Barrymore Award-winning and Broadway favorite Hugh Panaro is set to star as Fagin in Walnut Street Theatre's production of Oliver!, to run November 10th, 2009 through January 10th, 2010.
Opening night is set for November 18th. Walnut regular Mark Clements will direct the beloved musical for the Walnut holiday season.
Press notes declare, "You'll celebrate the holiday season with one of Broadway's most beloved classic musicals of all time, Oliver! This masterpiece vividly brings to life Charles Dickens' timeless characters with its ever-popular story of the boy who asked for more. The sensational score is full of Lionel Bart's irresistible songs including "Food, Glorious Food;" "Consider Yourself;" "You've Got to Pick-a-Pocket or Two;" "I'd Do Anything;" "Oom Pah Pah;" "As Long As He Needs Me" and many more. Oliver! promises to be one of the most spectacular holiday musicals to ever grace the Walnut's stage."
Panaro, one of Broadway's most celebrated leading men, has been a featured performer in Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, and Martin Guerre, and was last seen at the Walnut as Jean Valjean in their acclaimed production of "Les Miz."
Musical director Douglass G. Lutz will lead a creative team that includes scenic designer Todd Edward Ivins, lighting designer Jeff Nellis, costume designer Colleen Grady, and choreographer Mary Jane Houdina.
Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre is widely regarded as one of America's most successful regional theatres. Under the leadership of President and Producing Artistic Director Bernard Havard and Managing Director Mark D. Sylvester, it has gained the distinction of being the most subscribed theatre in the world (over 57,000 subscribers annually) and the oldest theatre in continual operation in the English speaking world. Opened in 1809, The Walnut is a National Historic Landmark and The State Theatre of Pennsylvania, currently celebrating its 200th anniversary season.
For more information on the Walnut Street Theatre, visit www.walnutstreettheatre.org.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.
