WORLD PREMIERE September 5 - October 5, 2008 Segerstrom Stage AN ITALIAN STRAW HAT A Vaudeville book and lyrics by John Strand music by Dennis McCarthy directed by Stefan Novinski   Jean and Tim Weiss, Honorary Producers

Daniel Blinkoff (left) portrays “Fadley,” a hapless bridegroom whose horse (Ed, right) has eaten a young lady’s hat with hilarious consequences in the World Premiere of An Italian Straw Hat: A Vaudeville, a rollicking new musical farce.

Emmy Award-winning composer Dennis McCarthy ("Star Trek") teams up with Charles MacArthur prize winner John Strand and director Stefan Novinski, who delighted SCR audiences with A Little Night Music, for the spirited American adaptation of a classic European farce by Eugene Labiche. With flavors of vaudeville, ragtime, light opera and even barbershop quartet, the rollicking new musical follows a hapless young bridegroom through turn-of-the-century New York, as he tries to correct a horrendous problem. It seems his horse has eaten a young lady’s hat, and his wedding will be derailed if he can’t find a replacement—today!

Playwright
John Strand's most recent plays are Lincolnesque, a comedy about politics and madness in Washington, D.C. and Lorenzaccio, his adaptation of Alfred de Musset's 1834 French classic. Strand is also the author of the book for the musical The Highest Yellow, with a score by Michael John LaChiusa. His other plays include Lovers and Executioners, winner of the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play; The Diaries and Otabenga, both nominated for the MacArthur; The Miser, an adaptation of the Molière play set in Reagan-era America; Three Nights in Tehran, a comedy about the Iran-Contra affair; The Cockburn Rituals; and Tom Walker. Mr. Strand spent 10 years in Paris, where he worked as a journalist and drama critic, writing in English and French, and directed New York University's Experimental Theater Wing in Paris.

Composer:
Dennis McCarthy returns to SCR where he previously composed music for Dumb Show, Getting Frankie Married—and Afterwards, The Beard of Avon, Much Ado about Nothing and Of Mice and Men. His career began as a conductor/arranger for Glen Campbell for over nine years. He later became an orchestrator for film composer Alex North and began composing for film and television. Over the years he has written music for over 2,000 films, TV movies and series episodes. He has won two Emmy Awards for his work on "Star Trek" and composed the music for the series' first feature, Generations.

Recommendation and Resources:
Lively and stylish, this rollicking show abounds with musical flavors of ranging from vaudeville to ragtime, comic opera and even barbershop quartet. Everyone—middle school and above — who loves to laugh and sing will enjoy this lighthearted production.

*Post-show discussion led by SCR literary staff and artists from the show.
**ASL interpreted performance for the Deaf community.