O'Neill's 2006 Cabaret & Performance Conference Projects
Feature Award-Winning Performers And Artists Andre´ De Shields, Penny Fuller, Marcus Hummon, Deven May, Ruth Williamson
Ten Nights of Different Performances, August 2 - August 12* in the Dina Merrill Theater!

July 6, 2006

Following the resounding success of last summer's Cabaret and Performance Conference, Artistic Director Michael Bush is proud to announce the 2006 season's exciting roster of special projects and performances, bringing the best in Cabaret Theater to the O'Neill. Joining Mister Bush in guiding the Conference are faculty members Penny Fuller, Barry Kleinbort and Associate Artistic Director Joel Silberman. The 2006 Conference will develop and present performances and new projects by some of this country's most exciting established theatrical and cabaret performance artists as well as up and coming new performers. Performances are scheduled from August 2 through August 12, 2006 in the Dina Merrill Theater.

Featured performers include Chicago's famed musical improvisation group Baby Wants Candy; a musical evening with André De Shields (seen on Broadway in the original cast of Ain't Misbehaving; The Wiz;The Full Monty) and his guest backup singers; Penny Fuller, Emmy Award winner and Tony nominated actress of Broadway's The Dinner Party and television's Mad About You, in a premiere evening of classic Cabaret; a Country Cabaret with Grammy-nominated songwriter Marcus Hummon (God Bless the Broken Road), joined by songstress Sherrie Austen (Streets of Heaven); a new musical by Neil Bartrum and Brian Hill featuring Deven May (who played the title role in off-Broadway's sensational Bat Boy) and Jeffrey Kuhn (Broadway's Assassins, Wicked); and Ruth Williamson, stage and screen actress featured in the Tony Award-winning 2004 Broadway revival of La Cage Aux Folles, returning to perform the complete PURE HEAVEN, an evening about the life of songstress Kay Thompson, which began development during the 2005 Cabaret Conference.

Most performances are followed by an Open Mic, featuring performances by Conference participants, special guest artists, O'Neill artistic and production staff and the O'Neill Intern Company.

The Conference culminates in a wonderful end-of-season Grand Finale performance, where Cabaret Conference Participants perform alongside renowned veteran performers for a spectacular showcase of musical talent.

Every performance is a unique, intimate and entertaining theatrical event! Don't miss the fun and surprises every night of the Conference!

***Please note that there is a schedule change from the published calendar in the O'Neill's summer brochure:

On Saturday, August 5 the 7:00 pm performance will be replaced with two performances, one at 7:00 pm and one at 9:30 pm; and on Sunday, August 6, the performances scheduled for 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm will be replaced with one performance, at 6:00 pm.***

Schedule and artists subject to change. All performances are in the Dina Merrill Theater. Tickets to Cabaret performances are $25/$20 for Members (bleacher seating) and $35, or two for $60 (table seating, including one bottle of wine per table); Grand Finale tickets (August 12) are $35/$30 for Members (bleacher seating) and $50, or two for $90 (table seating, including one bottle of wine per table) and include a post-show reception! Please call the O'Neill Box Office at 860-443A-1238 for reservations.

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964, has been home to more than 1,000 new works for the stage and 2,500 emerging artists and is itself the winner of a special Tony Award, the National Opera Award, the Jujamcyn Award for Theater Excellence and the Arts and Business Council Encore Award. Today, the O'Neill is home to the National Playwrights Conference, National Music Theater Conference, Puppetry Conference, Cabaret Conference, National Critics Institute, and the fully accredited National Theater Institute, which includes semester-long, fully accredited intensive theater-training programs and a six-week accredited summer program, Theatermakers. In addition, the O'Neill owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage, a National Historic Landmark and the childhood home of Nobel Prize-winning and four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O'Neill. For more information regarding the Center, please visit the O'Neill website at www.TheONeill.org or call 860-443-5378.