Lisa Rowland as JUDITH BAGWITH
(ensemble)
Judith has just returned from a lengthy tour with the award-winning experimental theater project Rightwhat where she originated the role of Mmmmm to national acclaim. Before stretching her legs in the experimental theater world, she had made herself known on the Broadway stages, having had the fortune to play such roles as Mother Theresa in Save You Save Me and Queen Elizabeth in Pain is Beauty.

Zoe Galvez as DEE DEE DEFROST
(special assistant to Mr. Granite)
Dee Dee is excited to finally be in San Francisco after a long run as an understudy for a chorus member in the "high energy, hot comic romp," La Entundra Doble at the Las Vegas Flamingo Hotel. Dee Dee was discovered by Dick Granite while sitting in the front row of his famous one man show, Dick! She would like to thank Mr. Granite, Miss Lombardo her dance teacher, and her favorite choreographer Bob Fosse.

Barbara Scott as RENATA FERMATA
(ensemble)
A favorite off-Broadway fixture, Renata created the role of Mrs. Schadenfreude in the long-running musical Nyah Nyah. She runs a workshop for up-and-coming new musical stars entitled Diva--You Deserve the Best.

John Kovacevich as DICK GRANITE
(host)
Over the past 30 years, Dick has appeared in more than 40 Broadway shows (including his one man tour de force, Dick!), 200 commercials, and 1,700 industrial training films. He is thrilled to bring the magic of Dick Granite's Broadway Investment Tour, LLC to San Francisco. He offers special thanks to his attorney for clearing up that little S.F. restraining order thing so he could bring the show to the Bay Area. ("Don't worry, Barry; 'little Dick' will not make an appearance this time!")

Dave Dennison as LYLE HOGAN-HERNANDEZ
(ensemble)
Lyle just completed a two year run as Sarge in The Boys in the Band of Brothers. His credits include Ken in Manwich and his one man adaptation of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Per the death bed request of his mother, the legendary burlesque dancer, Juanita "Misty" Hogan (still currently dying), Lyle recently underwent a five week intensive Christian Hypnosis retreat and is proud to announce that he is giving up the bachelor life and looking for a woman to marry.

John Remak as GIE LeFEQ
(ensemble)
Gie is the beloved French Canadian actor/singer/comedian affectionately known as "the Canadian John Candy." He began his career at age six, playing "Tubby" MacInerny on Newfoundland Public TV children's classic Les Plus Petits Trappeurs de Castor (The Littlest Beaver Trappers). Later, Gie's won a Mountie (a.k.a. the Canadian Tony) for his spot on impersonation of former prime minister Brian Mulroney in the hit musical Pardon My Moose! Gie is currently host of the popular morning show Réveiller et Fumar, Montreal! (Wake Up and Smoke, Montreal!)

Rebecca Stockley as BELLE DAY
(ensemble)
Belle made her Broadway debut in the 1972 production of Bubble Bath. Although she understudied all the female roles, everyone was very healthy through the entire 10 year run and Belle never got to go on...but the stage manager said she was good in the understudy rehearsals where "she was a dynamo" singing the entire score. He married her and their daughter Sally is currently understudying in Avenue R.

Corey Rosen as CLAUDIO POMMODORO (ensemble)
Star of stage and screen, Claudio recently completed a national tour of Oh Brother, Where Art Thy Pants? and looks forward to collaborating with the great Murray Weinberg on an upcoming reading of a completed musical titled Untitled: A Work In Progress.

David Norfleet as ALFONSO "ALFIE" PRESTO
(musical director)
Alfie Presto is relatively new to the Broadway scene, coming out of New York's under, under, underground performance art scene where he worked with the Mauve Man Group, as well as composing for and playing harpsichord in the installation When Slip and Slide Goes Badly. He is currently working with Ben Affleck on his tour de force, four-hour one-man show Gigli, The Musical!

Spontaneous Broadway
Where you get to play big producer looking for the next big hit in which to "invest"



Date: Saturday, August 16
Time: 8pm
Tickets: $12 advance / $15 door
Ensemble: Main Stage Company

As you file into the theater, you are instantly transformed into millionaire philanthropists! (Well, not actually...but that's the conceit of this particular improv format.)

You, the audience, get to pretend that you are investors at a "Broadway Backers Audition" where will hear brand-new musical theatre numbers and then decide in which one you'd like to "invest."

Of course, at BATS, this is all 100 percent improvised, so to help it along, the audience fills out slips of paper with song titles for "songs that have never been written." The suggestions are collected and players then draw the titles out of a bowl...where they then improvise a completely original Broadway-style musical numbers based on the song title.

After ten songs, the audience votes on their favorite number by using "checks" to decide which show you want to invest in. (Don't worry, it won't cost you anything.) In the second half that song is used as the basis for a full-length improvised musical. It’s a night of improvised song and dance that is always an audience favorite.



Online box office closes at 7 p.m. the night of the show. Remaining tickets can be purchased at the theater the night of the show.

The Spontaneous Broadway format was created by former BATS Company Player Kat Koppett in association with Freestyle Repertory Theatre in New York. It is performed at BATS with permission.

Click here to read what SF Weekly has to say about Spontaneous Broadway at BATS Improv.