Raul Aranas, Aaron Lazar, Kate Baldwin, P.J. Griffith Set for Giant at the Wyly Theatre, 1/18-2/19/12

on Tuesday, 03 January 2012. Posted in Backstage Pass

Aaron Lazar

Raul Aranas, Kate Baldwin, P.J. Griffith, Dee Hoty, Aaron Lazar and Katie Thompson are set for Giant, a co-production of the Dallas Theater Center and The Public Theater, which runs at the Wyly Theatre located in the AT&T Performing Arts Center, 2400 Flora Street in Dallas, from January 18 – February 19, 2012. Opening night is Friday, January 27 at 8:00 p.m.

Three-time Tony nominee Michael Greif (Rent, Grey Gardens, Next to Normal) helms Giant, the sprawling, epic love story with larger-than-life characters and Texas-size musical numbers, written by Michael John LaChiusa (music and lyrics) and Sybille Pearson, and based on the classic novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edna Ferber.

Kate Baldwin Photo by Peter Hurley

Aaron Lazar, who has appeared in seven Broadway productions including A Tale of Two Cities,Impressionism, The Light in the Piazza, and the recent revival of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, stars as Texas cattleman Bick. Lazar was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his role in the revival of Les Miserables and can now be seen in Clint Eastwood’s film J. Edgar.

P.J. Griffith

Kate Baldwin, a Tony Award nominee for Finian’s Rainbow, plays his socialite wife Leslie. Baldwin has appeared on Broadway in The Full Monty, Thoroughly Modern Millie andWonderful Town, and has performed at theaters across the country.

P.J. Griffith, who recently starred in the original Broadway production ofAmerican Idiot and is the lead vocalist for the band Blue Movie, portrays young oil tycoon Jett.

Raul Aranas

New York stage veteran Raul Aranas, who has appeared on Broadway in Miss Saigon, The King and I, Loose Ends and Flower Drum Song, plays Polo. Aranas is fresh from starring as The Engineer in the Ogunquit Playhouse production of Miss Saigon, and during his stint as The Engineer in the 1st National Company, he received a Helen Hayes Award, the Carbonell Award and a Jefferson Award Nomination. His turn as The Reciter in the North Shore Theatre production of Pacific Overtures, garnered him an Irne Award. He has appeared in the films Burn After Reading, Afterwards, Buzzkill, JFK, Company Man, and on television on “Law And Order,” “Gideon Oliver,” “One Life To Live,” and “Bluebloods.”

Dee Hoty

Also featured in the cast of Giant are Mary Bacon as Adarene and Mrs. Lyntonn; Miguel Cervantes as Angel, Jr. and Angel, Sr.; Natalie Cortez as Juana; Rocio Del Mar Valles as Analita; John Dossett as Bawley; Matt Doyle as Jordy, Jr.; Andrea Green as Lil Luz; Jason Hite as Bobby, Jr.; Dee Hoty as Luz; Doreen Montalvo as Lupe; Martin Sola as Dimodeo; Matthew Stocke as Mike; Katie Thompson as Vashti and William Youmans as Pinkie. Ensemble members include: Enrique Acevado, Michael Halling, Allison Rogers and Isabel Santiago.

Katie Thompson

The design team includes costume designer Jeff Mashie, who also worked with Greif on the Broadway and touring productions of Next to Normal, set designer Allen Moyer (Grey Gardens, Twelve Angry Men), lighting designer Ken Posner (Catch Me if You Can), sound designer Brian Ronan (The Book of Mormon,American Idiot) and choreographer Alex Sanchez.

All performances of Giant are at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center located at 2400 Flora St. in Dallas. Previews are January 18 – January 26, with an opening night set for Friday, January 27 at 8:00 p.m.

Performance times are Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.; and select Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 – $85 and are available online at www.DallasTheaterCenter.org or by phone at 214-880-0202. The Pay-What-You-Can (PWYC) performance of Giant will be Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m. PWYC tickets will be available online the week of the performance atwww.DallasTheaterCenter.org and at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre Box Office beginning Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 5:30 p.m. Pay-What-You-Can allows patrons to purchase ANY seat in the house for ANY amount they choose. For as little as a penny, theatergoers can see world-class live theater created by Dallas Theater Center for North Texas residents.

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

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