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You will always love this musical! @TheBodyguardUS comes to @KimmelCenter 2/21–26, based on the Oscar-nominated film & starring @Deborah_Cox
Press Contacts:
Amanda Conte
aconte@kimmelcenter.org
(215) 790-5847
Carole Morganti, CJM Public Relations
CJMpr01@aol.com
(609) 953-0570
U.S. NATIONAL TOUR OF THE WEST END SMASH HIT MUSICAL
TO PLAY PHILADELPHIA’S ACADEMY OF MUSIC, FEBRUARY 21–26, 2017
STARRING GRAMMY® AWARD NOMINEE AND R&B SUPERSTAR DEBORAH COX
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Philadelphia, PA, December 22, 2016) –– The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and The Shubert Organization proudly announce the Broadway Philadelphia run of the hit musical The Bodyguard as part ofthe show’s first U.S. National tour. The Bodyguard will play the Kimmel Center’s Academy of Music from February 21–26, 2017 starring Grammy® Award-nominated and multi-platinum R&B/pop recording artist and film/TV actress Deborah Cox as Rachel Marron. In the role of bodyguard Frank Farmer is television star Judson Mills.
“We are thrilled to welcome this new production to Philadelphia, especially for fans of the iconic film and soundtrack,” said Anne Ewers, President & CEO of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. “This award-winning stage adaption and the incomparable Deborah Cox will truly bring this beloved story to life on the Academy of Music stage.”
Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar-nominated Warner Bros. film,and adapted by Academy Award-winner (Birdman) Alexander Dinelaris, The Bodyguardhad its world premiere on December 5, 2012 at London’s Adelphi Theatre. The Bodyguard was nominated for four Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Musical and Best Set Design and won Best New Musical at the WhatsOnStage Awards. The UK production of the musical recently completed a sell-out 16-month UK and Ireland tour and made its triumphant return to London’s West End at the Dominion Theatre on July 15, 2016.
Former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge; what they don’t expect is to fall in love. A romantic thriller, The Bodyguard features a host of irresistible classics including So Emotional, One Moment in Time, Saving All My Love, Run to You, I Have Nothing, I Wanna Dance with Somebody and one of the biggest selling songs of all time – I Will Always Love You.
Direction is by Thea Sharrock. Set & costume design is by Tim Hatley, lighting design byMark Henderson, sound design by Richard Brooker, and video design by Duncan McLean. Choreography is by Karen Bruce, orchestrations by Chris Egan, musical supervision by Richard Beadle and production musical supervision by Mike Dixon. The U.S. national tour of The Bodyguard is produced by Michael Harrison, David Ian, and Nederlander Presentations, Inc.
Rounding out the principal cast are Alex Corrado (Gotham, Hannibal) as Tony Scibelli, Rachel’s personal security guard, Charles Gray(Broadway: The Color Purple, Tour: The Lion King) as manager Bill Devaney, Jonathan Hadley (Broadway: Jersey Boys, A Class Act) as publicist Sy Spector, Jorge Paniagua (Regional: The Full Monty, Oregon Shakespeare Festival) as the Stalker, Jasmin Richardson (Tour: Memphis, Dreamgirls) as Rachel’s sister Nicki Marron, and Douglas Baldeo (Broadway: Kinky Boots, Tour: Motown) and Kevelin B. Jones III (Idlewild Music Festival) alternating in the role of Rachel’s son Fletcher.
The ensemble includes Arielle Campbell, Brendon Chan, Willie Dee, Jarid Faubel, Megan Elyse Fulmer, Emily Jenda, Alejandra Matos, Bradford Rahmlow, Benjamin Rivera, Sean Rozanski, Matthew Schmidt, Jaquez André Sims, Lauren Tanner, and Naomi C. Walley.
For more information, visit thebodyguardmusical.com.
THE BODYGUARD
Academy of Music at the Kimmel Center Campus
Dates and times:
Tuesday, February 21, 2017, 7:30 pm
Wednesday, February 22, 2017, 7:30 pm
Thursday, February 23, 2017, 7:30 pm
Friday, February 24, 2017, 8:00 pm
Saturday, February 25, 2017, 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday, February 26, 2017, 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm
Tickets
Tickets are on sale to the public now and start at $20.00. Tickets can be purchased by calling (215) 893-1999, visiting www.kimmelculturalcampus.org, or at the Kimmel Center Box Office. Group sales are available for groups of 10 or more and can be purchased by calling (215) 790-5883. More information at kimmelcenter.org.
