Curtis Brown
Over 30 orphans will take the stage at Memorial Auditorium this month. Annie, presented by North Carolina Theatre, from July 23 to 28 at Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts, and the theatre’s new artistic director, Eric Woodall, is thrilled about their take on the classic. Woodall, who grew up in nearby Benson, says he wanted to approach these classic musicals by presenting them in a new, fresh way. He began at NC Theatre last November, after decades in New York as everything from an actor to director and casting director. For this show, Woodall strove to “combine top local talent with some of Broadway’s best,” including Tony-award winner Karen Ziemba as Miss Hannigan and John Eric Parker as Daddy Warbucks, who’s joining the cast on hiatus from The Book of Mormon on Broadway.
As for all those orphans? Woodall says he “was so impressed with the talent of our young folks here” that he kept adding them to the cast to get them onstage. The beloved show is the last of the 2018-19 season, and Woodall has carefully selected each show in the upcoming 2019-20 lineup, including iconic musicals like West Side Story and Kinky Boots. Woodall says he’s thrilled to return to his roots in North Carolina. “It’s a full circle moment and it feels like an honor to pass on what was given to me; the love of theatre and the love of the arts propelled me into a career in one.”
Woodall says his overall vision for the theatre has inclusion at the forefront. “After my experience of 16 years as a Broadway casting director, I’ve realized that diversity and inclusion are so important in casting today. I want to bring that into regional theatre and share that it’s important to me,” he says. “I want to tell stories that entertain by introducing new ways of thinking and to revisit older stories in a new way.” —Catherine Currin
Kayce Lamos
2019-2020 NCT SEASON
West Side Story
October 15-20
Having Our Say
November 8-17
Kinky Boots
February 11-16, 2020
Memphis
March 24-29, 2020
Edge
May 1-10, 2020
The Sound of Music
July 28- August 2, 2020
Kayce Lomas
For tickets and more information on NCT’s upcoming season, visit nctheatre.com
