Paradise!
- Book & Lyrics by George C. Wolfe
- Music by Robert Forrest
- Directed by Theodore Pappas
Broadway: A Free Man of Color (Lincoln Center Theater), Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (Tony and Drama Desk Award, Pulitzer Prize) and Perestroika(Drama Desk Award); Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk (Tony and Drama League Award);Elaine Stritch: At Liberty (Tony Award, Unique Theatrical Event); Jelly's Last Jam (Outer Critics Circle Award); Caroline, or Change (Tony nomination, Evening Standard and Olivier Awards - Best Musical); Topdog/Underdog (Pulitzer Prize); The Tempest; Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (Drama Desk Award); On the Town; and The Wild Party (Tony nomination, Best Musical). Producer of the Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival from 1993-2005. Productions directed includeMother Courage and Her Children, Macbeth, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, This Is How It Goes, Radiant Baby and Blade to the Heat. He is the writer of The Colored Museum and Spunk, as well as the books of Jelly's Last Jam (Drama Desk Award) and The Wild Party (Tony nomination) which he coauthored. Additional productions include Harlem Song, conceived/directed for the Apollo Theatre, and Amistad for Chicago Lyric Opera. Film: Lackawanna Blues (Directors Guild, National Board of Review, Christopher Awards; Independent Spirit nomination for Best First Feature) andNights in Rodanthe. Additional awards include the Actors Equity Paul Robeson Award, SSDC Calloway Award, Dramatist Guild's Hull- Warner Award, four Obie Awards, the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lambda Liberty Award, the New Dramatist Outstanding Career Achievement Award, the Spirit of the City Award, the Brendan Gill Prize, the Distinguished Alumni Award - NYU, a Cultural Laureate Award, a Library Lion and was named a Living Landmark by the New York Landmark's Conservancy. Mr. Wolfe is honored to serve on the President's Committee for the Arts and Humanities and recently conceived/directed a celebration of the American musical at the White House.
Bio as of January, 2011.
Theodore Pappas is a theatre director and choreographer, and is currently the Producing Artistic Director of Pittsburgh Public Theater. He has staged more than 40 productions for The Public, including the works of Euripides, Shakespeare, Schiller, Wilde, Gilbert & Sullivan, and Sondheim. He started his career in New York, working with Playwrights Horizons, Joseph Papp's Public Theater, John Houseman's The Acting Company, New York City Opera, and several Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. His regional credits include productions for the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Arena Stage in Washington DC, the Kennedy Center, the Canadian Opera Company, Toronto's Royal Alexandra, and Goodspeed Musicals. He staged a hip-hop concert hosted by Harry Belafonte which galvanized the Cannes Film Festival, and choreographed segments for "Saturday Night Live." Pappas holds degrees from Northwestern University and Hunter College. He is a past president of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Featuring
Danielle Ferland
Tommy Hollis
Jerry Lanning
Janice Lynde
Charlayne Woodard
Ben Wright
Creative Team
James Noone
Scenic DesignerDavid C. Woolard
Costume DesignerFrances Aronson
Lighting DesignerPaul Garrity
Sound DesignerM.A. Howard
Production Stage ManagerPhoto of Danielle Ferland by Peter Cunningham