Paul Schoeffler Stars in MAN OF LA MANCHA at TUTS, Opening Tonight

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) has announced the cast for the five-time Tony Award winning masterpiece Man of La Mancha, running tonight, Feb. 26 - March 10 at the Hobby Center for The Performing Arts.

Taking the stage as Don Quixote will be veteran stage performer Paul Schoeffler. He counts Rock of Ages, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, Nine and Victor/Victoria among his several Broadway appearances. He has appeared internationally in Assassins, and he toured nationally as Javert in LES MISERABLES, Sheldrake in Promises/Promises and Captain Hook in Peter Pan. He has also made several appearances in the off-Broadway and regional theatre circuit with roles including Hilaire Jussac in Can-Can and Marco the Magnificent in Carnival!. TUTS audiences also will remember Schoeffler from his appearances as Philippe in Phantom and Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady. Playing opposite him is Michelle DeJean, who will return to the TUTS stage as the beautiful but rough bar maid Aldonza. A graduate of TUTS' Humphreys School of Musical Theatre, she boasts the recent TUTS credits of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, White Christmas and Urban Cowboy. DeJean's other theatre highlights include Broadway's Chicago and national tours of Jesus Christ Superstar, West Side Story and Oliver!.

Sancho Panza, Quixote's devoted and loveable sidekick, will be portrayed by Josh Lamon. His Broadway work includes performing in Elf: The Musical, Into the Woods and Hair. Lamon appeared in the national tours of Wicked and Hair, which earned him the Helen Hayes Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in 2011. Making his TUTS debut as the dubious but supportive Innkeeper is Tom Robbins. His recent Broadway appearances include Newsies The Musical, The Lion King and Once Upon a Mattress, and he toured nationally with LES MISERABLES.

Laurent Giroux will depict The Padre. He has toured nationally with The Light in the Piazza and Zorba as well as appeared on Broadway in Ambassador, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Pippin and Chicago. Bruce Winant will play the unyielding foe Dr. Carrasco. Winant's Broadway credits include La Cage Aux Folles, Ragtime and Miss Saigon. He lists both Phantom and Chigaco among his national tours.

Completing the cast are Ceasar F. Barajas, Phillip Michael Baskerville, Michael Brian Dunn, Julia Krohn, Elyse Langley, Maegan McConnell, Shaun R. Parry, Spencer Rowe, Eadie Scott, Matthew Steffens, Michael Tapley, Jessica Vosk, Kristin Warren and Marguerite Willbanks.

TUTS' newly minted Artistic Director Bruce Lumpkin will captain the creative team as the director. His previous work at TUTS includes Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Miss Saigon, Funny Girl and Grand Hotel. Lumpkin previously worked on several Broadway titles including Grand Hotel, My One and Only, Nine, Stepping Out, and The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. Additionally, Mr. Lumpkin co-directed Grand Hotel on London's West End and served on the creative team for the national tours of Dr. Doolittle and Nine. He received the Barrymore Award for Best Director and Best Musical for his revisionist look at Cabaret.

The other half of a true husband-and-wife team, Lumpkin's wife, Michelle Gaudette, will join the creative team as choreographer for Man of La Mancha. Gaudette's last time to choreograph for TUTS was when Lumpkin directed 2010's Miss Saigon. Gaudette has performed internationally throughout her career, and she toured nationally in Will Rogers Follies. She also performed for 9 years as a member of the Radio City Rockettes in New York City.

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