Mack The Knife: The Bobby Darin Songbook
October 4, 2017 - February 4, 2018 | John C. Court Cabaret
Bobby Darin was the original Bronx boy who made it big. Determined to be a legend by age 25, he conquered show business as a singer, songwriter, actor, and producer. Headlining everywhere from the legendary Copacabana to Las Vegas, Darin was a consummate showman. Mack the Knife celebrates the spirited and immense talent of one of the great performers of the 20th century. Featuring his greatest hits such as “Splish Splash,” “Beyond the Sea,” “Dream Lover,” and of course, “Mack the Knife.”
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CREATIVE
Director | Catherine Randazzo
Music Director | Darren Server
Sound Designer | Thom Korp
Lighting Designer | Thom Beaulieu
Costume Designer | Adrienne Webber
CAST
Brandyn Day *October 4 - November 13*
Mike Backes *November 14 - February 4*
Dan Faber
Zoe V. Speas | Bass
Andrew Deeb | Drums
Jim Prosser | Piano
BRANDYN DAY Based in Manhattan, Brandyn is back down south for another FST production! NYC credits - The Pokémusical (Meowth), Madagascar-The TYA Musical (Alex the Lion) Recent Regional Credits - Million Dollar Quartet (Jerry Lee) at FST, MDQ at Zach Theatre (Jerry Lee), Billy Elliot (Tony) at the Gateway Playhouse, Saturday Night Fever (Frank Jr) at Ogunquit Playhouse, The Little Dog Laughed (Alex) at The Cleveland Playhouse, Les Miz (Feuily) at the Great Lakes Theatre. '15 Baldwin Wallace U Music Theatre alum. Writer and and co-host of Spacehead Productions' Facebook Live comedy series: Two Outta Shape White Guys. @bdayactor.
MIKE BACKES is thrilled and grateful to be back at FST. FST: Million Dollar Quartet; American Pie; and Poems, Prayers & Promises. Regional: The Bridges Of Madison County (Robert Kincaid); Million Dollar Quartet (Johnny Cash); The Crucible (John Proctor); Betrayal (Jerry); Nite Club Confidential (Buck Holden); ‘57 Chevy (Elvis Presley); Assassins (Czolgosz); Spike Heels (Edward); Wait Until Dark (Mike). New York: Allen Wilder 2.0 (Michael); The Great American Backstage Musical (Johnny Brash). National Tours: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Pharaoh). TV: The Knick, A Crime To Remember, The Hunt With John Walsh.
DAN FABER FST Debut! International Tour: In The Mood (Vocal Captain). National Tour: Cirque Dreams Holidaze (Principal Vocalist). Regional Tours: Joseph (Pharaoh); Hello, Dolly! (Waiter/Cornelius u/s) Texas Family Musicals. Horseshoe Roundup (Diamond Jim) Tokyo Disneyland. NYC: Annie Warbucks (FDR) Signature Theatre; That Was Then (Joe) Hudson Guild Theatre. Regional: A Fireside Christmas (Principal Vocalist) Fireside Theatre; Show Boat (Dance Troupe/Ens.) Schubert Boston; Grease (Kenickie), Hairspray (Fender/Corny u/s) STONC. BM University of Delaware 2012. www.danfaber.net - @faberade
ANDREW DEEB (Drums) Born in St. Petersburg, FL, graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts NY. Credits include: The Hot L Baltimore (MM Theatre); The Wayside Motor Inn (MM Theatre); On The Uptown 2 Express Train. Florida Credits include: Teenage Dick (FST); and Rumplestiltskin (FST). He is also a member of FST Improv. Andrew is thrilled to be back at FST performing in Mack the Knife. Proud member of AEA.
