The Final Programme Cast

Benedict Cumberbatch: London and Hollywood

Benedict Cumberbatch's career is built to last. From his early success as a working actor through his dynamic trajectory to international star, Cumberbatch continues to be one of the best thespians of his generation. Those who know Cumberbatch primarily because of his award-winning star turn as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC's Sherlock know only a fraction of the actor’s noteworthy professional history, including such critically acclaimed roles as, on television, Hawking, Small Island, To the Ends of the Earth, Parade’s End, and The Hollow Crown; on stage, Hedda Gabler, After the Dance, Frankenstein, and Hamlet; on radio, Cabin Pressure and Neverwhere; and on film, Atonement, War Horse, Star Trek: Into Darkness, and The Imitation Game. Whether starring on television, stage, or radio in home base London or filming a Hollywood production, Benedict Cumberbatch continues to choose interesting roles that cement his A-list status. His career is not without occasional controversy, but, like those he admires most in London or Hollywood, he has become savvy about the entertainment industry. Benedict Cumberbatch is here to stay in the spotlight-to the delight of anyone who appreciates fine acting.

Soldiers

GEMIGNANI

Paul Gemignani is one of the titans of the modern musical theater industry. Serving as musical director for more than forty Broadway productions since 1971, his collaborations with Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Kander, Fred Ebb, Hal Prince, Michael Bennett, and Alan Menken have led to countless accolades for his collaborators, but due to the near invisible position of the musical director in the Broadway industry, Gemignani's story is often overlooked. GEMIGNANI seeks to not only bring the reader into the orchestra pit to learn Gemignani's story, but also to educate the reader about the crucial role a music director plays in bringing some of the most iconic musicals in Broadway history to life. Born into a second-generation Italian American family during the aftershocks of the Great Depression, Gemignani worked his way up from playing percussion in USO bands to conducting before Leonard Bernstein, all before becoming a pivotal player in the team that brought some of the most successful musicals of the late twentieth century to the stage. Sweeney Todd, Evita, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, and Into the Woods would be quite different without his key contributions, and many of the sonic markers we now associate with the postmodern musical theater can be traced to Gemignani's careful curiosity to expand the bounds of what was possible.