Bakula's co-star in the Richard Rodgers-Samuel Taylor musical will be Sophina Brown, who has been cast as Barbara, a successful Paris model. Brown, who can currently be seen on CBS' "Shark," played Nala in the Broadway production of The Lion King and Carmen in the tour of Fame—The Musical. She has also appeared in productions of Jesus Christ Superstar, As You Like It, Antigone and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Others in the cast include Matthew Ashford ("Days of Our Lives," "General Hospital") as Mike and Broadway veteran Ruth Williamson (La Cage aux Folles, The Music Man, Guys and Dolls) as Mollie. Joseph Culliton, Bets Malone, Brent Schindele and Carla Tassara will also be featured in the cast; the ensemble will comprise Audrey Cain, Bradley Dodds, Cherish Hamutoff, Abby Hencmann, Todd Christian Hunter, Masad Kitamura, Monica Lee, Tracy Powell, Rebecca Rainboldt, Vanessa Ross, Kate Roth, Anna Schnaitter and John Todd.
No Strings will play UCLA's Freud Playhouse May 8-20. Kay Cole will direct the production, which will feature musical direction by Gerald Sternbach, choreography by Christine Kellogg and costume design by Bob Mackie and Joe McFate. The creative team will also include Bradley Kaye (set design), Steven Young (lighting design) and Phil Allen (sound design).
No Strings features a score by Richard Rodgers and a book by Samuel Taylor. The musical debuted on Broadway in March 1962 with a cast led by Diahann Carroll and Richard Kiley. The score features such tunes as "The Sweetest Sounds" and "Love Makes the World Go." It was Rodgers' first show following the death of his longtime lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Rodgers wrote music and lyrics for the show.
The show, according to press notes, concerns a "successful high-fashion model [who] meets and falls in love with a writer in Paris. While this Pulitzer prize-winner has been trying to recover from a prolonged case of writer's block, he's assumed the dubious role of charming intellectual-in-residence at some of the Continent's more luxurious watering holes. As the model's work takes them on a whirlwind tour of the most exclusive European playgrounds, their romance develops into the first deeply-felt, honest relationship either has ever known. The model, however, ruefully comes to realize that the life-style demanded by her career is stifling the writer, and if he's ever to fulfill the promise of his earlier work, he must take responsibility for himself, go home, and write. Reluctantly, but with no strings, they part, each having discovered anew their capacity to love." For tickets call the UCLA Central ticket office at (310) 825-2101. Visit www.reprise.org for more information.
