42nd Street Moon

Can-Can (1953)

Citizens are excoriated for behavior others find “indecent.” Some politicians turn a blind eye, others actively support the law-breakers. San Francisco in 2004? No, Paris in the 1890’s. 42nd Street Moon, San Francisco’s only theatre company dedicated to presenting “lost musicals,” presents the dazzling Cole Porter/Abe Burrows musical CAN-CAN. Capturing the spirit of the Belle Epoque, this musical gem recalls the decadence and the “live and let live” morality of the Gay Nineties. Featuring a sterling Cole Porter score, including “I Love Paris,” “C’est Magnifique,” “It’s All Right With Me,” “Live and Let Live,” “I Am in Love,” and the rousing title song, CAN-CAN plays October 6-31 at the Eureka Theatre in San Francisco. Greg MacKellan directs, with musical direction by Dave Dobrusky and choreography by Jayne Zaban. For tickets ($17-30) or more information, the public can call Yerba Buena Center Box Office at 415-978-2787 daily from 11am to 6pm, or log on to www.42ndStMoon.org.

Set in turn-of-the-century Paris, CAN-CAN celebrates the joie de vivre of “Gay Paree,” where the scandalous can-can dance at the infamous Bal du Paradis is all the rage. A tribute to the era captured in the artwork of Toulouse-Lautrec, this jaunty musical comedy portrays the wry and witty battle between close-minded judge Aristide Forstier and the free-spirited Bal du Paradis proprietress, La Mome Pistache. When he finds the police are turning a blind eye to the illegal can-can, Forestier decides to find the evidence he needs to shut down the Parisian dance halls himself. Naturally, he falls in love with La Mome Pistache along the way, eventually conceding that "obscenity is in the eye of the beholder."

CAN-CAN, which was part of the early 1950’s vogue for late-19th-century Paris, made history when it opened in 1953 by introducing the great Gwen Verdon to the New York stage and placing six songs from Cole Porter’s melodic score in the Top Ten. A Tony Award-winner in its Broadway debut, this story of do-gooders and dancers battling over the can-can craze became a popular, if wildly rewritten, 1960 film starring Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, and Maurice Chevalier. The show went on to become a starring vehicle for Chita Rivera in the late-1980s, and was most recently revived to great acclaim in an Encores! concert production last February starring Patti LuPone as La Mome Pistache.

Some of the cleverest, funniest, and most romantic songs ever written came from the pen of Cole Porter. Unmatched as a tunesmith, Porter’s Broadway musicals, from KISS ME KATE and ANYTHING GOES to SILK STOCKINGS and CAN-CAN, set the standards of style and wit to which today's composers and lyricists aspire. A contemporary of George Gershwin, Richard Rogers, and Jerome Kern, Porter broke from the simple sentimentality that dominated Tin Pan Alley. In 1916, his first full score was performed, and soon after Porter began to travel around Europe, beginning his life-long affection for Paris, which he would return to in songs such as "You Don't Know Paree" and "I Love Paris." It wasn't until his song "Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love" appeared in the 1928 musical PARIS that he had his first big hit. Porter’s urbane wit and musical complexity won him the affection of the nation. Songs such as "What Is This Thing Called Love," "I Get A Kick Out of You," and "Too Darn Hot" became instant hits and have remained classics. In his lifetime, Porter amassed more than 800 original songs.

After studying to be a doctor and an accountant, librettist Abe Burrows became a successful radio script writer and writer/performer of musical parody numbers. His first Broadway libretto was GUYS AND DOLLS, co-written with Jo Swerling, with a score by Frank Loesser. Among the musicals for which he provided librettos are MAKE A WISH, CAN-CAN, SILK STOCKINGS, SAY, DARLING, and HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, which he also directed. Burrows non-musical plays include CACTUS FLOWER, which he wrote and directed, and FORTY CARATS, which he directed.

Starring as La Mome Pistache for 42nd Street Moon is special guest Ann Morrison, who originated the leading role of Mary Flynn in Sondheim’s MERRILY WE ROLE ALONG on Broadway and starred in the title role of the London musical PEG. Michael Taylor, a member of the original San Francisco company of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, co-stars as judge Aristide Forestier while 42nd Street Moon veterans Bill Fahrner and Alexandra Kaprielian co-star as Bohemian artist Boris and his dancer girlfriend, Claudine (the Gwen Verdon Role). Also featured are Michael Austin, Ken Baggott; Don Cima; Brandy Collazo; Nancy Dobbs Owen; Tom Segal; Ryan Donovan; Rudy Guerrero; Tania Johnson; Timothy Meyers; Tara Besso; and Simon Trumble.

