The Big Time

Raymond Bokhour holds the record for performances as Mr. Cellophane in Broadway’s Chicago. He opened the 1st National Tour of Once as Da. Recent work includes Douglas Carter Beane’s The Closet at Williamstown Theatre Festival. With David Bridel, he is co-author of the new musical comedy The Glorious Death of Comrade What’s-His-Name and the comedy Big Shoes. He is also a composer with original works recorded by the London Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, and Moravian Philharmonic Orchestras.

Bradley Dean returns to McCarter Theater Center where he starred as Tito in the world premiere of A Comedy of Tenors.  Currently appearing on Broadway as Monsieur Andre in Phantom of the Opera, Mr. Dean’s other Broadway credits include Dear Evan Hansen, A Little Night Music, The Last Ship, Company, Spamalot, Doctor Zhivago, Jane Eyre, Evita, The Story of My Life, and Man of La Mancha. New York City audiences have also seen Bradley in Bat Out of Hell (City Center), Sweeney Todd (NY Philharmonic), A New Brain, The Most Happy Fella (City Center Encores), and The Big Time (NYMF).

Santino Fontana- Broadway: Tootsie (Tony Award); R&H's Cinderella (Tony and OCC award noms.); Hello, Dolly!; Act One; The Importance of Being Earnest (Clarence Derwent Award); Brighton Beach Memoirs (Drama Desk Award); A View From the Bridge; Billy Elliot; and Sunday in the Park with George. Off-Broadway: God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, 1776, Zorba!, Sons of the Prophet (Lucille Lortel and Obie awards), Film: Frozen, Sisters. TV: "Fosse/Verdon," "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," "Shades of Blue," "Mozart in the Jungle" and "The Good Wife."

Debbie Gravitte - Tony Award winner, Grammy Award and Emmy nominee, Debbie Gravitte (Jerome Robbins’ Broadway), one of Broadway's biggest personalities, has found herself in demand from the Broadway stage to the concert stage and beyond. After making her Broadway debut in the original cast of They’re Playing Our Song, she went on to appear in Perfectly Frank (Drama Desk nomination), Blues in The Night, Ain’t Broadway Grand, Zorba, Chicago, and Les Misérables. Debbie has performed her nightclub act worldwide, from New York’s Rainbow and Stars, 54 Below, and Birdland to London’s Pizza on the Park, to Atlantic City, with Jay Leno, Harry Anderson, and the legendary George Burns. A favorite with symphony audiences, she has sung with over 175 orchestras around the world including The Boston Pops, Lang Lang and The Chinese Philharmonic, The Philly Pops, The National Symphony, NY Pops, Atlanta Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, St. Louis, Houston, Dallas and San Diego Symphonies. On television, Debbie co-starred on the CBS series Trial and Error, NBC’S Pursuit of Happiness, and in several specials for PBS, including Live from The Kennedy Center, The Boston Pops Celebrate Bernstein, Rodgers and Hart for Great Performances, and Ira Gershwin’s 100th Birthday Celebration. Debbie has four solo CDs: Big Band Broadway, Defying Gravity, The MGM Album, and Part of Your World: The Music of Alan Menken. She has sung with New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, appeared with Bette Midler in the Universal Feature, Isn’t She Great?, and can be heard as one of the voices in Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Debbie is the proud mother of three beautiful children. She is also proud owner of group5productions... booking all the people you love!

