We are pleased as punch to announce two new additions to The Brown Paper Box Co.: T.J. Anderson and Justin Harner have lent their many talents to several BPBCo. projects, most recently A NEW BRAIN. You can expect many exciting things from them and us to come, so stay tuned! Welcome to the team, guys!

T.J. Anderson is elated to join the Brown Paper Box Co. after serving as music director for A New Brain. Past work with the company includes Godspell and both "Character Breakdown" cabarets. Other Chicago acting credits include As You Like It (The Traveling Players), Paradise Lost (The Agency Theatre Collective) and Romeo vs. Juliet (Pretty/Windy Theatre). Regionally, he has been seen as Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Pirelli in Sweeney Todd. Aside from acting, he has been an avid music director and theater musician in Chicago and Michigan.

Justin Harner began working with the Brown Paper Box Co. in their Summer 2013 production of Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls (Martin).  Someone found out that he played piano, and he subsequently played for their Miscast Cabaret at Davenport's and A New Brain (Assistant Musical Director).  He holds a BA in Theatre & Drama from Indiana University - Bloomington.  Chicago credits: WILD (Kid Brooklyn Productions), All Rise (Walkabout Theater Co.), Mythologies (a theatrical version of David Lehman's poem), and The Playboy Club (NBC).

The Brown Paper Box Co. is excited to announce their upcoming production, A NEW BRAIN, with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine. The show will run Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM from February 21-March 9 at the Rivendell Theatre in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood (5779 N. Ridge Ave.). Audition information and more will be posted at www.brownpaperbox.org.

Gordon Schwinn is a frustrated composer for a despotic children's television show host. When he is diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation in his brain, he is confronted with the very real possibility that his musical legacy will be cut short. William Finn's semi-autobiographical musical is energetic, sardonic, and poignant in its exploration of anxiety, self-doubt, and the healing power of art.

"Finn and Lapine's A New Brain is a fantastic fit for The Brown Paper Box Co.," explains director M. William Panek (Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, Godspell). "It's a perfect ten-person ensemble piece that asks us to evaluate our lives-if we were gone tomorrow, what do we leave behind? As artists? As lovers? As children? We've assembled a stellar team of collaborators who are going to truly highlight A New Brain's big heart and infectious score."

Finn and Lapine's previous collaborations include the Tony Award-winning hits Falsettos and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. William Finn is also the composer of In Trousers, Romance in Hard Times, and Little Miss Sunshine. Pulitzer Prize­-winner James Lapine is the book writer/director of the musicals Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Passion, among others.

The production team includes M. William Panek* (director), T.J. Anderson (musical director), Jaime Giovannone (set/properties designer), Cat Wilson (lighting designer), Stephanie Rohr* (assistant director), Justin Harner (assistant musical director), Danny Spagnuolo* (choreographer), Patrick J. Butterfield* (house manager), Michelle Kritselis* (dramaturg), Charlie Sheets* (graphic designer), and Luke Michael Grimes (casting associate).

Auditions will be held in December 2013 and the cast will be announced thereafter.

*Denotes Brown Paper Box Co. company member.

One behalf of The Brown Paper Box Co. and the cast of Character Breakdown: A Miscast Cabaret - Andrew Lund, Anna Schutz, Daniel Spagnuolo, Katherine Glavin, Megan Ensley, Michelle Kritselis, Nick Shoda, Stephanie Rohr, T.J. Anderson, and M. William Panek - we'd love to thank everyone who made it out to Davenport's Piano Bar on March 23rd.

This casting is so wrong. (And yet...so right.)

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN: A MISCAST CABARET will feature appearances from BPBCo. artistic associates and past cast members performing as characters they'd never play due to age, gender, voice type, race, you name it. Yes, this event is all kinds of mixed-up wrongness, and it's happening tomorrow night, Saturday, March 23, only.

As seating has been filling up, we urge you to reserve your tickets ahead of time on Davenport's website!

Now, bring on the cat:

So there I was, taking notes while Brown Paper Box Co. co-founder and artistic associate Michelle Kritselis worked on her CHARACTER BREAKDOWN number with musical director T.J. Anderson on the piano. Then bam, artistic associate Nick Shoda's cat, Oberon, hopped on my lap and plopped down on my notebook.

Meow.

I'm not sure what kind of acting notes Obie had for Michelle, but this much is clear: people and pets, friends and felines, strangers and strays alike will enjoy the miscast crooning we're serving up at Davenport's Piano Bar & Cabaret tomorrow night, March 23. Hope you can make it!

The Brown Paper Box Co. presents CHARACTER BREAKDOWN: A Miscast Cabaret this Saturday, March 23 at 8pm. This one-night cabaret will feature appearances from The Brown Paper Box Co. artistic associates and former cast members performing as characters they would never play due to age, gender, voice type, race, etc.

We're keeping the playlist secret, but you can expect song selections from all the musicals pictured below!

As seating has been filling up, we urge you to reserve your tickets ahead of time on Davenport's website! Hope to see you there!!!

--------------------
Come see T.J. in The Brown Paper Box Co.'s CHARACTER BREAKDOWN: A Miscast Cabaret on Saturday, March 23, 2013 at Davenport's Piano Bar & Cabaret.  Please visit www.davenportspianobar.com for reservations and additional information. Tickets are $15 + a two-drink minimum.