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2 Guys & a Doll Do Broadway(and Boca & Delray!)

07 Thursday Oct 2021

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Singer, Actress, Comedian, Storyteller
Sharon Ruben
Celebrates Life Through the Art of the
Broadway Song

November 2nd, 3rd, & 4th
at Mizner Park Cultural Center and the Delray Beach Playhouse

“…touching, engaging, upbeat, and relatable.” ~ Nora Davis, Times Square Chronicles

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

October 7, 2021

BOCA RATON & DELRAY BEACH, FL:  Cabaret veteran, actress, singer, comedian and storyteller Sharon Ruben will bring her “Broadway Journey through life” production, 2 Guys and a Doll Do Broadway to the Delray Beach Playhouse and the Mizner Park Cultural Center on November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.  Joining her on stage will be two of South Florida’s top talents, actor/director Jonathan Van Dyke, and actor/cabaret artist Michael Scott Ross.

Conceived and written by Ruben and Music Director Bill Magaliff, 2 Guys and a Doll is a fast- paced celebration of the many aspects of life – “It’s about everyone’s story – from childhood to young love to marriage, divorce, turning points, the golden years – using the music of ‘the Great White Way’ to illustrate the art and relevance of the Broadway song,” Ruben explains. She relates stories of her life on stage and off – and with over 30 years ‘in the business’, she has stories to tell.  

Music, and musical theatre is Ruben’s deep and abiding love and has been ‘forever’.  “When I was 5, I entertained in a hula skirt on a stage with a band in the Catskill Mountains,” she says.  “I share in my show how a physical limitation, which happened to me when I was four years old and contracted polio, and couldn’t raise my right arm, couldn’t stop me from communicating with people through song and dance and humor. How fortunate I am that I have done what I love all my life, and even more, that I am still doing it.”

A graduate of the Julliard School of Music, Sharon has performed at Radio City Music Hall as a principal vocalist, sung “The Star Spangled Banner” for the Knicks and the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, entertained at Feinstein’s 54 Below, and at many other venues and cabaret rooms in New York and beyond. She has also appeared in numerous musicals including Hal Prince’s Fiddler on The Roof, Kiss Me Kate, Oklahoma, and Carousel with Howard Keel.

The 2 Guys joining Sharon on stage are musical theatre performers Jonathan Van Dyke and Michael Scott Ross – both of whom are well known to South Florida audiences. The show’s music director Bobby Peaco will be at the piano.

2 Guys & a Doll Do Broadway will run for two performances at the Delray Beach Playhouse on Tuesday November 2nd and Wednesday November 3rd, and at the Mizner Park Cultural Center in Boca Raton on Thursday, November 4th.   Tickets for these performances range from $34 to $44, and can be purchased online at https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com and https://delraybeachplayhouse.com.

Masks must be worn in order to attend.
All patrons must be vaccinated.

The Delray Beach Playhouse is located at 950 NW 9th Street, in Delray Beach (33444).
The Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center is located at 201 Plaza Real, in Boca Raton (33432)
Sharon and her Guys will also perform at the Herb Skolnick Cultural Center on November 10th.

For more information about Sharon Ruben and 2 Guys & a Doll Do Broadway contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

2 Guys & a Doll Do Broadway performance dates, times, and locations:

2 Guys & a Doll Do Broadway
Tuesday, November 2 at 12:30 pm
Wednesday, November 3 at 12:30 pm
Tickets: $44
Click HERE for tickets 
Call 844-272-1281
Delray Beach Playhouse
950 NW 9th Street
Delray Beach, FL 33444

2 Guys & a Doll Do Broadway
Thursday, November 4 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $34/$44
Click HERE for tickets 
Call 844-672-2849
Mizner Park Cultural Center
201 Plaza Real, 2nd Floor
Boca Raton, FL 33432

2 Guys & a Doll Do Broadway
Wednesday, November 10 at 7:30 pm
Click HERE for tickets
Call:  954-786-4590
Herb Skolnick Cultural Arts Center
800 SW 36th Avenue
Pompano Beach, FL 33069

2 Guys & a Doll Do Broadway – Cast and Creative Team

SHARON RUBEN has brought her cabaret act to Feinstein’s, Tuscany, Italy and opened the season at The Ocean House. Trained at the Juilliard School of Music, Sharon has performed at Radio City Music Hall as a principal vocalist, and in many musicals including: Hal Prince’s Fiddler On The Roof, Kiss Me Kate, Oklahoma and Carousel with Howard Keel. Her musical  comedy, storytelling one woman show “The Best is Yet to Come” played to packed houses at The Laurie Beechman Theater in NYC and Florida. Sharon was a guest on the Dr Oz Show in February 2017 in the episode FAKE NEWS.  Her pride and joy was the epiphany of creating and performing Two Guys & a Doll Do Broadway

