Without You (2010)

Anthony Rapp has been acting and singing professionally since he was nine years old.  He is best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in Jonathan Larson’s Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, Rent, for which he shared an OBIE Award with the rest of the cast.  He reprised his role in Chris Columbus’s film version opposite other members of the original cast.  Rapp recently visited the role once more with original cast member Adam Pascal in a national tour of the show. He will next be seen in Don Roos’s Love and Other Impossible Pursuits opposite Natalie Portman and Lisa Kudrow. 

His Broadway credits include the revival of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation.  His Broadway debut was in Precious Sons with Judith Ivey and Ed Harris, for which he received an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Drama Desk nomination.  His most recent stage appearance was in Second Stage Theatre’s Some Americans Abroad.  Film credits include Adventures in Babysitting, School Ties, Dazed and Confused, Six Degrees of Separation, Man of the Century, David Searching, Road Trip, and A Beautiful Mind (SAG Award nomination for ensemble).  He has also appeared in Winter Passing, a film written and directed by his brother, Adam Rapp. 

On television, Rapp has appeared in “The Lazarus Man,” “The X-Files,” “The Beach Boys: An American Family,” “Kidnapped” and “Law & Order: SVU.”  In 2000, he released his debut album, Look Around.   He has performed his music in clubs and at colleges throughout the country.  Mr. Rapp will perform Without You in Seoul, South Korea and a series of concerts with Adam Pascal in Japan, both later this year.

is the founding Artistic Director of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. His CSC production of Twelfth Night won the Elliot Norton Award for Best Production, his production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream won the Norton Award for Outstanding Director, his production of Suburbia for the SpeakEasy Stage Company won the Norton Award for Best Production and his production of John Kuntz’s Starf***ers won the Norton Award for Best Solo Performance. Starf***ers was presented in the New York International Fringe Festival and won the Best Solo Performance Award.

He recently directed the critically acclaimed production of the new musical Without You, written by and starring Anthony Rapp, at the City Theatre of Pittsburgh. For Opera Boston, he directed the American premiere of Peter Eötvös’ operatic treatment of Tony Kushner’s Angels In America. Other productions include As You Like It, starring Marin Ireland and Fred Weller; The Taming Of The Shrew, starring Jennifer Dundas; Hamlet, starring Jeffrey Donovan; Macbeth, star- ring Jay O. Sanders; Henry V, starring Anthony Rapp; Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest for CSC; Enrico Garzilli’s Michelangelo for Opera Providence; Turn Of The Screw for The New Repertory Theatre; Santaland Diaries and Porcelain for the SpeakEasy Stage Company; Top Girls and Weldon Rising for The Coyote Theatre; and The L.A. Plays by Han Ong for the American Repertory Theatre, where he was the Artistic Associate for New Plays.

From 2002–2006 he was the Vice President for Artistic Programming at Citi Performing Arts Center (formerly The Wang Center). At Citi Center, he launched American Voices, a series of staged readings of classic American plays featuring some of Broadway’s best actors—Leslie Uggams, David Morse, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Denis O’Hare, Blair Brown, Anthony Mackie, Charles Busch and Paul Rudd; and he launched Artropolis, a series of high quality family enter- tainment (productions included Rachel Portman’s operatic treatment of The Little Prince, Deaf West’s production of Big River, Project Bandaloop and Aga-Boom).

His feature film, The Autumn Heart, starring Tyne Daly and Ally Sheedy, was in the Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Choice Award at The Nantucket Film Festival. It was released in September 2000.

He is a graduate of the American Repertory Theatre Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University where he directed Woyzeck, Pericles, The Duchess of Malfi and Ghosts. He was the associate director of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 and Henry V at the American Repertory Theatre; and Titus Andronicus and Hamlet in Tokyo.

He grew up in Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the John Motley Morehead scholarship. He has lived in the Boston area for 20 years.

