CPH Presents Hilarious Musical Cabaret with The Cast of Box-Office Hit CLUE: A NEW COMEDY
Posted October 6, 2020 in Press Releases
(Cleveland, OH) The incredible cast of Cleveland Play House’s box-office hit CLUE: A New Comedy reunites in a hilarious musical broadcast to perform their favorite showtunes from Broadway musicals. Join CPH on Saturday, October 10 at 7:30 pm for CLUEbaret: A Comedic Musical Cabaret, a raucous night of singing, laughs, and hijinks. Proceeds will support CPH artistic and educational programs during the 105th Season.
Directed by Casey Hushion and written by Sandy Rustin, the cast features: Mariah Burks (CPH’s Shakespeare in Love, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), John Treacy Egan (My Fair Lady, Little Mermaid), Donna English (Nice Work If You Can Get It), Kathy Fitzgerald (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wicked), Eleasha Gamble (Fiasco Theatre’s Into the Woods), Josh Innerst (CPH’s Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood), Gregory James (CWRU/CPH’s Hay Fever, The Merchant of Venice), Michael Kostroff (Les Miserables, HBO’s The Wire), Alex Mandell (The Play That Goes Wrong, Hand to God), Mark Price (Mary Poppins, All Shook Up), Graham Stevens (In Transit), and Elisabeth Yancey (CPH’s Into the Breeches!).
“Cleveland Play House is excited to welcome back this group of wildly talented performers who thrilled audiences last season in our hit show Clue: A New Comedy,” says CPH Artistic Director Laura Kepley. “Not only are they hilarious, but they are also some of the best musical theater talent in the country.” She continues, “This is a not-to-be-missed evening of laughs that could not come at a better time.”
Kepley sings the praises of writer Sandy Rustin and director Casey Hushion, “the two powerhouse women responsible for the success of last year’s box office hit. With CLUEbaret, they have crafted an utterly delightful and ridiculous virtual evening that will bond us together in laughter even though we are miles apart.”
“It has been a delight to revisit the world of CLUE in this fun, engaging new format to help benefit CPH during this challenging time,” stated Ms. Rustin, continuing, “The opportunity to support CPH, collaborate with Casey, and bask in the glow of these performers again, has been a WIN-WIN! It's the next best thing to being in the same room together again! I am grateful to CPH for actively seeking out ‘the next best thing’ - and bringing me on board to be a part of it!”
Support for CLUEbaret is generously provided by Presenting Sponsor Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation. The Kulas Foundation is generously sponsoring Cleveland Play House’s 2020-2021 series of virtual musical theatre events. KeyBank is the Presenting Sponsor of the 105thCleveland Play House Season, including Theatre Thursdays, a series of special events, and New Ground Theatre Festival.
Registration for CLUEbaret is required in advance. Viewing access is $25 per household. The event will be broadcast online and can be viewed on a computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. For more information, please visit: www.clevelandplayhouse.com/cluebaret.
All proceeds from CLUEbaret benefit the artistic and educational programs of your Cleveland Play House. Ticket purchases are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
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THE CAST
MARIAH BURKS was last seen in CLUE: A New Comedy as the Cook here at CPH! Other CPH credits: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre; understudy for Sister Rosetta Tharpe/Marie Knight in Marie and Rosetta, Shakespeare in Love, and New Ground Theatre Festival: The Nolan Williams Project. An alumni of the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program Class of 2018. Credits include Macbeth, Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, Clybourne Park, and She Stoops to Conquer. A graduate of Bowling Green State University’s Musical Theatre Program. Credits: Spring Awakening, Legally Blonde, Book of Days, and more. Recipient of the National Irene Ryan Scholarship Acting Award at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, DC. Regional and local theatre work includes Caroline, or Change (Tantrum Theatre) and Ragtime (Cain Park). Instagram: @mv_broadway
JOHN TREACY EGAN recently appeared on Broadway in My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center Theater. His other Broadway credits include Casa Valentina, Nice Work If You Can Get It and created roles in Sister Act (Joey) and Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Chef Louis). He played Max Bialystock in The Producers, as well as the roles of Roger DeBris and Franz Liebkind. He also appeared in Jekyll & Hyde and Roundabout’s Bye Bye Birdie. Off-Broadway, John created roles in Clinton: The Musical, Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Fly!, Disaster: The Musical, and Batboy: The Musical. He has appeared on television in Gotham, Younger, The Good Wife, The Knick, Boardwalk Empire, Nurse Jackie, 30 Rock, Cupid, Law & Order, and the films Last Night, and The Producers. He can be heard on many theatrical recordings, as well as his own solo CDs Count the Stars and On Christmas Morning available on iTunes and cdbaby.com.