Jackie Hoffman - Nominated for an Emmy for her role of Mamacita in FX’s Feud: Betty and Joan, Jackie Hoffman can currently be seen in the critically-acclaimed Yiddish, Off-Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. She is also in Ryan Murphy’s latest Netflix series The Politician, TruTV’s At Home with Amy Sedaris, and Laura Kosann’s most recent film The Social Ones. A staple on television, Hoffman’s numerous credits include The Other Two, Difficult People, Gilmore Girls, I Shudder, Girls, Six by Sondheim, The New Normal, The Good Wife, Inside Amy Schumer, Raising Hope, Melissa and Joey, On We Go, 30 Rock, Starved, Hope and Faith, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Strangers with Candy, TV Funhouse, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Soulman, and Cosby. A distinguished voice actress, she has also appeared in the cartoons High School USA, Family Guy, Dilbert, PB & J Otter, and the film Robots. In film, Hoffman has appeared in memorable roles in Birdman, Kissing Jessica Stein, Decay, The Sitter, The Extra Man, How to Seduce Difficult Women, A Dirty Shame, Garden State, Legally Blonde II, and Mo' Money. On Broadway, Hoffman has co-starred in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, On the Town, The Addams Family, Xanadu, and Hairspray, for which she won a Theatre World Award. Off-Broadway, Hoffman starred as Princess Winifred in the Transport Group’s Once Upon A Mattress, and received a Drama League Award Nomination for her performance. Her additional theater credits include A Chanukah Charol, The Gingerbread House, Straightjacket, Incident at Cobbler's Knob (Lincoln Center Theatre Festival), and One Woman Shoe. Hoffman has performed in regional theater, as well in Chicago at The MUNY and The Sisters Rosensweig at the Globe Theatre. She starred in six revues at The Second City Theatre in Chicago, where she won the Jeff Award for Best Actress. Her solo shows at Joe's Pub have received critical acclaim. They include The Kvetching Continues, Jackie Five-Oh!, Chanukah at Joe's Pub (Bistro Award), Scraping the Bottom, and Jackie with a Z. In 2009, Hoffman received the Mac Award for Best Female Stand Up. Her show Jackie Hoffman: Live from Joe's Pub is available on disc. Website: www.jackiehoffman.com, Facebook: www.facebook.com/officialjackiehoffman, Twitter: @jackiehoffman16

Michael McCormick - Broadway: currently The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in Wicked; Hello Dolly!; Chaplin; Elf; Curtains; The Grinch/Xmas; The Pajama Game; Kiss Me, Kate; 1776; Gypsy; Marie Christine; Kiss of the Spiderwoman; La Bete. National tours: La Cage, The Producers, Les Miserables, Kiss of the Spiderwoman. Off-Broadway: Fly By Night, Tin Pan Alley Rag, A Man of No Importance, among others. TV: House of Cards, The Good Wife, Orange is the New Black, all three Law & Order series. Film: Pretty Bird, A Very Serious Person, The Producers. He has recorded 18 original Broadway and Off-Broadway cast albums. Michael made his Broadway debut in 1965 in Oliver!

Laura Osnes is a two-time Tony Award nominee for her memorable performances in Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Drama Desk Award) and Bonnie & Clyde. Other Broadway: Bandstand, Anything Goes, South Pacific, Grease. She made her film debut starring in two Hallmark original movies last year, In The Key of Love and A Homecoming For The Holidays and portrayed Shirley MacLaine in the F/X miniseries Fosse/Verdon. Other NY/regional: The Scarlet Pimpernel and Crazy for You (Manhattan Concert Productions), The Threepenny Opera (Atlantic Theater); The Band Wagon, Pipe Dream (City Center Encores!); The Sound of Music (Carnegie Hall), Carousel (Lyric Opera of Chicago), On The Town (Boston Pops). Her extensive cabaret and symphony concert career has included broadcast performances with the The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Live From Lincoln Center (PBS), The Kennedy Center Honors (CBS), A Capitol Fourth(PBS), American Songbook at NJPAC (PBS), Six By Sondheim (PBS), and more. @lauraosnes

Broadway: “Waitress”, “Disaster!”, “Les Miserables”, “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert”, (Drama League Nomination), “Hair” (Tony, Drama Desk and Drama League Nominations), “110 in the Shade”, “Lestat”, “Brooklyn!” - Off Broadway: “Nantucket Sleighride”, “Jerry Springer: The Opera” (Obie Award), “Murder Ballad”, “Rock of Ages”, “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Adrift in Macao”, “Two Gentlemen of Verona”, “Pericles”. Tours and Other: “Miss Saigon”, “We Will Rock You”, “Camelot- NY Philharmonic” “...Superman!” “Pirates of Penzance”, “Moon for the Misbegotten” “The Royal Family of Broadway” Film & Television: “The Kitchen”, “The Greatest Showman”, “This is Where I Leave You”, “The Switch”, “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” “Law & Order (SVU & CSI)” “The Good Wife”, “No Tomorrow”, “The Code”. Will is currently at work on a brand new drama being produced by Netflix. Will’s most impressive performance to date is the role of “husband” in his marriage to global superpower Audra McDonald. With his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in “Acting”, he has somehow convinced her of his adequacy, and plans on continuing in the role for the rest of his life.