TOM KITT received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as two Tony awards for Best Score and Best Orchestrations (with Michael Starobin) for next to normal.  His music for next to normal also received the 2009 Frederick Loewe Award for dramatic composition and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Score.  Tom is responsible for the music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations for Green Day's American Idiot on Broadway and was also the string arranger on their most recent album 21st Century Breakdown.  Tom is also the composer of High Fidelity (Broadway), The Winter's Tale (The Public's NYSF), From Up Here (Manhattan Theatre Club) and The Retributionists (Playrights Horizons).  As a musical director, conductor, arranger, and orchestrator for Broadway, Off-Broadway and beyond, his credits include 13, Debbie Does Dallas, Everyday Rapture, Hair, Laugh Whore and Urban Cowboy.  He is the proud leader of the Tom Kitt Band, whose songs have been featured in film and TV.

Broadway: The Pee Wee Herman Show, Lombardi, Passing Strange, Bridge and Tunnel. New York: When The Rain Stops Falling (Lortel Award), Stunning (Lincoln Center Theater); The Marriage of Bette and Boo (Roundabout); The Wiz (City Center); The Receptionist, Pumpgirl, Romantic Poetry (MTC); Hamlet (Delacorte); Why Torture is Wrong… (Drama Desk & Hewes Awards), Passing Strange, Yellow Face (Public Theater); Jack Goes Boating (LAByrinth); The Drunken City, Floyd and Clea…, Miss Witherspoon (Playwrights Horizons); Farragut North (Atlantic); Blackbird (Hewes Award), Orange Flower Water (Edge Theater); Swimming in the Shallows (Second Stage). Regional: CTG, The Huntington, Old Globe, ACT, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Geffen Playhouse, Berkeley Rep., Santa Fe Opera, Alliance Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The Guthrie, and Toho Tokyo. 2009 Obie Award For Sustained Excellence in Design.  www.davidkorinsdesign.com

NYMF: Max Understood BROADWAY: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson OFF BROADWAY: On The Levee (LCT3) also with Lear Debessonet: Bone Portraits, St. Joan of the Stockyard, and Quixote; Juan and John, (Roger Guinevere Smith); DanceDanceRevolution (Alex Timbers, Les Freres Corbusier); Mahida's Extra Key to Heaven, (Epic Theatre Ensemble); Theater of a Two-Headed Calf; Speech and Debate (Roundabout Theatre Company); Opus, Primary Stages; Culture Project; LightBOX.  REGIONAL:  Alliance Theatre, Arden Theatre; American Repertory Theatre; Baltimore Center Stage; Bard Summerscape; Hartford Stage; Intiman; Portland Center Stage; PlayMakers Rep; Kirk Douglas Theatre.  Awards: Elliot Norton, Outer Critics (nom) Mr. Townsend is an assistant professor at Northeastern University. 

Angela M. Vesco is pleased to be back with Anthony Rapp and Without You having previously designed the 2008 production in Pittsburgh. Other designs include: When January Feels Like Summer, Shooting Star, Human Error, The Brothers Size, Gompers: City Theatre Company; Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, Chicks With Dicks, Key To The Field: Bricolage; Killer Joe, The Grey Zone, The Glory of Living, Frozen: barebones productions; and Breakfast With Mugabe: Quantum Theatre as well as two shorts, The Wrong Room and Civilians, for bb films. Angela has designed two world premieres for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Cherry Smoke (barebones, 2007) and Just Out of Reach (co-design with PNME, 2008).  Her work as a cardboard miniaturist can be seen in the Meeting Of Important People video “Brittney Lane Don’t Care.”

Paul Gil began his musical career in the basement of his parents home in NYC studying the vocal harmonies of The Beatles.  Gil honed his live performance skills by performing in bars and clubs since he was 12 years old. After High School, Paul co-founded the seminal NYC SKA band The New York Citizens and released 2 records on the MOON Records label and appeared on many international SKA compilations and shared bills with The Ramones, Big Audio Dynamite, Sister Carol, Ziggy Marley and They Might Be Giants among others. From 1994 through 2000, Gil played in the Alternative rock band Itchy Trigger Finger performing at venues across the U.S., including Lollapalooza in 1995.  Paul was the house bassist at the legendary SQUEEZEBOX club at Don Hills for 3 years where he backed up such underground club/rock personalities as Lady Bunny, Wayne/Jayne County, Cherrie Curry, Bebe Buell, Deborah Harry and Dean Johnson, who introduced Paul to Anthony Rapp in 2001. As of late, Paul spends his time recording and gigging with his original band, The Bastards of Melody and playing local venues with his Live Band Karaoke band, Bunnie England and the new Originals.  “Without you” is Paul’s first musical theater production and the fulfillment of one of his musical goals.

