Indianapolis Symph Orch Performs Concert Stage Production of Hello, Dolly!

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly will perform the world premiere of a new symphonic concert stage production of Jerry Herman's famous Broadway musical Hello, Dolly! starring versatile singer Sandi Patty as Dolly Levi and renowned Tony Award-winning actor Gary Beach as Horace Vandergelder in Printing Partners Pops Series concerts Friday and Saturday, January 13 and 14, at the Hilbert Circle Theatre and Sunday, January 15, at The Palladium at the Center for Performing Arts in Carmel, Ind.

Created by Maestro Everly (who was Music Director and conductor for the 1978 and 1995 revivals of Hello, Dolly! on Broadway) and Executive Producer Ty Johnson with concert stage adaptations and direction by David Levy, this new pops production will feature many of the timeless songs from the Broadway musical, including "It Takes A Woman," "Put On Your Sunday Clothes," "Ribbons Down My Back," "Motherhood March," "Before the Parade Passes By," "It Only Takes A Moment," "So Long. Dearie," and "Hello, Dolly," plus "Love is Only Love" from the film version of the musical. The show also will feature many elements from the original script plus lavish costuming, theatrical lighting and staging elements to create a stunning production that melds with worlds of symphonic pops and musical theater.

The cast includes many artists with Broadway and Off-Broadway credits, including Ben Crawford (Shrek the Musical, Les Misérables) as Cornelius, James T. Lane (The Scottsboro Boys, Chicago) as Barnaby, Laura Shoop (revivals of Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma) as Mrs. Malloy, and Christina Bianco (Raffi on Broadway, Forbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab) as Minnie Fay. Other cast members with numerous New York and national touring production credits are Gwendolyn Jones as Ernestina Money, and Robin Leigh Massey as Ermengarde. The production also features Matt Branic as Ambrose, Mark Gilgallon as Rudy and the ISO's own Event Coordinator, Frances Heavrin, as Mrs. Rose.

Tickets for the Friday and Saturday 8 p.m. concert prices from $20-$85. Tickets to the Sunday 7:30 p.m. concert at The Palladium range from $30-$85 for adults with $20 student tickets available. The Friday morning Coffee Pops program is sold out. Tickets for the Friday and Saturday evening shows may be ordered by calling the Hilbert Circle Theatre Box Office at (317) 639-4300, or online at www.IndianapolisSymphony.org. To purchase Sunday evening tickets, call the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office at (317) 843-3800, or order on line at www.TheCenterForThePerformingArts.com

Printing Partners is the Title Sponsor for the entire 2010-2011 Printing Partners Pops Series season and Barnes & Thornburg, LLP is the Premiere Sponsor for the Pops Series. Associate Sponsors for this weekend are Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, The Stratford and the Indiana Utilities Shareholders Association.

Artist Biographies

Jack Everly has served as Principal Pops Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra since 2002 and also serves in similar posts with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, and Music Director of the National Memorial Day Concert and A Capitol Fourth on PBS, which has a viewership of millions and a live audience of more than half a million on the lawn of our nation's Capitol. This season, he returns to The Cleveland Orchestra and appears as guest conductor in Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Fort Worth, Detroit, Edmonton, Toronto, Carnegie Hall and many others. This past summer marked Jack Everly's Hollywood Bowl debut. Everly is the Music Director of Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration, now a 26-year tradition. These theatrical symphonic holiday concerts are presented annually in December in Indianapolis and are seen by more than 40,000 concertgoers. Mr. Everly led the ISO in its first Pops recording, Yuletide Celebration, Volume One, which included three of his own arrangements. Originally appointed by Mikhail Baryshnikov, Mr. Everly was conductor of the American Ballet Theatre for 14 years, where he served as Music Director. In addition to his ABT tenure, he has teamed with Marvin Hamlisch in Broadway shows that Mr. Hamlisch scored, including The Goodbye Girl, They're Playing Our Song and A Chorus Line. He conducted Carol Channing hundreds of times in Hello, Dolly! in two separate Broadway productions.

