Norm Lewis, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Skylar Astin Join Sondheim Celebration At Hollywood Bowl

Broadway stars Skylar Astin, Norm Lewis and Brian Stokes Mitchell will complete the glittering cast of Broadway luminaries for Everybody Rise! A Sondheim Celebration on Sunday, July 30, 2023, at the Hollywood Bowl. They are joined by previously announced three-time Tony Award-winner Patti LuPone, Sierra Boggess and Sutton Foster for this unforgettable concert program curated by Robert Longbottom and Kevin Stites and conducted by Stites. 
 
The extraordinary emotional range of Stephen Sondheim is on full display for one unforgettable night. Join us for a journey through the world of the most celebrated figure in the history of musical theater, with guest vocalists and orchestra bringing his iconic songs to the stage.
 
Robert Longbottom and Kevin Stites say, “It is the greatest honor and privilege to put together an evening of Stephen Sondheim for the world-famous Hollywood Bowl, with an incredible group of singing actors who will inhabit this material and deliver performances for the audience that will move, transport and inspire. The task is indeed humbling, but as George (title character in Sunday in the Park with George) says: 'White. A blank page or canvas. So many possibilities.'”
 
Everybody Rise! A Sondheim Celebration will have one performance only at the Hollywood Bowl this summer: Sunday, July 30, at 7:30pm. Tickets are available now at hollywoodbowl.com, or via phone order at 323.850.2000 or in person at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office hollywoodbowl.com. For further details or questions, call 323.850.2000 from 10am–6pm daily, or visit hollywoodbowl.com.
 
This performance is generously supported by Tylie Jones and Family.
 
Skylar Astin is a celebrated actor with a varied career across stage and screen. This past summer, Astin returned to the theater in the Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors as Seymour, directed by Tony winner Michael Mayer. Also, he appeared in the documentary Spring Awakening: Those You've Known. Astin and the rest of the cast revisited their roles and re-sparked the cultural phenomenon which put Astin on the map and went on to win eight Tony Awards in 2007. Following the release of the documentary, he performed a special rendition of “Touch Me” at last year's Tony Awards with the original cast.
 
Most recently, Astin starred in two seasons of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist alongside Jane Levy, Mary Steenburgen and Peter Gallagher. Additional television credits include appearing opposite Golden Globe winner Rachel Bloom in the final season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the Golden Globe-nominated dark comedy Graves, Frank Coraci's comedy Hot Air, Ground Floor, Girls, Halt and Catch Fire, House and Love Bites.
 
Astin is perhaps best known for his star turn as Jesse in the hit Pitch Perfect franchise. Additional big screen credits include Ghosts of War, 21 and Over opposite Miles Teller, Taking Woodstock for director Ang Lee, the Sundance cult-hit Hamlet 2, Flock of Dudes, Cavemen and the beloved animated film Wreck-It Ralph. In 2020, Astin appeared in Secret Society of Second Born Royals an original live action film. Astin was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award in the category of Best Actor in a Superhero Movie for his role in this film.
 
A native New Yorker, Astin portrayed the iconic role of Tony in Carnegie Hall's performance of West Side Story and received rave reviews in Encore's production of Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. He was also seen in Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck's play, What We're Up Against. Skylar performed alongside Sutton Foster, Patina Miller and Cheyenne Jackson, among others, in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods at the Hollywood Bowl , and he also portrayed Mark Cohen from the musical Rent opposite Aaron Tveit, Vanessa Hudgens, Wayne Brady, and Nicole Scherzinger at the same venue. Currently, Astin resides in Los Angeles. He can be followed on Twitter @SkylarAstin and Instagram @skylarastin.
 
Emmy, Grammy, Tony, and SAG Award nominee Norm Lewis can currently be seen onstage starring in the national tour of the Tony Award-winning production of A Soldier's Play.  He recently starred in Spike Lee's critically acclaimed Da 5 Bloods, and in the groundbreaking FX series Pose.  Additionally, Mr. Lewis can be seen starring in Amazon Prime's newest series, Swarm, and Hulu's latest musical series, Up Here. He was also seen as Caiaphas in the award-winning NBC television special, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert!, alongside John Legend, Sara Bareilles, and Alice Cooper. 
 
Mr. Lewis returned to Broadway in the fall of 2021, starring in Chicken and Biscuits at the Circle in the Square Theatre.  He previously appeared in the Broadway revival of Once on This Island and as Sweeney Todd in the Off-Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the Barrow Street Theatre, receiving the AUDELCO Award for his performance. In May of 2014, he made history as The Phantom of the Opera's first African American Phantom on Broadway.
 
