Destry Rides Again (1959)

Destry Rides Again

October 28 – November 15, 2009

Music and Lyrics by Harold Rome
Book by Leonard Gershe

Hollywood’s classic western is transformed into a whoopin’, shootin’, rip-roarin’ firecracker of a musical.  Bottleneck is a town filled with gamblers, bullwhip-toting bad guys, saloon girls and drunkards all intent on maintaining their wild ways.   The new sheriff, Tom Destry, intends to keep the peace without using a gun.   Frenchy, the dance hall girl at the Last Chance Saloon, is sent to compromise his morals and lead him astray, but loses her heart instead.

Harold Rome’s vibrant score features Anyone Would Love You, I Say Hello, Are You Ready, Gyp Watson?,  Fair Warning, Once Knew a Fella, and Ballad of the Gun.

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Directed by DIANNA SHUSTER
Musical Director CARL PANTLE
Choreographer TOM SEGAL

BIOGRAPHIES ANDREW BOYER (Wash) is making his 42nd Street Moon debut. His Broadway credits include Gypsy, with Patti LuPone, directed by Arthur Laurents and The Music Man, directed by Susan Stroman. Other NYC credits include King Lear with Hal Holbrook at the Roundabout Theatre, national tours of Beauty and the Beast, and The Odd Couple with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. Regionally, Dale Harding in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Fagin in Oliver!, Alfie Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Cap’n Andy in Show Boat, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, and Clem Rogers in Will Rogers Follies.     MICHAEL CASSIDY (Kent) previously appeared with 42nd Street Moon in Oh, Lady! Lady!!, Out of This World, and Ben Franklin in Paris. He has appeared locally with Broadway by the Bay (The Full Monty) Aurora Theatre (The Best Man, 2008 Bay Area Critics Circle Award, Best Production, Best Ensemble), Mountain Play (Man of La Mancha, Hair), Masquers Playhouse (Company), as well as Berkeley Rep, Subterranean Shakespeare, Novato Theatre Company and Ray of Light Theatre.     CONNIE CHAMPAGNE (Frenchy) is making her long-awaited debut at 42nd Street Moon. Champagne began her eclectic career with roles at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre and Theatre on the Square. She was recruited by Vegas In Space director Phillip R. Ford to portray the cult heroine, Neely O’Hara in his long-running stage adaptation of Valley of the Dolls, for which she earned her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater. She is well-known for portraying the legendary Judy Garland off-Broadway, in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Awards include: Outstanding Cabaret Performer (SF Weekly,) Dean Goodman Choice Award for Outstanding Cabaret Show, Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Award (BATCC) for Best Actress in a Musical/New Conservatory Theater Center, Los Angeles’ Ovation Award™  Best Actress in a Musical. www.conniechampagne.com     ROBBIE COWAN (Gyp Watson) returns to 42nd Street Moon, having been seen previously in last season's Irma La Douce, Wildcat and the gala fundraiser, We're in the Money! He has also been seen onstage as Linus (You're...Charlie Brown), Lockstock (Urinetown), The Cat in the Hat (Seussical), and Andy Warhol (Jackie O.) with companies that include the Diablo Theater Company, Woodminster Amphitheater, the San Francisco Conservatory, Contra Costa Civic Theatre, and Contemporary Opera of Marin. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Robbie holds degrees in music and philosophy from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Gonzaga University and serves as music director for St. Lawrence/St. Cyril Church in Oakland.  www.robbiecowan.com     CINDY GOLDFIELD (Rose Lovejoy) is a two-time Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award and Dean Goodman Choice Award recipient. She makes a welcomed return to 42nd Street Moon, where acting credits include: Mabel (Mack & Mabel), Dot (Sweet Adeline), Pat (Peggy Ann).  Direction and/or choreography: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Fifty Million Frenchmen, Finian’s Rainbow, As Thousands Cheer and Roar of the Greasepaint (Dean Goodman Choice Award). Regional credits: American Conservatory Theatre, San Jose Rep, Center REP, TheatreWorks, The Willows Theatre, Playhouse West, Broadway by the Bay, Marin Theatre Company and Playground (company member). Miss Goldfield also enjoys the cabaret collaboration of Goldfield and Koldewyn with the inimitable Scrumbly Koldewyn.     COLEY GRUNDMAN (Mayor Slade) returns for his fifth 42nd Street Moon production, having most recently appeared in Coco and Pardon My English. Last month, he played Tateh in the Alameda Civic Light Opera’s well-received production of Ragtime, and prior to that, played Marvin in Falsettos with the Pinole Community Players. Elsewhere around the Bay, Coley has played such roles as Georg in She Loves Me, the Balladeer in Assassins, Paul in Company, Jesus in Superstar, and he was in the original cast of Morrie Bobrow’s long-running San Francisco hit, Shopping! The Musical.      