In addition to conducting the Memorial Day and Capital Fourth Concerts, Jack Everly has appeared on In Performance at the White House on PBS and conducted the songs for the Disney soundtrack, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He has been Music Director on numerous Broadway cast recordings and conducted the critically praised Everything's Coming Up Roses: The Complete Overtures of Broadway's Jule Styne. Among his other CDs are Daniel Rodriguez's In the Presence with the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra of Prague and Sandi Patty's October 2011 release, Broadway Stories.

In 1998, Jack Everly created the Symphonic Pops Consortium, serving as Music Director. The Consortium, based in Indianapolis, produces a new theatrical pops program each season. In the past 12 years, more than 300 performances of SPC programs have taken place across the U.S. and Canada. Maestro Everly is a graduate of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and holds an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Franklin College in his home state of Indiana. In October, he became a National Arts Associate of Sigma Alpha Iota.

As one of the most highly acclaimed performers of our time with five Grammy® awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three platinum records, five gold records, and eleven million units sold, Sandi Patty is the most awarded female vocalist in contemporary Christian music history. With 39 Dove Awards, she was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and as an Indiana Living Legend in 2007. She has released over 30 albums, including her latest album, The Edge of the Divine (August 2010). While her 30-year career is heavily rooted in the gospel music industry, she has had the opportunity in more recent years to extend her career outside the genre. Patty has performed with symphonies across the country, including the New York Pops, Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Indianapolis Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Houston Symphony, and Oklahoma City Philharmonic. Her first Pops album, "An American Songbook," was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her prolific musical career, she is also an accomplished author. For the bestseller Broken on the Back Row, Sandi received the 2006 Silver Angel Award. As an author of seven books, her other titles include Life in the Blender, Falling Forward, Layers, and her forthcoming book, The Edge of the Divine. Her down-to-earth style and sturdy common sense have endeared her to Women of Faith® audiences, with whom she has traveled with since 2005.

Gary Beach, who won a Tony Award for his starring role in The Producers, last appeared with the ISO in 2009 as Nathan Detroit in Guys & Dolls. Broadway credits include Albin in the 2004 revival of La Cage Aux Folles (Best Actor in a Musical Tony nomination), Roger DeBris in The Producers (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle awards), a role he recreated in the 2005 film and Lumiere in Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Tony Award nomination). Other Broadway credits include Les Misérables, Annie, Doonesbury, The Moony Shapiro Songbook, Something's Afoot and 1776. National tours include Monty Python's Spamalot and James Kirkwood's Legends! with Mary Martin and Carol Channing, and regional tours include roles in Closer Than Ever (Los Angeles premiere) Lend Me a Tenor, She Loves Me (Comet Award) and Of Thee I Sing (Helen Hayes Nomination). On television, he appeared on the 2009 and 2003 Kennedy Center Honors, Recording The Producers (PBS), Queer as Folk, The Jamie Foxx Show, The Wayans Brothers, Saved By The Bell, Murder She Wrote, Kate and Allie, Arli$$ and Cheers. Beach has appeared in many films, including Defending Your Life and Man of the Century. Among his recordings are The Producers (Movie Soundtrack/Original Broadway Cast), Beauty and the Beast (Original Broadway Cast), Les Misérables (Symphonic Edition) and Sondheim at the Movies.

Ben Crawford has Broadway credits that include the starring role in Shrek the Musical and as Jalvert in Les Misérables. Regionally he has been seen in as John Wilkes Booth in Assassin, plus Guys & Dolls, Titanic, Soul Doctor, Oklahoma!, White Christmas, A New Brain, Oliver! and Next to Normal. In December, he performed in Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration, in which he was showcased as a soloist in the popular song "Believe." He has also appeared in concerts with the Naples Florida Philharmonic and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.

