October 9, 2007

Philadelphia Theatre Company opens its new home, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, with Being Alive, a new musical celebration of the songs of Stephen Sondheim on October 24 through December 2. Conceived and directed by Billy Porter working closely with Sondheim, the ensemble cast features Bryan Terrell Clark, Chuck Cooper, Vanita Harbour, Patina Miller, Jesse Nager, Leslie Odom, Jr., Nandi Walker and Rema Webb.

Previews begin Wednesday, October 24 with opening night on Wednesday, October 31. Performances run Tuesday through Sunday until December 2. Tickets are $10 to $63, with discounts for students, seniors and groups. Tickets are available by calling the PTC Box Office at 215-985-0420 or visiting www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org. Philadelphia Theatre Company's new Suzanne Roberts Theatre is located at Broad and Lombard Streets.

Being Alive is a unique musical fusion which blends four decades of Stephen Sondheim's inventive music and lyrics with the passion and style of jazz, blues, soul, R&B, hip-hop and gospel. Using Shakespeare's "Seven Ages of Man" from As You Like It for dramatic structure, director/conceiver Billy Porter brings it all to vibrant life in this joyous celebration that features such songs as "Send in the Clowns," "Pretty Women," "Children Will Listen," and "Being Alive." Being Alive premiered at Westport Country Playhouse in August 2007 in an earlier form. The PTC production will reflect new ideas and a mostly new cast.

Billy Porter has appeared on Broadway in Miss Saigon, Five Guys Named Moe, Grease, Smokey Joe's Café, Dreamgirls, and Hair, and Off-Broadway and regionally in Romance in Hard Times, The Merchant of Venice, House of Lear, Radiant Baby, Birdie Blue, Topdog/Underdog, Angels in America, Going Native, Songs for a New World, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Jelly's Last Jam. His one-man show, Ghetto Superstar: The Man That I Am, debuted at the Public Theater and was nominated for both a 2005 Drama League Award and a GLAAD Media Award.

Bryan Terrell Clark appeared in In the Red and Brown Water, A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear, and The King Stag at Yale Repertory Theatre. He has also been featured in Fences at the Pasadena Playhouse and His Girl Friday at the Guthrie Theater and on television in The Unit.

Chuck Cooper, who appeared in the Westport Country Playhouse production of Being Alive, won a Tony Award for Best Feature Actor in The Life and the Audelco Award for Best Featured Actor in Caroline, or Change. Other Broadway credits include Lennon, Chicago, Passion, Rumors, Someone to Watch Over Me, and Amen Corner. Off-Broadway he has starred in Thunder Knocking on the Door (for which he received an Audelco Award nomination), Avenue X, Police Boys, Colored People's Time, and Marco Polo Sings a Solo. On television he was featured for two seasons on 100 Centre Street, and has appeared as guest leads in Law & Order, Hack, and Oz.

Vanita Harbour has appeared on Broadway and in the national tour Once on this Island. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, she has been seen regionally in Dreamgirls, Blues in the Night, and Nomathemba as well as on television in recurring roles on One Life to Live and General Hospital.

Patina Miller appeared in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of Hair and in Sister Act at both Pasadena Playhouse and Alliance Theatre. She is a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.

Jesse Nager has appeared on Broadway in Mary Poppins, Good Vibrations, and Mamma Mia, and Off-Broadway in Fame on 42nd Street. Regionally he has been seen at Pittsburgh CLO, the MUNY, and North Shore. He is a member of Broadway Inspirational Voices and is the creator of the Broadway Boys, a group of tenors from different Broadway shows that infuse elements of funk, pop, gospel and jazz into traditional Broadway repertoire.

Leslie Odom, Jr., reprising the role he created in Being Alive at Westport Country Playhouse, returns to his native Philadelphia, having grown up in East Oak Lane performing at PhilaDanco and New Freedom Theatre. He has performed on Broadway in Rent, at La Jolla Playhouse in Jersey Boys, and the Geffen Playhouse in Keep Your Pantheon. He appeared for three seasons in CSI: Miami and had guest and recurring roles in Vanished, Close to Home, Gilmore Girls, Close to Home, Bad Day, The Big House, and The Bill Engvall Show.

Nandi Walker has been seen locally at New Freedom Theatre and appeared in several productions at Black Magic Woman Productions. Inspired by her Tony Award-winning father (Joseph Walker) and concert pianist mother (Dorothy Ann Dinroe-Walker), she is a recent graduate of Rutgers University where she formed the AB Theatre.

Rema Webb was part of the original cast of Being Alive at Westport Country Playhouse. She has performed in the Broadway and national tours of The Lion King and Ragtime. A longtime Philadelphia resident, she received a Barrymore Award nomination for her performance in Avenue X at the Wilma Theater.

Being Alive brings together a production team of set designer Allen Moyer (Tony nomination and Henry Hewes Award for Grey Gardens), costume designer Anita Yavich (Anna in the Tropics on Broadway, and several productions at The Public Theater), lighting designer Kevin Adams (Tony Award for Spring Awakening), sound designer Rob Killenberger, choreographer AC Ciulla (Tony and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Footloose), music supervisor James Sampliner (on Broadway for Legally Blonde, The Wedding Singer, and Brooklyn: The Musical), and vocal director, arranger, and orchestrators Michael McElroy (Grammy nominated for Great Joy! A Gospel Christmas) and Joseph Joubert (Grammy nominated for Beautiful Star). Philadelphia Theatre Company's dramaturg for Being Alive is Warren Hoffman.