LISA HENSLEY (Mrs. Claggett/Dimples)returns to the Wild West with 42nd Street Moon, having played Patsy in last fall’s Girl Crazy. This past spring, she portrayed Sheila in Tri-Valley Repertory’s production of A Chorus Line. Other memorable roles include Bonnie in Anything Goes, Allison Du Bois in Lady in the Dark, and Tess in Crazy for You. Ms. Hensley is a Bay Area native, teaches drama at Windrush School and lives in Alameda with her two sons     ERIN HOFFMAN (Chloe) is back at 42nd Street Moon after appearing in last year’s production of The Student Gypsy. She recently appeared at the New Conservatory Theatre in Good Boys and True, and at the Willows Theatre in The Great American Trailer Park Musical. Other favorite roles include Claire in Proof, Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun, and Helen in The Seven Year Itch. Erin's second film, The Half Life of a Network News Anchor is scheduled to premiere later this year at The Exit Theatre in San Francisco.     TOM ORR (Sheriff Keogh et al) became a Moonie in 2006 (Mack & Mabel, Li'l Abner, Pardon My English, Plain and Fancy, One Touch of Venus, Moon About Town 2007 Gala, Coco and Ben Franklin In Paris; Production Assistant 2007-08; Production Manager 2008-09; Set/Prop Design includes: Irma La Douce, Girl Crazy, High Spirits, Wildcat and more). An award-winning lyricist (Dirty Little Showtunes!), he has had two hit solo shows at New Conservatory Theatre Center: I Feel a Thong Coming On! and, most recently, A Crass Act! With Tom Segal, he co-directed Simply Sondheim.     STEVE RHYNE (Tom Destry) has enjoyed a long and rewarding association with 42nd Street Moon, notably in Out of This World (Mercury), Red Hot and Blue! (Bob), Do I Hear a Waltz? (Eddie), Leave It to Me! (Buck), On a Clear Day… (Warren) and Sitting Pretty (Horace). More musical credits on Steve's résumé include Into the Woods (Baker), Urinetown (Lockstock), Titanic (Harold Bride) and Passion (Giorgio). Notable plays include Moonlight and Magnolias (Victor Fleming), Taking Sides (Lt. Wills), The Subject Was Roses (Timmy) and Love! Valour! Compassion! (Perry).     ALEX SHAFER (Claggett) has performed throughout the Bay Area, and is delighted to be part of his first production at 42nd Street Moon. Some of his favorite roles include Boolie in Driving Miss Daisy (Ross Valley Players), The Gangster in Kiss Me Kate (Alameda Civic Light Opera), Samuel in Pirates of Penzance (Woodminster), Michael Flaherty in The Playboy of the Western World (Cinnabar), Detective Hennessey in The Cocoanuts (Contra Costa Civic Theatre), Snout in A Midsummer Night's Dream (CCCT), and Sipos in She Loves Me (Masquers).     ERNIE TOVAR (Bartender) makes a welcome return to 42nd Street Moon for his third show. He has appeared in Moon's productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Finian's Rainbow. Local credits include The Fantasticks (El Gallo), Wild Party (Jackie), Ain't Misbehavin’ (Andre), and he has also performed with Bernadette Peters at the Orpheum Theatre.  Ernie is a member of The Golden Gate Men's Chorus.     JEREMY VIK (Bugs Watson) is making his first appearance at 42nd Street Moon. He just finished playing the role of Dromeo of Ephesus for the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival and is currently tour managing (and acting as Polonius/Laertes in SF Shakes’ touring production of Hamlet, which will be touring over 100 schools October-March. Mr. Vik is also a professional juggler and is a proud graduate of San Francisco’s Clown Conservatory.     RANA WEBER (Clara) is making her 42nd Street Moon debut with Destry Rides Again. Recent shows include Hair (Crissy, Willows Theatre), Pride & Succubus (Jane Austen, Thunderbird Theatre), The Eight: Reindeer Monologues (Blitzen, Harper Productions), The Monk (Prioress/Marguerite) and Fishing (Katie, No Nude Men), The In Betweens (Sylvia Farmington, Dark Porch Theatre), and William Mastrosimone’s Cat’s Paw (Cathy, Hurly Burly Productions). Rana has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (Founder’s Day Award) and is enjoying being back in the Bay Area after a long hiatus.     WENDELL H. WILSON (Rockwell) is happy to be making his 42nd Street Moon debut. His most recent performance was as Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Sonoma Rep. Other theater companies he’s worked with include: The Mountain Play Association, The Ross Valley Players, Masquers Playhouse and The Willows Theater. Favorite roles include: The Wolf/Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods, Hud in Hair, Lance Cpl Harold W. Dawson in A Few Good Men, Jacob the Maid in La Cage aux Folles, Audrey II (the plant) in Little Shop of Horrors, and Horse in The Full Monty.     DIANNA SHUSTER (Director) is the Executive Director of Pocket Opera, former Artistic Director of American Musical Theatre of San Jose and Music Theatre of Oregon, has served on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for the National Alliance of Musical Theatres and as an NEA on-site evaluator. Her productions have received over 180 nominations and 90 awards for San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle, Robby, Drammy, Los Angeles Ovation and DramaLogue Awards. She directed Flora the Red Menace for 42nd Street Moon in 2006.       