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BIOGRAPHIES
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DONNA McKECHNIE (Special Guest Star) is the Tony Award-winning star of A Chorus Line. Ms. McKechnie is regarded internationally as one of Broadway's foremost dancing and singing stars. Donna has recently returned from London after a successful "out of town" tryout with her new cabaret show, Gypsy in My Soul.
Her cabaret show, My Musical Comedy Life, which received unanimous raves from New York theater critics, won a MAC Award nomination for Best Female Singer and the Backstage Bistro Award for Outstanding Major Engagement. Donna's full-length auto-biographical theatrical show, Inside The Music (with text by Christopher Durang) captivates audiences wherever it is performed.
Some of Ms. McKechnie's Broadway credits include: How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (national tour), The Education of Hyman Kaplan, SONDHEIM - A Musical Tribute (which she also choreographed), On The Town, Promises, Promises, Company, and State Fair for which she received the Fred Astaire Award for Best Female Dancer for the 1995-1996 season.
She also starred in dozens of regional theatre productions including Cole Porter's You Never Know at the Pasadena Playhouse, I Do! I Do!, Misalliance, The Goodbye Girl, and Gypsy. Ms. McKechnie played the lead in Bob Fosse's last production, a national tour of Sweet Charity, for which she was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award.
She has appeared as a guest star in numerous television musical specials and dramatic series including FAME, Cheers, Family Ties, Twirl, and Dark Shadows. Donna portrayed The Rose in the film, The Little Prince.
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SARAH KATHLEEN FARRELL (Cast) thinks it “’S Wonderful” to have the opportunity to perform with 42nd Street Moon so soon after appearing in both Call Me Madam (Kitty, Dance Captain) and Jubilee (Prince Peter, et. al.) this fall. Regional credits include The Rocky Horror Show (Columbia), The Spitfire Grill (Percy), and Insignificant Others (Margaret). Sarah’s upcoming projects include Ray of Light Theatre’s Baby (Lizzie) and 42nd Street Moon’s Very Warm for May (Liz Spofford), but she’s most excited about her February wedding to her fiancé, Andrew! |
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ROB HATZENBELLER (CAST) has happily appeared in six Moon shows, most recently as Cosmo in Call Me Madam and Joe Dynamite in Wildcat. Favorite credits include Wonderful Town at Marin Theatre Company (Bay Area Critics Circle Award), The Opposite of Sex at the Magic Theatre, Guys and Dolls, and The Sound of Music at American Musical Theatre of San Jose, Grand Hotel at Circle Theatre and the world premiere of Kander and Ebb's The Visit at the Goodman Theatre. |
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KELLY HOUSTON (CAST) has performed around the Bay Area for over 30 years. Previous 42nd Street Moon appearances include Finian’s Rainbow, Paint Your Wagon, Fanny, and three Galas. Other stage credits include Dreamgirls, Jesus Christ Superstar, Ragtime, Singin’ in the Rain, Evita, Kiss Me Kate, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Bye Bye Birdie, Camelot, Guys & Dolls, 42nd Street, Evita, Annie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Music Man, Anything Goes, Kismet, Most Happy Fella, Rags, Greater Tuna, and Five Guys Named Moe. |
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BENJAMIN PITHER (Cast) has appeared in 42nd Street Moon’s productions of Jubilee (2009), Girl Crazy, Li’l Abner, and Mack & Mabel. Recent roles: Dennis in All Shook Up at CenterRep, Larry in Mr. Marmalade at Custom Made Theatre Company, and Greta/Casper in Act a Lady at New Conservatory Theatre Center. Favorite roles include Gordon in A New Brain (CMTC), Ethan in Based on a Totally True Story (NCTC), Bobby Strong in Urinetown (Altarena Playhouse), and Aguecheek in 12th Night (u/s CalShakes). B.A. in Theatre Arts from Brandeis University with Highest Honors. |
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CELESTE RUSSI (Cast) is making her 42nd Street Moon debut. Some of her recent stage credits: Madrid's Bow, Sleeping Beauty or Coma/Vampire Lesbians of Sodom (Stage-Werx, San Francisco), Defying Gravity, How To Succeed in Business… (Hillbarn Theatre), Tony n' Tina's Wedding (New York and San Francisco productions), and Peter and the Pirate (Pier 39), Film and TV credits: Love Is All There Is, Beautician and the Beast, ER, and numerous commercials. |
