| Long Wharf Theatre News Release Steven Scarpa, Director of Marketing & Communications 203-772-8255 / steven.scarpa@longwharf.org Date: August 28, 2009 THE CAST OF THE FANTASTICKS AT LONG WHARF THEATRE ANNOUNCED NEW HAVEN – Long Wharf Theatre announces the cast of its upcoming production of The Fantasticks, book and lyrics by Tom Jones, music by Harvey Schmidt, directed by Amanda Dehnert. The play will run from Oct. 7 - Nov. 1 on Mainstage. This hit musical, the longest running Off-Broadway musical in history, tells the story of Luisa and Matt, a pair entering the bloom of their youth. Their fathers, scheming to encourage their budding love, hire the trickster El Gallo to "thwart" their romance. By moonlight, Matt and Luisa fall hard for each other. However, can their romance survive the sunlight? The cast includes Ray DeMattis, Jessica Grove, William Parry, David Nathan Perlow, Dan Sharkey, Michael Sharon, and Jonathan Randell Silver. Tickets are available online; by phone at 203-787-4282; or in person at the box office, 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven. CAST BIOS Ray DeMattis Mr. DeMattis, a Hamden native, began his career at Long Wharf Theatre 42 years ago. He has enjoyed a busy and varied career as an actor, director, acting coach, and founding Artistic Director of the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped. His Broadway credits include: the original Grease, City of Angels, and Little Shop of Horrors. Off Broadway, he appeared in Enter Laughing - The Musical, Eric Bogosian's TalkRadio, Tamara, Flora the Red Menace, and others. Television credits include “The Sopranos,” eight appearances on the “Law and Order” series, and all three of Bill Cosby's shows. He appeared in the films Father Hood, with Patrick Swayze, It Runs in the Family, with Kirk and Michael Douglas, Family Business, and the soon to be released Untitled. He toured nationally in Beauty and the Beast, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, and Fiddler on the Roof. Among his regional theatre affiliations are The Actors' Theatre of Louisville, Penn Centre Stage, Geva, Philadelphia Drama Guild, and The Whole Theatre. Jessica Grové Ms. Grové has been rehearsing this role since she was 13 years old! In the meantime, she has appeared on Broadway in Sunday in the Park with George (Celeste #2) at Studio 54, Thoroughly Modern Millie (Miss Dorothy), Les Misérables (Eponine), and starred as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at Madison Square Garden, as well as on the national tour with Mickey Rooney and Eartha Kitt. Jessica also toured as Polly Browne in The Boy Friend (directed by Julie Andrews). Off-Broadway: Anne of Green Gables (Diana), Illyria (Viola). Regional: Michael John LaChiusa’s Giant (Lil’ Luz) at The Signature Theatre, Oklahoma! (Laurey) at Pittsburgh CLO, Evita (Eva Peron) at The Encore Musical Theatre Company. Please visit her web site at www.jessicagrove.com. William Parry Mr. Parry originated roles in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George and Passion, both of which were filmed for PBS; Into the Light, The Leaf People, Agamemnon at Lincoln Center, Sgt. Pepper’s . . . , the original Jesus Christ Superstar, and Rockabye Hamlet, directed by Gower Champion. He understudied Richard Burton and Richard Harris in Camelot on Broadway, the national tour and a televised special for HBO. Also on Broadway: Gypsy with Bernadette Peters. His other NY credits include Assassins, Take Me Along at Irish Rep., Dessa Rose at Lincoln Center; and The Knife, Cymbeline, Dispatches, and Road Show by Weidman and Sondheim, all at the Public Theater. National tours include A Few Good Men and Titanic (as Capt. E.J. Smith). Among some 35 regional productions, favorites include Saint Joan, Biloxi Blues, Arturo Ui, The Rainmaker, Time and Again, The Gig, Pure Confidence, and Adventures in the Skin Trade at Long Wharf Theatre. Film and television credits include In & Out, Domestic Disturbance, "The Pretender", and "Law and Order;" and two seasons on Garrison Keillor’s "A Prairie Home Companion." David Nathan Perlow Mr. Perlow’s regional credits include principal roles