MICHAEL SCOTT ROSS (One of the Guys) is a native New Yorker who now calls Florida home. Most recent regional credits include Ned in Groundhog Day (Slow Burn Theatre Company – The Broward Center), Hysterium in …Forum (MNM Theatre Company – The Kravis Center) and How To Succeed… (Maltz Jupiter Theatre). Michael originated the role of Man 2 in the NY Regional Premiere of Edges. Other New York credits include: Raffi on Broadway (Vocalist) and Twist (Mr. Sowerberry). He has performed on the Las Vegas Strip as well as his cabarets Some Enchanted Evening and The Glory of Gershwin on various cruise lines. You can also catch Michael portraying Dick Van Dyke in Practically Perfect: The Music of Julie Andrews with Matthews Entertainment.

JONATHAN VAN DYKE (One of the Guys) started off as a dancer at Walt Disney World in high school, and then he attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC.  National Tour credits include Oh Calcutta starring Gennifer Flowers, Bye Bye Birdie (Albert) and You Say Tomato I Say Shut Up (Jeff Kahn). Favorite roles include Sam in Mamma Mia, Harold Hill in The Music Man, Phil Davis in White Christmas, Cosmo Singin in the Rain, Jesus in Godspell, Mervin Oglepthorpe in Smoke on the Mountain, Zach in A Chorus Line, Ernst in Cabaret, Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, Billy Earle in No No Nanette, Jesus in Godspell and Jerry in The Full Monty. He has been seen in commercials for Universal, Coke, Carrier Sea World and Nutrisystyem. His film work includes Prime Of Your Life, The Glass Window and Not Alone.  Jonathan was on Americas Got Talent with the group Tell A Vision in which he was also on the creative team.

BOBBY PEACO In an interview with Playbill magazine, Jerry Herman (composer/lyricist of Hello Dolly, Mame, etc.) called Bobby Peaco “The best show pianist I have ever heard.” Bobby worked closely with Mr. Herman and appeared in his Off-Broadway revue Showtune. At the Helen Hayes Theater in Nyack, NY, he was the onstage pianist/music director for writer/director Blake Edwards’ Big Rosemary. For his work in NYC cabaret and nightclubs, he has received 9 MAC awards and 3 Bistro awards, and has music directed among many others, Julie Wilson, Terri White, Kristine Zbornik, and Emmy nominee Jackie Hoffman. Since moving to South Florida in the Summer of 2019, Bobby has music directed and played for musicals and cabaret shows at the Kravis Center, the Wick Theater, the Arts Garage, the Wilton Theater Factory, and several other venues working with Anthony Nunziata, Avery Sommers and Rob Russell, to name a few.

BILL MAGALIFF (Co-Creator, Director, Music Director) has engaged in live theatre and music for the past 35 years as a music director, director, conductor/arranger, accompanist, teacher and performer. Past work includes the Jerusalem English Speaking Theatre, Cider Mill Playhouse, and Palistage Youth Theatre. Currently he directs and arranges for the vocal group SHTYX and the band New Relics, is the music director for the original musical Holding On, leads community singing through Come, Let’s Sing! and is producing the second in a series of parodies that interpret the bible in a human and humorous way.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM Opens November 23rd in the Rinker Playhouse

11 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by in Clients, MNM Theatre Company

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MNM Theatre Company and the Kravis Center
co-present
A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum
Opening November 23rd in the Rinker Playhouse
“Something familiar… Something peculiar…
Something for everyone:  A comedy tonight!”

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

November 12, 2019

WEST PALM BEACH, FL:  The cast and crew of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum are deep into rehearsals and preparation for the show’s November 23rd opening.  Forum, an MNM Theatre Company co-presentation with the Kravis Center, will run in the venue’s Rinker Playhouse through December 8th.

Light, fast-paced, witty, irreverent, and completely politically incorrect, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is one of the funniest musicals ever written. Based on the works of the Roman playwright Plautus (254 – 184 BCE), whose comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety, the show focuses on Pseudolus, a crafty slave who struggles to win the hand of a beautiful but slow-witted courtesan named Philia for his young master Hero in exchange for freedom. The plot twists and turns and is filled with cases of mistaken identity, slamming doors, and a showgirl or two. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum allows MNM’s terrific ensemble of comedic actors to shine.