A native of Philadelphia, James T. Lane has Broadway credits include prominent roles The Scottsboro Boys (which garnered 12 Tony Nominations, including "Best Musical"0, the revival of A Chorus Line and Chicago. Among his national tours are Fame the Musical and Cinderella and regional shows include The Wiz , Finian's Rainbow and Children Of Eden. Readings in New York City include Cool Papa's Party and DoubleTime with music by Nile Rogers. He appeared with the ISO in Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration, , the New York City Pops in "Johnny Mercer Tribute" at Carnegie Hall, and the Ottawa, Baltimore and Naples Symphony Orchestras. His television appearances include One Life to Live, Ellen, Dancing With The Stars and Good Morning America.

Laura Shoop, who performed in Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration in December, has Broadway credits that include Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof and as Ado Annie in Oklahoma! She has also appeared in Jerry Springer – The Opera at Carnegie Hall, Bernarda Alba at Lincoln Center, Cabaret and Run For Your Wife at The John Engeman Theater, and Sherlock Holmes: The Early Years at the New York Musical Festival, where she earned an Award for Excellence for "Outstanding Individual Performance." National and regional tours include Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Rocky Horror Show, Beauty and the Beast, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Carousel and Lady in the Dark. Television appearances include The Guiding Light, As the World Turns, Martha and The Late Show with David Letterman. Shoop is a graduate The Juilliard School.

Christina Bianco is currently starring Off-Broadway in Newsical The Musical and received a Drama Desk award nomination for her work in Forbidden Broadway Goes To Rehab. She can be heard on both original cast recordings. Christina originated the role of Dora in the long-running national tour of Dora The Explorer Live, including an unprecedented sold-out run at Radio City Music Hall. Off-Broadway/New York credits include Raffi On Broadway, Forbidden Broadway Dances With The Stars, Tony and Tina's Wedding and It Must Be Him. Trained at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, she has backed up R&B star Deborah Cox, performed on The Today Show, The Jerry Lewis Telethon and red carpet events at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. Bianco is a soloist for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in their original Symphonic Pops Consortium production of, Mysterioso. A MAC Award-nominated cabaret artist, Christina performed weekly in an unprecedented eight-month run of 11 O'Clock Numbers at Feinstein's at The Regency.

Gwendolyn Jones is a product of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City and Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music in Winchester, Virginia. Her acting credits include national and international tours of Hair, 42nd Street and Annie. Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Regional credits include title and lead roles in Sophie, Totie & Belle, Hello, Dolly!, Jekyll & Hyde, Grand Hotel, Nunsense, 42nd Street, Once Upon A Mattress, Mame, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Dear World (in which she was a Barrymore Award Nominee) and Chicago. She performed as Mrs. Claus for several seasons with The Rockettes in New York City's Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular and has appeared with many top tier symphonic orchestras as a solo guest artist, including concerts at Caramoor and with the Detroit, Baltimore, Fort Worth, Alabama, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Ottawa, Seattle, Edmonton, Omaha, Portland, Oklahoma City and the National Symphony. With the ISO, she performed in Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration in 2001, the world premiere of the original Symphonic Pops Consortium production of Pops Goes British, and made her debut with the Orchestra in 1999 in Broadway Blockbusters.

Robin Leigh Massie made her New York City Opera debut in Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw and has performed with the Tulsa, Kentucky, Glimmerglass and Princeton Opera Companies. In musical theater, she performed the role of Jellylorum in CATS in Hamburg, Germany. In concert repertoire, Ms. Massie has performed with the ISO for eight consecutive seasons in Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration, with the Utah Symphony Orchestra in Leonard Bernstein's Mass for the farewell concert of Keith Lockhart and Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream with the New York City Ballet. In August 2010, she co-stage directed opera scenes at the Crescendo Summer Arts Institute in Sárospatak, Hungary, with her husband, Steven Condy. A native of Austin, Texas, Ms. Massie has a bachelor's degree in voice performance from Westminster Choir College and a master's degree in voice from Yale University. She is currently a member of the voice faculty of Westminster Choir College of Rider University and Philadelphia Biblical University.

