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Passion

Aug 14 - Sep 23, 2018

Please note: Due to the seating configuration and intimate nature of this production, late and reseating breaks will be very limited. Please plan to arrive to the Theatre early.

Set in 1860s Italy, this gorgeous musical ignites a fiery love triangle when a handsome army captain is transferred to a remote military outpost and into the blinding infatuation of Fosca, the ailing cousin of his superior. Fosca’s fervent longing draws him in as it threatens to upend his career in an exhilarating tangle of obsession, desire, madness, and above all, passion.

Starring Natascia Diaz (West Side Story), Claybourne Elder (Sunday in the Park with George) and Steffanie Leigh (Broadway’s War Paint, Mary Poppins), Stephen Sondheim’s lush and romantic Tony Award®-winning Best Musical will thrill audiences in a radiant new staging by Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner (West Side Story, Sunday in the Park with George, Crazy for You).

“Exultantly dramatic, this is the most thrilling piece of theater on Broadway.” – The New York Post

Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Based on the film "Passione d'Amore," directed by Ettore Scola
Directed by Matthew Gardiner
#SigPassion
#SigPassion

Performance Information

  • Run Time

    Run time approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes, no intermission

  • Content Warnings

    Contains nudity, cigarette smoking, gunshots, theatrical smoke and haze.

  • Info

    For performances September 18 – 21 the role of Giorgio, normally played by Claybourne Elder, will be played by Gregory Maheu.

Specialty Nights

Discussion Nights

August 28 & September 12, 2018

Pride Night

September 7, 2018

Open Captioning

September 16, 2018 at 2PM

Cast Members

Natascia Diaz

Natascia Diaz

Fosca

SIGNATURE: Passion (Fosca, Helen Hayes Award), Threepenny Opera (Jenny, Helen Hayes nom.), West Side Story (Anita, Helen Hayes nom.), Kiss of the Spiderwoman (Aurora).  BROADWAY: Man of La Mancha (Antonia, u/s Aldonza), Seussical. OFF-BROADWAY: Encores! Grand Hotel (Rafaella), The Capeman (Esmeralda), Jacques Brel, tick, tick, BOOM! (Susan, LA Ovation nom.). TOUR: West Side Story (Anita, Chicago Jeff Award, St. Louis Kevin Kline Award). DC: Shakespeare Theatre: Our Town (Mrs. Gibbs); Woolly: Collective Rage (Betty #3); MetroStage: Jacques Brel (Woman 1, Helen Hayes Award), Savage In Limbo (Savage), Rooms (Monica, Helen Hayes Award, shared with Chita!). REGIONAL: San Francisco Playhouse: Sally (Follies); St. Louis Muny: On Your Feet (Gloria Fajardo, St. Louis Critics Award), Chicago (Velma, Critics nom.); Hartford Stage: Ah, Wilderness! (Lily). FILM: Every Little Step. natasciadiaz.com 

Claybourne Elder

Claybourne Elder

Giorgio

SIGNATURE: Sunday in the Park…(George). BROADWAY/NEW YORK: Bonnie and Clyde (Buck, also cast recording). OFF-BROADWAY: Road Show (Hollis, premier cast, also recording); Tennessee Williams’s One Arm (Drama Desk nomination Outstanding Actor in a Play); Allegro (Lortel Nomination Outstanding Actor in a Musical); Two by Two (with Jason Alexander); City Center: Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration, Do I Hear A Waltz?; Delcorte: A Chorus Line in Concert. REGIONAL: Hollywood Bowl: Sondheim on Sondheim; Angels in America (dir. David Cromer); Into the Woods (dir. Moisés Kaufman). CABARET: West End/Tour: You and Me and Sondheim. TV/Film: The Carrie Diaries (Pete O’Malley). UPCOMING: Broadway: Torch Song.

Will Gartshore

Colonel Ricci

SIGNATURE: A Little Night Music, The Fix, Show Boat, Merrily We Roll Along, My Fair Lady, Assassins, Sex Habits of American Women, Urinetown, Pacific Overtures, Elegies, Allegro, Twentieth Century, Follies, Grand Hotel, Side Show, Floyd Collins, Anyone Can Whistle in Concert. BROADWAY: Parade. OFF-BROADWAY: The Last Session, Encores!: Ziegfield Follies of 1936. DC AREA: Round House: Caroline, or Change; Ordinary Days; This; %(underline)Becky Shaw%; Orson’s Shadow; A Year with Frog and Toad; The World Goes ‘Round; Kennedy Center: The Great Gatsby, Passion; Theatre J: The Religion Thing; Woolly Mammoth: The Velvet Sky; Olney: Monster; Studio: Privates on Parade, A New Brain. Library of Congress: West Side Story 50th Anniversary, Stephen Sondheim's 70th Birthday. REGIONAL: Philadelphia Theatre Co: Elegies; Prince: Myths + Hymns, 3hree; Ahmanson: 3hree; Goodspeed: Fanny Hill, Lucky in the Rain. AWARDS: Three Helen Hayes Awards, nine nominations.