DONNA ENGLISH has appeared on Broadway in Living on Love, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Lend Me a Tenor, and Broadway. Off-Broadway credits include the title role in Madame X (NYMF Outstanding Performance Award), Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back! (cast CD), Forbidden Broadway 20th Anniversary, Taking a Chance on Love (cast CD); and the original Judy/Ginger in Ruthless! (Drama Desk Award nomination). Favorites among her extensive regional credits include Maman in My Paris (Long Wharf), Charlotte in A Little Night Music (Repertory Theatre of St Louis), Victoria in Victor/Victoria (North Shore), Anna in The King and I (Music Theatre of Wichita), Lily in On the Twentieth Century (Goodspeed Musicals), and Velma in Hairspray (Paper Mill Playhouse). Donna is a recipient of the 2019 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship.
KATHY FITZGERALD has credits that include Broadway: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Mrs. Gloop), Wicked (Madame Morrible), 9 to 5 (Roz, Outer Critics nominated Best Featured Actress), The Producers (Shirley Markowitz), Swinging on a Star (Drama Desk nomination Best Featured Actress). Off-Broadway: Damn Yankees (Doris, Encores!), Disaster! (Shirley, Triad), Donnybrook (Irish Rep). Regional: Pirates! (Ruth, Muny), Emmet Otter (Ma, Goodspeed), A Christmas Carol (Fezziwig, McCarter), The Tempest, Twelfth Night, School for Wives, Search for Signs. National Tour: Wicked (Morrible, Broadway World Award). TV/Film: Smash, Mercy, One Life to Life, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Next Three Days, Our Idiot Brother, and The Producers.
ELEASHA GAMBLE is a Helen Hayes Award-winning actress, who has toured through Cleveland with The Lion King and most recently was seen as the Baker’s Wife in the National Tour of Fiasco Theatre’s Production of Into The Woods. A Washington, D.C. native, a highlight of her career was playing Laurey in the groundbreaking and nationally lauded production of Oklahoma! at the Tony Award-winning Arena Stage. Some favorite regional credits include playing the title role in Mary Stuart (Olney Theatre Center), Nancy in Oliver! (Arena Stage), The Courtesan in Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare Theatre Company), Svetlana in Chess (Signature Theatre), and The Witch in Big Fish (The Lyric Theatre). Television includes HBO’s The Night Of and Amazon’s Sneaky Pete. She has also performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and at such places as New York’s Town Hall, 54 Below, Birdland, The Library of Congress, and The White House.
JOSH INNERST is thrilled to be back at Cleveland Play House. Prior to settling in the Midwest, he was in the acting company at the American Shakespeare Center where he appeared in more than 30 productions including Hamlet (Hamlet), Brutus (Julius Caesar), Algernon (The Importance of Being Earnest), Bassanio (The Merchant of Venice), and The Chorus (Henry V). Other theatre credits include Sir Guy of Gisbourne in Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood (Cleveland Play House), Trigorin in Stupid F***ing Bird (Dobama Theatre), Touchstone in As You Like It (Colorado Shakespeare Festival), Vanya in Life Sucks (CATCO), Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice (Utah Shakespeare Festival), and many more. He also works as an educator, director, and audiobook narrator.