Biographies

		MICHAEL AUSTIN (Henri [Tabac waiter]/Prosecutor/ Jussac's Second) has appeared in numerous Moon productions, and was most recently seen as Lord “Rocky” Harrogate in the U.S. premiere of The Cabaret Girl. He has just finished simultaneous runs of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abr. with Shakespeare at Stinson and Much Ado About Nothing (Claudio) with the Curtain Theatre. Other Bay Area credits include projects with TheatreWorks, Pacific Repertory Theatre, New Conservatory Theatre, San Jose Stage, SteinBeck Presents, The Bus Barn Stage Company, Calaveras Repertory Theatre, and Theatre Artists' Conspiracy.

		KENNETH BAGGOTT (Hilaire Jussac) is a 40-year veteran in theater, television, and film. He can be seen and heard on a number of local and national television and radio spots. He was seen last season as Robert LeMonteur in 42nd Street Moon's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Other recent roles include Jack Blessington in Solid Gold Cadillac (Willows Theatre); Michael in I Do! I Do! (Empress of the North Riverboat); Yvan in Art (Hayward Little Theater); Horace Vandergelder in Hello, Dolly! (Altarena Playhouse); the long-running New Wrinkles in San Francisco; and Felix in The OddCouple (Hillbarn Theatre). He holds a Theater Arts degree from Sacramento State.

		TARA BESSO (Fannette/Model/Woman), originally from Massachusetts, is thrilled to be making her West Coast debut with 42nd Street Moon. She holds a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied opera and musical theater. Some favorite roles include, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Robin in Smile, Nanette in No, No, Nanette, and Mabel in Pirates of Penzance. Tara has performed for celebrities such as Bernadette Peters and Donny Osmond and has made appearances on TNN, Inside Edition, and NBC’s Today Show. Thanks to Mom, Dad, Beck, and John.

		DON CIMA (Judge Paul Marceaux/Monarchist) has appeared in nine previous 42nd Street Moon productions, among them -- Louisiana Purchase, Jubilee, Call Me Madam, Sitting Pretty, TheGood Companions, and Too Many Girls. On the Peninsula, he has performed in leading or featured roles in My Fair Lady, The Pajama Game, The Sound of Music, Once Upon a Mattress, Singin’ in the Rain, Crazy for You, The Music Man, Harvey, The Boy Friend, Me and My Girl, KissMe Kate, 42nd Street, The Royal Family, Phantom, and How to Succeed in Business.

		BRANDY COLLAZO (Mimi) is thrilled to be working with 42nd Street Moon! She recently portrayed Marjorie May/Showgirl in the Willows Theatre production of Gypsy, where she was also dance captain. Other credits include: West Side Story (Anybodys), The Boy Friend (Dulcie u/s Polly), Fiddler on the Roof (Hodel), and My Favorite Year (K.C. Downing). She has danced in the ensembles of My Fair Lady, Evita, The Music Man, Pippin, and Joseph… Dreamcoat (dance captain). Ms. Collazo is also a talented voiceover artist and is featured in several popular video games, including Sega’s House of the Dead, III.

		RYAN DONOVAN (Leon/2nd Policeman/Waiter/Derossier) is excited to be making his 42nd Street Moon debut in Can-Can. He was most recently seen in Sierra Repertory Theatre’s production of Annie Get Your Gun. Some of his other credits include Ann Reinking's Broadway Theatre Project and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. He is a graduate of the New School in New York City.

		BILL FAHRNER (Boris Adzinidzinadze) is thrilled to be appearing in his twenty-sixth 42nd Street Moon musical! His habit of "playing crazy" with the company began with his 1995 performance as surrealist theater director Ogden Quillar in Jerome Kern's VeryWarm for May. Having now played a tempermental Romanian composer (Kern's Cat andthe Fiddle, 2001), a psychotic Russian terrorist (Leave It To Me, 2001), and Boris Adzinidzenadze, Bill thinks that maybe the American musical theater needs to lighten up on the Eastern Europeans.

		RUDY GUERRERO (Hercule/Bailiff) has performed at numerous regional theaters across the country. His San Francisco Bay Area credits include Alcazar Theater, American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Magic Theater, Marin Shakespeare Company, Marin Theatre Company, Pacific Alliance Stage Company, TheatreWorks, Willows Theatre Company, and Word for Word. He has received several Dean Goodman Choice and Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Awards. He holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theater from the Boston Conservatory and an M.F.A. in Acting from American Conservatory Theater.

