Pasadena Playhouse has scored a Broadway threesome for their upcoming updated production of Stephen Sondheim-Richard Rodger's Do I Hear a Waltz? running July 6-Aug. 19. West Side Story's Carol Lawrence, A Chorus Line's Alyson Reed and Kiss of the Spider Woman's Anthony Crivello form the trio at the center of the 1965 musical based on Arthur Laurents' Time of the Cuckoo.
Reed played Cassie in A Chorus Line, both on Broadway and in the movie. She was Tony-nominated for Cabaret and Drama Desk nominated for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in Marilyn: An American Fable. Lawrence originated the role of Maria in West Side Story, earning a Tony Award nomination. Her multiple Broadway credits include Kiss of the Spider Woman, I Do, I Do, Saratoga and Subways Are for Sleeping. Crivello won a Tony Award for playing the revolutionary Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman. His other featured Broadway roles are Javert in Les Miserables, Che in Evita and Dante Keyes opposite Audra McDonald in Marie Christine.
A bittersweet romance, Do I Hear a Waltz? follows the adventures of Midwestern schoolteacher Leona Samish (Reed) as she spends her life savings in Venice, searching for love. When she finds it in the person of antique dealer Renato di Rossi (Crivello), their burgeoning feelings are threatened by Samish's own romantic ideals. Songs in the Rodgers Sondheim score include "Do I Hear A Waltz?," "Here We Are Again," "Moon In My Window," "Perfectly Lovely Couple," "Someone Like You," "This Week Americans" and "We're Gonna Be All Right."
Do I Hear a Waltz was staged in a revised version at New Jersey's George Street Plyahouse in Oct.-Nov., 1999. Revisions included work on the book by Laurents, some added and "retailored" lyrics by Sondheim, and a restored song - "Everybody Loves Leona." The Pasadena Playhouse Do I Hear a Waltz? will use only an updated book with the restored original score played by an 18-piece orchestra.
David Lee will direct. Lee created "Frasier" and "Wings" and recently helmed the Pasadena Playhouse's successful revival of Light Up the Sky!. The Pasadena Playhouse is located at 39 South El Molino Avenue. For reservations, call (800) 233-3123. The Pasadena Playhouse is on the web at http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org.
— By Christine Ehren
