Rando takes over for Kathleen Marshall who is busy with infant twins and the upcoming Broadway revival of Anything Goes. "Kathleen suggested John and he has been a perfect fit," SCKBSTD producer Mike Rafael told Playbill.com. "It's nice to be able to replace a Tony winner with a Tony winner. John has hit the ground sprinting. We recently held a three-day work session with the authors in New York."
The book for SCKBSTD is by Clay McLeod Chapman (Hostage Song). Music is by Grammy Award winner Hornsby; lyrics are co-written by Hornsby and his friend and fellow Virginian deMatteo. Hornsby is a native of Hampton Roads, the name given to the Norfolk area.
The world premiere of SCKBSTD will be produced by Virginia Stage Company (Chris Hanna, artistic director; Keith Stava, managing director) in Norfolk, VA, as part of their "American Soil" series, in association with commercial producers David Riemer & Mike Rafael for Spiral Staircase LLC.
Performances will play VSC's home Jan. 18-Feb. 6, 2011. Casting will be announced.
The SCKBSTD production team includes musical supervisor Kim Grigsby and designers Narelle Sissons (sets), Jennifer Caprio (costumes), Robert Wierzel (lights) and Jessica Paz (sound). A video designer will be announced. SCKBSTD includes 19 original songs by three-time Grammy Award winner (and 13-time nominee) Hornsby. Songs from SCKBSTD were featured on Hornsby's 2009 CD "Levitate."
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Marshall directed a Manhattan reading of SCKBSTD in May. Broadway's J. Robert Spencer, Jill Paice, Tom Wopat, Natalie Belcon and more participated.
Here's how the project's commercial producers are characterizing the show: "A stranger comes to a small town with a terrible secret. His presence has unintended consequences for a doctor and his wife. Fear and paranoia grow when a child goes missing. In the end an unbearable loss brings a family and a town back together."
Tony Award nominee Wopat (A Catered Affair, Sondheim on Sondheim, Annie Get Your Gun) played the title role; the title is a variation on "sick bastard." The show's logo is a vanity license plate.
Hornsby, a Williamsburg, VA, native, had a hit with "The Way It Is," performed by Hornsby and the Range. The singer-musician-writer draws on rock, bluegrass, jazz and more for his sound.