GREGORY JAMES is a Buffalo, N.Y. native who received his B.F.A. in theatre performance from SUNY at Buffalo. Upon graduating, he spent six years working in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Cleveland sketch comedy duo Flamingo City and is a sketch writing student of Michael Busch. Stage credits include Lucio in Measure for Measure, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, and Brooke in Little Women (Oberlin Summer Theater Festival); Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice, David in Hay Fever, Trigorin in The Seagull, and John in Fifth of July (CWRU/CPH). LA theatre credits include Summer and Smoke, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and Lend Me a Tenor (Actors Co-Op Theatre Hollywood), and Some Girl(s) (LA Fringe). Gregory was a founding member of the Whitefire Theatre Company in Los Angeles. Film credits include Jilted for Glamour Magazine, Slow Clap Comedy, and the Actors Co-Op Series The Fur is Gone. GregoryJamesActing.com @GregoryJamesActing
MICHAEL KOSTROFF is best known for his five seasons on the landmark HBO series The Wire, and for a long list of TV credits that includes The Blacklist, The Good Wife, Billions, Sonny with a Chance, Law & Order: SVU, The Deuce, and Wizard of Lies starring Robert De Niro. He toured with Les Misérables as the conniving Thérnardier and with The Producers covering Max Bialystock, a role he’s since played in no less than six different productions. His regional roles have included Edna in Hairspray, Mr. Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors, Saunders in Lend Me a Tenor, and Richard in The Cottage (by Clue playwright Sandy Rustin). Kostroff is the author of Letters from Backstage, Audition Psych 101, and his blog, “The Weekly Curmudgeon.” Most recently, he played a leading role in HBO's The Plot Against America.
ALEX MANDELL made his Cleveland Play House debut as Mr. Green in Clue. Broadway: The Play That Goes Wrong, Hand to God. Off-Broadway: Hand to God (MCC), Sleep No More. Other NY: Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love, Restoration Comedy (The Flea). Regional: Bad Jews (Studio Theatre, Helen Hayes nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor); Awake and Sing (Olney Theatre Center); Never the Sinner (1st Stage). Readings/Workshops: Powerhouse/NYSAF, EST, The Lark, Primary Stages. Training: Boston University; LAMDA. Black Lives Matter.
MARK PRICE has appeared in the original Broadway companies of Mary Poppins; All Shook Up; Wonderful Town; Rocky Horror Show; Mamma Mia!; Dance of the Vampires; You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; The Capeman; and as a replacement in Chicago. Other NY and regional credits include The 39 Steps (Alley Theatre), Hound of the Baskervilles (White Heron Theatre), The Producers (Paper Mill Playhouse), The Cottage (Theatre Aspen), Lend Me A Tenor (Paper Mill Playhouse), Assassins (Milwaukee Rep), Into The Woods (Alliance Theater), Sondheim Celebration (Lincoln Center), and Sweeney Todd (Kennedy Center-Helen Hayes nomination). Film and TV: Murphy Brown, The Good Wife, Law & Order, and Broadway’s Finest. aboutmarkprice.com
GRAHAM STEVENS is excited to be making his Cleveland Play House debut in Clue! Graham appeared off-Broadway in the a cappella musical In Transit, for which he and the cast received a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble. Graham’s other off-Broadway credits include The Lightning Thief, Peter and the Starcatcher (directed by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers), The Robber Bridegroom, and Skippyjon Jones. Graham has worked around the country in regional productions such as Found (Philadelphia Theatre Co.), Up Here (La Jolla Playhouse), Man of La Mancha (Triad Stage), and Carmen (New York City Opera). Graham can also be heard as Long John Silver in the BYU Radio production of Treasure Island 2020, which is available on all podcast platforms. Television appearances include co-starring roles in Search Party (TBS) and Gotham (FOX). Graham earned a BA in theater studies from Yale University. Find out more atGrahamStevens.com.
