Casting for the musical, which has book, music and lyrics by local playwright-composer Jeanette Hopkins, was announced Dec. 22. Opening night is Jan. 16, 2009.
The cast includes Melissa Minyard (Broadway's Les Misérables); multiple Carbonell Award winner Margot Moreland (of South Florida's Ruthless!; Tomfoolery; Heartbeats; I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and Annie); Carbonell winners Laura Turnbull and Patti Gardner; and Pilar Uribe and Laura Hodos, both newcomers to Actors' Playhouse.
Based on the book "Dish & Tell: Life, Love and Secrets by the Miami Bombshells," the musical "takes us on the roller coaster journey of the lives of six women as they come together to expose their deepest flaws and secrets and in doing so discover their inner strengths," according to production notes. "The musical, like the book, is a compilation of vignettes based on true stories about the women's journeys and how they juggled their personal and professional lives. Some of the stories are funny, some are full of raw emotions and others are just a bit outrageous, proving that truth is much stranger and a lot more interesting than fiction. …Bombshells addresses common social issues that permeate and unify women's lives regardless of the many ethnic, socio-economic, and cultural differences that exist among them. Through upbeat pop/Broadway music and catchy lyrics, every audience member will bond with the plot at different moments of the musical as each discovers bits and pieces of their lives reflected on the stage."
The musical was first presented by Actors' Playhouse as a staged reading in July 2007 and again in August 2008.
Musical arranger is Grammy Award winner Artie Butler. Actors' Playhouse artistic director David Arisco has been working with choreographer David Campbell in the creative aspects of this premiere. Arisco stated, "It's always exciting to be working on a world premiere. Jeanette Hopkins has written a fun, powerful, and relevant new musical and our creative team has sculpted an engaging evening of fresh, new musical theatre."
The design team includes set designer Tim Webb, lighting designer Patrick Tennent, costume designer Dario Almiron and sound engineer Alex Herrin.
For more information or reservations call (305) 444-9293 or visit www.actorsplayhouse.org.