Rayanne Gonzales

Rayanne Gonzales

Fosca's Mother

she/her SIGNATURE: The Bridges of Madison County, Sweeney Todd, Daphne’s Dive, Passion. BROADWAY: The Phantom of the Opera, Hands On A Hardbody. DC AREA: Arena: Oliver!, My Fair Lady, Destiny of Desire (World Premiere); Ford's: Ragtime, A Christmas Carol; Kennedy Center: MASS, OliveRio; Olney: In the Heights, Matilda; Shakespeare: Man of La Mancha. REGIONAL: Ogunquit Playhouse: Mystic Pizza (World Premiere); Hartford Stage: Anastasia (World Premiere); Theatre Under the Stars: In the Heights; North Carolina Theatre: South Pacific; Walnut Street Theater: In the Heights. TOUR: Into the Woods (2022 Revival); In the Heights. TV/Film: Sound of Music Live!, In the Heights. AWARDS: Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Lead in a Musical; Lunt-Fontanne Fellow (Ten Chimneys Foundation). EDUCATION: Boston University; Longy School of Music; Banff Center. IG: @rayannegonzales

Steffanie Leigh

Clara

BROADWAY: War Paint (Dorian Leigh); Gigi (Liane d’Exelmans); Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins). NATIONAL TOUR: Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins). NYC/regional: Exit, Pursued by a Bear: Dani Girl; Singapore Repertory Theatre: Venus in Fur; Alliance: Jaques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris; Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera: Into the Woods, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. TV: Blacklist, Blind Spot, Mysteries of Laura, The Following, The Good Wife, Members Only. FILM: Seaside, Easter Mysteries, American Dresser, Progress (and unrelated things), They’re Out of the Business. EDUCATION: Carnegie Mellon, BFA acting/musical theater. www.steffanieleigh.com

Gregory Maheu

Sergeant Lombardi/Ludovic/Giorgio u/s

SIGNATURE: Passion, Sunday in the Park...; Hello, Dolly! (co-production with Ford’s Theatre); Chess; Sweeney Todd. NEW YORK: Lincoln Center: I Am Harvey Milk; Momentum Rep.: Assassins; NYMF: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; The Toymaker. DC AREA: Olney Theatre Center: Once; Ford's Theatre: Ragtime; 110 in the Shade; Freedom's Song; Violet; A Christmas Carol; 1776; Liberty Smith; Kennedy Center: Ragtime; Adventure Theatre: Big. REGIONAL: MGR Playhouse: Austen's Pride; Studio Tenn: West Side Story; The Wizard of Oz; Les Misérables; Hangar Theatre: Hair. EDUCATION: BFA, Elon University.

Ian McEuen

Ian McEuen

Lieutenant Torasso

SIGNATURE: Assassins, Passion. DC AREA: United States Army Chorus; NSO Pops: West Side Story; Wolf Trap Opera: Ariadne auf Naxos; Washington National Opera: Madame Butterfly, Lost in the Stars, The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me (world premiere); Urban Arias: Why I Live at the P.O. (world premiere), Florida (world premiere), The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat; In Series: L’enfance du Christ, Paloma at the Wall; REGIONAL: Metropolitan Opera: The Merry Widow (u/s); Annapolis Opera: Susannah, Carmen; Baltimore Concert Opera: The Consul, Sweeney Todd; Atlanta Opera: Sweeney Todd; New Orleans Opera: Sweeney Todd; Glimmerglass Festival: Madame Butterfly, Camelot, King for a Day, The Flying Dutchman; Virginia Opera: Turandot; Nashville Opera: Turandot; North Carolina Opera: Madame Butterfly.