An Indianapolis native, Matt Branic made his ISO debut in Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration in December and recently appeared at the Indianapolis Civic Theatre in the starring role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and RENT in Concert. He also has won an Encore Award for "Best Actor in a Musical" for his portrayal of Huck in Big River at Footlite Musicals. He is an attorney by trade and in his spare time, enjoys running, cycling, swimming, golf and tennis.

Mark Gilgallon celebrated his 13th anniversary with Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration this past December, now as Vocal Director. Mark has performed in numerous ISO Pops presentations, including Guys & Dolls, Sandi Patty's Broadway, A Cole Porter Celebration, On the Air! and Salute to the MGM Musical. Mark has sung over 20 roles with Indianapolis Opera, most recently in The Mikado and La traviata. He made solo debuts with the Detroit, Pittsburgh and Baltimore symphonies with Jack Everly in On the Air!, with the Cincinnati Pops in Sandi Patty's Broadway in May 2009 and at Carnegie Hall in June 2009 for the Shawnee Press 70th anniversary concert. He serves as Director of Music at North United Methodist Church, Adjunct Professor of Voice and Director of Opera Workshop at the University of Indianapolis, Adjunct Professor of Voice at Butler University and vocal coach to five-time Grammy® Award-winner, Sandi Patty.

Frances Heavrin, a life-long resident of Indianapolis, is Event Coordinator for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and celebrated her 25th year with the ISO in November. She was the first recipient of the Outstanding Staff Award in 2006. She is the mother of four and grandmother of eight. New York is her favorite place to visit, and she was in the audience for Maestro Everly's Carnegie Hall debut this past October. Frances also appeared in the 2006 production of Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration starring Mike Eldred.

In Brief:

ISO performs the world premiere of the concert stage version of Hello, Dolly! starring Sandi Patty as Dolly Levi and Broadway star Gary Beach as Horace Vandergelder in concerts at the Hilbert Circle Theatre (Fri. & Sat.) and The Palladium (Sun. eve.)

Performers: Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Jack Everly
Cast:
Sandi Patty – Dolly Levi:
Gary Beach – Horace Vandergelder
Ben Crawford - Cornelius
James T. Lane - Barnaby
Laura Shoop – Mrs. Malloy
Christina Bianco – Minnie Fay
Gwendolyn Jones – Ernestina Money
Robin Leigh Massey – Ermengarde
Matt Branic – Ambrose
Mark Gilgallon – Rudy
Frances Heavrin – Mrs. Rose

Artistic Team:
David Levy – Concert Adaptations and Staging Director
Jennifer Ladner – Choreographer
Jacob Brent – Asst. Director and Choreographer
Clare Henkel – Costumes
Laure Glover – Lighting Design

Locations: Hilbert Circle Theatre (Fri. & Sat.); The Palladium (Sun.)
Dates & Times: Fri., Jan. 13,, 11 a.m. & 8 p.m.; Sat., Jan. 14, at 8 p.m.; Sun., Jan. 15, at 7:30 p.m.

Repertoire:
Program will feature many popular songs from the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly! including "It Takes A Woman," "Put On Your Sunday Clothes," "It Only Takes A Moment," "Ribbons Down My Back," and the title song that will be performed by a distinguished cast of Broadway artists and will feature elaborate staging and costumes..

Tickets: Hilbert Circle Theatre - $20-$85 (evenings); The Palladium - $30-$85, $20 for students
The Palladium – (317) 843-3800; on line at www.thecenterfortheperformingarts.com
Hilbert Circle Theatre - (317) 639-4300; Toll Free (800) 366-8457; online at www.IndianapolisSymphony.org