		TANIA JOHNSON (Gabrielle) is happy to be returning to 42nd Street Moon where she was last seen as a tap dancer in Funny Face (2000). More recently, Tania appeared as a Kit Kat girl and as the accordion-playing Fraulein Kost in Cabaret at Theatre on San Pedro Square. Favorite roles include Audrey (Little Shop…) and Fred (…Mattress). She has performed with American Musical Theatre of San Jose, TheatreWorks, The Willows Theatre, Guggenheim Entertainment, and Reel Blondes. Tania holds a B.A. in Music from UC Berkeley.

		ALEXANDRA KAPRIELIAN (Claudine/Dance Captain) wasseen this past spring as Ada Little in 42nd Street Moon’s American premiere of The Cabaret Girl. She has performed in or worked on other Moon productions such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Fifty Million Frenchmen, Paint Your Wagon, Finian’s Rainbow, and Oh Captain! She has also appeared in productions for Broadway by the Bay, Peninsula Center Stage, and Palo Alto Players. Her most recent singing credits include a duet with Rebecca Luker at this year’s 42nd Street Moon gala, All the Things You Are, and joining cabaret star Jason Graae in his recent engagement at the Plush Room.

		TIMOTHY J. MEYERS (Etienne/3rd Policeman) is thrilled to be making his debut with 42nd Street Moon in Can-Can. Recent productions include UG!: A Stone-Age Musical Comedy at The San Jose Stage Company; Blood Brothers at Pacific Repertory Theatre; TheClerk's and Merchant's Tales with Geoffrey Chaucer and Co.; Pageant at The Oregon Cabaret Theatre; Amadeus at The Guthrie Theatre; Blue Window, MississippiPanorama, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at The Children's Theatre Co.; War and Peace at The Metropolitan Opera. He recently work-shopped the new musical, Campaign of the Century, at American Musical Theatre of San Jose. Timothy portrays Jakob in the upcoming film, Jakob's Gate. He is a graduate of Circle in the Square Theatre Conservatory, New York City. Love to his family and extended family.

		ANN MORRISON (La Mome Pistache) is happy to be making her 42nd Street Moon debut! She made her Broadway debut as Mary Flynn in Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, which earned her a 1982 Theatre Award. She also starred in the musical Peg in London. Ann is co-founder of the Kaleidoscope Theatre Company for persons with developmental disabilities in Florida. She is currently developing a one-woman show, Discourse of a Maid, which is based on Celtic mythology and storytelling. Still, her best creation is her son, Huckleberry Walton.

		NANCY DOBBS OWEN(Celestine) is thrilled to be making her 42nd Street Moon debut and to be working again with her first mentor, Jayne Zaban. Nancy has danced with ballet companies all over the country. She appeared in the ballet chorus and as Meg in the San Francisco production of The Phantom of the Opera. Additional local appearances include American Musical Theatre of San Jose, ODC Theater, Theater Artaud, and the Cable Car Theater. She is also a member of Bookpals and records for Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic and Books Aloud. Visit www.nancydobbsowen.com.

		TOM SEGAL (Judge Barriere/Philippe/Ghyslain, et al), a veteran of many musicals, has danced, sung, acted, and choreographed locally, nationally, and abroad. He is a frequent choreographer and performer for Pacific Alliance Stage Company. For his work in their production of Guys and Dolls, he was named “Best Choreographer of the 1999/2000 Theatre Season” by the Press Democrat and received a Dean Goodman Choice Award for the same show. Tom is pleased to be working with 42nd Street Moon and is looking forward to choreographing their upcoming production of Once Upon a Mattress in December.

		MICHAEL TAYLOR (Judge Aristide Forestier), a Masters graduate from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, began his career in musicals performing lead roles in Brigadoon, KissMe Kate, Oklahoma!, Kismet, and West Side Story. He has also appeared as a soloist with many opera companies and symphonies including the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Ballet, Opera San Jose, the Berkeley Symphony, and the Sacramento Choral Society, to name a few. Mr. Taylor was also a member of the cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera at the Curran Theater.