David Malachowski is a touring guitarist, producer, musical director and journalist living in Woodstock, New York. He has toured and recorded with multi-platinum artists, Grammy winners, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members, Grand Ole Opry stars, Broadway stars, and some really amazing artists you probably haven't heard of.

David has worked with superstar Shania Twain (as bandleader/guitarist) been a member of seminal bands Savoy Brown and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, toured with Janie Fricke, Garth Hudson, Professor Louie and The Crowmatix, The British Blues Allstars (with Long John Baldry, Rod Price and Kim Simmonds) Mindy Jostyn, Phoebe Legere, Troy Gentry, John Michael Montgomery, the Greg Austin Band, Gail Ann Dorsey and many others. He has been musical director and guitarist for Always ... Patsy Cline, Hank Williams: Lost Highway and It Ain't Nothing But The Blues.

David produces up & coming artists at Bennett Studios in Englewood, NJ, and Clubhouse Studios in Rhinebeck, NY,  and also writes as a music critic for The Times Union in Albany, NY, and The Daily Freeman in Kingston, NY. He has just released his debut solo CD “THE Secret Life OF Colonel David” (David is a Kentucky Colonel) and is currently performing with his own blues based band David Malachowski & the Woodstock Allstars, and whoever calls ...

www.davidmalachowski.com

Born in Virginia Beach, Virginia, American cellist Peter Sachon has performed all over the United States, Europe and Asia. Mr. Sachon not only performs with some of the finest freelance orchestras and opera companies in New York City, he also plays in Broadway shows, jazz and rock groups.

Mr. Sachon began his cello studies at the age of 14, and one year later was accepted into the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia. He then went on to study cello with Paul Tobias at The Mannes College of Music in New York, and chamber music with Felix Galimir and Julius Levine. He also was a student in the Orchestral Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Alan Stepansky.

Mr. Sachon has participated for both the Schleswig-Holstein Festival and the Pacific Music Festival where he was principal cellist. Mr. Sachon has played with are Absolute Ensemble, Riverside Orchestra, Sonos Chamber Orchestra, Spoleto Festival (Italy and U.S.), Virginia Symphony, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. 

He has toured Europe and the U.S. with Pink Martini, and played for the Broadway shows Fiddler on the Roof, The Light in the Piazza, High Fidelity, Legally Blonde, and South Pacific.  He’s performed for the Donmar Warehouse productions of “Twelfth Night” and “Uncle Vanya” at BAM. Mr. Sachon has performed with Audra McDonald, Victoria Clark, Deborah Voight, Rufus Wainright, Dee Snider, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Josh Groban, Judy Kuhn, and Billy Joel.

As a part of his series of concerts at symphony space, Mr. Sachon has premiered more than thirty new works for cello; all written for him by Broadway composers. A brief list includes John Bucchino, Jason Carr, Tom Kitt, Steve Marzullo, Michael John LaChuisa, Stephen Schwartz, George Stiles, David Evans, Andrew Lippa, Jeff Marx, Ricky Ian Gordon, Steve Flaherty, Zina Goldrich, Jake Heggie, Bobby Lopez, Joshua Rosenblum, Joseph Thalken, and Maury Yeston. 

Broadway: The Color Purple 1st National Tour. Off-Broadway: Helen feat. Phylica Rashad, F**king A feat. Mos Def, See What I Wanna See with Idina Menzel, Alan  Ball's All That I Will Ever Be, Flow & The Seven (Will Power), Satellites, Richard III, Well, Take Me Out, Slanguage, Cavedweller, Suburbia, United Way's CAPS: The Apollo Theater, NYC. Film: Our song featuring Kerry Washington

This is Ryan's first production with NYMF and he is thrilled and honored to be working on Anthony Rapp's Without You. For the last two years, Ryan has served as Artistic Associate at Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC) in Boston, assisting Artistic Director Steve Maler on The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, and Othello. Also, for the last two summers, he has directed CSC’s touring production, Shakespeare on Love. Before joining CSC, Ryan worked as Assistant Director and Operations Manager at 2nd Story Theatre in Warren, RI from 2003 to 2009. In September 2009, Ryan returned to 2nd Story to direct Artistic Director Ed Shea in I Am My Own Wife, which was named on of the 10 best productions of the year by the Providence Phoenix. Ryan is a graduate of Brown University, where he directed Richard III, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, and The Vagina Monologues.

