NC Theatre Productions Honored

We are excited to announce that two of our productions made it in the Top 10 Home-Grown Productions in Triangle Arts & Entertainment's list - The Full Monty starring Sally Struthers and Ira David Wood III and Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella.

Sally Struthers as Jeanette Burmeister in The Full Monty

Cast of Cinderella

Our music director/conductor, Edward G. Robinson, received a mention for Best Musical Direction in Independent Weekly's The Year in Triangle Theater.

Andrea McArdle as Miss Hannigan in Annie

Congratulations to the cast and crew of all of our past productions. We are looking forward to an exciting, new year and producing a new round of Broadway blockbusters!

Our 2011 season: The Producers (February 12-20), Hello, Dolly! (May 7-15), Hairspray (July 23-31), Evita (October 22-30). All performances are in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts. We hope you'll make it one of your resolutions to attend a cultural event - like a Broadway production at NC Theatre this year!

Photo credits: Curtis Brown Photography

Girls Night Out!

It is amazing how magical the words "Girls Night Out!" can be! I sent out an email to some of my friends asking them to come see The Full Monty with me on Wednesday night, and had 44 "yes" responses! It was a perfect evening. Sally Struthers and Joe Coots came to greet us in the Backers' Club before the show and couldn't have been friendlier!

All the girls plus Sally and Joe

One of my friends asked me how long I had known Sally, because she acted like we were best friends. She is precious! Joe is a wonderful, personable character as well, who seems to love having a good time. All of my "girls" sat near each other at the show, and I have never heard so much deep-belly laughter coming from a group of women in my life. We were giddy, and it was positively therapeutic!

To me, life is all about making memories and we certainly made them that night. Only six of us "younger" women were crazy enough to brave the late-night entertainment, but sleep deprivation is a small price to pay for the fun we had after the show at Cabaret Night at Solas with the cast. The music was beautiful as many of the cast members sang some of their favorite songs. They graciously let us take pictures with them after the entertainment. That's a big thrill for those of us who admire talent from afar, and it made us feel like we were really getting the NYC/Broadway (or at least the Raleigh/Glenwood Ave.) experience.

Janice McKenzie & Joe

Joe and Wanda Stevenson at Solas

My daughter, Mary Beth, getting some sugar from Joe!

Family photo with Joe

Edythe Poyner, Josie Hall and myself at Solas with Ken Griggs, cast member "Teddy" of THE FULL MONTY

Edythe (who had a walk-on role that night!) and myself

Thanks for a wonderful evening!

Debbie Woody

The Full Monty in the Media

I've had the pleasure of getting to know both Sally Struthers and Ira David Wood III over the past week and a half. They have been troopers, heading to various radio and TV stations with me last week and this week. In case you missed them, here are some links to the interviews. Enjoy!

G105 Interview

WPTF Interview

Y102.9 Interview

MIX 101.5 Interview with Bill & Lynda

News 14 Interview with Tracey Early

100.7 Interview with Kitty Kinnin

After the interview at MIX 101.5 with Bill & Lynda in the Morning

In the studio with Dave Kent from 93.9 KISS FM

Sally's interview with Roy Dicks of The News & Observer.

News & Observer article on our anonymous corporate donor who is giving 200 free tickets away to jobless men in the Triangle.

USA Today picked up the story as well - see it here.

Tune in to WRAL's Noon News telecast tomorrow - Sally and David will be on the air at around 12:45 talking about the show.

Full Monty Casting Complete!

While we are still in the final stages of casting The Full Monty, I couldn't resist to give you a peek at who some of the MONTYs are and some of our other cast members. We are so excited about this production (running February 27-March 7) and are proud of the cast we have assembled to date.

Starring two-time Emmy Award winning actress Sally Struthers as "Jeannette" and Raleigh's own Ira David Wood III as "Harold"!

Sally Struthers Ira David Wood III

And...

Jarrod Emick AKA "Jerry"

You may recognize him from our recent production of Yeston & Kopit's Phantom - he was Philippe. On Broadway, Jarrod has been in Ring of Fire, The Boy From Oz, The Rocky Horror Show, The Full Monty, Damn Yankees (1994 Tony Award winner) and Miss Saigon. He was also in the National Tours of Les Miserables and Miss Saigon.

Kingsley Leggs AKA "Horse"

Kingsley performed on the NC Theatre stage as "James Thunder Early" in our production of Dreamgirls. On Broadway, he performed in The Color Purple and Miss Saigon and was in the National Tours of Miss Saigon, Ragtime, It Aint Nothing But The Blues and Forbidden Hollywood.

Joe Coots AKA "Dave"

Joe played 'Dave' in the National Tour and regional productions of The Full Monty - most recently starring Elaine Stritch. He has also been in the productions Crazy For You!, Annie Get Your Gun, Jesus Christ Superstar, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers and Joseph...Dreamcoat.

Angie Schworer AKA "Vicki" (Harold's wife)

Angie has been in the Broadway productions of Young Frankenstein, The Producers, Chicago, Annie Get Your Gun, Sunset Boulevard, Crazy For You, The Will Rogers Follies and Encores! Tenderloin.

Julie Reiber AKA "Georgie" (Dave's wife)

On Broadway, Julie was the "Elphaba" standby in the smash-hit Wicked and also appeared in All Shook Up and Bklyn. She also played in the National Tours of Rent, Bklyn and Jekyll & Hyde.

Thomas Cannizzaro AKA "Ethan"

Thomas appeared in Monty Python's Spamalot and Cabaret on Broadway and in the National Tours of Cabaret, Grease and The Velveteen Rabbit.

Jennifer Shrader AKA "Pam" (Jerry's ex-wife)

Pam recently appeared on the NCT stage in Miss Saigon as 'Ellen.' Her Broadway credits include Beauty and the Beast and Swing. She was in the National Tours of Beauty and the Beast, Sunset Boulevard, Annie and Joseph...Dreamcoat.

John Carroll AKA "Buddy Keno Walsh"

He has appeared in Broadway Bares and in the National Tours of A Chorus Line, Chicago, Movin' Out and Fosse.

Stephen Schellhardt AKA "Malcolm"

Stephen was in the National Tours of Altar Boyz and in several regional productions including Fiddler on the Roof, Little Women, The Full Monty, Les Miserables and several others.

Other cast members include:

Mary Adamek, Phillip Burgess, Jonathan Elliott Coarsey, Trey Fitts, Vinny Genna, Ken Griggs, Anne Karner, Jeremy Mills, Cessalee Stovall and Tracy J. Wholf.

You do not want to miss this show!