Signature Theatre announces cast and dates for ‘Simply Sondheim’ review

Signature Theatre announces the full cast and streaming dates for Simply Sondheim, the first production in the Signature Features 2021 Season. Starring 12 singers and an orchestra of 16, Simply Sondheim includes more that 30 songs from the composer’s canon, and was filmed over the course of three days in Signature’s MAX Theatre with multiple safety protocols in place.

Simply Sondheim will be available to stream from February 2 through March 26 in HD on Marquee TV, an on-demand streaming platform dedicated to global arts and culture. Signature Features subscribers will receive early access to streaming on January 30. Single stream tickets will be available to purchase for $35 beginning February 2 and subscriptions are available now for $200. Tickets and subscriptions can be purchased at SigTheatre.org. The show will be available to stream for 72 hours after patron’s initial viewing has begun.

“It was an incredible feeling to return to the MAX Theatre,” says Managing Director Maggie Boland. “Simply Sondheim’s talented cast, crew and orchestra embody the best of Signature and we are overjoyed that audiences can enjoy this theatrical experience from the comfort of their homes until we are able to safely gather together again.”

“After an 8 month hiatus, returning to Signature to film a production of Simply Sondheim was a joyous experience from beginning to end,” says Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner. “The room was filled with artists who have meant a great deal to Signature over the years, and to hear them singing the songs of the man who has always been Signature’s signature — well there could be no more perfect homecoming. I’m excited for audiences who know us, as well as audiences who are new to us, to experience Signature and Sondheim together again on film.”

Created specifically for Signature Theatre with special permission from Sondheim himself, this jam-packed revue features over 30 songs from the composer’s canon. The quintessential “Finishing the Hat,” “Another Hundred People,” “Losing My Mind,” and “The Worst Pies in London” meet lesser known gems including “Country House,” “Saturday Night,” and “Goodbye for Now” and are fused with new orchestrations by longtime Sondheim collaborator Jonathan Tunick. With a lush 16-piece orchestra leading the way for 12 phenomenal singers, this exclusive event satisfies every Sondheim craving.

Simply Sondheim is headlined by Norm Lewis (Broadway’s Once on This Island, Signature’s First You Dream: The Music of Kander & Ebb), Solea Pfeiffer (Signature’s Gun & Powder, New York City Center’s Evita), Conrad Ricamora (TV’s How to Get Away with Murder, Broadway’s The King and I), and Emily Skinner (Broadway’s The Cher Show, Signature’s Dirty Blonde). They are joined by Nicholas McDonough (Signature’s Grand Hotel, Cape Playhouse’s South Pacific), Donna Migliaccio (Signature’s Silver Belles, Broadway’s War Paint), Christopher Mueller (Signature’s Assassins, Blackbeard), Katie Mariko Murray (Signature’s Grand Hotel, Signature Vinyl), Tracy Lynn Olivera (Signature’s A Little Night Music, Broadway’s Ragtime), Paul Scanlan (Signature’s La Cage aux Folles, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical National Tour), Awa Sal Secka (Signature’s Gun & Powder, Ford’s Theatre’s Into the Woods) and Bobby Smith (Signature’s Light Years, A Little Night Music).

Directed and choreographed by Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner (Signature’s Passion, Sunday in the Park with George), the creative team includes Music Direction by Jon Kalbfleisch (Signature’s Passion, A Little Night Music), Lighting Design by Adam Honoré (Signature’s A Chorus Line, The Public’s Ain’t No Mo), Sound design by Ryan Hickey (Signature’s A Chorus Line, Girlfriend), Hair & Makeup Design by Alison Samantha Johnson (Signature’s Escaped Alone, Synetic Theater’s Cyrano De Bergerac), Original Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick (Broadway’s Company, Follies), Vocal Arrangements by David Loud (Signature’s The Visit, Broadway’s Merrily We Roll Along), Associate Direction and Casting by Kelly Crandall d’Amboise (Signature’s Grand Hotel, Light Years), and Production Coordinator Kerry Epstein (Signature’s Gun & Powder, Assassins). The production was filmed by Chiet Productions, with photography direction by Justin Chiet, and edited by James Gardiner, assisted by Natalie Ridgley.

