Turner and Cuccioli Now on Board

Turner and Cuccioli Now on Board for Twentieth Century Concert

By Andrew Gans
September 14, 2005

Virginia Woolf's Kathleen Turner and Jekyll & Hyde's Robert Cuccioli have joined the star-studded company of the Actors' Fund of America's benefit concert of On the Twentieth Century.Turner and Cuccioli, according to a production statement, will appear in the roles of, respectively, Imelda Thornton and The Doctor. As previously reported, the 7:30 PM Sept. 26 concert at the New Amsterdam Theatre will also feature the talents of Marin Mazzie (as Lily Garland), Douglas Sills (as Oscar Jaffe), Christopher Sieber (as Bruce Granit), Brad Oscar (as Oliver Webb), Jo Anne Worley (as Letitia Primrose) and Brooks Ashmanskas (as Owen O'Malley) as well as original Altar Boyz stars Cheyenne Jackson, David Josefsberg, Andy Karl and Tyler Maynard. Additional casting will be announced shortly.

Featuring musical direction by artistic producer Seth Rudetsky, direction by Peter Flynn and choreography by Denis Jones, the creative team for Century also includes Paul Weimer (set design), Rob Bevenger (costume design), Jeff Croiter (lighting design), Scott Stauffer (sound design) and Tim Pinckney (concert adaptation). Producers are Andrew Kato, Catherine Cooke and Pinckney.

On the Twentieth Century, according to production notes, "concerns the efforts of a grandiose theatrical impresario, Oscar Jaffe (Sills), to persuade glamorous film star — and his former lover — Lily Garland (Mazzie) to appear in his new stage production. Lily's involvement will guarantee a hit for Jaffe and save him from his creditors as well as resuscitate his floundering artistic reputation. With the help of his two faithful henchmen and a somewhat off-kilter religious zealot, Jaffe struggles to outwit Lily, her preening movie star boyfriend Bruce Granit as well as a rival producer. And all this has to happen before the 20th Century Ltd. reaches New York."

On the Twentieth Century features a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman. The original Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre in February 1978, playing 449 performances before closing in March 1979. The original company, directed by Harold Prince, included Madeline Kahn, John Cullum, Kevin Kline and Imogene Coca. The musical won 1978 Tonys for Score (Coleman, Comden and Green), Scenic Designer (Robin Wagner), Book (Comden and Green) and actors Kline and Cullum.

The Actors' Fund of America, a nonprofit organization founded in 1882, provides for the social welfare of all entertainment professionals. Its headquarters and The Aurora Residence are located in New York City, and its nursing home and assisted living care facility are in Englewood, New Jersey.

Tickets for the one-night-only benefit are priced $75-$2,500 and are available by calling (212) 221-7300, ext. 133 or by e-mailing ccooke@actorsfund.org. For more information visit www.actorsfund.org.