Closer Than Ever is a wryly bold and witty two-act musical revue that explores the question of how to find one’s bliss in an increasingly “it’s complicated” world.
Art imitates life (or does life imitate art?) in this intimate and brave ‘bookless book musical’ as it raises a satirical, often hysterical glass to the all too familiar provocations of adult life. To do this, the sparkling lyricist, Richard Maltby, Jr. and the brilliant composer, David Shire, co-created this engagingly witty, down and dirty, off-Broadway hit musical based on the real life experiences of their friends, to lay bare emotions that many of us feel, but few of us are willing to express in public.
The powerful songs in Closer Than Ever express revelations related to unrequited love, sexual adventures and misadventures, mid-life crises, changing partners, parent-child role reversals and growing older. They’re all gorgeously sung in this Gateway production by their seasoned ensemble cast featuring Kevin Aichele (Evangeline, Charlottetown/Citadel), Danny Balkwill (Mamma Mia!, North American premiere cast), Ma-Anne Dionisio (“Kim” in the original Toronto production of Miss Saigon; two-time Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee), Chris D. King (Into The Woods, Fighting Chance), and Caitriona Murphy (Les Misérables, Chemainus; two-time Jessie Award nominee).
Closer Than Ever is a two-act version of Steven Scott Smith’s short revue, Next Time Now!, which originally debuted in 1989 at the Eighty-Eights cabaret in New York City’s Greenwich Village to positive reviews and favourable audience reception. Expanded to feature additional original songs, the two-act revue, originally co-directed by Maltby and Smith for the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts in the summer of 1989, opened to rave reviews in New York City that same fall at the off-Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre.
Closer Than Ever is one of Maltby and Shire’s most frequently produced musicals. The revue won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, and garnered prestigious Drama Desk Award nominations for Maltby and Shire.
Most recently, a critically well-received 2012 revival at The York Theatre off-Broadway ran from June to November, co-directed by Maltby and Kurt Stamm, accompanied by a new cast recording released in 2013.
Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical (1989)
“The songs of Maltby and Shire communicate something rarely found in theatre music nowadays: a rich sweeping sense of lives being lived and people changing over time.”—Stephen Holden, The New York Times
“One of the finest scores of the year. Closer Than Ever is an exhilarating musical revue….”—Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press
Lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. ~ Music by David Shire
Conceived by Steven Scott Smith
Originally Produced Off-Broadway by Janet Brenner, Michael Gill, and Daryl Roth
Developed at the Williamstown Theatre Festival
Directed by: Jovanni Sy / Musical Direction: Caitlin Hayes
Choreographer: Dawn Ewen / Set Designer: Marshal McMahen
Costume Designer: Barbara Clayden / Lighting Designer: Jeff Harrison / Sound Designer: Bradley Danyluk
Production Properties: Carol MacDonald
Stage Manager: Lorilyn Parker / Assistant Stage Manager: Collette Brown
Dates: February 4-20, 2016
Preview: Thurs., Feb. 4 @ 8pm / Opening: Fri., Feb. 5 @ 8pm
Times: 8 pm nightly, with matinees February 6, 7 and 9
Venue: Gateway Theatre, 6500 Gilbert Road, Richmond, MainStage
Tickets: $45 for adults; $20 for students
Box Office: 604-270-1812
INFO: https://www.gatewaytheatre.com/closerthanever
About Gateway Theatre
Gateway Theatre stands for excellence. We strive to create art that touches hearts and minds, and to produce plays that connect us to each other and to the world around us. Gateway Theatre is producing its 31st season of live professional theatre, including beloved classics like our annual holiday musical; outstanding work from the contemporary Canadian and international canon; and the Pacific Festival, a showcase of world-class contemporary theatre from Asia and Canada. Gateway Theatre is managed and operated by the Richmond Gateway Theatre Society, a registered charity and not-for-profit organization incorporated in 1982.
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