Theatre Aspen will bring one of Broadway’s best-loved musical spectacles to the stage at the Hurst Theatre next summer, as the centerpiece of its 30th anniversary season.
“Les Misérables,” the Tony Award-winning epic that was a Broadway mainstay for nearly 20 years, is scheduled to open on June 25, 2013. It’s an ambitious production for the quaint tent theater in Rio Grande Park, with the full production calling for countless set and costume changes and a massive cast.
“For our 30th birthday, we really wanted to push the boundaries in our new theater,” says Theatre Aspen artistic director Paige Price. “An event like ‘Les Misérables’ seemed like a no-brainer, especially with the imminent release of the film. I’m also excited by the sheer variety of this season’s shows.”
“Les Mis” will run in repertory with the musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” and the comedy “Fully Committed.”
Carbonell Award winner and Theatre Aspen veteran Mark Martino will direct and choreograph “Les Mis.” Martino helmed the local productions of “Avenue Q,” “Spelling Bee,” and “Little Shop of Horrors.”
“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” based on the “Peanuts” comic strip, was adapted into a musical by Clark M. Gesner. Theatre Aspen’s production will offer the most recent version, produced on Broadway in 1999, featuring additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and new dialogue by Michael Mayer. The production put Kristin Chenoweth on the map and won her a Tony Award. Artistic Director Paige Price will direct and JoAnn M. Hunter will choreograph.
Becky Mode’s “Fully Committed” will round out the season, with a director to be announced. This year, the Aspen Food and Wine Classic 2013 will use the Hurst Theatre as a venue, providing a fitting kick off to the tour de force one-man show about the staff of one of New York’s hottest restaurants and the patrons trying desperately to book a table. “Fully Committed” has been one of the most frequently produced shows in the world.
Theatre Aspen will also present work from the new musical “Cross That River,” by Pat and Allan Harris, which the theater has been developing. The musical, about a freed black slave who becomes a cowboy, was conceived by renowned jazz singer Allan Harris, who has performed for years in Aspen and plays the JAS Cafe at the Little Nell Dec. 27 and 28. The musical idea debuted at the Belly Up in Aspen as part of the “Lyrically Speaking” series and was featured on NPR’s “Weekend Edition.”
For more information contact Theatre Aspen at 970-925-9313 or visit www.theatreaspen.org