SIMPLY SONDHEIM CAST

Norm Lewis BROADWAY: Select: Once on this Island (Revival), The Phantom of the Opera (First African American Phantom on Broadway), The Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess (Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, & Outer Critics Circle award nominations), Sondheim on Sondheim, The Little Mermaid, Les Misérables, Chicago. WEST END: Les Misérables (Javert), Les Misérables: The 25th Anniversary Concert. OFF-BROADWAY: Select: Sweeney Todd (AUDELCO Award), Dessa Rose (AUDELCO Award). FILM/TV: Da 5 Bloods, Mrs. America, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert!; Five PBS Specials, Daytime Divas, Better Things, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Bull, Chicago Med, Gotham, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, Scandal, Magnum Opus, Winter’s Tale, Sex and the City 2, Confidences, Preaching to the Choir. ALBUMS: The Norm Lewis Christmas Album, This is the Life. FOUNDER: Black Theatre United.

Solea Pfeiffer SIGNATURE: Gun & Powder. NEW YORK: New York City Center: Evita, Songs for a New World. REGIONAL: West Coast Premiere: Hamilton; Lyric Opera of Chicago: The Light in the Piazza; The Old Globe: Almost Famous; Hollywood Bowl: West Side Story. DC AREA: The Kennedy Center: West Side Story. TV: The Good Fight, Scandal. EDUCATION: BFA Musical Theatre, University of Michigan. UPCOMING: Broadway: Almost Famous.

Conrad Ricamora BROADWAY: Lincoln Center: The King and I (Grammy nomination) OFF-BROADWAY: Public Theatre: Here Lies Love (TheatreWorld Award, Lortel nomination), Soft Power (Grammy, Drama Desk, Lortel nominations). REGIONAL: Clarence Brown Theatre: Tartuffe, Woyzeck, Fuddy Mears; Utah Shakespeare Festival: Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, Midsummer; North Carolina Shakespeare Festival: The Taming of the Shrew. FILM: Talladega Nights, The Light of the Moon, Raising Christopher (writer/producer/actor). TV: How to Get Away with Murder (Oliver, 6 seasons); FOX: The Resident (recurring role, upcoming). EDUCATION: MFA, University of Tennessee; Film Actors Studio of Charlotte. AWARDS: 2016 Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award, 2017 Equality California Award. Twitter/Instagram @conradricamora

Emily Skinner SIGNATURE: Dirty Blonde, Ace, The Witches of Eastwick. BROADWAY: Prince of Broadway (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), The Cher Show, Side Show (Tony Award^® nomination, Drama League Award), Jekyll & Hyde, The Full Monty, James Joyce’s The Dead, Dinner at Eight (Outer Critics Circle nomination), Billy Elliot. NATIONAL TOURS: Billy Elliot, Disney’s On The Record. OFF-BROADWAY: Transport Group: Picnic (Drama Desk Nomination); Carnegie Hall: Jerry Springer: The Opera; City Center Encores!: Fiorello!, No Strings, Pardon My English, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; leading roles at Manhattan Theater Club, WPA Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Roundabout Theatre Company, York Theatre, Paramount Theatre at Madison Square Gardens. REGIONAL: multiple roles at The Kennedy Center, Alliance Theatre, Hangar Theatre, Long Wharf, The Old Globe, Goodspeed, St. Louis MUNY, TheatreVirginia. www.emily-skinner.com

Nicholas McDonough SIGNATURE: Grand Hotel. REGIONAL: Cape Playhouse: South Pacific, Prather Productions: Grease, Axelrod Playhouse: Jekyll & Hyde. EDUCATION: Point Park University, 2015, Music Theater.