The Shubert Organization
For more than 100 years, The Shubert Organization has been in the forefront of the American theatre. Under the leadership of Philip J. Smith, Chairman, and Robert E. Wankel, President, the Shubert Organization owns and operates 17 Broadway theatres and six Off-Broadway venues, as well as the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia The company has produced and co-produced hundreds of plays and musicals, including the original Broadway production of CATS, Dreamgirls, Sunday in the Park with George, Amadeus, The Real Thing, The Grapes of Wrath, Equus, The Elephant Man, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, School of Rock The Musical, and The Humans. The Shubert Organization is proud of its ongoing refurbishment program for its theatres, seeking to preserve the historic character while modernizing them to accommodate the needs of today’s audiences.
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Located in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, the Kimmel Center’s mission is to operate a world-class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience through diverse programming, arts education, and community outreach. The Kimmel Center Campus is comprised of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, SEI Innovation Studio, and the Merck Arts Education Center), the Academy of Music (owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association), and the Merriam Theater. The Kimmel Center is also home to eight Resident Companies: The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Philly POPS, PHILADANCO, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Curtis Institute of Music. With nearly 9,000 seats per night, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is the region’s most impactful performing arts center, and the second largest in the country. TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is the season sponsor of the Kimmel Center’s 2016-2017 Season. American Airlines is the official airline of Broadway Philadelphia. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org.
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For a PDF version of this press release, please click here
thebodyguardmusical.com
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Jay Manuel Beauty is the official makeup sponsor for the US tour of The Bodyguard www.jaymanuelbeauty.com
CAST BIOS
DEBORAH COX (Rachel Marron) Grammy® Award-nominated and multi-platinum R&B/pop recording artist and film/TV actress Deborah Cox made her Broadway debut in the lead role in Elton John and Tim Rice’s musical, Aida. She most recently starred on Broadway in 2013 as Lucy in Jekyll & Hyde, and starred as legendary Josephine Baker in Josephine at Asolo Repertory Theatre in the spring of 2016. Cox began her recording career as a background singer with Celine Dion, before securing her first recording contract with Clive Davis at Arista Records. She has recorded six award-winning and critically-acclaimed albums, and has written and recorded on numerous celebrated soundtracks. Her platinum selling debut album Deborah Cox earned her an American Music Award nomination. She won her first of 3 Juno Awards including a Female Vocalist of the Year nomination. From her second CD One Wish, came the double platinum “Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here” which held the record for being the longest running #1 R&B Single for 14 consecutive weeks and earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination, a Soul Train Award, A Lady Of Soul Award, Best Female vocalist Juno nomination and a Billboard Music Award Nomination for R&B Single Of The Year. Cox has collaborated with such artists as Andrea Bocelli, David Foster, Josh Groban, The Isley Brothers, Cyndi Lauper, Sarah McLachlan and numerous others. The Canadian born star has an impressive list of #1 Billboard hit records, including twelve #1 songs on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart. In 2000, Cox collaborated with Whitney Houston to record the duet “Same Script Different Cast” for Houston’s Greatest Hits CD. Cox has been recognized for her longstanding commitment to various social issues in the LGBTQ community. In January 2015, she received the Out Music Pillar Award. In 2014, she received the California State Senate Award and in 2007, she received The Civil Rights Award from the New York Senate for her efforts in the fight for Human Rights and Equality. She was recently honored by The Harvey Milk Foundation at the 2015 Diversity Honors for all of her efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the LGBTQ community. On June 12, 2016, she was given the Liberty Bell and Proclamation in Philadelphia by Mayor James Kenney to proclaim June 12 as LGBTQ Philadelphia Pride Parade and Festival Day.