Douglas Carter Beane is the author of the plays The Nance (Broadway and PBS), The Little Dog Laughed (Tony Nom., Olivier Nom. GLAAD Media Best Play), As Bees In Honey Drown (Outer Critics Circle), Shows for Days, Mr. & Mrs. Fitch, Music From A Sparkling Planet, The Country Club, Advice From A Caterpillar, The Cartells, The Closet, and the upcoming Fairycakes. His musical books include Cinderella (Tony Nom.), Lysistrata Jones (Tony Nom.), Sister Act (Tony Nom.), Xanadu (Tony Nom., Drama Desk Best Book, Outer Critics Circle Best Musical), and the upcoming Hood.  He also wrote the new libretto for the operetta Die Fledermaus for the Metropolitan Opera and the Radio City Music Hall Summer Spectacular.  He has begun creating shows as both author and director.  These include Star-Spangled, Me and the Girls, the musical version of his film, To Wong Foo and tonight’s show.  He couldn’t do it without the love of Lewis Flinn and Cooper and Gaby Flinn-Beane.

Douglas J. Cohen is the winner of the 2010 Fred Ebb Award, two Richard Rodgers Awards for his music/lyrics/book, and a Drama Desk Award nominee. Off-Broadway: The Evolution of Mann(with collaborator Dan Elish, The Cell Theatre); No Way to Treat a Lady (Hudson Guild Theatre and York Theatre Company); The Gig(MTC Stage ll, NYMF Festival -- five NYMF Awards, Goodspeed; Boozy(directed by Alex Timbers); Children’s Letters to God(Lamb’s Theatre). Doug also penned scores for The Opposite of Sex (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Glimmerglass(Goodspeed, NAMT Festival), and A Charles Dickens Christmas(Theatreworks/USA, Urban Stages). With collaborator Cheryl Davis: Bridges (Richard Rodgers Finalist, Ignite Series at Times Center; Berkeley Playhouse world premiere) and Barnstormer(Jonathan Larson Grant for Lark Theatre bare bones; NAMT). Upcoming: Valentino, starring Tony Yazbeck and directed by Chet Walker (music by by Howard Marren). Doug is a member of the Dramatist Guild, ASCAP, and teaches at The Neighborhood Playhouse. Website: douglasjcohen.com.

Fred Lassen is a seasoned Broadway conductor, music director, and arranger. Broadway productions he has conducted or supervised include: Prince of Broadway, Bandstand, Mean Girls, King Kong, Finding Neverland, Once, Porgy and Bess, South Pacific, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Spamalot, Cabaret, 42nd Street, Once Upon A Mattress. Off-Broadway/Regional: Sing Street (New York Theatre Workshop), The Sting (Paper Mill Playhouse, w/Harry Connick, Jr.), The Threepenny Opera (Atlantic Theatre, dir. Martha Clarke), ZORRO (Alliance Theatre). International: Prince of Broadway (Tokyo/Osaka), 4STARS, (Tokyo/Osaka), Maury Yeston’s Peony Pavilion (Beijing), Cabaret (Folies Bergère, Paris). He was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award in Washington, DC, in the category of Outstanding Music Direction, for Ricky Ian Gordon’s musical Sycamore Trees. Fred has arranged and recorded two albums with Laura Osnes. He was the Associate Music Supervisor for NBC’s live musical broadcasts of Peter Pan and The Sound of Music. Fred graduated with a degree in Organ Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, and lives in Brooklyn with his wife Vaishali, an independent documentary filmmaker, and his 5-year-old son Luca.