Classic Stage Company presented a benefit performance of its current revival of A Man of No Importance December 11. Proceeds from the evening benefited the Off-Broadway company’s work to present reimagined classic theatre.
The benefit performance featured Tony winner Santino Fontana stepping into the role of Father Kenny with understudies Benjamin Howes as Alfie Byrne and Beth Kirkpatrick as Ernie Lally. The production was down three actors: Jim Parsons, Nathaniel Stampley, and Joel Waggoner. Parsons is back in the production as of December 13.
The extended Off-Broadway revival of Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Terrence McNally's A Man of No Importance, which officially opened October 30, continues through December 18.
Check out photos from the evening below:
Alma Cuervo, Beth Kirkpatrick, Jessica Tyler Wright, and Mary Beth Peil at a special benefit performance of A Man of No Importance
Mary Beth Peil, Mare Winningham, and Santino Fontana at a special benefit performance of A Man of No Importance
Benjamin Howes at a special benefit performance of A Man of No Importance
Jill Rafson speaks at a special benefit performance of A Man of No Importance
Jill Rafson and company at a special benefit performance of A Man of No Importance
Benjamin Howes at a special benefit performance of A Man of No Importance
Benjamin Howes, Lee Harrington, Beth Kirkpatrick, and Santino Fontana at a special benefit performance of A Man of No Importance
Lee Harrington, Benjamin Howes, and Beth Kirkpatrick at a special benefit performance of A Man of No Importance
The cast at a special benefit performance of A Man of No Importance
READ: Why Mare Winningham Never Thought She Would Do Musicals
Performances began October 11 for the production, helmed by outgoing Artistic Director John Doyle. Based on the 1994 Albert Finney film, the musical tells the story of an amateur theatre group in 1960s Dublin and their leader, bus driver Alfie Byrne, who is determined to stage a production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome despite the objections of local church authorities. The original production won the 2003 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical.
Parsons leads a cast which also includes Shereen Ahmed, Alma Cuervo, Kara Mikula, Da'Von T. Moody, Mary Beth Peil, Thom Sesma, A.J. Shively, Jessica Tyler Wright, Mare Winningham, and William Youmans, along with Stampley and Waggoner. Rounding out the company as understudies are Lee Harrington and Beth Kirkpatrick.
Doyle, a Tony winner for his actor-musician revival of Sweeney Todd, also provides the production's scenic design, with costumes by Ann Hould Ward, lighting by Adam Honoré, sound design by Sun Hee Kil, and casting by The Telsey Office's Craig Burns. Orchestrations are by Bruce Coughlin, with electronic music design by Strange Cranium and music direction by Caleb Hoyer. Bernita Robinson is production stage manager with Hollace Jeffords serving as assistant stage manager. Judi Lewis Ockler is fight and intimacy director.
CSC's revival is produced by special arrangement with Tom Kirdahy and Mara Isaacs.
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