Florida
Rep Announces World-Premiere of Reworking of DREAM: THE LYRICS OF
JOHNNY MERCER
FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE ( 2267 First Street, Fort
Myers, FL - 239-332-4488 - http://www.floridarep.org/
), Southwest Florida's Premiere Professional Theatre is pleased to
announce the world-premiere reworking of the 1997 Tony Award Winning,
DREAM. Florida Rep is the first theatre to present this celebration
of the life and lyrics of American music legend, Johnny Mercer. DREAM,
starring a cast of Broadway veterans, is being tailored for the regional
theatre circuit based on Florida Rep's production. DREAM, produced
in association with Bob Cuillo and The L.A.T Foundation, runs at Florida
Rep from October 15th through November 7th. Performances are Tuesdays
through Saturdays at 8:00 pm with matinees on Wednesdays, Sundays
and selected Saturdays at 2:00 pm. Tickes are $15 - $32.
Originally starring legendary Margaret Whiting and
featuring a large cast including Leslie Ann Warren and John Pizzarelli,
Dream won the Tony Award for Best Choreography. Now, under the guidance
of renowned stage director, Jack Wrangler and with his wife Whiting's
blessing, Dream is being reworked and re-mounted for the first time
at Florida Rep. Veteran award winning producer Louise Westergaard
is co-conceiver and Whiting is musical consultant. The gifted cast
includes Wicked's Melissa Bell Chait, Kevin Duda, Louisa Flannigan,
Danielle Garner, Jackie Jay Patterson and Ted Bouton.
This homage to master lyricist Johnny Mercer takes
audiences on a journey from Savannah to Hollywood and back again.
Wrangler, whose directing credits include projects with Jane Russell,
Sal Mineo, and Betty Hutton, also co-conceived Dream.
Johnny Mercer (1909‚1976) was the founder and President
of Capitol Records and creator of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He
discovered and nurtured the talents of Margaret Whiting, Peggy Lee,
Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. His roots and his heart were firmly
planted in an eccentric, isolated world onto itself, Savannah, Georgia.
His love affair with music did not come from the glitter of Broadway
or Hollywood, but as a country boy growing up near a small park, where
on Sundays, he would go listen in wonder to a local band playing Irving
Berlin.
DREAM is divided into five segments by decades, the
20s to the 60s and features over fifty songs from Mercer's impressive
songbook, including: "Moon River," "That Old Black Magic," "Laura,"
"The Days of Wine and Roses," and "Fools Rush In." Arranging these
songs for the re-working of DREAM is Tony Award winner and two time
Tony Award nominee, Barry Levitt. Levitt has provided musical direction,
orchestrations and vocal arrangements for the Broadway productions,
Swinging On a Star (Tony Nominee, Best Musical) and Catskills On Broadway
(Special Tony Award winner). He served as Music Director for six Off-Broadway
shows, including Little Shop Of Horrors, and Taking My Turn which
won an Outer Circle Critics Award. He has been musical director, arranger
and pianist for legendary performers, including Ben Vereen, Connie
Francis, Margaret Whiting, Nell Carter, Melba Moore, Eartha Kitt,
Rosemary Clooney, Sylvia Sims and many more.
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