BroadwayWorld has a first look at the The Old Globe's world premiere musical Almost Famous, with book and lyrics by Academy Award winner and San Diego native Cameron Crowe (films Jerry Maguire, Say Anything..., Fast Times at Ridgemont High).
Almost Famous features songs that span the range from classic hits to new songs, with original music and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize and two-time Tony Award winner Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, American Idiot, The SpongeBob Musical). Based on the Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures motion picture written by Crowe, Almost Famous is directed by Tony Award nominee Jeremy Herrin (Noises Off, Wolf Hall, National Theatre Live's All My Sons) and presented by special arrangement with Lia Vollack, Joey Parnes, Sue Wagner, and John Johnson.
Performances run now through October 27, 2019 on the Donald and
Darlene Shiley Stage in the
Old Globe Theatre, part of the
Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, with opening night on Friday, September 27 at 8:00 p.m. Single tickets start at $70.00. Tickets can be purchased online at
www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.
It's all happening... San Diego, 1973.
Led Zeppelin is king, Richard Nixon is President, and idealistic 15-year-old
William Miller is an aspiring music journalist. When Rolling Stone magazine hires him to go on the road with an up-and-coming band, William is thrust into the rock-and-roll circus, where his love of music, his longing for friendship, and his integrity as a writer collide. Written by Academy Award winner
Cameron Crowe based on his iconic film, Almost Famous is about a young man finding his place in the world and the indelible characters he meets along the way. This joyous world premiere is a celebration of community and the power of music.
The cast includes
Matt Bittner as Larry Fellows,
Chad Burris as Vic Nunez,
Gerard Canonico as Dick Roswell,
Julia Cassandra as Estrella,
Rob Colletti as Lester Bangs,
Brandon Contreras as Silent Ed Vallencourt,
Colin Donnell as Russell Hammond,
Drew Gehling as Jeff Bebe,
Sam Gravitte as Dennis Hope,
Van Hughes as David Felton,
Katie Ladner as Sapphire, Anika Larsen as
Elaine Miller,
Storm Lever as Polexia,
Casey Likes as
William Miller,
Solea Pfeiffer as Penny Lane,
Emily Schultheis as
Anita Miller,
Daniel Sovich as Darryl,
Libby Winters as Leslie, Matthew C. Yee as Ben Fong-Torres, and swings
Danny Lindgren and
Alisa Melendez.
The multiple award-winning design team, with a combined 11 Tony Awards and 32 Tony nominations, includes choreographer
Lorin Latarro (Globe's The Heart of Rock & Roll, Broadway and West End's Waitress), scenic designer
Derek McLane (Tony and San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Craig Noel Awards for 33 Variations, multiple Emmy, Drama Desk, and Lortel Awards, two Obie Awards for Sustained Achievement); costume designer
David Zinn (two Tony Awards, for The Humans and SpongeBob SquarePants); lighting designer
Natasha Katz (Springsteen on Broadway, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, All My Sons, Burn This, The Prom, Frozen; six Tony Awards, for Long Day's Journey Into Night, An American in Paris, The Glass Menagerie, Once, The Coast of Utopia, and Aida); sound designer
Peter Hylenski (Grammy, Olivier, seven-time Tony Award nominee, including for Beetlejuice and King Kong in 2019),
Tom Kitt (Orchestrations and Arrangements; Next to Normal received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and two Tony Awards),
Bryan Perri (Music Director),
AnnMarie Milazzo (Vocal Designer; Spring Awakening, Next to Normal, If/Then, and Finding Neverland),
Daniel Green (Associate Music Director),
Campbell Young Associates (Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design; King Lear, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Waverly Gallery),
Jim Carnahan, CSA and
Jillian Cimini, CSA (Casting), and
Anjee Nero (Production Stage Manager).
"Everyone at the Globe is hugely excited to welcome an uncommonly gifted company to Balboa Park for what we know will be the musical theatre event of the season," said
Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director
Barry Edelstein. "
Cameron Crowe,
Tom Kitt, and
Jeremy Herrin have assembled a group of actors blessed with extraordinary talent and incendiary energy, and together they will transform a beloved movie-which is also, of course, a local San Diego tale-into an unforgettable new work for the American stage. I am proud to have Almost Famous at this theatre, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with our audiences."
Almost Famous at
The Old Globe is supported in part through a gift from Production Sponsors Terry Atkinson and
Kathy Taylor, Peter Cooper and Erik Matwijkow, Elaine and
Dave Darwin, Una Davis and Jack McGrory, HM Electronics, Inc.,
Darlene Marcos Shiley, Viasat, and Sheryl and
Harvey White; as well as Artist Sponsors Ellise and
Michael Coit (for
Colin Donnell, who plays Russell Hammond), Arlene and Richard Esgate (for
Solea Pfeiffer, who plays Penny Lane), and Mandell Weiss Charitable Trust (for composer, lyricist, orchestrator, and arranger
Tom Kitt). Gibson is proud to be the official guitar sponsor of Almost Famous. Financial support is provided by The City of San Diego.