JIM PROSSER (Piano/Arrangements) This season marks Jim’s 23rd season as resident pianist in FST’s Cabaret, where he has arranged and co-developed many shows including: Dancing In The Street, By Gershwin, European Cabaret, That’s Life Again, British Invasion, Too Darn Hot, and last season’s production of Older Than Dirt. He has also served as composer/music director for FST’s Education department, writing numerous scores for children’s shows such as Androcles and the Lion, RAP-Punzel,The Velveteen Rabbit, and the WRITE A PLAY elementary tours. Jim is also a music director for FST Improv, for which he has played many shows including the improvised musical When X Meets Y.
ZOE SPEAS (Bass) is proud and honored to make her Florida Studio Theatre debut. Zoe is a NYC-based writer, actor, and musician with a strong classical theatre/ Shakespearean background. International: Ensemble member, The Dylathon (Welsh Theatre Company with Sir Ian McKellan). NYC: Dudard, Rhinoceros; Helena, Midsummer (Onomatopoeia Theatre). Regional: Juliet, Romeo and Juliet; Katherine, Henry V; Gwendolen, Importance of Being Earnest (American Shakespeare Center); and Judith, Equivocation (Virginia Repertory Theatre). @zvspeas
CATHERINE RANDAZZO (Director and Developer) is thrilled to work with the talented team of Mack the Knife. She directed FST’s Winter Cabarets Piano Men; Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves; and Yesterday: A Tribute to the British Invasion. Catherine calls Sarasota her artistic home. She has appeared in plays, musicals, cabarets, new play readings, voice overs, commercials, fund raisers, as well as touring in national and international productions. She is the recipient and nominee of various awards for education, national arts awards, and local performance awards including “Best Actress in a Musical” for her performance as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. Other favorite performances include Forbidden Broadway, Cats, The Rocky Horror Show, and The Full Monty to name a few. Most recently she appeared as Eve in FST’s Mainstage production of Rich Girl. She was named “Sarasota’s Funniest People” for her comedic styles seen in Sarasota’s original political comedy group, License to Bash, which was a part of FST’s Cabaret Fringe Festival in 1996. As Associate Artist, Catherine serves as Literary Manager, in-residence director, teaching artist, and professional actor. She leads new play development, collaborates on cabaret development, teaches adult education classes, and leads audience outreach programs. Catherine is a graduate of Otterbein University in Ohio with a BFA in performance, and she is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.
DARREN SERVER (Musical Director) is proud to be back at FST for his third season. Beginning the season with music directing: Once. Last season he music directed: Million Dollar Quartet; Piano Men; Older Than Dirt; and Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves. At the Asolo Repertory Theatre last season, he music directed, composed, and arranged the music for Ah, Wilderness! and The Drunken City. This season he music directed Oedipus. Interesting fact: Darren’s grandfather is “Curly” Howard of The Three Stooges and his great-uncles are Moe and Shemp Howard. This has always been a source of pride and inspiration for him. Follow Darren on his family’s website: www.thegrandstooges.com.
ADDISON POWERS (Sound and Light Board Operator) is a stage management intern and a recent addition to the FST intern program. She graduated in May, Class of 2017 from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. She majored in theatre with a focus in technology and design. Some of her most recent productions include Roar! The Music of the 1920s and Beyond; The Blue Eyed Bettys; The Jersey Tenors; Peter and the Starcatcher; and Deadman’s Cellphone.
ADRIENNE WEBBER (Costume Designer) is the current Florida Studio Theatre Costume Shop Manager. She has designed and coordinated costumes for The Barter Theatre, The Barter Players, Chautauqua Opera, FSU MFA film and video program, FSU MFA acting program, Asolo Children’s tour program, Sarasota Players, and Anna Maria Island Players. Her most recent designs include: Mack the Knife: The Bobby Darin Songbook; The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey; and Grounded. She is happy to be back in Sarasota with her new FST family.
