Ben Vereen to Direct Gravitte, Moore, Rae and More in Musical Potato, Nov. 24-30
By Robert Simonson
01 Sep 2003
Broadway musical actor Ben Vereen will direct a host of his colleagues in a concert version of a new children's musical, The Odd Potato, to run Nov. 24-30 at the Peter Norton Symphony Space.
For a one-act show with a run of a single week, Vereen has gathered together some impressive Broadway-caliber talent. The cast will include Mark Jacoby (Show Boat, Man of La Mancha), Melba Moore (Purlie), Charlotte Rae, and Molly Ephraim (the recent revival of Into The Woods). Other cast members will be announced at a later date.
The Odd Potato's story is set at Hanukkah and tells of the Levy family. Father Joe Levy's wife has died and he has grown deeply depressed, just when his newly motherless children Sammy and Rachel most crave his attentions.
The Odd Potato was written by Eileen Bluestone Sherman and her sister, composer Gail C. Bluestone, and is based on Sherman's 1984 picture book of the same name. The tale has already been adapted for television; in 1990, it won an Emmy Award for Best Children's Special for Chicago Programming.
The musical is produced by 6-10 Productions. For more information, call (212) 517-1775. At each performance, every child 14 and younger will be given "The Odd Potato Coloring Book."
Vereen made his name as a prime interpreter of the work of Bob Fosse with his turn as the Leading Player in the original Broadway production of Pippin. He recently returned to the choreographer's oeuvre, acting in the Broadway revue Fosse. Other Broadway credits include Jesus Christ Superstar, Jelly's Last Jam and I'm Not Rappaport. He is currently starring in The Exonerated Off-Broadway.
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