Jonathan Van Dyke

The production’s director, Jonathan Van Dyke is extremely enthusiastic about the show: “I am so enjoying taking this riotous trip to the Forum with MNM and I know this cast would make Titus Maccius Plautus proud!” he says.  “They’re all welcoming this material with open arms and are going to supply our audiences their denarius worth of hilarity!”

“This is the first musical for which Stephen Sondheim wrote both the music and the lyrics,” Paul Reekie, Forum’s musical director explains.  “Some people find Sondheim’s later works more difficult to enjoy because they are musically dissonant,  but Forum has traditional harmonies and many of the songs are eminently hummable! MNM is again proud to have an amazing six-piece band for the show.”

Johnbarry Green

“It’s a farce, effortlessly shifting the audience from humor to biting social commentary on a dime all while throwing lyrics and lines as speedily as it can,” says Johnbarry Green, who plays A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’s Pseudolus  “It’s the reason I love the piece and why it’s so challenging.  Every moment has to be carefully constructed to walk that delicate edge, otherwise they can fail contextually.  That’s why it’s such a crowning achievement when it works.”

Along with Green as Pseudolus, the Forum cast includes Michael Scott Ross* as Hysterium, Aaron Bower as Domina, J Savage* as Hero, Terry Hardcastle* as Marcus Lycus, Troy Stanley as Senex, Sean William Davis as Miles Gloriosus, Paul Thompson as Erronius, and Meg Frost as Philia.  Other cast members include Victoria Joleen Anderson, Lauren Cluett, Alexandra Dow, Stephen Eisenwasser, Frank Francisco, Elijah Pearson-Martinez, Meredith Pughe, Ashley Rubin, and Alexandra Van Hasselt.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum will run from November 23 – December 8. (There will be a preview performance on November 22nd.) The production will take place in the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center.   Tickets are $39 – $55 and are on sale now.  For tickets and information call 561-832-7469; online: kravis.org or mnmtheatre.org.  For group rates and sales call 561-651-4438.

MNM Theatre Company attained not-for-profit 501(c)(3) status in 2018. They are an award- winning theatre company based in the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. For more information about MNM Theatre Company please visit mnmtheatre.org or contact Carol Kassie at Carol@CarolKassie.com / 561-445-9244.

*Appearing through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

~

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
November 23 – December 8
(Preview performance November 22 at 7:30)
Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
For Tickets: mnmtheatre.org / kravis.org / 561-832-7469
Performances:
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, & Saturday at 7:30 pm (no Thanksgiving night performance)
Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday at 1:30 pm
Tickets:  $39 – $55
All performances in
Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center
701 Okeechobee Blvd.
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Like Us on Facebook!

About the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts:        
The Kravis Center is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach, FL. The Center’s mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and international artists and companies of the highest quality, by offering comprehensive arts education programs – serving approximately 2.5 million schoolchildren since its inception; by providing a Palm Beach County home for local and regional arts organizations to showcase their work; and by providing an economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County. To enhance and elevate the customer experience, the Center has embarked upon a $50 million capital campaign to support a campus redesign and facility expansion that will create a more accessible, comfortable and pedestrian-friendly venue for the community. Aptly named Kravis 2020: The Future is Now, this campaign is at the heart of the Kravis Center’s vision for the future. For information, please visit kravis.org or call the Box Office at 561.832.7469.

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MNM Theatre Company Announces the Cast of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM

09 Tuesday Jul 2019

Posted by in Clients, MNM Theatre Company

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MNM Theatre Company
Announces the Cast of
A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum

November 22 – December 8

“This brazenly retro Broadway musical, inspired by Plautus, is
almost as timeless as comedy itself.”
Vincent Canby, The New York Times

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

July 9, 2019

WEST PALM BEACH, FL:  The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and MNM Theatre Company are pleased to announce that casting is complete for their upcoming co-production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which will run from November 22 –  December 8 in the Kravis’ Rinker Playhouse.

“Forum is such a fun show,” MNM’s Executive Producer/Artistic Director Marcie Gorman said recently. “And we’re incredibly lucky to have found a cast who can sing and dance and deliver the comedy – and what comedy! The script is hilarious and clever, and often extremely politically incorrect… and of course the music is Sondheim’s…we can’t wait to share it all with our audiences!  Once again, our entire cast is local and we’re very proud of that.”

