Bob Durkin returns to The UVM Theatre on the heels of launching a national tour of Barry Manilow’s Copacabana, now on a cross-country trip to one hundred cities in seventeen weeks. He’s happy to be back. “I love it up here,” Durkin says, “and I like what this department strives to do. The dedication of the students is terrific.”
COLE is Durkin’s third project with The UVM Theatre – he directed the popular shows Anything Goes (1999) and Sweet Charity (2000). Internationally, he’s served as associate choreographer to Tommy Tune on Easter Parade starring Tommy Tune and Sandy Duncan (both in Sydney, Australia and in New York City) and he directed and/or choreographed national and international tours of Big River, Crazy for You, Hello Dolly!, The Goodbye Girl, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, One Mo’ Time, Little Shop of Horrors, Anything Goes, Ain’t Misbehavin’, They’re Playing Our Song, Purlie, and Unforgettable – The Nat King Cole Story. He brings his broad range of experience to The UVM Theatre’s students, a commitment he makes whenever he works as a Guest Artist on a college campus. “I enjoy watching UVM’s faculty train their students,” Durkin says. “They instill a great sense of work ethic; they give them a sense of `you’re being counted on.’ There’s a wonderful open-mindedness here.”
Durkin is using his years of experience in musical theatre to make sure that, first and foremost, COLE is fun. “No one is better than Cole Porter at the tongue-in-cheek,” Durkin says. “He has a great sense of humor that catches his audience off guard.”
COLE is a celebration of the life and music of Cole Porter, one of America’s favorite popular music composers. His music is performed thousands of times each year across the country, and the recent Broadway revival of his hit musical Kiss Me, Kate ran for almost 1,000 performances. Over fifty of his most famous songs comprise the fast-paced show at The UVM Theatre.
COLE will be performed on the Royall Tyler stage February 26 through March 9, 2003. Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 9 at 2 p.m. Tickets from $10 to $14 are on sale now and may be purchased online at www.uvm.edu/theatre or at (802) 656-2094.
-Press Release