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GREG MACKELLAN (Director) co-founded 42nd Street Moon in 1993. Prior to arriving in San Francisco, his NY and LA credits included producing two early versions of Stephen Schwartz’s The Baker’s Wife, Tintypes, a concert version of Cole Porter’s Jubilee, and a cabaret series at LA’s Gardenia. He also produced seven CDs of rare theatre music with Rebecca Luker, Andrea Marcovicci, Patricia Morison, Judy Kaye, and Douglas Sills among others. His directing credits for 42nd Street Moon have included such well-received shows as The Student Gypsy, High Spirits, Li’l Abner, Minnie’s Boys, Paint Your Wagon, Do I Hear a Waltz?, and several Cole Porter confections including Gay Divorce and Jubilee. Greg’s revised script for Porter’s Out of This World was produced to great acclaim from the London critics at the Chichester Festival in 2004, and has also been produced in Los Angeles and Seattle. He guided the 2004 NEA-sponsored restoration of Arlen and Harburg’s Hooray for What, as well as the June 2004 Kern Gala with Rebecca Luker, 2003’s I Remember It Well with Leslie Caron, and this year’s popular We’re In the Money: Hollywood Sings Away the Depression Blues. |
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DAVE DOBRUSKY (Musical Director) is celebrating his 14th season with 42nd Street Moon and recently served as musical director for Cole Porter’s Jubilee. Other favorite productions include Out of This World, The Student Gypsy, Plain and Fancy, Li’l Abner, Mack and Mabel, Red Hot and Blue!, Minnie’s Boys, Can-Can, Finian’s Rainbow, Paint Your Wagon (Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award), By Jupiter, Leave It to Me! (recorded), Dear World, Call Me Madam, and Louisiana Purchase. He has also appeared with Cady Huffman, Nancy Dussault, Susan Watson, Andrea McArdle, Marni Nixon, Rebecca Luker and Leslie Caron. Other Bay Area credits include: I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Ray of Light), Man of LaMancha (BATCC Award), Putting It Together (San Francisco Playhouse); The Fantasticks (Shake- speare at Stinson); and Passion, Chess (New Conservatory Theatre).
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CHAD JONES (Narrative) has written about Bay Area theater since 1992. For 10 years, he was the theater critic for the Oakland Tribune and the ANG Newspapers chain. As a freelance writer, his work has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Theatre Bay Area magazine, the San Francisco Examiner, the Bay Area Reporter, the Palo Alto Weekly, the Nob Hill Gazette, the Marin Independent Journal, Plays International and Wired magazine. He is the communications manager for Berkeley Repertory Theatre and blogs about theater at www.theaterdogs.net. He lives in San Francisco with his husband, Todd.
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ELLEN BROOKS (Lighting Design) has designed many pro-ductions for 42nd Street Moon over the past 12 years – including our Galas at the Herbst and Alcazar Theatres. For the past nine years she has also designed for Lamplighters Music Theatre. Currently the Resident Lighting Director for Marin Shakespeare Company, last summer she designed Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night and The Importance of Being Ernest. This season she has also worked with Berkeley Playhouse, the Ross Valley Players, and North Bay Opera. Recently, she designed the world premiere of Dogsbody at Yerba Buena Forum.
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Joe Mader (Stage Manager) has written on theater and film for a variety of publications, including Salon.com, the San Francisco Weekly, the San Francisco Examiner, and the Hollywood Reporter. He served as managing director and producer for a Worcester, MA theater company for two years. For 42nd Street Moon, he previously stage managed Peddling Rainbows and Girl Crazy, the company's last two annual fundraising galas, and the inaugural entry in Moon's Salon series, I Feel a Song Coming On.
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