Donna Migliaccio SIGNATURE: Co-founder; Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Gypsy, The Highest Yellow, Urinetown, Assassins, The Threepenny Opera, Sunday in the Park with George, Girlstar, Kid Victory, Silver Belles. BROADWAY: War Paint, Ragtime (2009 revival). NATIONAL TOUR: Guys & Dolls (50^th anniversary production). REGIONAL: John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: Sunday in the Park with George, Oliverio: A Brazilian Twist, Katie Couric’s The Brand New Kid; Ford’s Theatre: Liberty Smith, Sabrina Fair; Olney Theatre Center: Cabaret, Bakersfield Mist, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, The Sound of Music; Arena Stage: Guys & Dolls, The Music Man; Alabama Shakespeare Festival: The Little Mermaid. AUTHOR: The Gemeta Stone series. AWARDS: Two-time Helen Hayes Award winner, twelve additional nominations. www.donnamigliaccio.com

Christopher Mueller SIGNATURE: Assassins, Blackbeard, Passion, Titanic, The Fix, Crossing, Miss Saigon, Spin, Brother Russia, Chess, Sweeney Todd, The Hollow, The Boy Detective Fails, Giant, Kiss of the Spider Woman. NEW YORK: LaGuardia Arts: Chess in Concert. REGIONAL: The Kennedy Center: Camelot in Concert, My Fair Lady in Concert; Ford’s Theatre: Into the Woods, A Christmas Carol, Ragtime; Olney Theatre Center: My Fair Lady, Carousel, Godspell, Spring Awakening; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Two Gentlemen of Verona (a rock opera); Arena Stage: Redhand Guitar Workshop, Skindiver Reading; Imagination Stage: Dr. Doolittle, Disney’s Mulan; Adventure Theatre: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; Keegan Theatre: The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee, RENT. EDUCATION: The Catholic University of America; The London Dramatic Academy. IG: @christopher_mueller

Katie Mariko Murray SIGNATURE: Signature Vinyl, Grand Hotel, Passion, West Side Story, Miss Saigon. NYC: ARSNova: KPOP the Musical; NAAP: Into the Woods (Cinderella). REGIONAL: Weathervane Repertory: The King and I (Tuptim), Mamma Mia! (Sophie); Tuacahn: Disney’s When You Wish (world premiere, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Mulan); McCarter Theatre; Fulton Opera House: Miss Saigon. EDUCATION: BFA Penn State.  www.Katiemarikomurray.com  @ktpotaty

Tracy Lynn Olivera SIGNATURE: Signature Vinyl, Assassins, A Little Night Music (Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical), Titanic, The Fix; Gypsy; Crossing; Company, Hello, Dolly! (Ford’s Theatre co-production); The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; Brother Russia; The Hollow; The Boy Detective Fails; Les Misérables; ACE; The Happy Time; Merrily We Roll Along; Allegro; Follies; Side Show; Sweeney Todd. BROADWAY: Ragtime (2009 revival). DC AREA: Kennedy Center: Ragtime, Sunday in the Park…, Passion, Merrily We Roll Along; Arena Stage: Fiddler on the Roof, Damn Yankees; Shakespeare Theatre: Candide; Ford’s Theatre: Ragtime, 110 in the Shade (Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical); Olney Theatre: Matilda, On the Town; Studio Theatre: Bachelorette; Imagination Stage: Cinderella. REGIONAL: Goodman Theatre: Candide. RECORDINGS: Because (solo LP).

Paul Scanlan SIGNATURE: La Cage aux Folles, Simply Sondheim, Elmer Gantry, Sunday in the Park with George, The Threepenny Opera, Company, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Really Really. NATIONAL TOUR: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. DC AREA: Ford’s Theatre: The Laramie Project; Kennedy Center: Orphie & The Book of Heroes; Washington National Opera: Lost in the Stars; Round House Theatre: Fahrenheit 451; Studio 2^nd Stage: The Rocky Horror Show; Keegan Theatre: Spring Awakening, Cabaret, Hair; 1^st Stage: By Jeeves; Capital Fringe: Who’s Your Baghdaddy?. TV: FBI.