Philadelphia Theatre Company's subscription season also includes the Philadelphia premiere of the Tony Award-winning M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang on the 20th anniversary of its premiere (January 18-February 17), the Philadelphia premiere of Third by Wendy Wasserstein (March 21-April 20), and the world premiere of The Happiness Lecture, a PTC commission created by Bill Irwin and presented by Irwin and an ensemble cast.

Philadelphia Theatre Company is Philadelphia's only non-profit professional theater dedicated exclusively to producing world and regional premieres of works by contemporary American playwrights. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Sara Garonzik Philadelphia Theatre Company has had ever-increasing national impact having produced 34 world premieres of new American plays and musicals in its 31 seasons. Recent world premiere productions include: Nerds://A Musical Software Satire by Jordan Allen-Dutton, Erik Weiner, and Hal Goldberg; Some Men by Terrence McNally (recently produced at Second Stage Theatre); Adrift in Macao by Christopher Durang and Peter Melnick (produced at Primary Stages last Winter); Bruce Graham's According to Goldman; Jeffrey Hatcher's A Picasso; Daniel Stern's comedy Barbra's Wedding (moved to the Westside Arts Theatre in 2003); John Henry Redwood's No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs; J.T. Rogers' White People; David Ives' Lives of the Saints; three-time Tony Award-winning Master Class by Terrence McNally, starring Zoe Caldwell; Bunny Bunny by Alan Zweibel (Lucille Lortel Award, 1997); and the American premiere of Birdy by Naomi Wallace. A Picasso received its New York premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club in April 2005. Philadelphia Theatre Company was chosen Best Theatre Company 2003 by Philadelphia magazine, Theater Company of the Year by Philadelphia Weekly in 2005, Best Theater Company in the 2005 City Paper Readers' Choice Awards, and named Best Theater by Philadelphia Style Magazine in 2006. Since 1995, Philadelphia Theatre Company has received 122 nominations and 36 awards from Philadelphia's Barrymore Awards.

Designed by KieranTimberlake Associates LLP, Philadelphia Theatre Company's state-of-the-art Suzanne Roberts Theatre includes a 365-seat traditional proscenium auditorium designed to envelope both the actors and audience, a flexible black box theater space, a dramatic lobby and mezzanine level reception areas with an expansive view of the Avenue of the Arts, as well as superior patron amenities, box office, handicapped accessibility and elevator to all floors.

For further information, please call 215-985-1400 or visit www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.

PREVIEWS:
Wednesday-Saturday, October 24-27 at 8:00 PM
Sunday, October 28th at 3:00 PM
Tuesday, October 30th at 8:00 PM

OPENING:
Wednesday, October 31st at 7:00 PM

PERFORMANCES:
Tuesday - Saturday at 8:00 PM
All Wednesday performances at 7:00 PM
Wednesday matinee at 1:00 PM on November 7, 14 and 21
Saturday matinee at 2:00 PM on November 3, 17 and 24
Sunday matinee at 3:00 PM on October 28, November 3, 11, 18, 25, December 2

CLOSING PERFORMANCE:
Sunday, December 2nd at 3:00 PM

LOCATION:
Philadelphia Theatre Company's Suzanne Roberts Theatre
Broad and Lombard Streets

TICKET PRICES:
Friday preview, Tuesday evenings, Wednesday & Saturday matinees: All seats $51
Saturday preview, Thursday and Friday evenings, Sunday matinees: All seats $57
Saturday Evenings: All seats $63
Student, Senior Citizen and Group Discounts available

PARKING/TRANSPORTATION:
Onsite parking is available at the Symphony House InterPark lot, as well as many other parking facilities on Broad Street. The theater is also accessible by taxi, SEPTA buses and trains, and the PATCO Highspeed line.

ACCESSIBILITY:
PTC provides large print, Braille and audio cassette programs upon request. Open-captioned performance on Saturday, November 17th at 2:00 PM. Audio described performance on Saturday, November 24th at 2:00 PM.

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT:
PTC's Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Broad & Lombard Streets
Monday-Friday 10:00AM - 5:30 PM beginning September
215/985-0420 or 866/985-0420 or online at www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org

SPECIAL EVENTS:
American Playwrights in Context: Sunday, November 11th following 3pm performance

Meet-the-Artists Post-Show Discussions on November 1st, 15th, and 20th

Pre-Show Wine Tasting on November 6th and 22nd at 7:00 PM (FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY)

Night OUT! pre-show LGBT-friendly reception on Thursday, November 8th at 6:30 PM before 8pm performance.

NEXT! A post-performance reception for Young Patrons on Saturday, Novembers 3rd

MUSIC AND LYRICS:
Stephen Sondheim

CONCEIVED AND DIRECTED:
Billy Porter

CAST:
Bryan Terrell Clark, Chuck Cooper, Vanita Harbour, Patina Miller, Jesse Nager, Leslie Odom, Jr., Nandi Walker, and Rema Webb

DESIGNERS:
Set designer – Allen Moyer
Costume designer – Anita Yavich
Lighting designer – Kevin Adams
Sound designer – Rob Killenberger
Choreographer – AC Ciulla
Music Supervisor – James Sampliner
Vocal Director, Arranger and Orchestrator – Michael McElroy

PRESS INFORMATION:
Deborah Fleischman 215/735-7356

TICKET INFORMATION:
215/985-0420 or 866/985-0420 or www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org

SYNOPSIS:
Being Alive is a unique musical fusion which blends four decades of Stephen Sondheim's inventive music and lyrics with the passion and style of jazz, blues, soul, R&B, hip-hop and gospel. Using Shakespeare's "Seven Ages of Man" from As You Like It for dramatic inspiration, director/conceiver Billy Porter brings it all to vibrant life in this joyous celebration that features such songs as "Send in the Clowns," "Pretty Women," "Children Will Listen," and "Being Alive."

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