Weathervane Playhouse brings "Jesus Christ Superstar" to the stage. What's the buzz? The original rock opera is what's-a-happening. AKRON, OH - Weathervane Playhouse presents Jesus Christ Superstar, the original rock opera, March 30 to April 23, 3017. Performance days and times are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 pm (with no performance on Easter Sunday, April 16). Additionally a 10 a.m. performance will be presented for school groups on Tuesday, April 4. A global phenomenon that has wowed audiences for over 40 years, Jesus Christ Superstar is a timeless work set against the backdrop of an extraordinary and universally-known series of events but seen, unusually, through the eyes of Judas Iscariot. Director Melanie YC Pepe says of the production, "Jesus Christ Superstar is a courageous musical. It invites the audience to look at someone they don't understand and try to see the world from their point of view. That is a very difficult thing to do." Tickets for Jesus Christ Superstar are $10-$26 and can be purchased by calling the box office at 330-836-2626 or going to www.weathervaneplayhouse.com<http://www.weathervaneplayhouse.com> About the Play: Jesus Christ Superstar was the first musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to be produced for the professional stage and first came to major theatres when it debuted on Broadway in October 1971 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York. Less than 12 months after the Broadway show opened, the rock spectacle went to London, exploding onto the West End at the Palace Theatre in August 1972 in a hugely successful production. By 1980, after 3,358 performances, Jesus Christ Superstar had become the longest running musical in West End history at the time and grossed $12.3 million. In all, Jesus Christ Superstar has grossed over $205 million and has been professionally produced in 42 countries around the world! About the Creators: Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber was born on March 22, 1948, and grew up in South Kensington, England. His childhood was spent in a home filled with music and he demonstrated, from an early age, an extraordinary talent for it. He is the composer of many musicals, including Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, and Sunset Boulevard. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom knighted him in 1992 as Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. He is the recipient of seven Tony Awards, three Grammys, one Oscar, an International Emmy and a Golden Globe. In 2006, he was named one of five of that year's Kennedy Center Honors recipients. Love Never Dies, a sequel to his Phantom of the Opera, opened in London in 2010. In 2011, he wrote the music for a new stage version of The Wizard of Oz. Originally starring Michael Crawford (the original star of Broadway's Phantom of the Opera), the production opened in London in March 2011 and ran until September 2012 (followed thereafter by a production in Toronto and a U.S. tour). His newest show, School of Rock: The Musical, opened on Broadway in 2015 (and is still playing to enthusiastic audiences at the Winter Garden Theatre). His foundation, the Andrew Lloyd Webber Music Program, is one of England's leading arts and education charities. Currently, nearly 3,000 children receive free musical instruments and music tuition throughout their school careers thanks to the foundation's gifts. Lyricist Tim Rice was born in Buckinghamshire, England, on November 10, 1944. He entered the world of popular music as the lead singer of the pop-rock group the Aardvarks and went on to sing occasionally with other popular rock groups of the 1960s. He published his first song, That's My Story, in 1965 - the same year he met his eventual musical partner, Andrew Lloyd Webber. In addition to Jesus Christ Superstar, the two Englishmen collaborated on the blockbuster musicals Evita and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Rice has worked with other notable composers, including Marvin Hamlisch and Paul McCartney, and received three Grammys for his work on Walt Disney's Aladdin. With Elton John, he wrote the lyrics for Disney's The Lion King. In 2010, he reunited with his Joseph...Dreamcoat collaborator Andrew Lloyd Webber to create new songs for a stage version of The Wizard of Oz. His most recent project as a lyricist is a musical version of the World War II novel From Here to Eternity, which played in London's West End from October 2013 through March 2014. For interviews, cast photos, or more information contact Fred Gloor at 330-836-2626. Ext 16 or fgloor@weathervaneplayhouse.com<mailto:fgloor@weathervaneplayhouse.com> The cast and crew of Jesus Christ Superstar include: THE CAST JUSTIN WILLIAMS Jesus of Nazareth ADAM VIGNEAULT Judas Iscariot DAWN SNIADAK-YAMOKOSKI Mary Magdalene JOSHUA LARKIN Pontius Pilate PATRICK MICHAEL DUKEMAN King Herod TYLER FERREBEE Annas ADAM ALDERSON Caiaphas GEORGE CSANYI Peter AIDAN McKEON Simon Zealotes WILL C. CROSBY MARK SCOTT Pharisee APOSTLES Frank Castorena Jason Davis Anthony Harbert Frank Lucas Lucas Ostronisky John Rader APOSTLES (cont.) Jared Sparks Scott Thanasiu ENSEMBLE Hannah Case Cathy Csanyi Kat Glover Danielle Gruhler Kaitlyn Harris Natalie Laymon Reyna Moran Patty Rhodes Amanda Vigneault Andrew Yamokoski THE CREATIVE TEAM MELANIE YC PEPE Director JOHN EBNER Musical Director KEVIN LAMBES Assistant Director, Choreographer JEANNIE CLARKSON Stage Manager BRYSON LAMBES Assistant Stage Manager CHRISTOPHER PEPE Sound Designer KAREN BURRIDGE Properties Designer RICHARD MORRIS, JR. Lighting Designer/Scenic Designer/Technical Director JASEN J. SMITH Costume Designer KATHY KOHL Assistant Technical Director KELLIE ROSSINI Master Electrician Weathervane Playhouse provides high-quality live theater with volunteer artists, designers, and technicians under professional direction, delivers education and training in theater arts and appreciation, and engages and entertains its audience to enrich the quality of life in Northeast Ohio. ### Weathervane Playhouse's 2016-2017 Season Support Provided by: AARP Akron Community Foundation Akron/Summit Convention and Visitors Bureau Mary and Dr. George L. Demetros Charitable Trust Margaret Dietz GAR Foundation Kenneth L. Calhoun Charitable Trust (KeyBank, Trustee) The Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services, LLC The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation The Millennial Group Northeast Ohio Boomer and Beyond Magazine Northeast Ohio Parent Magazine Ohio Arts Council OMNOVA Solutions Foundation WKSU 89.7 FM Fred Gloor Marketing Coordinator Weathervane Playhouse 330-836-2626 xt 16