Beth McVey, who has appeared in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast, heads the cast of the musical, which kicks off the 2003 season at the Massachusetts theatre. Lisa McMillan stars as Mame's friend and rival, Vera Charles, in the North Shore mounting, which runs through May 18. Featuring direction and choreography by Barry Ivan, the cast also includes Cindy Benson as Agnes Gooch and Into the Woods' Chuck Wagner as Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside. Other principal players include Dominic Lim (Ito), Daniel Plimpton (Young Patrick), Adam Monley (Patrick Dennis), Rob Donohoe (Dwight Babcock) and Landon Komishane (Peter Dennis).
The Mame ensemble comprises Becky Barta, Seth Belliston, Michelle Bruckner, Sandi DiGeorge, Kenneth-Michael Glass, Eleanor Glockner, Sara Hart, Lesley Jennings, Rosemary Loar, Kathy Meyer, Courtney Mazza, Michael McGurk, Brendt Reil, Vonnie Roemer, Melissa Rouse, Luke Rawlings, Shane Rhoades, Thos Shipley, Rob Sutton, Justin Tanner and Vincent Zamora.
Beth McVey has appeared on Broadway in productions of Beauty and the Beast, 42nd Street, Annie, Nine and The Phantom of the Opera. Her national tour credits include Copacabana, Guys and Dolls and Lend Me a Tenor. This will mark McVey's third appearance at the North Shore Music Theatre; she also starred in their productions of Anything Goes and Man of La Mancha.
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 her boozy friend 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."
The North Shore Music Theatre is located on Dunham Road in Beverly, MA. Tickets are available now by calling (978) 232-7200 or by going to the theatre's website, www.nsmt.org.
