World Premiere in Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse on December 16
LOS ANGELES, October 13, 2010
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Stage and screen icon Dick Van Dyke will appear onstage at the Geffen Playhouse in Dick Van Dyke – Step in Time! – A Musical Memoir, a world premiere production thathighlights the artist’s truly scrumptious six-decades in the entertainment industry. The play, which is cowritten by Van Dyke and the play’s director Joshua Ravetch, is a living autobiography pulling stories and songs from Van Dyke’s celebrated career.
To help bring the show to life with music, Van Dyke will be joined on stage by Eric Bradley, Bryan Chadima and Mike Mendyke – three young singers who together with Van Dyke form the singing quartet “The Vantastix.” Step in Time, named for Richard and Robert Sherman’s song and Van Dyke’s signature dance number in Mary Poppins, will begin in the intimate Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse with previews on December 8, 2010. The official opening is on December 16, 2010 and it will run through January 16, 2011
."I'm having the best so-called retirement of anyone I know, doing what I love doing," said Van Dyke. "Eventually I may try something less strenuous." Geffen Playhouse Producing Director Gil Cates and his team have been collaborating with Van Dyke and Ravetch on the development on this piece. Ravetch previously worked at the Geffen developing and directing the world premiere of Wishful Drinking with Carrie Fisher.
“There are few performers who are as much a part of the American fabric as Dick Van Dyke,” said coauthor and director Joshua Ravetch. “When a performer of Van Dyke’s caliber appears on stage, there is an immediate and often emotional collision of past and present that creates a magical experience.”
Van Dyke, raised in Danville, Illinois started his career in show business with another local boy doing a record pantomime act that took him to Los Angeles, then to local TV in Atlanta and New Orleans where he was ultimately discovered by CBS New York and signed to do just about anything they gave him – a morning news show, kid shows, game shows and variety shows. He left to accept the male lead in
Bye Bye Birdie for which he won a Tony Award. The Dick Van Dyke Show followed and became a classic, along with a string of major films including the film version of Bye-Bye Birdie, Mary Poppins and Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang.
In addition to his Tony Award and five Emmys Awards, Dick collected a Grammy for the
Mary Poppins cast album. His television series Diagnosis Murder aired on CBS for eight seasons. His most recent film was Night at the Museum where he was cast against type as a grumpy old man and then came up with cool dance moves behind the closing crawl.
Tickets for
Step in Time are $65 for preview performances and range from $75 to $85 for the regular run. They are available online at www.geffenplayhouse.com, in-person at the Geffen Playhouse box office or by calling (310)208-5454.
DICK VAN DYKE – STEP IN TIME!- A MUSICAL MEMOIR
Written by Dick Van Dyke and Joshua Ravetch
Directed by Joshua Ravetch
Previews:
Performance Schedule
Monday No performances
Tuesday No performances
Wednesday 8pm
Thursday 8pm
Friday 8pm
Saturday 3pm and 8pm
Sunday 2pm
Cast
Dick Van Dyke
Eric Bradley
Bryan Chadima
Mike Mendyke
Production Credits
Designed by Daniel Ionazzi
Stage Manager Jill Gold
Bryan Chadima Musical Director
ABOUT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE
The Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and musicals, the Geffen Playhouse continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition.
Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the company is helmed by Producing Director and President of the Board Gilbert (Gil) Cates, Artistic Director Randall Arney, Managing Director Ken Novice and Chairman of the Board Frank Mancuso. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen Playhouse welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains an extensive education and outreach program, designed to engage young people and the community at large in the arts. For more information, please visit
geffenplayhouse.com.
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Dec 8 – Dec 15, 2010
Opening: Dec 16, 2010
Closing: Jan 16, 2010