OFC Creations Theatre Center has announced that Blake McIver Ewing, well known for playing Waldo in The Little Rascals and Derek in ABC’s Full House, will star as Peter Allen in OFC’s 2024-2025 season opener, The Boy From Oz, this September.
Starring as Judy Garland, alongside Ewing, is Tony Award nominee Marcia Mitzman Gaven, a well-known Broadway actress who starred in the original Broadway casts of The Who’s Tommy as Mrs. Walker and Chess as Svetlana.
Ewing and Gaven will reunite on stage after originally performing together almost 30 years ago in the 1997 World Premiere production of Ragtime in Los Angeles. Gaven starred as Mother and Ewing starred as her son, Edgar. In OFC’s The Boy From Oz, Gaven and Ewing will once again perform as mother and son, making their Rochester debuts at the OFC Creations Theatre Center.
From humble beginnings growing up and singing in country pubs throughout the Australian outback, Peter Allen’s career took off without warning after being discovered and taken under the mentorship of Judy Garland. As her opening act, Peter relocated to New York City and was introduced to Judy’s daughter, his future wife, Liza Minnelli.
Peter Allen rose to international stardom in the 1980s, best known for his hits including “I Honestly Love You,” “Best That You Can Do,” “Not The Boy Next Door,” “Everything Old Is New Again,” and the show stopping, “I Go to Rio.” From winning an Oscar, to selling out performances in Radio City Music Hall, and receiving adulation when he returned to Australia, Peter struggled through divorce, heartbreak, failure, and navigating through the unknowns of the AIDS epidemic.
Under the direction of OFC’s owner and artistic director, Eric Vaughn Johnson, The Boy From Oz will be performed for the first time in New York state at the OFC Creations Theatre Center, since the 2003 Tony Award-winning Broadway production, which starred Hugh Jackman as Peter Allen. Ewing and Gaven will lead the professional cast at OFC Creations, comprised of actors from New York City, Los Angeles. and across the country, assembled under Johnson’s leadership.
“The success of last year’s season was a resounding message that OFC’s Broadway in Brighton Series has filled a need in our community and beyond,” shared Johnson. “Last season when we brought Garrett Clayton (Disney’s Teen Beach Movie, Hairspray LIVE) in as a headliner, our audiences raved about the uniqueness of OFC bringing national artists into our area to lead high caliber productions. We are fortunate to share Blake and Marcia’s incredible talent with Rochester, and there is much more to come!”
The Boy From Oz will kick off OFC’s 2024-2025 Broadway In Brighton Series, with performances September 12 through 29, 2024. The series will focus on bringing beloved shows and stories of heroes of generations to the stage, many that are not typically performed in Rochester.
Season Subscriptions can currently be purchased online at ofccreations.com, by calling OFC’s box office at 585-667-0954, and in person during all public hours at The Old Farm Café. Single tickets for The Boy from Oz will go on sale June 1, 2024.
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