THOM BEAULIEU (Lighting Designer) is an award-winning lighting and sound designer. His work has been experienced throughout the Eastern US including: Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves, brownsville song (b-side for tray), Older Than Dirt, Burt & Me, Once, Mack the Knife: The Bobby Darin Songbook (Florida Studio Theatre); The Waltz, Godspell, Carrie: the Musical, and Cabaret (The Winnipesaukee Playhouse); A Chorus Line, Floyd Collins, Sweet Charity, and Singin’ in the Rain (Aurora Theatre). He holds a BFA in Drama from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama, and a MS in Physics.
THOM KORP (Sound Designer) a former FST intern, is excited to be entering his second season as staff. Sound design credits include Once; Burt & Me; The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey; The Columnist; Talley’s Folley; A Chorus Line; Spamalot; and The West Side Waltz. Mixing Credits: Next to Normal; Das Barbecü; Smokey Joe’s Café; The World Goes Round; Tango: Buenos Aires; We Will Rock You; Sound engineer with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 2014 – 2016.
REBECCA HOPKINS (Lead Developer) has been actively involved in development of FST’s Cabaret productions since her arrival in 1998. In addition to being the lead developer for Mack the Knife: The Bobby Darin Songbook, this season she is also a developer for Blue Suede Shoes and co-developer of Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits. Previously she was the lead developer on Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves, Yesterday, American Pie, and Poems, Prayers, and Promises. She has been the head writer on all five Laughing Matters shows. Some of her favorite shows she helped develop include: The Prima Donnettes; That’s Life; The Wanderers; My One and Only Gershwin; Hot and Cole; Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits; The British Invasion; The Flip Side; and Outlaws and Angels. In addition, she is the founder and producer of FST Improv and the Sarasota Improv Festival. Mrs. Hopkins serves as Managing Director for Florida Studio Theatre, and as such, is the Chief Operations Officer. Mrs. Hopkins is responsible for oversight of FST’s Administration, including the Business Office, Development, Marketing, Box Office, Front of House, Restaurant, Budgeting, and maintaining the overall quality of FST’s internal management. Nationally, Mrs. Hopkins is President of the National New Play Network and serves on the Executive Board for the League of Resident Theatres, and on the Board of Theatre Communications Group. In 2012, the Arts & Cultural Alliance awarded Mrs. Hopkins the Cultural Champion Award in recognition of her many years of accomplishment and growth with Florida Studio Theatre. In 2016, Mrs. Hopkins was awarded the Luminaire Award, honoring excellence in creativity, philanthropy, advocacy, and all elements that are keys to future growth of the arts in Sarasota.
RICHARD HOPKINS (Developer) Mr. Hopkins is the Producing Artistic Director of Florida Studio Theatre. Mr. Hopkins has fostered the development of FST’s Mainstage and Cabaret productions. His many directing Mainstage credits include: Inspired Lunacy, The Best of Enemies, Next to Normal, Race, Ruined, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Boleros for the Disenchanted, Permanent Collection, and Metamorphoses, among numerous other plays. Mr. Hopkins led the development of FST’s Cabaret productions of Piano Men, The Prima Donnettes, Too Darn Hot, and By Gershwin. Mr. Hopkins also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Florida Studio Theatre. This includes overseeing the creation and implementation of all FST programming, including Mainstage, Cabaret, Stage III, New Play Development, Education, and Touring. Since his arrival at FST in 1980, Mr. Hopkins has guided the theatre from a small touring company to a nationally recognized regional theatre which impacts over 200,000 adults and children annually. He created the New Play Development Program, The Cabaret Series, FST’s award-winning WRITE A PLAY Program, and has directed the design and renovation of all FST’s theatres. Mr. Hopkins is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Arts Leadership Award from the Sarasota Arts Council, the Richard G. Fallon Award for Artistic Excellence from the Florida Professional Theatres Association, and the 2012 Cultural Champion Award from the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. In 2016, Mr. Hopkins was awarded the Luminaire Award, honoring excellence in creativity, philanthropy, advocacy, and all elements that are keys to future growth of the arts in Sarasota.