Tarragon Theatre, under the artistic direction of Richard Rose, presents Marry Me A Little with music and lyrics by the undisputed master of the contemporary musical, Stephen Sondheim. Directed by Adam Brazier with musical direction by Paul Sportelli, this charming and bittersweet tale about love, loneliness and commitment stars Elodie Gillett and Adrian Marchuk. Marry Me A Little opens Wednesday, March 5 and runs to April 6 (with previews from February 26) in Tarragon’s Mainspace. Tickets range from $21-$53 (inclusive of HST) and are available by calling Patron Services at 416-531-1827 or by visiting www.tarragontheatre.com .
This emotion-filled New York hit filled with Sondheim rarities takes audiences on a roller-coaster ride through love in all its guises as a Man and Woman each share their dreams and longings.
Originally conceived by director Norman René and playwright Craig Lucas (Prelude To A Kiss), this delightful “revusical” is told entirely through songs written early in Sondheim’s career (including numbers from Saturday Night) or cut from his groundbreaking Broadway musicals (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Company, Follies and A Little Night Music). The production will also feature the Canadian premiere of the song Rainbows, written for the upcoming film Into The Woods. Sondheim fans (and soon-to-be Sondheim fans) will be treated to an evening of ‘songs that got away.’
“Šmore beguiling than so much of what passes for contemporary musical theater.” - The New York Times
Elodie Gillett is a Toronto based performer whose roles in five seasons at The Shaw Festival included Sarah Brown in Guys And Dolls and Dinah in Trouble In Tahiti. She was an original member of the Jersey Boys cast in Toronto (for DanCap) and remained in the show for its two year run. Other credits include Cinderella, A RATical Retelling (Young People’s Theatre – Dora Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical), Oklahoma! and My One And Only (Stratford Festival).
As one of Canada’s top singing actors, Adrian Marchuk is in high demand. He recently appeared in Mirvish Productions’ The Musical of Musicals after spending three years playing Frankie Valli in the Toronto (alternate) and Las Vegas companies of Jersey Boys. For Clearwater Theatre Company, he portrayed Dr. Fine in the hit rock musical Next To Normal. He also spent two seasons at the Shaw Festival, where he appeared in Peter Pan, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Caesar and Cleopatra, and the Canadian premieres of Merrily We Roll Along and Hello Again. He is the creator of The Sweetest Sounds which has been performed around Ontario and which made its NYC debut at the historic Birdland Jazz Club in January 2013.
Director Adam Brazier makes his Tarragon debut. He is currently the Artistic Chair of Theatre 20 but will be stepping down in October of this year to become the Artistic Director of the Confederation Centre for the Arts in PEI. His directing credits include Assassins for Talk is Free and Birdland and Theatre 20’s Bloodless: The Trial of Burke and Hare. He will be producing Stephen Sondheim’s Company with Theatre 20 this coming spring/summer.
Music Director Paul Sportelli, a recipient of seven Dora Awards, was the musical director and co-composer for Tarragon’s Little Mercy’s First Murder, and co-composer for its Music for Contortionist. Other musical director credits include Shaw’s Merrily We Roll Along, Gypsy, A Little Night Music and Follies. He accompanies on the piano for opening night, and then heads to the Shaw Festival for rehearsals for Cabaret (Musical Director) and Juno and the Paycock (original music). Associate Music Director Scott Christian takes over piano accompaniment after opening.