Awa Sal Secka SIGNATURE: Signature Vinyl, Gun & Powder (Flo), Blackbeard (Kali Maa), Jesus Christ Superstar (Simon), Barbara Streisand Cabaret, Judy Garland Cabaret. DC AREA: Ford’s Theatre: A Christmas Carol (Mrs. Fred), Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife), The Wiz (Glinda/Dorothy u/s); Round House Theatre: School Girls… (Ama), Caroline, or Change (Dottie); Kennedy Center: Me…Jane (Maisie), Chasing the Wind (Abby); Imagination Stage: Cinderella (Cinderella), You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Lucy Van Pelt); ArtsCentric: AIDA (Aida), MEMPHIS (Felicia); Theatre Alliance: Black Nativity (Narrator); Mosaic Theatre: Eretz Chadasha: The Promised Land (Mother); ATMTC: James and the Giant Peach (Sponge); Studio Theatre: SILENCE! The Musical (Ardelia); Olney Theatre Center: Avenue Q. EDUCATION: Montgomery College, AA in Theatre Performance.

Bobby Smith SIGNATURE: 20 shows, Grand Hotel, Passion, Light Years, A Little Night Music, Titanic, Simply Sondheim, Company, Midwestern Gothic, Road Show, The Threepenny Opera, Disney’s Freaky Friday, La Cage aux Folles (Helen Hayes Award), and Spin (Helen Hayes Award). BROADWAY: Crazy for You. OFF-BROADWAY: Forever Plaid, The World Goes ‘Round, Of Thee I Sing. NATIONAL TOURS: Brigadoon, The World Goes ‘Round. DC AREA: Studio Theatre: A Class Act; The Long Christmas Ride Home; Caroline, or Change; Grey Gardens; Reefer Madness; Jerry Springer: The Opera; Ford’s Theatre: Elmer Gantry, Liberty Smith, 1776, A Christmas Carol, Violet; MetroStage: Girl in the Goldfish Bowl, Musical of Musicals, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (Helen Hayes Award). AWARDS: 2018 Anderson/Hopkins award.

SIMPLY SONDHEIM CREATIVE TEAM

Stephen Sondheim (Music and Lyrics) wrote the music and lyrics for Road Show (2008, originally titled Bounce), Passion (1994), Assassins (1991), Into the Woods (1987), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sweeney Todd (1979), Pacific Overtures (1976), The Frogs (1974), A Little Night Music (1973), Follies (1971, revised in London 1987 and in New York 2001), Company (1970), Anyone Can Whistle (1964), and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962); as well as lyrics for West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959), Do I Hear a Waltz (1965), and additional lyrics for Candide (1973). Side by Side by Sondheim (1976), Marry Me a Little (1981), You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow (1983), and Putting it Together (1992, 2000) are anthologies of his work. For film he composed the scores for Stravinsky (1974) and Reds (1981) and songs for Dick Tracy (Academy Award, 1990). He wrote the songs for television’s Evening Primrose (1966), co-authored the film The Last of Sheila (1973) and the play Getting Away with Murder (1966), and provided incidental music for the plays The Girls of Summer (1956), Invitation to a March (1961), and Twigs (1971). He won Tony Awards^® for Best Score of a Musical for Passion, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Follies, (1971), and Company. All of these shows won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, as did Pacific Overtures and Sunday in the Park with George, the latter also receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1985). Mr. Sondheim is on the Council of the Dramatists Guild, having served as its president from 1973 to 1981, and in 1983 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1990, he was appointed the first Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Oxford University, and in 1993 was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors.

David Loud (Co-Conceiver/Vocal Arrangements) SIGNATURE: The Visit, First You Dream. BROADWAY: Merrily We Roll Along, She Loves Me, Company (Roundabout revival), The Boys From Syracuse, The Look of Love, A Class Act, Master Class, Sweeney Todd (John Doyle revival), Ragtime, Curtains, Sondheim on Sondheim, The Scottsboro Boys, Porgy & Bess (Audra McDonald revival), The Visit.  OFF-BROADWAY: And the World Goes ‘Round, The Landing, Kid Victory, The Beast in the Jungle. REGIONAL: Little Dancer, Sense and Sensibility, Billy Bishop Goes to War.