www.deborahcox.com @Deborah_Cox www.facebook.com/DeborahCoxDRG
JUDSON MILLS (Frank Farmer) was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Northern Virginia in a little stone house in the woods built by George Washington before he was President. Mills grew up hunting and fishing, and up through high school enjoyed a small town life. After high school, Judson went on to major in Theatre at Barry University in Miami. From there, it was off to NY where Mills attended the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After school, he booked his first audition and spent 3 years on the soap opera “As The World Turns.” Mills has since done over 35 guest starring roles on television including “Law and Order,” “The X Files,” “Dexter,” “The Mentalist,” ABC’s new “Notorious” and can be seen on HBO’s new hit series from JJ Abrams, “Westworld.” Judson was also a series regular alongside Chuck Norris on the popular action show “Walker, Texas Ranger” from CBS. He went on to star with Mr. Norris in “The Presidents Man: A Line in the Sand” for CBS as well. Mills has also appeared in 20 feature films including Major League 3: Back to the Minors, Mighty Joe Young, Chill Factor and the Academy Award nominated Gods and Monsters. Mills is thrilled to be back on stage and is honored to be working with Deborah Cox and the amazing cast of The Bodyguard. @JudsonMills
CREATIVE TEAM BIOS
LAWRENCE KASDAN (Screenplay) has directed, written or produced twenty-one motion pictures, including Body Heat, The Big Chill, Silverado, The Accidental Tourist and Grand Canyon. Among them, he has written or co-written four of the most successful films in motion picture history: Raiders of The Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and The Bodyguard, the first original screenplay Kasdan sold. The Big Chill and The Accidental Tourist were nominated for Academy Awards as Best Picture. The Accidental Tourist was named Best Picture of 1988 by the New York Film Critics Circle. Grand Canyon won the Golden Bear as Best Picture of the 1992 Berlin Film Festival. Nominated for four Academy Awards and six Writers Guild Awards, Kasdan was honored by the Writers Guild of America with its Laurel Award for advancing the literature of motion pictures. In 2013, Kasdan joined creative forces with JJ Abrams to co-write Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, the new entry in the worldwide phenomenon that is the Star Wars saga.
ALEXANDER DINELARIS (Book) is an Academy Award and Golden Globe winner for the screenplay of Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). He is the co-creator and executive producer of the series “The One Percent” for MRC, starring Ed Helms, Hilary Swank and Ed Harris. He is currently adapting the novel Entering Hades into a feature film with Michael Fassbender. His film The Year of the Monarchs is currently in development with Mandalay Entertainment. Alexander is also the book writer of Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s Broadway musical On Your Feet! Other recent work includes his plays Red Dog Howls (New York Theater Workshop), Still Life (Manhattan Class Company), The Chaos Theories (Shotgun Theater) and In This, Our Time (59e59). Mr. Dinelaris is a proud member of the Writer’s Guild and the Dramatists Guild.
THEA SHARROCK (Director) In 2000, Thea won the James Menzies-Kitchin Young Director of the Year Award, making her directorial debut with a production of Caryl Churchill's Top Girls, which transferred to the West End and toured the UK twice. Thea was then made Britain's youngest Artistic Director when she took over the Southwark Playhouse for three years, before going on to be the Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre in Notting Hill. As a freelance director, her credits include productions for the Almeida and the Donmar, the National Theatre and many in the west end including Equus with Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths (also Broadway), The Misanthrope with Keira Knightley, Heroes with John Hurt, Cause Célèbre with Anne-Maris Duff at the Old Vic. Her production of After The Dance for the National Theatre won 8 major awards. She has also directed Henry V starring Tom Hiddleston for Sam Mendes/Neal Street and the BBC, as well as the 2013 Christmas Special of Call The Midwife also for Neal Street and the BBC. She directed Richard Griffiths in his last stage performance, in The Sunshine Boys with Danny DeVito at the Savoy Theatre before directing her first musical, The Bodyguard at the Adelphi. She directed Miranda Hart in her arena tour for 2014, as well as Kevin Spacey in his first one-man show, Darrow for the Old Vic. Her debut feature film, Me Before You for MGM and Warner Brothers, was released summer 2016.
TIM HATLEY (Set & Costume Designer) Tim trained at Central St Martins School of Art & Design, London. Awards won: Tony Awards: Private Lives (Broadway) and Shrek the Musical (Broadway). Olivier Awards: Stanley (NT) and Private Lives (West End). Drama Desk Awards: Spamalot, Shrek the Musical & Private Lives (Broadway). Theatre credits include: Ghosts (BAM/Almeida), Little Eyolf (Almeida), Bodyguard the Musical (West End, Germany, Korea, UK Tour) Spamalot (Broadway, West End, Vegas, US Tour), Shrek the Musical (Broadway, US Tour, West End, UK Tour), Temple (Donmar Warehouse), Mr Foote’s Other Leg (Hampstead and West End), Betty Blue Eyes (West End), Quartermain’s Terms (West End), An Enemy of the People and The Pajama Game (Chichester Festival Theatre/ West End), Singin’ In The Rain and My Fair Lady (Chatelet, Paris), The Crucible (Broadway), Endgame & 3 Lives of Lucie Cabrol (Complicite), Mrs Klein (Almeida). Carmen and Don Quixote (The Royal Ballet). For the National Theatre, London – Great Britain, 3 Winters, A Small Family Business, Timon of Athens, Welcome to Thebes, Rafta Rafta, Present Laughter, Henry V, The Talking Cure, Vincent in Brixton, Humble Boy, Stanley, Hamlet, Sleep with Me, Darker Face of the Earth, Flight, Caucasian Chalk Circle & Out of a house… (with Complicite). Film credits: Stage Beauty (2003 dir Richard Eyre), Closer (2004 dir Mike Nichols), Notes on a Scandal (2006 dir Richard Eyre). Exhibition: Vivienne Westwood - a London Fashion (Museum of London), Diaghilev & the Ballet Russes (V&A). Upcoming includes: Dreamgirls (West End), Travesties (Menier Chocolate Factory).