ELISABETH A. YANCEY recently made her Cleveland Play House debut as Grace Richards in Into the Breeches!. Other credits with CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program include The Merchant of Venice, Hay Fever, The Seagull, and Fifth of July. Internationally, Elisabeth performed at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the world premiere of Call of the Void. Other favorite credits include CPH’s New Ground Theatre Festival in Cicada and Christina, and the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival in Romeo and Juliet and Little Women, as well as work with Wellesley Repertory Theatre. Elisabeth holds a BA in theatre studies from Wellesley College, a certificate of classical acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and a certificate of literature from Cambridge University. Instagram: @elisabethyancey
THE CREATIVE TEAM
SANDY RUSTIN (Author) is an actress and award-winning playwright recently named to the Broadway Women's Fund’s inaugural “50 Women to Watch” list. She is the writer of the stage adaptations of CLUE: A New Comedy and Mystic Pizza (both slated for 2020/2021 Nat’l Tours), an upcoming musical review for Disney Theatricals, an upcoming show for Disney Cruises, and the Nat’l Tour of American Girl Live! (Mattel). Her original comedy, The Cottage, is slated for its Broadway Debut (Jason Alexander directing) in the spring of ‘21. Other original works include: Rated P for Parenthood (Off- Broadway/ABC TV), Struck, Houston, Elijah, The Suffragist’s Murder, Everything Seems Like Maybe, & Family Dinner; A Quarantine Comedy. She has upcoming projects in development for film/tv/theatre. Sandy is the Founding Co-Artistic Director of Midtown Direct Rep & an advocate for Cowden Foundation. A Northwestern University graduate, Sandy is a member of ASCAP, SAG, AEA, and the Dramatists Guild and is represented by A3: Abrams. www.sandyrustin.com
CASEY HUSHION (Director) is currently Resident Director of Mean Girls (Broadway/National Tour) and Disney’s Aladdin. Other Broadway credits include The Prom, Elf (2012, 2010), In The Heights (Broadway/National Tour), The Drowsy Chaperone (Broadway/National Tour/West End), To Be or Not To Be (Manhattan Theatre Club), and Good Vibrations. Off-Broadway, she directed Call Me Madam at City Center Encores and Fat Camp at the ATA Theatre. For television, she has choreographed musical sequences for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Casey directed the pre-Broadway production of Nerds at Philadelphia Theatre Company and the Broadway production of Nerds (almost). Casey served as the Artistic Director of North Carolina Theatre for ten years, where she directed twenty productions. A graduate of New York University, Casey has directed at regional theatres such as North Shore Music Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, Papermill Playhouse, Riverside Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, Casa Manana, Music Theatre of Wichita, and Goodspeed Opera House. With the Boston Pops, Casey has staged concert versions of Carousel and A Little Night Music. Next up, Casey is directing the new musical, Mystic Pizza.
TICKETING INFORMATION
Registration for CLUEbaret is required in advance. Viewing access is $25 price per household. The event will be broadcast online and can be viewed on a computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. For more information, please visit: www.clevelandplayhouse.com/cluebaret.
CPH Digital Pass Subscriptions are available ranging between $150-$225. Subscribers receive premium access to artistic programming and special events throughout the season. Passes are available exclusively by visiting, www.clevelandplayhouse.com/subscribe.
ABOUT CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE
CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE, founded in 1915 and recipient of the 2015 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is America's first professional regional theatre. Throughout its rich history, CPH has remained dedicated to its mission to inspire, stimulate, and entertain diverse audiences across Northeast Ohio by producing plays and theatre education programs of the highest professional standards. CPH has produced more than 100 world and/or American premieres, and over its long history more than 12 million people have attended over 1,600 productions. Today, Cleveland Play House celebrates the beginning of its second century of service while performing in three state-of-the art venues at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland. Cleveland Play House is made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Cleveland Play House is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. To learn more, visit: www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
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