Enter the glamorous world of "Cinema Italiano" when DOMA Theatre Company presents Nine, the multiple Tony Award-winning musical with book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston that is based on Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film 8 ½. For NINE, DOMA reunites the creative team behind its recent hit production of Dreamgirls: Marco Gomez directs, musical direction is by Chris Raymond and choreography is by Rae Toledo. The six-week run opens July 12 at the intimate MET Theatre in Hollywood.
Embark on a musical journey that explores the passion and pitfalls of an Italian film director grappling with his mid-life crisis and creative block. All Guido Contini wants to do is make a film - but the women in his life are demanding attention. Amid a failing marriage, a distraught mistress and the betrayal of his former muse, Contini ponders his unraveling life and career by revisiting the innocence of his childhood at the age of nine. Through a series of flashbacks and dreams, Contini discovers the solution to his problems by combining art and reality in a spectacular collusion of love, regret and fidelity.
"I relate to Guido's story," says Gomez. "For a director, the opportunity to manifest one's ideas onto the screen or stage is endlessly addicting. In NINE, Guido reflects back on his life and career as he struggles to create something new. For me, the challenge is to put my creative stamp on a known show. I've cast the show primarily with actors I've worked with before at DOMA in order to reflect the memories of my past shows in this production."
Indeed, audiences will recognize many cast members from past DOMA productions, including David Michael Trevino (Xanadu) as Guido Contini. Playing the women in Guido's life are LovLee Carroll (Xanadu) as Guido's mistress; Michelle Holmes (Jekyll & Hyde, Dreamgirls) as Guido's mother; Emilia Sotelo (Cabaret) as Guido's producer;Andrea Arvanigian (Songs for a New World) as Guido's associate producer and former critic; Brittany Rodin (The Who's Tommy, Jekyll & Hyde, Xanadu) as Our Lady of the Spa; Leslie Marrero (Jekyll & Hyde, Dreamgirls) as Diana; and Devin Holliman (Jekyll & Hyde) as Maria. Also in the cast are Donovan Baise (The Who's Tommy) as Young Guido; Ra'Shawn Durell (Dreamgirls) as Francesco/Cardinal; Victor Mercado (Jekyll & Hyde) as Renato; and Alan Lee (Xanadu) as Alan. New to DOMA are Melissa Anjose as Luisa Contini; Toni Smith as Claudia Nardi; Liza Baron as Sarraghina; Amy Garbett as Mama Maddelena; and Tania Possick as Lina Darling.
Scenic design for NINE is by Amanda Lawson; lighting design is by Johnny Ryman; sound design is by David Crawford; costume design is by Irvin Jimenez; and the stage manager is Nicholas Acciani.
A joint venture between DOlf Ramos and Marco Gomez, DOMA has carved a name for itself by presenting large-scale, Broadway-style musicals in a small intimate setting at Hollywood's MET Theatre. DOMA opened the 2013 season with Dreamgirls, garnering rave reviews including Los Angeles Times "Critic's Choice" and "Ovation Recommended." The company's five-play, all musical 2012 season received critical acclaim for productions of The Who's Tommy ("Exhilarating!" - Rock Cellar Magazine), Songs for A New World ("Transformational!" - LA Splash), Jekyll & Hyde:The Musical ("Pick of the Week" - LA Weekly), Xanadu ("Another standout production" - Working Author) and Avenue Q ("Critic's Choice" - Los Angeles Times, "Ovation Recommended").