PTC Presents New Musical Version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, 11/30-12/15

Robert Anthony Jones has played Mr. Fezziwig twice on national tour, twice with The Gateway Playhouse, and once for the Fulton Opera House. His New York credits include The 101 Dalmatians Musical (National Tour, originating the role of Jinx Baddun), Dorian Gray at the York Theatre, and The Prince and the Pauper (Original Cast and Original Cast Recording). Regional credits include The Producers and Anything Goes at West Virginia Public Theatre, Chicago at Riverside Theatre and Sweeney Todd at Gateway Playhouse. This is his PTC debut.

Keala Settle appeared on Broadway in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Hands on a Hardbody, and in the national tours of South Pacific and Hairspray. A Hawaii native, she has been seen at regional theatres across the country. This is her PTC debut.

Local actor Anson Bagley, playing the role of Tiny Tim, has been seen in Salt Lake as Chip in Beauty and the Beast and Winthrop in The Music Man. Bagley's film credits include 17 Miracles and several local TV and radio commercials. This is his PTC debut.

The ensemble features Ginger Bess as The Blind Old Hag, Ashley Gardner CARLSON as Sally, Laura Hall as Emily, Geoffrey Hemingway as Young Scrooge, SHALEE MORTENSEN SCHMIDT as Mrs. Cratchit, AUSTIN John Smith as Fred, and DANIEL T. SIMONS as Smythe.

Ginger Bess was recently seen as Roxie Hart in Chicago with The Dark Horse Company Theatre, of which she is a founding company member. She was featured in Rent, Sunset Boulevard and Les Misérables at Pioneer Theatre Company and received national recognition as the mezzo-soprano soloist in Berstein's Mass with the Utah Symphony. A graduate of Weber State University, she has performed in theatres from coast to coast.

Ashley Gardner Carlson most recently was seen at the Grand Theatre as Cinderella in Into The Woods and as Kira in Xanadu. She also appeared with the Utah Symphony in the Jewish American Songbook Concert. She returns to PTC after appearing in Annie, Miss Saigon and others.

Geoffrey Hemingway appeared on Broadway in Good Vibrations, and in the national tour of Mamma Mia. A graduate of BYU, he has appeared at regional theatres across the country and returns to PTC after last appearing in Les Misérables.

Shalee Mortensen Schmidt has appeared locally in The Sound of Music, The Drowsy Chaperone, Great American Trailer Park Musical, Hairspray, Steel Magnolias, Hello, Dolly! and Lucky Stiff. She has appeared with the Utah Opera in The Gondoliers and The Magic Flute. This is her PTC debut.

Austin John Smith is a sophomore in the Musical Theatre Program at the University of Utah. Recent roles include Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd, Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, Eddie in The Wild Party and Walter/Tribe in Hair. He just returned from New York City after working with Open Jar Productions. This is his PTC debut.

Daniel T. Simons, another founding member of The Dark Horse Company Theatre, was recently seen in the title role of that company's production of Jekyll & Hyde. Other regional credits include The Who's Tommy, Jonathan Larson's Tick, Tick…Boom! and others. He returns to PTC after appearing in many productions, including Rent, Sunset Boulevard, 42nd Street and others.

The ensemble also includes actor/singer/dancers Jessica Azenberg, JARON BARNEY, JESSICA BLAIR, Lenny Daniel, IAN DOHERTY, Cecily Ellis-BILLS, ALEXANDRA HICKEN, DAVID GUY HOLMES, Jeff Kuhr, GREGORY NEFF, ADAM PELLEGRINE, and Dance Captain NIKOL WOLF. Child actors CHRISTIAN LABERTEW, NOAH MAYFIELD, ABIGAIL SCOTT, MAGGIE SCOTT, EMILY TERRAN and FYNN WHITE round out the cast.

PTC's Artistic Director Karen Azenberg directs and choreographs the production. A Christmas Carol: The Musical marks her directorial debut since assuming the position of PTC Artistic Director. In previous seasons as a guest artist, Azenberg directed the regional premiere of Next to Normal, as well as Rent and Miss Saigon. She created the musical staging for the record-breaking 2007 production of Les Misérables. Originally from New York, her work there includes Lyrics and Lyricists (92nd St. Y), Blocks (a collaboration with Jonathan Larson), Prom Queens Unchained, and choreography for Richard Greenberg's The Dazzle (Roundabout). Other credits include national tours of Carousel and Brigadoon, Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Regional Theatre Premiere at Geva), West Side Story (over 15 productions; Dramalogue Award for Outstanding Choreography), A Christmas Memory (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), and Same Time Next Year (Indiana Repertory Theatre). Azenberg is on the board of the New York Musical Theatre Festival and is the President of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Tom Griffin is the show's musical director and conductor. Griffin was the musical conductor of Disney's Beauty and the Beast on two national tours and music-directed the West Coast and Los Angeles premieres of The Last Five Years, Sweet Charity, Sweeney Todd and The Music Man; the West Coast premiere of Spitfire Grill; Annie, West Side Story, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Bye Bye Birdie; the national tour of My Fair Lady for Theatre Of The Stars; and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's productions of A Christmas Carol: The Musical, Peter Pan and A Christmas Memory. This is his PTC debut.

Scenic design is by PTC resident artist George Maxwell. Some of Maxwell's PTC designs include Next to Normal, Rent, Sunset Boulevard, Chicago, Les Misérables, The Importance of Being Earnest, West Side Story, Proof, Peter Pan and Miss Saigon. He has designed the sets for Utah Opera Company's The Coronation of Poppea and The Ballad of Baby Doe, productions for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and 21 productions for the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Maxwell is a member of United Scenic Artists.

CAROL WELLS-DAY designs costumes for this production. Wells-Day is one of PTC's resident costume designers and the costume shop supervisor. Her recent designs for PTC include Next to Normal, Sunset Boulevard, Dracula, Is He Dead?, Dial 'M' for Murder and The Light in the Piazza, among dozens of others. She was assistant designer for Inherit the Wind at the Ford Theatre in Washington D.C., and worked for the Utah Shakespeare Festival for 13 years as a costume shop supervisor and designer.

Lighting design is by guest designer Phil Monat. Monat's Broadway designs include Legends starring Joan Collins and Linda Evans, Sly Fox starring Richard Dreyfuss, Finian's Rainbow, Sally Marr & Her Escorts and Three From Brooklyn. Recent off-Broadway designs include Woman Before A Glass (Obie Award), Adult Entertainment, American Rhapsody, Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill and Visiting Mr. Green. He returns to PTC after lighting several productions, including Hamlet, Touch(ed), My Fair Lady and Chicago – among many others.

Hair and makeup design is by PTC resident designer AMANDA FRENCH. Sound design is by PTC resident designer MATTHEW TIBBS.

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