KAREN BRUCE (Choreographer) is an Olivier Award-winning choreographer and director. As Director: The Last Tango, Dance ’Til Dawn and Midnight Tango (all UK tour and West End); Strictly Come Dancing – the Professionals (UK tour); Love Me Tender (UK tour); Saturday Night Fever (UK and International tour); Footloose (West End, UK tour, South Africa) and The Wedding Singer (UK tour). As Choreographer: The Bodyguard (UK tour); Starlight Express (Joburg Theatre,South Africa); The Last Horseman (Madrid); Chess (Margitsziget Open Air Theatre, Budapest); Never Forget (West End, UK tour); Doctor Doolittle (UK tour); Pacific Overtures (Donmar Warehouse, London); The Producers (Spain); Far Pavilions (West End) and A Chorus Line and Sweet Charity (Sheffield Crucible, England). For Television: “Strictly Come Dancing”(BBC – 7 seasons); “So You Think You Can Dance” (BBC – 2 seasons); “Toast” (BBC Film); “Children in Need” (BBC) and “The Voice” (BBC). Awards and nominations: Olivier Award for Best Choreography for Pacific Overtures (Donmar Warehouse); TMA Best Musical Award for Sweet Charity (Sheffield Crucible)and WhatsOnStage Theatregoers’ Choice nomination for Best Choreographer for Never Forget.
MICHAEL HARRISON (Producer) produced the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Gypsy starring Imelda Staunton at the Savoy Theatre and The Bodyguard at the Adelphi Theatre. Gypsy became the recipient of four 2016 Olivier Awards including Best Musical Revival. This year he produced the brand new musical Mrs Henderson Presents, which transfers to Toronto after a critically acclaimed season at the Noel Coward Theatre, London. The Bodyguard is now a worldwide hit with productions currently in Holland and Germany and further productions to open in Australia, France, Italy, South Korea and, of course, the US. Its first UK tour played to sell out business at every theatre it visited and it returned to London’s West End at the Dominion Theatre. With Cameron Mackintosh he produced the UK tour of the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Barnum and was also behind the production of Annie directed by Nikolai Foster. He will next present the forthcoming UK tour of Funny Girl. His other musicals include Aspects of Love, The Witches of Eastwick, I Dreamed a Dream, Jolson and Co, Chess and Titanic. He is Managing Director of Qdos Entertainment and has created over 100 pantomimes for the company. In 2016 he will create Cinderella, the first pantomime at the London Palladium in nearly thirty years. In 2012 he was awarded a companionship to the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts by Sir Paul McCartney.
DAVID IAN (Producer) has produced theatre shows all over the world. He is the recipient of five Olivier awards and two Tony nominations. His credits include: Grease, Saturday Night Fever, The Kingand I, West Side Story, Singin’ in the Rain, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Anything Goes, The Producers, Defending the Caveman, Guysand Dolls, Daisy Pulls It Off, The Sound of Music, La Cage auxFolles, Sweet Charity, Flashdance, Gypsy, The Shawshank Redemption, The Phantom of the Opera (Las Vegas), My FairLady, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Chess, The Rocky HorrorShow, Cats, Chicago, Dr Dolittle, Starlight Express, Seminar,Steel Magnolias, Ghost the Musical, Priscilla Queen of theDesert, The Bodyguard, Jersey Boys, Annie, Xanadu and Show Boat.
NEDERLANDER PRESENTATIONS, INC. (Producer) is a producing company under the leadership of James L. Nederlander. The company operates a chain of legitimate theatres including the Brooks Atkinson, Gershwin, Lunt-Fontanne, Marquis, Minskoff, Nederlander, Neil Simon, Palace, and Richard Rodgers on Broadway, and many landmark venues around the world from Los Angeles to London. Recent credits include: the all new Broadway production of CATS, An American in Paris and On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan.