As previously announced, the Jerry Herman musical, which is scheduled to begin performances May 27 at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theater, will star Christine Baranski in the title role with Harriet Harris as Vera Charles, Emily Skinner as Agnes Gooch, Jeff McCarthy as Beauregard, Max von Essen as the adult Patrick and Alan Muraoko as Ito.
Those actors will be joined by Harrison Chad as Young Patrick, Michael L. Forrest as Babcock, Ed Dixon as Lindsay Woolsey/Uncle Jeff, Mary Stout as Mother Burnside, Harry A. Winter as Mr. Claude Upson, Ruth Gottschall as Mrs. Doris Upson/Madame B. and Ethan Langsdorf-Willoughby as Peter.
The ensemble of singers and dancers will include Joe Paparella, Michael Buchanan, James Patterson, Dennis Kenney, Chad Schiro, Parker Esse, Shane Braddock, Jeremy Benton, Sean McKnight, Clark Johnson, Susan Derry, Tory Ross, Sarah Jane Everman, Alison Cimmet, Suzanne Hylenski, Melissa Rae Mahon, Laura Taylor, Kelly Kohnert, Kira Schmidt, Megan Hart, Kevin Worley and Erin Crouch. Amy McWilliams is the standby for the roles of Mame and Vera.
Directed by Eric Schaeffer, the limited engagement will officially open June 1 and will run through July 2. The musical's creative team comprises Warren Carlyle (choreographer), Walt Spangler (set designer), Ken Billington (lighting designer) and Gregg Barnes (costume designer).
Mame, according to press notes, "follows the whirlwind adventures of an unconventional aunt and her nephew with a rogue's gallery of memorable characters - including the has-been actress Vera Charles, timid secretary Agnes Gooch, and southern gentleman Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside - plus encounters with proper society." Mame, based on Patrick Dennis' novel "Auntie Mame," features a score by Jerry Herman and a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. The original Broadway production opened in May 1966 at the Winter Garden Theatre with Angela Lansbury as Mame and Bea Arthur as Vera Charles. Both Lansbury and Arthur won Tony Awards for their work. A subsequent film version cast Lucille Ball as the vivacious Mame. The classic Herman score includes such tunes as "If He Walked Into My Life," "It's Today," "Open a New Window," "Mame," "Bosom Buddies" and "We Need a Little Christmas."
Mame will play Tuesday-Sunday evenings at 7:30 PM with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 PM. Tickets, priced $25-$90, are available by calling (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324. For more information visit www.kennedy-center.org.
