Photo Coverage: The Cast of Paper Mill's CHASING RAINBOWS Takes Opening Night Bows
By: Genevieve Rafter Keddy Oct. 07, 2019
Paper Mill Playhouse's New Jersey premiere of Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz has officially opened! The new musical features a book by Marc Acito, musical adaptation & additional music by David Libby and conceived by and additional lyrics by Tina Marie Casamento.
Check out photos of the cast taking its opening night bows below!
Directed and choreographed by Tony award nominee Denis Jones, Orchestrations by Larry Blank and David Libby with music direction by Lawrence Yurman, the principal cast features Ruby Rakos (Billy Elliot) as Judy Garland/Frances Gumm, Tony Award nominee Max Von Essen (An American in Paris, Paper Mill's The Baker's Wife) as Frank Gumm, Olivier Award-winner Lesli Margherita (Matilda, Dames at Sea) as Ethel Gumm, Karen Mason(Mamma Mia!, And the World Goes 'Round) as Ma Lawlor/Kay Koverman, Stephen DeRosa (Into the Woods, HBO's Boardwalk Empire) as Louis B. Mayer, Michael Wartella (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Tuck Everlasting) as Mickey Rooney, and Colin Hanlon (ABC's Modern Family, Paper Mill'sBenny & Joon) as Roger Edens.
Rounding out the cast are Tia Altinay, Mackenzie Bell, Kristen Grace Brown, Lamont Brown, Joe Cassidy, Clara Cox, Tessa Grady, Sophie Knapp (Teaneck, NJ), Molly K. Lyons, Kimberly Immanuel, Christina Maxwell, Kevin B. McGlynn, Allsun O'Malley, Samantha Joy Pearlman, Drew Redington, Joshua J. Schwartz, Parker Slaybaugh, Sean Thompson, Violet Tinnirello and Kathy Voytko (Bloomfield, NJ).
Before she burst onto the big screen as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Judy Garland was a young vaudeville trouper named Frances Gumm. In this highly anticipated new musical chronicling Garland's early career from vaudeville baby to MGM teen star in the making, the road to Oz is paved with adversity. At its heart a story of love between a father and daughter, featuring such legendary songs as "Over the Rainbow," "You Made Me Love You," and "Everybody Sing," Chasing Rainbows is a poignant coming-of-age tale about "the little girl with the big voice," who went on to become one of the world's most beloved entertainment icons. The show has already earned praise from Liza Minnelli, who said, "My mother said that her biography is in her music, and now a talented creative team is using that music to tell the story of her early years and her extraordinary rise to fame."
Photo Credit: Genevieve Rafter Keddy
The Cast of Chasing Rainbows The Road to Oz
Molly K. Lyons, Sophie Knapp and Allsun O'Malley
Tessa Grady and Samantha Joy Pearlman
Max von Essen and Lesli Margherita
Ruby Rakos, Lesli Margherita and Colin Hanlon
Max von Essen Ruby Rakos and Lesli Margherita
The Cast of Chasing Rainbows The Road To Oz
Karen Mason, Max von Essen, Ruby Rakos, Lesli Margherita, Colin Hanlon and The Cast of Chasing Rainbows The Road To Oz
Karen Mason, Sophie Knapp, Max von Essen, Ruby Rakos, Lesli Margherita, Colin Hanlon, Violet Tinnirello and Stephen DeRosa
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