THE REAL LOVE: FEATURED SONGPoem by Supreme Master Ching Hai Music by Don pippin Orchestration by Doug Katsaros Guest Stars: Betty Buckley (Tonny Winner) Filippa Giordano (Italian Pop Classical Star) Shirley Jones (Oscar Winner) Trent Kowalik (Tonny Winner) Kiril Kulish (Tonny Winner) Faith Rivera (Emmy Winner) Tom Schmid (Actor/Singer) Lynne Wintersteller (Soprano) Director:Cheryl Baxter Music Director : Scott Lavender Stage Manager: David Lober THE REAL LOVE: A NEW MUSICAL Cast (In order of appearance) Elsa - Cady Huffman (Tonny Winner) Thanh - Joanna Ampil (Award-Winning Singer/Actress) Linh - Glory Curda Klaus - Robert Torti (Tony Nominee) Rolf - Adam Pascal (Tony Nominee) Mother-in-law - Shirley Jones (Oscar Winner) Father-in-law - Dick Van Patten Greta - Daisy Eagan (Tony Winner) Rajeev/Sadhu - Mueen Jahan
Ensemble Members:
Beuce Merkle Lana McKissack Marc Oka Omonique Paton David Raimo Michiko Sasaki Alonzo Saunders Leah Seminario Nikki Tomlinson Karen Volpe Erin Zaruba
CREATIVE TEAM & CREWComposers: Bill Conti (Oscar & 5-Time Emmy Winner) Al Kasha (2-Time Oscar Winner) Doug Katsaros (Emmy Nominee) Don Pippin (Tony & Emmy Winner) David Shire (Oscar & 2-Time Grammy Winner) Lyric based on poems by Supreme Master Ching Hai Book by Frank Evans and Tom Shelton Director : Chris Shelton Assistant to Director : Aylia Colwell Musical Director : David O Orchestrator : Doug Katsaros Choreographer : Mark Knowles Stage Manager : Hethyr (Red) Verhoef Production Assistants : Jon Eidson, Michael Field Assistant Stage Manager : Jessica Aguilar Casting Director : Michael Donovan,CSA Associate Casting Director : peter Matyas, CSA Set Designer : Gary Wissman Set Design Assistant : Michael Field Costume Designer : Kate Bergh Assistant Costume Designer : Michelle Neumann Lighting Designer : Darryl Palagi Projection Designer : Jason Thompson Assistant Projection Designer : Kaitlyn Pietras Sound Desinger : Cricket S. Myers Property Master : Kirk Graves Acting Coach : Tracy Winters Wig Designer : Rick Geyer Make-up and Hair Designer : Sherilyn Stetz Assistant Costumer : Rhea Bothe Wardrobe Dressers: Turk Magnanti Minta Manning Hannah Greene Timo Elliott Production Manager : Keith Dixon Video Director : Mark mardoyan
Producers : Paula Holt and Doug Katsaros Associate Producer : Tom Ware
In the late 1970s, Thanh, a spiritually-inclined young woman from Âu Lạc (Vietnam), finds herself far from her homeland while she works at the Red Cross in Munich Germany. With Elsa, her worldly but good-hearted German best friend and colleague, Thanh devotes her time caring for the newly arrived refugees, who fled turmoil in hope for a better life. She is a source of tender comfort fro many of them, particularly an orphaned girl named Linh. With memories still vivid of her own childhood experiences of war and a gentle heart full of sympathy, Thanh sorrows over the refugees' plight and resolves to help all those who suffer. At times feeling helpless, Thanh finds solace when expressing her anguish through poetry. Thanh's work takes her frequently to the hospital where her kind and charming nature attracts the admiration of many physicians, such as the good-looking but eccentric Klaus. When Rolf, a smart, handsome doctor and dentist, one day crosses paths with Thanh, an instant attraction is felt between them. They find out that they share not only the same birthday but also a lofty ideal to serve fellow humans, despite their contrasting worldviews. After a period of wedded bliss, differences grow ever more evident between the man of science and the woman of faith, yet they both are still tied by the invisible thread of love. Though Rolf's close friend and fellow physician Rajeev and his wife Greta, Thanh hears about spiritual practices in India, which piques her interest about this mystical land. with the devastating loss of little Linh, Thanh re-evaluates her life and beliefs. Yearning to answer an inner calling to seek enlightenment in the Himalayas, Thanh asks her husband to accompany her. Reluctant to leave his medical practice for an unknown future in a distant land, Rolf does not agree. With much torment and sadness, Thanh decides she must embark on her journey alone.
Upon her arrival in India, Thanh is greeted by a world of vibrant colors, holy chanting, and the fragrance of incense. Making her way along the blessed Ganges River, Thanh travels from one ashram to the next searching for a true, living Master. In the course of her pilgrimage, she encounters both benevolent strangers and dangerous charlatans. Coincidentally, Klaus winds up meeting Thanh in India. With no other available lodging nearby, the unlikely pair find the themselves sharing an empty mud house,with Klaus sleeping inside the hut and Thanh resting on the roof. Meanwhile, Rolf, who has been dearly missing Thanh, is encouraged by Elsa to go to India and find her, his real love. When Rolf arrives at the mud house, he sees Klaus inside and concludes that his wife now has a new partner. Brokenhearted, he departs in haste before Thanh has a chance to return. Discovering the Rolf has traveled so far only to leave deeply hurt due to a terrible misunderstanding, Thanh sets out to find her beloved husband but faces hurdles along the way that dash her hopes of reaching Rolf before his plane takes off. Unbeknownst to Thanh, Rolf decides not to leave. Reuniting in bittersweet moments, Thanh and Rolf know that although their hearts are one, their souls' paths are diverging in two separate directions. Rolf eventually returns home to modern Germany and Thanh advances further to the pure sources of the holy Ganges. With resolute faith, Thanh ventures even higher inti the sacred Himalayan mountains. There she finally meets a Master and attains the key to everlasting happiness and love.
Musical Numbers
THE REAL LOVE: FEATURED SONG Lyrics by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Music by Don Pippin
GUEST STARS (in order of apperarance)Betty Buckley,Shirley Jones, Lynne Wintersteller,Trent Kowalik,Filippa Glordano , Kiril Kulish, Faith Rivera,Tom Schmid, and The Real Love Chorus & Orchestra
THE REAL LOVE: A NEW MUSICAL