The Leonard Bernstein musical will be presented Feb. 11 and 12, 2005 in a concert format; show time is 7:30 PM. The cast, according to the Hall's official website, also includes Michael Slattery as Candide, Carla Huhtanen as Cunegonde, Sir Thomas Allen as Pangloss/Narrator, Bonaventura Bottone as Governor/Captain/Vanderdender/ Crook, Anna Jane Casey as Paquette and Sebastien Lemoine as Maximillian. The Maida Vale Singers will also be part of the concerts, which will feature the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Rumon Gamba. Based on Voltaire's novel, Candide premiered on Broadway in 1956 at the Martin Beck Theatre. Although it boasted music by Leonard Bernstein, a book by Lillian Hellman and additional lyrics by John Latouche, Dorothy Parker and Richard Wilbur, the musical ran a brief 73 performances. The 1997 revival at the Gershwin Theatre featured a cast led by Jim Dale, Andrea Martin, Jason Danieley and Harolyn Blackwell. The Patti LuPone-Kristin Chenoweth-Paul Groves version, taped live last season with the New York Philharmonic, will be aired on PBS Jan. 12, 2005.
Kim Criswell has appeared on Broadway in Nine, Baby, The First, Stardust and The Threepenny Opera. She received an Olivier nomination for her work in the West End production of Annie Get Your Gun, and her other London credits include Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens; Dames at Sea; and The Slow Drag. Criswell received a Helen Hayes Award for Side by Side by Sondheim at the Olney Theatre, and her solo recordings include "Something to Dance About: The Music of Irving Berlin" and "Back to Before."
The Royal Festival Hall is located in London on Belvedere Road. Visit www.rfh.org.uk for more information.
