With music and lyrics by Guettel and book and additional lyrics by Tina Landau, Floyd Collins will begin performances Feb. 8, 2005, with an official opening on Feb. 11. Richard Israel will direct and Cate Caplin will choreograph the production, which plays through April 3. Johanna Kent is the show's musical director.
The Floyd Collins cast features Andrea Covell, Denny Downs, Alex Kaufman, David Kaufman, Jerry Kernion, Larry Lederman, David Nadeau, Dana Reynolds, Bryce Ryness, Chris Spencer, Stef Tovar and Brian Weir. The creative team also includes Evan Bartoletti (set design), Lisa D. Katz (lighting design), Alayna Marie Miller (costume design) and David Kelting (sound design).
Floyd Collins, according to production notes, "is based on the true story of a young Appalachian man seeking his fame and fortune in the caves and hollows of Kentucky in 1925. Trapped in a cave one hundred and fifty feet below the surface, this quintessential American dreamer is forced to look at the overriding power of faith and the belief in what cannot be seen — while above ground, the rescue effort explodes into America's first full-blown media circus. Hysteria descends on the mouth of the cave as reporters from across the country manipulate the nation into a frenzy of anticipation, despair and hope."
Floyd Collins premiered at Off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons Feb. 9, 1996, winning a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical. Composer Guettel's newest musical, The Light in the Piazza, begins performances March 18, 2005, at Lincoln Center Theater's Vivian Beaumont.
The West Coast Ensemble Theatre is located at 522 North La Brea Avenue, between Melrose and Beverly Boulevard. Tickets are available by calling (323) 525-0022. Visit www.wcensemble.org for more information.
