FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INCOMING ASOLO LEADER TO DIRECT BROADWAY PLAY IN 2006
Sarasota, Florida (November 11, 2005) The Asolo Theatre Company is pleased to announce that Michael Donald Edwards, its incoming producing director, has been tapped to direct a new Broadway musical production of A Tale of Two Cities.
Michael Edwards will meet with A Tale of Two Cities representatives in New York over the weekend to finalize details of the venture. More about the project and Edwards’ involvement are pending release after his visit to New York.
Edwards issued this statement today: “The support and encouragement I have received from the Asolo, its board and my colleagues are wonderful. I am eager to finalize the particulars of this project and come back to Sarasota with more information. Right now the Asolo is very busy opening the new season and the first three shows. So many good things are happening with the here. This is a very exciting time.”
The Asolo’s executive committee met this week to thoroughly consider all of the implications of the Broadway offer. The committee unanimously endorses Michael Edwards’ involvement in this project and its members believe, as does Edwards, that his work on Broadway will be a valuable complement to his first season at the Asolo.
According to President of the Asolo Board of Directors, Nancy Markle, “We are very excited about this news. This could result in huge benefits for Michael, the theatre, and the community in terms of national press, attracting the finest artists who will want to work with Michael and opening the door to more collaboration with New York producers and the Asolo.”
Michael Edwards' full time tenure as producing director commences on July 1, 2006 when he succeeds the Asolo's retiring Producing Artistic Director Howard Millman. Edwards has been in Sarasota since early October 2005. During the past six weeks he has been meeting with community leaders and theatre patrons as well as becoming familiar with the staff, artists and repertory rhythms of the Asolo Theatre Company. He is also progressing very well with planning for his first season in 2006-2007.
####
The Asolo Theatre Company is funded in part by the Division of Cultural Affairs, Florida Department of State, The Florida Arts Council, the City and County of Sarasota and the Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax through the Board of County Commissioners, the Tourist Development Council, and the Sarasota Arts Council. The Asolo Theatre Company’s Shakespeare productions are sponsored in part by Shakespeare in American Communities, a national theater initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Sallie Mae Fund in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Additional funding is also received through the efforts of support groups including the Asolo Angel Association, the Asolo Theatre Guild, The Directors Emeritus and the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations.