Chan and the "Ven-i"

Chan, Jennifer Leigh Warren (our Venus), and Venus of All The Pretty Horses!

Chan, Franni and Al Franken, Jennifer and Eleanor at last Saturday's performance of VENUS

New Film!

Award-winning Filmmaker Melody Gilbert made a great introduction piece. Check it out.

Members of Creative Team Sighted

A couple very magical creatures came out from under their toadstool and revealed themselves the other day (or, as some people might say, we "had a meeting"). Pictured left to right; Tony Buckland and Jamie Parker who work with Little & Company. Jamie is the wunderkind behind the visual design of this production, and Tony is the web guy. Both were also vital in making the Opening Credits to the show. Which you will have to see to know how cool that is... Thanks guys!

LOBBY DISPLAY!

Gabe Weinzetl on left, Ed Grabowski on the right.

Lobby display created and installed courtesy of Dunwoody's Graphics & Printing
Technologies program.

1st Day

Ian (Troy) & Shawn (Damon) get serious.
Table Reading. Myron Dreaming.

Here's our Cast:

Starring Jennifer Leigh Warren as Maggie/Venus
With... Jody Briskey, Shawn Hamilton, Ian Holcomb and Joel Liestman
And... Lisa Conlin, Stephanie Fellner, Zhauna Franks, Vance Holmes, Amy Lithander and Emily Rose Skinner
Music Arrangements by Greg Theisen
Music Direction by Anita Ruth and Sanford Moore
Band: Sanford Moore, Steve Roehm, Brian Roessler, Dan Schwartz and Greg Theisen
Written and Composed by Chandler Hall Poling
Directed and Choreographed by Myron Johnson

Here They Are!

The actors are gathering for rehearsals on Monday April 6th... Excited.

Chan Poling (composer) and Myron Johnson (director/choreographer) at The Ritz.

Set Art

We met with designer artist extraordinaire Jamie Parker and the team from Little & Co. to look at the set art he has created (you'll have to wait and see what I mean by that) and Myron and I were BLOWN AWAY. Jamie is brilliant. Can't wait to see it all come together - combined with the lighting design brilliance of Michael Murnane and Stan Crocker. Just google those guys, they are awesome - but hint: Stan has designed the tour lighting for Sting for the last few years.

1st Notice on Broadway World

CHECK THIS OUT! ON BROADWAYWORLD.COM!

Our Lead Cast, more cast news to follow!

I'm excited to announce the casting of Jennifer Leigh Warren as our lead. A critically acclaimed singer, actress JENNIFER LEIGH WARREN has been lauded as an "original" for her theatrical work, from her show-stopping performance as the slave "Alice's Daughter" in the original Broadway cast of BIG RIVER singing a song written for her by Roger Miller, to originating the role of "Crystal" in the Alan Menken/Howard Ashman Off Broadway smash LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, to her performance in the original Broadway cast of Michael John LaChiusa's MARIE CHRISTINE at Lincoln Center. Jennifer is featured on the Grammy Award-nominated original cast albums of these shows, and also sang "Stranger to the Rain" on the "Stephen Schwartz Album."

For her performance in the west coast premiere of Michael John LaChiusa's HELLO AGAIN, Jennifer won the Ovation Award and the Backstage West Garland Award. She also received an Ovation Award nomination for her portrayals of both Paula Jones and Betty Currie in the political musical STARR STRUCK.

She had the privilege of working with Sir Peter Hall performing A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT DREAM and MEASURE FOR MEASURE in repertory at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. In the REPRISE! Production of KISMET she starred as Lalume opposite Len Cariou and Jason Graae. Also for REPRISE!, she starred as Cleo in THE MOST HAPPY FELLOW and stopped the show as Shelia in their hit production of HAIR. She garnered rave reviews in THE EDUCATION OF RANDY NEWMAN at South Coast Repertory and starred as the "original" title character in ABYSSINIA (based on the novel "Marked By Fire" by Joyce Carol Thomas). ABYSSINIA broke all box office records at the Cleveland Playhouse, Massachusetts's North Shore Music and Connecticut's Goodspeed Opera House.

The first African-American to be cast as Ado Annie in OKLAHOMA and Hodel in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Sacramento Music, Luisa in the FANTASTICKS at the Egyptian Arena Theater in Hollywood, Leah in he DYBBUK for the Wilton Project and proudly performed in the theatrical presentation of LINDA BROWN YOU ARE NOT ALONE: Brown v. Board of Education at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

She performed in THE MAGIC OF MOTOWN, a tribute to Berry Gordy with Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, then premiered her nightclub act "Sisters" with jazz harpist Corky Hale in Los Angeles, and took it on the road.

Her international credits include singing a song from the new musical THE PRINCESS AND THE BLACK-EYED PEA with Al Jarreau in Denmark on the MUSICAL OF THE YEAR, televised live throughout Europe. Living two years in Japan, she re-created her Broadway role of Alice's Daughter, singing her gospel number in Japanese. She then performed in JUNI KA GETSU NO NINA in the role of Noyabre, with a song written for her by Bolshoi Ballet composer Rodion Schedrin. The show was choreographed by Maya Plisetskaya and was the first Japanese, Russian, American collaboration on a new musical.

Feature films: GRACE OF MY HEART, produced by Martin Scorsese and directed by Allison Anders; Sean Penn's THE CROSSING GUARD; Garry Marshall's DEAR GOD and THE OTHER SISTER; Larry David’s SOUR GRAPES. Television: LIPSTICK JUNGLE; DIRT; SCRUBS; JAKE IN PROGRESS; TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL; ER; SLIDERS; ALL MY CHILDREN.

She is a Dartmouth College graduate and while there received the Marcus Heiman Award for Excellence in the Arts. She served for two terms on the Board of Overseers for the Hood Museum and Hopkin's Center and is a very proud Union member of SAG, AEA and AFTRA. Jennifer can soon be seen in THE PRINCESS AND THE BLACK-EYED PEA at San Diego Rep at the end of this year.

Here's a sample of Jennifer in action:

CASTING

It is two months before rehearsals and we are zooming quickly in on the cast for our first full production. When this whole thing started - a while back - I had to shelve my impatience because I knew that the time would fly by, and indeed it has and is still flying: two months will come and go mighty quickly, I know. I admit I am a bit nervous that we don't have our lead cast yet... But one thing I have learned: there are many fantastic wonderful artists out there. We'll open in May and our stage will be a place of joy. My nervousness has been replaced with a real excitement.