		SIMON TRUMBLE (Theophile/1st Policeman) is tickled to be working with 42nd Street Moon. He is a senior at Berkeley High School where he will be directing A Chorus Line next spring. Some of his favorite theatrical endeavors include roles as David in Torch Song Trilogy with the New Conservatory, Danny in Grease, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, and Paul in A Chorus Line. Simon will also be directing a one-act play for the Independent Theater Projects. Come check out I.T.P. in Berkeley this February.

		GREG MacKELLAN (Director) Greg, who loves Paris every moment (and especially Montmartre), arrived in San Francisco in 1992 for a short stay and still hasn’t gone home to Los Angeles. He co-founded 42nd Street Moon in 1993, which may explain the delay. Credits with Moon as a director have included I Married an Angel, Paint Your Wagon, Do I Hear a Waltz?, Something for the Boys, The Cat & the Fiddle, Nymph Errant, and Goldilocks, as well as last June’s Kern Gala starring Rebecca Luker, and 2003’s I Remember It Well starring Leslie Caron. In 2000 Greg provided a revised script for Moon’s production of Cole Porter’s Out of This World, which has just been produced to great acclaim at the Chichester Festival in England. His pre-Moon life was rich and varied and included many projects as an actor, director, and producer, which have been mostly driven from his memory by encroaching old age. However, the titles Tintypes, Mack & Mabel, The Baker’s Wife, and South Pacific do ring some particularly loud bells.

		DAVE DOBRUSKY (Musical Director) is celebrating his 28th production with 42nd Street Moon! He is thrilled and grateful to have such a perfect job. Some of his favorites include the recent TheCabaret Girl, Paint Your Wagon, By Jupiter, …Bird, Plane, Superman, Dear World, Call MeMadam, Girl Crazy, Jubilee (1997), Louisiana Purchase, Finian’s Rainbow, OhCaptain!, and the new version of Cole Porter’s Out of This World. Dave is also responsible for the musical direction, arrangements, and piano work on the 42nd Street Moon cast album of Leave It To Me. Other Bay Area credits include The Boyfriend, Whispers on the Wind (Playhouse West), Violet, Side Show (TheatreWorks), and many other wonderful local productions.

		JAYNE ZABAN (Choreographer) is co-owner and Director of Ballet for Dance Arts Center in San Mateo. She danced professionally with the Atlanta Ballet Company and has instructed many students who now have professional careers in theatre and dance. Jayne has choreographed numerous productions throughout the Bay Area, including seven seasons with 42nd Street Moon. She has also choreographed for Diablo Light Opera Company, Contra Costa Musical Theatre, Peninsula Center Stage, Hillbarn, and Morris Bobrow Productions. She received two nominations from the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, has been honored with the Garland Award for Let’s Face It and Out of This World, and received the Dean Goodman Award for Out of This World, and a Shellie Award for Anything Goes for CCMT.

		BARBARA ROSEN (Costumer) is delighted to be costuming Can-Can, her fifth show with 42nd Street Moon after having worked on Roberta, Finian's Rainbow, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and The Cabaret Girl. In her free time she has also costumed for Broadway by the Bay and OpenStage Repertory Theater. She would like to thank her children William and Ashley for their help and support. And love always to her husband Jon, who first taught her to love Paris.

		KRIS VECERE (Stage Manager), a San Francisco native and UC Berkeley graduate, is pleased to return for a fourth season with 42nd Street Moon. Previous shows: Superman!,Leave It To Me!, PipeDream, Too Many Girls, Paint Your Wagon and The Cabaret Girl. Kris has also worked at the Goodspeed Opera House, P.C.P.A Theatrefest, Sacramento Music Circus, and A.C.T. Conservatory. Other credits include: Little Shop of Horrors, Tintypes, Abyssina, Greater Tuna, Steven Banks Home Entertainment Center (as seen on Showtime), and Buried Child.

ELLEN BROOKS (Lighting Director) designed the past three seasons for Marin Shakespeare Company at Forest Meadows including the award-winning 1001 ArabianNights. For 42nd Street Moon she has designed over a dozen productions at the Alcazar, Herbst, Presentation, and Eureka Theatres in San Francisco and is currently Designer in Residence for the internationally recognized Lamplighters (HMS Pinafore, A Little Night Music, Gondoliers, Patience, Princess Ida, Pirates of Penzance, TheGuardsman, Yeoman of the Guard and Iolanthe), which produces at Yerba Buena Center, San Francisco, and the Dean Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek. This year Ms. Brooks directed the Lamplighters’ Mikado. She is also an accomplished performer in classical Japanese comedy (Kyogen), touring with Theatre of Yugen, San Francisco, since 1987.

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