He has been seen on PBS in the Live from Lincoln Center productions of Showboat with Vanessa Williams, Norm Lewis: Who Am I?, New Year's Eve: A Gershwin Celebration with Dianne Reeves, as well as American Voices with Renée Fleming and the PBS Specials First You Dream – The Music of Kander & Ebb and Ella Wishes You a Swingin' Christmas.  He can be seen recurring in the VH1 series, Daytime Divas, also alongside Vanessa Williams. His additional television credits include Women of the Movement, Law & Order, Dr. Death, Mrs. America, Better Things, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Bull, Chicago Med, Gotham, The Blacklist and Blue Bloods, as well as in his recurring role as Senator Edison Davis on the hit drama Scandal.
 
Mr. Lewis is a proud, founding member of Black Theatre United, an organization which stands together to help protect Black people, Black talent and Black lives of all shapes and orientations in theatre and communities across the country. He received Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle award nominations for his performance as Porgy in the Broadway production of The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess. Other Broadway credits include Sondheim on Sondheim, The Little Mermaid, Les Misérables, Chicago, Amour, The Wild Party, Side Show, Miss Saigon, and The Who's Tommy. In London's West End he has appeared as Javert in Les Misérables and Les Misérables: The 25th Anniversary Concert, which aired on PBS.
 
Off-Broadway Mr. Lewis has performed in Dessa Rose (Drama Desk nomination, AUDELCO Award), Shakespeare in the Park's The Tempest, The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Drama League nomination), Captains Courageous, and A New Brain. His regional credits include Porgy in The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (A.R.T.), Ragtime, Dreamgirls (with Jennifer Holliday), First You Dream, Sweeney Todd and The Fantasticks.
 
His additional film credits include Christmas in Tune (starring opposite Reba McEntire), Magnum Opus, Winter's Tale, Sex and the City 2, Confidences and Preaching to the Choir.
 
Norm's albums The Norm Lewis Christmas Album & This is The Life can be found on  as well as cdbaby.com.
 
Dubbed “the last leading man” by The New York Times, two-time Tony Award winner 
Brian Stokes Mitchell has enjoyed a career that spans Broadway, television, film and concert appearances with the country's finest conductors and orchestras.
 
He received Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for his star turn in Kiss Me, Kate. He also gave Tony-nominated performances in Man of La Mancha, August Wilson's King Hedley II and Ragtime. Other notable Broadway shows include Kiss of the Spider Woman, Jelly's Last Jam, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Shuffle Along. In 2016 he was awarded his second Tony Award, the prestigious Isabelle Stevenson Tony for his Charitable work with The Actors Fund. That same year Stokes was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.
 
An extremely versatile and in-demand singer, Stokes has performed at venues spanning jazz, opera, pops, country and musical theater worlds. He has worked with John Williams, Marvin Hamlisch, Gustavo Dudamel, Keith Lockhart, Michael Tilson Thomas, The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Big Band, The Mormon Tabernacle choir and the Muppets. Stokes has made multiple appearances at Carnegie Hall, beginning with his debut with the San Francisco Symphony, through his televised performance in
South Pacific opposite Reba McEntire, to his sold-out solo concert, which he continues to perform throughout the U.S. He has been invited twice to perform at the White House (both times aired on PBS's Great Performances) and has performed multiple times for Presidents Clinton and Obama.
 
Stokes has delved deeply into various music disciplines. In addition to singing, he began piano studies at the age of 6. A self-professed autodidact, his musical curiosity led him to teach himself composing, arranging and orchestration, starting in his teens. He later studied film scoring, orchestration and conducting both privately and through UCLA, and subsequently scored and conducted a number of Trapper John, MD episodes, a series on which he was also a regular cast member. His musical talent has extended to the present day as producer, arranger and orchestrator on his three solo albums including Simply Broadway and his latest recording Plays with Music.  Stokes has appeared on more than 20 albums.
 
His extensive screen credits began with a guest starring role on Roots: The Next Generations, followed by a 7-year stint on Trapper John, MD and have continued with memorable appearances on everything from PBS' Great Performances to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Frasier, Glee, Jumping the Broom and his most recent recurring roles on Madam Secretary, Mr. Robot, The Path, Billions and The Good Fight.  Other recent TV appearances include The Blacklist, Elementary and Bull. As a voice-over artist he has played dozens of characters on animated TV episodes and film, including performing “Through Heaven's Eyes” in  Dreamworks' The Prince of Egypt.
 