Christopher Mueller

Christopher Mueller

Private Augenti/ Colonel Ricci u/s

he/him SIGNATURE: Pacific Overtures, She Loves Me, Simply Sondheim, Assassins, Blackbeard, Passion, Titanic, The Fix, Crossing, Miss Saigon, Spin, Brother Russia, Chess, Sweeney Todd, The Hollow, The Boy Detective Fails, Giant, Kiss of the Spider Woman. NEW YORK: LaGuardia Arts: Chess in Concert. DC AREA: Ford’s Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors, Into the Woods, A Christmas Carol, Ragtime; The Kennedy Center: Camelot in Concert, My Fair Lady in Concert; Olney Theatre Center: My Fair Lady, Carousel, Godspell, Spring Awakening; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Two Gentlemen of Verona (a rock opera); Arena Stage: Redhand Guitar Workshop, Skindiver Reading; Imagination Stage: Dr. Doolittle, Disney's Mulan; Adventure Theatre: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; Keegan Theatre: The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee, RENT. EDUCATION: The Catholic University of America; The London Dramatic Academy. IG: @christopher_mueller

Katie Mariko Murray

Katie Mariko Murray

Mistress/Fosca & Clara u/s

she/they SIGNATURE: Into the Woods, RENT, Simply Sondheim, Signature Vinyl, Grand Hotel, Passion, West Side Story, Miss Saigon. NYC: ARSNova: KPOP the Musical workshop; NAAP: Into the Woods concert (Cinderella). REGIONAL: Arena Stage: Ride the Cyclone (Jane Doe); Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera: The Drowsy Chaperone (Janet Van De Graaf); Weathervane Repertory: The King and I (Tuptim), Mamma Mia (Sophie); Tuacahn: Disney's When You Wish (world premiere, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Mulan); McCarter Theatre: A Christmas Carol; Fulton Opera House: Miss Saigon. EDUCATION: BFA Penn State. Katiemarikomurray.com @ktpotaty

Lawrence Redmond

Lawrence Redmond

Lieutenant Barri/Doctor Tambourri u/s

SIGNATURE: Ragtime, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, She Loves Me, Assassins, Blackbeard, Grand Hotel, Passion, Titanic, The Fix, Elmer Gantry, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Over and Over, A Stephen Sondheim Evening, Working, Sunday in the Park with George, No Way to Treat a Lady (1998 Helen Hayes Award),Three Nights in Tehran, The Rink (1997 Helen Hayes Award), Passion, Cabaret. DC AREA: Ford's Theater: Little Shop of Horrors, Twelve Angry Men; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing; Arena Stage: The Great Society, Intelligence, All the Way, Ruined, Passion Play; Round House Theatre: Quixote Nuevo; Olney Theatre Center: Miss You Like Hell; AWARDS: 2023 Lunt-Fontanne Fellow, 2023 Anderson-Hopkins Award for Excellence in Theatre, seven additional Helen Hayes nominations; Multiple DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities Artist Fellowships (9/12/25-19/13/12) www.lawrenceredmond.com 

Harrison Smith

Harrison Smith

Swing

he/him SIGNATURE: Sweeney Todd, Billy Elliot, Crazy for You, Jesus Christ Superstar, Passion, Assassins; DC AREA: The Keegan Theatre: Merrily We Roll Along, Elegies (Helen Hayes nomination), Airness, Parade, American Idiot, Dogfight; Imagination Stage: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Round House Theatre: I’ll Get You Back Again, The Kennedy Center: Me, Jane (National Tour); 1st Stage: Floyd Collins, Airness, A New Brain. Toby’s Dinner Theatre: Newsies (Helen Hayes nomination); Prologue Theatre, Constellation, NextStop, and Mosaic. REGIONAL: Arden Theatre Company: Assassins; OTHER: One half of the band-baseball hat, hhaarriissoonn.com @hhaarriissoonn

Bobby Smith

Bobby Smith

Major Rizzolli/Fosca's Father

he/him SIGNATURE: No Place to Go, She Loves Me, Midnight at The Never Get, Assassins, Grand Hotel, Passion, Light Years, A Little Night Music, Titanic, Simply Sondheim, Company, Midwestern Gothic, Road Show, Threepenny Opera, Disney's Freaky Friday, La Cage aux Folles (Helen Hayes Award), Spin (Helen Hayes Award). BROADWAY: Crazy for You. OFF-BROADWAY: Forever Plaid, The World Goes ‘Round, Of Thee I Sing. NATIONAL TOURS: Brigadoon, The World Goes ‘Round. DC AREA: Theater J: Two Jews Walk Into a War; Studio Theatre: Fun Home, A Class Act; The Long Christmas Ride Home; Caroline, or Change; Grey Gardens; Reefer Madness; Jerry Springer: The Opera; Ford’s Theatre: Elmer Gantry, Liberty Smith, 1776, Violet; Metrostage: Girl in the Goldfish Bowl, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (Helen Hayes Award). AWARDS: 2018 Anderson/Hopkins award.

