NOVEMBER 12-29, 2015
Staged! presents:
Dogfight
A new musical about cruelty and hope
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Directed by PAUL ANGELO
Musical Direction by ERIC NORDIN
Musical Assistant: STEVEN CANTOR
Lighting Design: PETER WEST
Fight Choreography/Staging: KRISTEN MUN
Set Design: Max Ward
Costume Design: Alyssa Rands**
Properties Design: Sarah Andrews**
Stage Manager: Heather Taylor
* S! Conservatory Student
**former Staged! students
ABOUT THE SHOW
It’s November 21, 1963. On the eve of their deployment to a small but growing conflict in Southeast Asia, three young Marines set out for one final boys’ night of debauchery, partying and maybe a little trouble. But when Corporal Eddie Birdlace meets Rose, an awkward and idealistic waitress he enlists to win a cruel bet with his fellow recruits, she rewrites the rules of the game and teaches him the power of compassion.
Presenting this piece for the first time in Portland, Staged! is pleased to continue its emphasis on living composers writing for the contemporary musical theatre scene. “Pasek & Paul are on a hot streak right now,” says Artistic Director Chanda Hall. “They are one of the teams to watch, and their writing really speaks to this emerging generation of artists.”
In keeping with Staged!’s mission to “grow artists,” two of the actors in the show come from their pre-professional theatre training program. Three more students participated in apprenticeships with professional designers and directors working on the show. A training ground for emerging artists, Staged! is proud to have hired two former students as designers on this show: Costume Designer Alyssa Rands, and Properties Designer Sarah Andrews. As in all Staged! shows, musicians will remain visible to the audience. Musical director Eric Nordin has created a unique all-acoustic sound using three musicians.
Backstage called Dogfight “superbly crafted, gratifyingly intelligent, richly observant and immensely enjoyable. This is musical theatre at its finest.” Dogfight will open in Portland the day after Veterans Day, honoring those who have served in America’s armed forces. 2015 marks the 40-year anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, and through lobby displays and talk-backs audience members will be able to learn and share about the conflict and the continuing struggles of veterans.
ABOUT Staged!
Staged! exists to tell compelling human stories through song, and to nurture talent both onstage and off. With musical theatre pared down to its essential elements – music, story and song – Staged! produces stellar contemporary musical theatre and provides pre-professional training to young people.
Last seen at the Brunish Theatre with the award-winning PARADE by Jason Robert Brown, Staged! is proud to present the Portland debut of DOGFIGHT featuring Staged! students alongside seasoned professional actors. We never put musicians in a pit.
SPECIAL EVENTS (following the sunday matinee shows)
Nov. 15: “The Brain and PTSD” by OHSU neuroscientist Dr. Larry Sherman
Nov. 22: Composer Salon (performances & discussion) centered on the songs of Broadway composing team Pasek & Paul (Dogfight, A Christmas Story, Edges, Dear Evan Hansen, James & the Giant Peach). Tickets include wine and hors d’oeuvres.
ABOUT THE WRITERS
Benj Pasek & Justin Paul are the Tony-nominated songwriters of the Broadway musical A Christmas Story (dir. John Rando, chor. Warren Carlyle), which opened in November 2012 and enjoyed a critically-acclaimed, record-breaking run at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. In addition to the Best Score nomination, A Christmas Story also received Tony nominations for Best Musical and Best Book. The holiday musical was named one of the Top 10 Shows of 2012 by Time Magazine, shared recognition as the #1 Musical of 2012 in USA Today and received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Outstanding New Broadway Musical. Benj and Justin’s score for the show also received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Music. The cast album was recorded and produced by Sony Masterworks and is published through Warner/Chappell Music.
Benj & Justin are also the composers behind the Off-Broadway musical Dogfight, (dir. Joe Mantello, chor. Christopher Gattelli), a Best New Musical nominee for the Drama League, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle awards. Benj and Justin also received an Outer Critics Circle Best Score nomination for their work on the show. Dogfight premiered in July 2012 at Second Stage Theatre, and a cast album, produced by Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records, was released in May 2013. The album debuted in the top 50 albums on iTunes. The show enjoyed a critically-acclaimed production at London’s Southwark Playhouse in summer of 2014, and was shortlisted for an Evening Standard Award for Best Musical.
As television songwriters, their original songs were featured on Season 2 of NBC’s Smash, and rose to the Top 25 on the iTunes Pop Charts.
INFORMATION
Staged! Musical Theatre at CoHo Productions,
2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland, OR 97210
Running November 12-29, 2015
Preview Nov. 12 @ 7:30pm;
Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights at 7:30 pm. (No performance Thursday, Nov. 26 Thanksgiving), Sundays at 2:00 pm
Monday Nov. 23 at 7:30 pm
TICKETS $10-$29, General Seating
