Theater News

Colin Donnell, Solea Pfeiffer, and More to Star in Almost Famous Musical

The cast and creative team for the world premiere of the Cameron Crowe-Tom Kitt musical has been announced.

Colin Donnell and Solea Pfeiffer will star in the world premiere of Almost Famous at the Old Globe.
Colin Donnell and Solea Pfeiffer will star in the world premiere of Almost Famous at the Old Globe.
(© David Gordon)

Producers Lia Vollack, Joey Parnes, Sue Wagner, and John Johnson have announced the cast and creative team for Almost Famous, set to make its world premiere at the Old Globe September 13-October 20, with opening night set for September 27. The musical will feature book and lyrics by Cameron Crowe, and music and lyrics by Tom Kitt. Jeremy Herrin will direct.

The cast will include Colin Donnell as Russell Hammond, Casey Likes as William Miller, Solea Pfeiffer as Penny Lane, Drew Gehling as Jeff Bebe, Anika Larsen as Elaine Miller, Robert Colletti as Lester Bangs, Matt Bittner as Larry Fellows, Chad Burris as Vic Nunez, Gerard Canonico as Dick Roswell, Julia Cassandra as Estrella, Brandon Contreras as Silent Ed Vallencourt, Sam Gravitte as Dennis Hope, Katie Ladner as Sapphire, Storm Lever as Polexia, Emily Schultheis as Anita Miller, Daniel Sovich as Darryl, Libby Winters as Leslie, Matthew C. Yee as Ben Fong-Torres, Van Hughes as David Felton, and Danny Lindgren and Alisa Melendez as swings.

Joining the previously announced Kitt (orchestrations and arrangements) and Lorin Latarro (choreography) on the creative team is Derek McLane (scenic design), David Zinn (costume design), Natasha Katz (lighting design), Peter Hylenski (sound design), Bryan Perri (music direction), AnnMarie Milazzo (vocal design), and Campbell Young Associates (wigs, hair, and make-up design).

Adapted from Crowe's 2000 film of the same name, Almost Famous is described as follows: "It's all happening…San Diego, 1973. Led Zeppelin is king, Richard Nixon is President, and idealistic 15-year-old William Miller is an aspiring music journalist. When Rolling Stone magazine hires him to go on the road with an up-and-coming band, William is thrust into the rock-and-roll circus, where his love of music, his longing for friendship, and his integrity as a writer collide."