As a writer, Stokes has contributed to the book Hirschfeld's Harlem, wrote the preface to At This Theatre and co-authored the children's book Lights on Broadway. For fun he has been known to fly planes and jump out of them (usually not at the same time), and he can ride a bicycle on a high wire. Stokes has enjoyed working with numerous charitable organizations from the March of Dimes to the USO. He is on the board of Americans for the Arts and is serving his 14th term as Chairman of the Board of the Actors Fund.
 
Robert Longbottom is thrilled to be returning to the Hollywood Bowl, where he directed the 2019 production of Into the Woods with a cast that included Sutton Foster, Skylar Astin, Patina Miller, Gaten Matarazzo, Sierra Boggess and Cheyenne Jackson. The Los Angeles Times awarded this celebrated production a spot on its Best Theater of 2019 list, which included Broadway offerings as well. Broadway World named the show “Best Special Theater Event of the Year.”
 
For the Washington National Opera, Longbottom directed and choreographed a new production of La Fille du Régiment that featured a cameo appearance by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that was included in the Oscar-nominated documentary RBG. He made his Broadway debut as director and choreographer of the original Broadway production of Side Show, which earned four Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. 
 
Other Broadway credits include Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song, with a new book by the playwright David Henry Hwang. This production earned Longbottom a Tony Award nomination for his choreography, as well as Fred Astaire and Outer Critics Circle nominations. Other Broadway credits include The Scarlet Pimpernel, Bye Bye Birdie and a new production of Dreamgirls that premiered at the Apollo Theatre. That engagement was followed by multiple national and international tours that included Seoul, Johannesburg, Shanghai and Tokyo.
 
Longbottom conceived, directed and choreographed the original Off-Broadway hit Pageant, which was nominated for four Outer Critics Circle Awards and a Drama Desk Award. His other credits include Disney's On the Record, Carnival for the Kennedy Center, directing and choreographing the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular from 1994 to 1999, Show Boat at Carnegie Hall, South Pacific at the Muny Opera starring Howard Keel, Camelot at the Glimmerglass Festival starring Nathan Gunn, and Into the Woods at Theatre Under the Stars in Houston. 
 
His non-musical credits include the plays Mister Roberts for the Kennedy Center and Hay Fever for the Old Globe. He is currently developing a new play, with music, about the lives of castrati, written by the Pulitzer Prize/Tony Award-winning playwright Doug Wright, with musical supervision by Anthony Roth Costanzo.
 
Returning to the Hollywood Bowl after also having served as Musical Director/Conductor of LA Phil productions of Les Misérables (2008), Guys and Dolls (2009), The Producers (2012) and Into the Woods (2019), Kevin Stites recently conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival for Yours, Stephen Sondheim, starring Heather Hedley, Alexandra Billings and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Stites also led the Rockford Symphony Orchestra for a John Williams tribute and a classical concert featuring works by Fuchs, Price and Dvořák. He also conducted an all-star Broadway evening with a 400-voice choir and the New York Chamber Orchestra in Carnegie Hall for Manhattan Concert Productions and served six seasons as Music Director for the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. Stites has conducted the LA Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall with Brian Stokes Mitchell, several symphonic concerts with Kristin Chenoweth (including with the LA Phil at the Hollywood Bowl) and the Boublil and Schönberg concert tribute Do You Hear the People Sing with the Oklahoma City and Hartford symphony orchestras. He was music director/pianist for Deborah Voigt's Voight Lessons and music director of Grey Gardens, with Betty Buckley and Rachel York, at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Additionally, Stites was music director for MCP's concert presentations of Crazy for You and Titanic (at David Geffen Hall) and conducted the mono-opera Falling Man by Kenneth Fuchs at the 9/11 Museum & Memorial. As guest conductor, Stites has led the Grant Park Symphony and Chorus in tribute concerts devoted to Sondheim, Bernstein, Gershwin, Lerner and Loewe, Loesser and Cole Porter.
 
On Broadway, Stites has been involved with 13 productions, including Titanic, Fiddler on the Roof, A Tale of Two Cities, On the Town, The Threepenny Opera, Oklahoma!, Sunset Boulevard, the revival of Nine starring Antonio Banderas, the 2006 revival of Les Misérables and the revival of On the Twentieth Century starring Kristin Chenoweth. 


Licensing for this event is by special arrangement with Music Theatre International, New York, NY, on behalf of The Estate of Stephen Sondheim.
 

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