Dom Ruggiero, who directed I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, and My Way-A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra for MNM last season, will helm A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Ruggiero has cast Johnbarry Green as Pseudolus, Michael Scott Ross* as Hysterium, Aaron Bower as Domina, Terry Hardcastle* as Marcus Lycus, Troy Stanley as Senex, Sean William Davis as Miles Gloriosus, Paul Thompson as Erronius, and Meg Frost as Philia.  Other cast members include Victoria Joleen Anderson, Lauren Cluett, Alexandra Dow, Stephen Eisenwasser, Frank Francisco, Joshua Graham, Meredith Pughe, Ashley Rubin, and Alexandra Van Hasselt.

Paul Reekie will serve as Forum’s Musical Director, and Laura Plyler will provide additional choreography.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum will run from November 22 – December 8. The production will take place in the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center.   Tickets are $39 – $55 and are on sale now.  For tickets and information call 561-832-7469; online: www.kravis.org or mnmtheatre.org.  For group rates and sales call 561-651-4438.

MNM Theatre Company attained not-for-profit 501(c)(3) status in 2018. They are an award- winning theatre company based in the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.

For more information about MNM Theatre Company and/or Marcie Gorman, please visit mnmtheatre.org or contact Carol Kassie at Carol@CarolKassie.com / 561-445-9244.

Photos, graphics, and additional head shots and bios available on request.

*Appearing through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

~

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
November 22 – December 8
Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Performances:
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, & Saturday at 7:30 pm (no Thanksgiving night performance)
Saturday & Sunday at 1:30 pm
Tickets:  $39 – $55
All performances in
Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center
701 Okeechobee Blvd.
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
mnmtheatre.org
Like Us on Facebook!
~

Johnbarry Green (Pseudolus) appeared as King Arthur in MNM’s production of Monty Python’s Spamalot.  Other credits include Rock of Ages with Slow Burn Theatre Company as Dennis, Spitfire Grille at Palm Beach Dramaworks as Caleb, and West Side Story at Maltz Jupiter Theatre as Officer Krupke.  Occasionally you’ll find him hamming it up on the streets at various ren faires or giving walking tours in Massachusetts when he isn’t in a show.

Michael Scott Ross* (Hysterium) has appeared in several previous MNM productions including Monty Python’s Spamalot, The World Goes ‘Round, Avenue Q, and I Love You, You’r perfect, Now Change.  He has also performed throughout South Florida at Zoetic Stage, The Adrienne Arsht Center, The Wick Theatre, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Island City Stage, The Alhamba Theatre and Dining, The Winter Park Playhouse, TheatreZone, and most recently the Gulf Coast Symphony.  Michael can be seen portraying Dick Van Dyke in The Music of Julie Andrews, as well as in his cabaret show My Broadway: The Roles I Could Play.  Proud member of AEA, Wagner College Alum, and native New Yorker!

Aaron Bower (Domina) was recently seen as Irene in Crazy for You and Grace in
Annie at the Wick Theatre.  She received a 2018 Carbonell nomination for her portrayal of Murial in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Stage door Theatre.  Other credits in Florida include Frau Kost in Cabaret at Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street at The Wick, Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls at The Wick, and Tess in Crazy for You at the Maltz.  She has traveled the world in three national tours and one European Tour.

Terry Hardcastle* (Marcus Lycus) is a three-time Carbonell Award-winner. His regional theatre credits include Actors’ Playhouse: Beauty and the Beast, Doubt: A Parable.  Zoetic Stage: Sweeney Todd.  Palm Beach Dramaworks: Side by Side by Sondheim, Sweeney Todd.  Florida Stage: End Days, Sisters of Swing. Mosaic Theatre: In a Dark, Dark House, True West.  Cumberland Theatre: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.  As a Professor of Theatre, he’s taught Acting and Public Speaking at Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Pittsburgh, New World School of the Arts, and Broward College.

Troy Stanley (Senex) played Eduoard Dindon in MNM’s production of La Cage aux Folles.  Other credits include West Side Story (Doc) and Disney’s Newsies (Mr. Jacobi/Mayor) at Maltz Jupiter Theatre, 1776 (McKean/Hewes) at Palm Beach Dramaworks, Big River (Pap Finn) and Titanic (Isador Straus) for Slow Burn Theatre Company, Who Killed Joan Crawford? (Harvey) and Perfect Arrangement (Theodore Sunderson) for Island City Stage, Victor/Victoria (Squash) and The Rothschilds (William/Metternich) for Broward Stage Door, and eleven shows at the Wick Theatre including Funny Girl (Tom Keeney/Mr. Rinaldi), Annie with Sally Struthers (Drake), Brigadoon (Andrew MacLaren), Beauty and the Beast (Maurice), Oklahoma (Andrew Carnes) and Man of La Mancha (The Governor) among others.