage management credits: The Seafarer, You Can't Take It With You, The Night Watcher, Birdie Blue, Twelfe Night, Gem of the Ocean, Tuesdays With Morrie (Seattle Repertory Theatre), Cabaret (5th Avenue Theatre), Othello (Intiman Theatre), I Was A Rat (Seattle Childrens Theatre), Aida, L'Italiana in Algiers (Seattle Opera). Additional stage management: My Way, Hot and Cole, A Grand Night for Singing (Ordway Center For Performing Arts, St. Paul), The Last Minstrel Show (History Theatre, St. Paul). Former Associate Producer at The Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis, produced more than 20 sketch comedy and improv shows.
MICHAEL B. PAUL (Assistant Stage Manager). Nationally: Stage Manager for The Guthrie, Shakespeare Theatre in D.C., Oregon Shakespeare Theatre, Alaska Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse and the Manhattan Theatre Club. Locally: Seattle Rep, Intiman, ACT and The Seattle Children's Theatre. For The 5th Avenue: Smokey Joe's Café, Sound of Music, Miss Saigon, Wonderful Town, Pippin, Into The Woods, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and, happily for the second time, White Christmas.