Eric Schaeffer (Co-Conceiver) is the co-founder and was the Artistic Director of Signature for 30 years. While at Signature, he directed over 100 productions including 28 Sondheim productions. BROADWAY: Gigi, Follies, Million Dollar Quartet, Glory Days, Putting it Together. NATIONAL TOURS: Million Dollar Quartet, big. OFF-BROADWAY: City Center Encores!: Sweet Adeline, Under the Bridge. WEST END: Million Dollar Quartet, The Witches of Eastwick. INTERNATIONAL: OD Company (South Korea): Titanic, Sweeney Todd. DC AREA: Kennedy Center: Sondheim Celebration Artistic Director; Sunday in the Park with George, Passion, Follies, First You Dream: The Music of Kander & Ebb, Gigi.

Matthew Gardiner (Director/Choreographer) SIGNATURE: Director: Signature Vinyl, A Chorus Line, Billy Elliot, Passion, Girlfriend, Crazy for You, Midwestern Gothic, Jelly’s Last Jam, La Cage aux Folles, West Side Story, Cabaret, Soon, Sunday in the Park with George, The Threepenny Opera, Tender Napalm, Dreamgirls, Dying City, Xanadu, Really Really, The Hollow, Side by Side by Sondheim, Art, [title of show], See What I Wanna See; Choreographer: Blackbeard, Titanic, The Fix, Company, Sweeney Todd, Dirty Blonde. INTERNATIONAL: South Korea- OD Company: Doctor Zhivago (Director); Titanic (Choreographer). DC AREA: Director: Round House Theatre: Caroline, or Change; Ordinary Days; Ford’s Theatre: The Laramie Project; Kennedy Center: Snow White, Rose Red (and Fred!); MetroStage: tick, tick…BOOM!; Studio Theatre: Jerry Springer: The Opera; Reefer Madness; Choreographer: Round House Theatre: The Legend of Georgia McBride; Shakespeare Theatre: The Tempest; MetroStage: Jacques Brel is Alive and Well…; Studio Theatre: Grey Gardens, Adding Machine. EDUCATION: Carnegie Mellon University.

Jon Kalbfleisch (Music Director) SIGNATURE (Resident Music Director):  A Chorus Line, Assassins, Blackbeard (conductor), Grand Hotel, Passion, Crazy for You, A Little Night Music, West Side Story, Cabaret, Sunday in the Park, Gypsy, Company, Hairspray, Dreamgirls, Saturday Night, Side by Side, Sunset Boulevard, Show Boat, Les Misérables, Anyone Can Whistle, Spider Woman, Merrily, Into the Woods, Pacific Overtures, Elegies, Allegro, Follies, 110 in the Shade, Putting It Together, Forum, Sweeney Todd, Wings. BROADWAY: Ambassador Theatre: The Visit (Actor’s Fund), Marius Company: Les Misérables (Associate Conductor). DC AREA: Kennedy Center: First You Dream; Wolf Trap, National Theatre, Warner Theatre, Round House Theatre, Everyman Theatre. OTHER: Carnegie Hall, Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony. TV: Celebration of the Arts (Executive Producer), Good Morning America. AWARDS: Grammy nomination; Bernstein MASS, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, pianist; Anderson-Hopkins Award; ten Helen Hayes Awards and 30 nominations; Distinguished Alumni Award, Cameron University. EDUCATION: Master of Music, SMU. www.jonkalbfleisch.com