CARL PANTLE (Musical Director) comes from Oakley, California and was introduced to classical music by his grandmother. As a vocal coach and accompanist, Mr. Pantle actively collaborates with Bay Area singers and has worked with the San Francisco Lyric Opera, Opera San Jose, Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute (BASOTI) and the Willows Theater Company. In summer 2008, he was invited into the prestigious Merola Program at the San Francisco Opera Center. He studied voice and choral conducting at Brigham Young University and now is on staff at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He is the Assistant Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and the conductor of Vocal Minority, a small ensemble of the chorus. This is his first production with 42nd Street Moon.       TOM SEGAL (Choreographer) directed and staged Peddling Rainbows for 42nd Street Moon last year and choreographed the following Moon productions: Wildcat, High Spirits, Oh, Lady! Lady!!, One Touch of Venus, Lil’ Abner, Once Upon a Mattress (Dean Goodman Choice Award) and Minnie’s Boys. He co-directed the 75th birthday tribute to Stephen Sondheim show, Simply Sondheim. Mr. Segal has performed, choreographed and directed locally, nationally and abroad having done over 80 shows with various Bay Area companies. He is the recipient of numerous awards and was co-choreographer for SF Playhouse’s production, Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party, which was just named “Best Play” at the 2009 NY Fringe Festival. He teaches in the Theatre Department of Solano Community College.       MIKE IACUESSA (Stage Manager) is stage managing his first show for 42nd Street Moon. His background is primarily as a sound engineer. In addition to recording bands, he has worked as a sound designer on 12 plays, including Proof, True West, The Pugilist Specialist, McReele and Hazard County, and was sound effects programmer for Bug, all at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater in Massachusetts. Most recently, he ran sound and lights for Seven Sins in San Francisco.       SCOTT A. WILBER (Set Design/Decorator) is a painter, sculptor, designer and teacher living in San Francisco. Scott has been a scenic painter since 2005 at New Conservatory and has contributed to over a dozen shows there, including, most recently, MUNI, Anansi, Alice in Wonderland, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He was also set designer for Theatre District in 2006 (NCTC). He has also contributed to many Live Oak School Drama productions since 2000. Visit scott@338sf.com/scott to see recent pieces and commissioned work.       ELLEN BROOKS (Lighting Design) has designed many productions for 42nd Street Moon over the past 12 years– including our Galas atthe Herbst and Alcazar Theatres. For the past nine years she has also designed for Lamplighters Music Theatre at Yerba Buena Center and the Herbst in San Francisco, Napa Valley Opera House, Dean Lesher Center in Walnut Creek and Mountain View Center. Currently the Resident Lighting Director for Marin Shakespeare Company, this summer she designed Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night and The Importance of Being Ernest at its outdoor amphitheatre in Forest Meadows.Her work in 2009 includes Once on This Island for Berkeley Playhouse, Last Night of Ballyhoo, The Miracle Worker and Premiere for Ross Valley Players and Cosi Fan Tutti for North Bay Opera. She recently designed the world premiere of Dogsbody at Yerba Buena Forum.       LOUISE JARMILOWICZ (Costumer) is in her fourth season as costumer for 42nd Street Moon. She has been costuming around San Francisco for many years. Other groups with whom she has worked, designing and constructing costumes, include Crowded Fire, the Thrillpeddlers, Handful Players, the African-American Shakespeare Co., Children's Fairyland, Stage Door Conservatory, The Lamplighters, the Dark Room Theater, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and many other local artists. www.jarmodesigns.com.       SCOTT A. WILBER (Set Design/Decorator) is a painter, sculptor, designer and teacher living in San Francisco. Scott has been a scenic painter since 2005 at New Conservatory and has contributed to over a dozen shows there, including, most recently, MUNI, Anansi, Alice in Wonderland, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He was also set designer for Theatre District in 2006 (NCTC). He has also contributed to many Live Oak School Drama productions since 2000. Visit scott@338sf.com/scott to see recent pieces and commissioned work.       CHRISTIAN JUSINSKI (Prop Designer) is making his debut with 42nd Street Moon.  Previous theater experience includes prop master for Fahrenheit 451at Plan-B Theater Company and assistant prop master for Romeo and Juliette at Utah Opera Company, prop and set builder for Utah Opera Company and Salt Lake Acting Company. He is a sculptor and has been an assistant to several Bay Area visual artists since 2001. He has worked for Beach Blanket Babylon as a theater technician since 2005.       ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION (AEA), founded in 1913, represents more than 45,000 actors and stage managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO, and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. The Equity emblem is our mark of excellence. www.actorsequity.org.