at North Shore Music Theater, La Jolla Playhouse (dir. Michael Grief), NYMF, New York Theater Workshop, the most recent pre-Broadway workshop of Clueless: The Musical, directed by Tina Landau, and most recently the pre-Broadway production of White Noise at the Le Petit Theater in New Orleans, directed by Donald Byrd. He is a proud 2007 graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and member of Actors' Equity Association. Dan Sharkey Mr. Sharkey has been seen on Broadway in The Music Man (dir., Susan Stroman), on the West End in Showboat (dir., Harold Prince), and the first national tours of Will Rogers Follies and Grand Hotel (both directed by Tommy Tune). He has also toured nationally with The Sound of Music and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. His Off-Broadway credits include Golden Boy of the Blud Ridge, Illyria, Lone Star Love, Captains Courageous, The Prince and the Pauper, Great Big Radio Show and Plain and Fancy. Regionally, Mr. Sharkey has appeared at the Guthrie Theatre, Walnut Street Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Portland Center Stage, San Jose Repertory, Lyric Theatre, Northern Stage, Arvada Center for the Arts, North Shore Music Theatre, Missoula Childrens Theatre, and Westchester Broadway. His television work includes “As The World Turns.” Michael Sharon Mr. Sharon is a graduate of the University of Southern California, and received classical training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Most recently, Michael played "He" in the critically acclaimed production of Eminene as part of this summer’s New York Fringe Festival. Other NY credits include Josephine's Song at The York, and The Most Happy Fella at NYCity Opera. His work in Shakespeare includes title roles in Macbeth (Los Angeles Theatre Center) and Pericles (Connecticut Repertory Theatre), Leontes in The Winter's Tale (Shaw Theatre, London), Marc Antony in Julius Caesar (Portland Stage Company), Oberon in Shakespeare In Hollywood (Wilma Theater, Philadelphia) as well as multiple seasons at the Oregon, Alabama and Utah Shakespearean Festivals, and the Shakespeare Theatre of Washington DC (Helen Hayes Nomination, Twelfth Night). Contemporary and musical theatre credits include Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, St. Louis Rep, the Group Theatre, and Goodspeed Opera House. Jonathan Randell Silver Mr. Silver is quietly thrilled to be in The Fantasticks at Long Wharf Theatre. Regional theater credits include: Charlotte's Web (TheatreWorks USA); Under Milk Wood, Threepenny Opera (Williamstown); Peter Pan & Wendy (A.R.T.); Marvin's Room (Co-op Theater); Film: Keeping the Faith, (dir. Edward Norton); Jack, (dir. Francis Ford Coppola). As a magician, Jonathan has performed card and close-up magic around the country. He has a BA in Theatre Arts & Art History from Drew University and a certificate of higher education from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Jonathan thanks his family for their love and support. # # # LONG WHARF THEATRE, founded in 1965, is recognized as a leader in American theater, producing fresh and imaginative revivals of classics and modern plays, rediscoveries of neglected works and a variety of world and American premieres. More than 30 Long Wharf productions have transferred virtually intact to Broadway or off-Broadway, including the 2005 production of Durango by Julia Cho, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning plays Wit by Margaret Edson, The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer, and The Gin Game by D.L. Coburn. The 2009 production of The Glass Menagerie will move to New York in the spring of 2010. The theatre is an incubator of new works, including 2009’s Coming Home by Athol Fugard and 2008's A Civil War Christmas by Paula Vogel. Long Wharf has received New York Drama Critics Awards, Obie Awards, the Margo Jefferson Award for Production of New Works, a Special Citation from the Outer Critics Circle, and the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. ~ End of Release ~ Steven Scarpa Close window Long Wharf News Home
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