Headlining the two-week run (Dec. 23- Jan. 4, 2009) at the Kennedy Center's newly renovated Eisenhower Theater will be Tony Award nominee Liz Callaway (Baby, Cats, Miss Saigon), Eric Kunze (Jesus Christ Superstar, Whistle Down the Wind, Miss Saigon), Ron Bohmer (the title role in The Phantom of the Opera, The Woman in White, Sunset Boulevard), David Josefsberg (Les Misérables, Grease, Altar Boyz) and Laurie Gayle Stephenson (Christine in The Phantom of the Opera). A sixth cast member will be announced.
The engagement marks the first return of the special concert since a sold out holiday run at the Kennedy Center Opera House in December 2004. Callaway also appeared in that staging. The official opening night will be Dec. 27 at 7:30 PM.
Featuring a 30-piece onstage orchestra, the concert will feature the best-loved songs from the scores composed by the Tony, Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer and 2006 Kennedy Center Honoree. Expect selections from Cats, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Jesus Christ Superstar, Song & Dance, Starlight Express, Aspects of Love, Whistle Down the Wind, The Beautiful Game, The Woman in White and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber is presented by special arrangement with The Really Useful Group.
This new version of the concert "has been personally devised by Andrew Lloyd Webber for this exclusive engagement for Washington audiences." Like the 2004 version, which Lloyd Webber also oversaw, "it will also include the U.S. premiere of new music by the composer." In 2004, that included songs from two then-forthcoming projects for the composer: his new musical The Woman in White and the film version of The Phantom of the Opera. Details on new music being included for the 2008 edition will be announced in the coming weeks. (Fans will surely be hoping there will be a tease from the upcoming sequel to The Phantom of the Opera).
The creative and design teams for this engagement will reunite the team behind the 2004 production: director Tom Kosis, musical supervisor and conductor Edward G. Robinson, lighting designer Brian Nason and sound designer Lucas J. Corrubia, Jr.
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Robinson, who will be center stage conducting the symphony, has a long history working on Andrew Lloyd Webber shows including Cats, The Phantom of the Opera and previous tours of The Music of the Night.
Tickets go on sale to the general public Oct. 10. Performances will run Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 PM, with matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 1:30 PM. There is no performance on Dec. 24 and there will be an additional matinee performance on Dec. 26 at 1:30 PM. Tickets cost $25-$110 and may be purchased at the Kennedy Center box office or by calling Instant Charge at (202) 467-4600.
Tickets for performances on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 6 PM and 9:30 PM cost $25-$150 and include admission into the Kennedy Center’s New Year’s Eve party in the Grand Foyer.
Those patrons living outside the Washington metropolitan area may dial toll-free at (800) 444-1324 or visit website at kennedy-center.org.
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Lloyd Webber is the composer of The Likes of Us, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, By Jeeves, Evita, Variations and Tell Me on a Sunday combined as Song & Dance, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down the Wind, The Beautiful Game and The Woman in White. He is currently working on a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera.
Producer Finn received the 2005 Tony Award nomination for Best Play Revival for the Broadway production of On Golden Pond starring James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams, which played a pre-Broadway engagement at the Kennedy Center. Additional credits include the 2006 revival of the Pulitzer Prize winning drama The Subject Was Roses at the Kennedy Center; The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber in productions across the U.S. and Game Show, for which Finn is also a co-author.