Royal Family Productions, Inc. is a Non-Profit Theatre company whose mission is to make theatre accessible to everyone, producing work that is multi-generational, multi-ethnic, and multi-disciplined. The company is comprised of both an Afterschool Drama program and a Mainstage Theatre program. 

In June 2010, Royal Family had a reading of Nobody Suspects a Butterfly at Theatre Row following multiple readings at HBO hosted by Ross Greenburg, President of HBO Sports. Royal Family is projecting a fully-mounted Off Broadway production of Butterfly in the Fall of 2011.

After a successful collaboration in the Afterschool program with world-renowned jazz muscian, Wycliffe Gordon and his six-piece band, Royal Family looks to produce a commercial version of Louie, Red and the Jazzman, an original work written by Chris Henry and Wycliffe Gordon.

NYC producing credits include, “Safe Home” (Women’s Interart Annex), "Nobody Suspects A Butterfly" (Theater For The New City), “Nobody Suspects A Butterfly” (American Theatre of Actors), “Glory and the Juniper Queen” (Symphony Space), “Painted Ladies” (Symphony Space), “Shirley at the Tropicana” (American Theatre of Actors), and “Your Mom's Feet” (Women’s Interart Annex).

Katie Avebe, Mary Bernardi, Chris Henry and Andy Theodorou officially founded Chris Henry & Royal Family Productions, Inc. in August 2007 after producing multiple shows together unofficially.

www.royalfamilyproductions.org

Katie is the Executive Vice President and Associate Artistic Director of Royal Family Productions, Inc. (RFP).  Avebe is proud to be producing Anthony Rapp’s Without You and working with a fabulous team of people.  Avebe oversees Fundraising and Marketing for RFP as well as being the Educational Coordinator for the Afterschool division of the company. Avebe is also an additional writer and dramaturg on RFP's current original work, "Nobody Suspects A Butterfly." 

Chris Henry is the Artistic Director of Royal Family Productions, Inc. and is thrilled to be producing Anthony Rapp's Without You for the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Henry is an award winning theatre director and is currently directing Gary Duggan's Trans-Euro Express at the Irish Arts Center with the Fundamental Theater Project.

With Royal Family Productions,  she has collaborated with Jazz Legend Wycliffe Gordon on a new musical, Louie, Red and the Jazzman, at Lincoln Center's Clark Theatre. Recently, she was awarded the NETC Regional Award for Excellence in Theatre along with Andrei Serban. Last January, Royal Family's production of Safe Home  by Sean Cullen and directed by Henry was extended three times thanks to a sensational review in the New York Times. Her upcoming project, based on a feature film treatment she wrote for Ross Greenburg President of HBO Sports, is Nobody Suspects a Butterfly.  An Off-Broadway version is planned in the Fall of 2011. Favorite NYC Directing credits include Art of War at Madison Square Garden, Glory and the Juniper Queen at Symphony Space, Sharpen Your Blade (“Time Out” Critic’s Pick) at Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Fishbowl (New York Magazine Critic’s pick) at the Michael Weller Theater, The Tuesday Shane Show at American Place Theatre, Suicide Society (Winner Best Director) at The American Globe Theatre, The Lovetalker at The New 42nd Street Theatre, Burn This at American Theatre of Actors, and over 50 others. Royal Family Productions, Inc. and Henry has been privileged to direct new work by John Cariani and William Mastrosimone. 

Andy Theodorou is a founding member of Royal Family Productions. With RFP, he has produced Safe Home, Nobody Suspects a Butterfly, Your Mom's Feet, Shirley at the Tropicana and more. Andy is also the co-host of the late-night talk show NIGHT PEOPLE on 91.1 WFMU and works for The New York Public Library in their Preservation Division.