SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 AT 7:30 PM

A Lexus Passionate Performance

KPCC 89.3 FM Media Sponsor

With help from renowned director Gordon Hunt, the Hollywood Bowl presents a staged concert adaptation of Meredith Willson's The Music Man. Emmy-winning actor Eric McCormack revisits his Broadway role as Professor Harold Hill in this timeless musical classic, with John Mauceri leading the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Tony-winner Kristin Chenoweth gives the Bowl audience a sneak-preview of her upcoming Disney movie role as Marian (the Librarian) Paroo in this semi-staged production on Sunday, August 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Backbeat Live pre-concert events take place at the Patio, one hour prior to the Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday concerts; free to all ticket holders. The August 4 session features a performance by the Dapper Dans, a barbershop quartet.

The Hollywood Bowl production of Meredith Willson's The Music Man's principal cast includes Jeffrey Tambor as Mayor Shinn; Ruth Williamson reprising her Broadway role of Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn; Jason Graae, Brooks Almy, Lyle Kanouse, and Gibby Brand, among others. Adding to the fun of the evening, the Bowl's stage will be filled with nearly 25 dancers, singers, and children as well as a chorus of 40 - and as many trombones as the Bowl can hold.

Toronto native ERIC McCORMACK played the role of Harold Hill on Broadway last year in Susan Stroman's acclaimed production of The Music Man. Eric spent eight years in theaters across Canada, in productions of The Passion of Dracula, Biloxi Blues, Burn This, and Loot, among many others. In his five seasons with the Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada, he played leading roles in Three Sisters, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Murder in the Cathedral, and Measure for Measure. On film he was featured in Free Enterprise, Holy Man, and Here's To Life, and his numerous television credits include two seasons as the villain Colonel Mosby in the syndicated series Lonesome Dove, on which he met Janet, his beautiful wife of five years. In the fall, he returns for his fifth season as Will on NBC's Will & Grace, for which he was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The Music Man concert marks McCormack's debut performance at the Hollywood Bowl.

Acclaimed for her comic gifts and wide-ranging musical abilities, Tony Award-winning singer and actress KRISTIN CHENOWETH made her Broadway debut in Molière's Scapin. She has since appeared in Steel Pier, Strike Up the Band, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Annie, and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, among others. Last year, she made her solo recording debut (Let Yourself Go) on Sony Classical and appeared in her own sitcom, Kristin, on NBC. Chenoweth will be seen in numerous upcoming projects including The Music Man for ABC-TV opposite Matthew Broderick, and the Broadway musical, Wicked, as well as national concert dates, television specials, and appearances. A native of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, she studied at Oklahoma City University and later attended Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts after recognition in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. She last appeared at the Bowl in 2001.

JOHN MAUCERI's accomplishments extend nationally and internationally, not only to the world's greatest opera companies and symphony orchestras, but also to the musical stages of Broadway and Hollywood, before large television and radio audiences, and in recording studios and major publications. Mauceri has received substantial recognition for his work as one of the principal forces behind the movement to preserve two of America's great art forms, the American musical and music for the American cinema. He is equally at home conducting artists ranging from Plácido Domingo (during a live broadcast of the Grammy Awards) to Madonna (with whom he recorded the soundtrack to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita), from Garth Brooks (an inaugural inductee into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame) to the Smashing Pumpkins (for the 1996 MTV Music Awards). Carol Burnett, Chicago, John Denver, Rodney Gilfry, Jonathan Pryce, Jane Eaglen, Jennifer Larmore, Patrick Stewart, Tito Puente, Charlotte Church, and Trisha Yearwood are among the multitude of artists who have performed with Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Mauceri's first recordings with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra reached the "Top Ten" in Billboard's crossover chart, and one received Germany's highest award, the Deutsche Schallplatten Prize. To date, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra has made four successful tours to Japan and one to Brazil. Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra have presented an astonishing number of premieres, and under Mauceri's tenure, opera and ballet returned to the Bowl's stage. In addition to his Hollywood Bowl position, Mauceri has served as music director for the Pittsburgh Opera since June 2000. The only American ever to have held the post of music director of an opera house in Great Britain and Italy, he served as music director of the Scottish Opera, and recently completed his three-year tenure as music director (direttore stabile) of the Teatro Reggio in Turino.

Director GORDON HUNT is the winner of the DGA award for best director of a TV comedy for Mad About You. He has directed plays and musicals on both coasts, including the all-star Noel Coward Centennial at Carnegie Hall and the annual Salon series at the Mark Taper Forum. Hunt is an Ovation Award nominee for Stand Up Opera. As a lyricist, he has won the MACC award for best song for Errol Flynn written with Amanda McBroom. The Music Man marks his Bowl directorial debut.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

Sunday, August 4, 7:30 PM

Hollywood Bowl (2301 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles)

Meredith Willson's The Music Man

HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA

JOHN MAUCERI, conductor

ERIC McCORMACK as Harold Hill

KRISTIN CHENOWETH as Marian Paroo

JASON GRAAE as Marcellus Washburn

BROOKS ALMY as Mrs. Paroo

RUTH WILLIAMSON as Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn

LYLE KANOUSE as Charlie Cowell

Introducing BEN PLATT as Winthrop Paroo

JEFFREY TAMBOR as Mayor Shinn

GIBBY BRAND as Oliver Hix (Quartet)

STEPHANIE MIEKO COHEN as Amaryllis

MICHAEL DEVRIES as Jacey Squires (Quartet)

KEVIN EARLEY as Ewart Dunlop (Quartet)

MARSHA KRAMER as Alma Hix (Pick-a-Little)

BOB LAUDER, JR. as Olin Britt (Quartet)

HOPY LEVY as Maud Dunlop (Pick-a-Little)

CAROL SWARBRICK as Mrs. Squires (Pick-a-Little)

DIANE VINCENT as Ethel Toffelmier (Pick-a-Little)

KAY COLE, choreographer

GORDON HUNT, director

Lexus Passionate Performances

Media Sponsor: KPCC 89.3 FM

Backbeat Live pre-concert events take place at the Patio, one hour prior to the Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday concerts; free to all ticket holders. The August 4 session features a performance by the Dapper Dans, a barbershop quartet.

Tickets ($3 - $90) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl box office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations), or online at hollywoodbowl.com. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.

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