Eleanor Todd

Eleanor Todd

Swing

 SIGNATURE: Passion; Devotion (workshop). NATIONAL TOUR: Amazing Grace (Director Gabriel Barre). NYC: War Paint (workshop, Director Michael Greif), New York Musical Festival: Beyond Words, Niagara (workshop, Director. Lauren Widner). DC AREA: Shakespeare Theatre Co: Camelot; Keegan Theatre: Parade (Helen Hayes nomination: Outstanding Lead Actress), Big Fish; The Kennedy Center: How Can I Say This So You Will Stay? (Director Susan Einhorn); Olney Theatre: Children of Eden in Concert. REGIONAL: Actors Guild of Lexington: SubUrbia; Kentucky Conservatory Theatre: Legally Blonde (Elle Woods). FILM/TV: Amazon Prime: Liberty’s Secret; multiple commercials, motion capture work (video games). VOICEOVER: Graphic Audio: multiple projects, Guardians of the Galaxy II. EDUCATION: University of Michigan, BFA Musical Theatre. Rep: Capital Talent Agency. Instagram: @eleanorjtodd 

John Leslie Wolfe

John Leslie Wolfe

Doctor Tambourri

SIGNATURE: Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes, Passion, Titanic, West Side Story, The Threepenny Opera. BROADWAY: Parade, Passion, Evita, Sarava. NY CITY OPERA: Brigadoon, A Most Happy Fella. NATIONAL COMPANIES: Bright Star, The Phantom of the Opera (Las Vegas), Parade, Martin Guerre, Evita, Cabaret. DC AREA: Kennedy Center: Passion, Golden Child; Ford’s Theatre: 1776, Elmer Gantry, Captains Courageous, To Kill a Mockingbird, Christmas Carol; Round House Theatre: Our Town; Olney Theatre Center: Oh Coward. REGIONAL: Goodspeed Opera House: Heartbeats; Austin Musicals: Annie; Penn Center Stage: Sweeney Todd; Syracuse Stage: Closer Than Ever. FILM: The Invasion, Invincible, Step Up, Distinguished Gentleman. TV: Netflix: House of Cards; HBO: Something The Lord Made, The Wire, Homicide; NBC: The West Wing.

Creative Team

Jon Kalbfleisch

Music Direction

SIGNATURE (Resident Music Director) Ragtime, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, She Loves Me, Broadway in the Park (Wolf Trap), Simply Sondheim, A Chorus Line, Assassins, Passion, Crazy for You, A Little Night Music, West Side Story, Cabaret, Sunday in the Park, Gypsy, Company, Hairspray, Saturday Night, Side by Side, Sunset Boulevard, Show Boat, Anyone Can Whistle, Spider Woman, Merrily, Into the Woods, Pacific Overtures, Elegies, Allegro, Follies, 110 in the Shade, Putting It Together, Forum, Sweeney Todd, Wings. BROADWAY: Ambassador Theatre: The Visit (Actor's Fund Benefit), Marius Company: Les Misérables (Associate Conductor). DC AREA: Kennedy Center: First You Dream; National Theatre, Warner Theatre, Round House Theatre, Everyman Theatre. OTHER: Carnegie Hall, Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony. TV: Celebration of the Arts (Executive Producer), Good Morning America. AWARDS: Grammy nomination; Bernstein MASS, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, pianist; Anderson-Hopkins Award; ten Helen Hayes Awards and 30 nominations; Distinguished Alumni Award, Cameron University. EDUCATION: Master of Music, Southern Methodist University.

Sponsors

Behind the Scenes of Passion

Learn more about the beautiful period costumes, the inspiration behind the show and more as we go behind the scenes of Passion. Click below for articles, interviews, costume renderings and other exclusive info.

Press Reviews

Fall for the ravishing music in ‘Passion

The Washington Post

For any Sondheim fan, it’s a must; for anyone who has not seen Passion before, it can be a revelation.

DC Metro Theater Arts

Resplendent revival

DC Theater Scene

Passion is a vocally and emotionally challenging show, and Signature’s production manages to succeed greatly on both fronts.

Theatermania

Exquisite

Stage Left

Loving this Passion is not just a choice, it is a magnificent gift to its audiences

Curtain Up

This production of “Passion”, and I’ve seen several, is the definitive one and you are going to want to see it!

The Zebra

Signature Theatre

4200 Campbell Ave Arlington, Virginia