Adam Honoré (Lighting Design) SIGNATURE: A Chorus Line. OFF-BROADWAY: Select: The Public: Ain’t No Mo; Classic Stage Company: Carmen Jones; Ensemble Studio Theatre: Behind the Sheet; Carnegie Hall: Faux-bia!. INTERNATIONAL: Austria: Haydn’s The Seasons; Manila: The Band’s Visit; Kinky Boots; Fun Home (International Premiere, featuring Lea Salonga). REGIONAL: Select: Arena Stage, Capital Repertory Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Huntington Theater Company, Shakespeare Theatre Company. AWARDS: Drama Desk, Henry Hewes, Helen Hayes Nominee; AUDELCO Award recipient. www.HonoreLighting.com @itsadamhonore

Ryan Hickey (Sound Design) SIGNATURE: Gun & Powder, A Chorus Line, Assassins, Blackbeard, Grand Hotel, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Billy Elliot, Passion, Scottsboro Boys, Girlfriend (Helen Hayes nomination), Light Years (Helen Hayes nomination), Crazy for You, An Act of God, A Little Night Music (Helen Hayes nomination), Jesus Christ Superstar, Midwestern Gothic, Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing, Titanic. DC AREA: Olney Theatre: South Pacific; Monumental Theatre Co.: Brooklyn. REGIONAL: Drury Lane Production: Smokey Joe’s Café, Deathtrap (Jeff Award nomination); Virginia Stage Company: A Christmas Carol (’17-’18), Oliver Twist, The Odd Couple, The Woman in Black, Frankie and Johnny in the Clare de Lune; EDUCATIONAL: Montgomery College: Summer Dinner Theatre (’17-’19); Ohio Northern University: How to Succeed in Business…. Assistant/Associate credits: Geva Theatre: The Humans; Drury Lane: Crazy for You, Hazel, Bye, Bye, Birdie, White Christmas, Peter and The Starcatcher, Beaches, West Side Story, Camelot; VSC: The Great Gatsby, A Christmas Carol (’11-’14); Sound Supervisor: Virginia Stage Company (’11-’14)

Alison Samantha Johnson (Hair & Makeup Design) SIGNATURE: Escaped Alone (Costume Design), Heisenberg (Costume Design), Blackbeard (Wig Assistant and Makeup Design), Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity (SFX Makeup Design); Signature in the Schools Costume Design Mentor from 2014 to current, Wardrobe Supervisor from 2011-2018. DC AREA: Woolly Mammoth: Collective Rage (Makeup for Ms. Diaz); Synetic Theater: Costume/Makeup: Cyrano De Bergerac (Helen Hayes nomination), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Mark of Cain; Keegan Theatre: Costume/Wigs/Makeup select: Legally Blonde, Chicago, Top Girls, Next to Normal, Bridges of Madison County, Boy; Creative Cauldron: Costume/Wigs: On Air, Kaleidoscope, Monsters of the Villa Diodati; ArtsCentric: Little Shop of Horrors (Costume); Avant Bard: Costume: A Misanthrope, Ada and the Engine; FILM: Makeup/Hair: Deer Crossing; Apocalypse Kiss. EDUCATION: University of the Arts. IG: @alisonsamantha www.alisonsamantha.com

Jonathan Tunick (Orchestrations) SIGNATURE: Show Boat, Nevermore, The Highest Yellow, Allegro, 110 In The Shade. BROADWAY: Carousel, West Side Story, The Music Man, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Into the Woods, Passion, Road Show, Promises, Promises, A Chorus Line, Titanic, Nine, The Color Purple, A Gentleman’s Guide To Love & Murder. FILM/TV SCORES: Composer/conductor, films: Mike Nichols, Franco Zeffirelli, Sidney Lumet, Sweeney Todd, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, plus TV classics Murder, She Wrote, Columbo, SMASH, Galavant. RECORDINGS: arranger/ conductor: Bernadette Peters, Kate Bush, Johnny Mathis, Bette Midler, Paul McCartney. Most recent: Into the Woods movie. AWARDS: One of only 16 persons holding Tony, Emmy, Grammy and Academy Awards. Elected 2009 Theatre Hall of Fame. In 2014 Tunick received Signature’s fifth Stephen Sondheim Award.

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