A brilliant courtesan challenges 16th-century Venetian society in the musical Dangerous Beauty, premiering July 7-10 at the 2005 Powerhouse Theatre Season.

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POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — A brilliant courtesan challenges sixteenth-century Venetian society in the musical Dangerous Beauty, premiering Thursday, July 7 through Sunday, July 10 at the 21st Vassar and New York Stage and Film Powerhouse Theatre Season. The production will star Jenny Powers, just seen as eldest sister "Meg" in the Broadway production of Little Women, opposite Barrymore Award nominee Wayne Wilcox (A Man of No Importance). Directed by Sheryl Kaller, with a book by Jeanine Dominy, music by Michele Brourman, and lyrics by Golden Globe-winner Amanda McBroom (Bette Midler's The Rose). Dangerous Beauty will be presented in the Martel Theatre of the Vassar College Center for Drama and Film.

Dangerous Beauty captures a world where power and money mean everything, and where a woman's sole purpose is to serve her male masters. The down-and-out beauty "Veronica Franco" (Powers) chooses an unconventional path to education, power, and her upper class lover, and earns the wrath of jealous wives and furious Inquisition officials. Her lover "Marco" (Wilcox) is forbidden to marry her, beneath his family's class. Dominy's book, based upon her novel The Honest Courtesan, was earlier adapted for the 1998 Warner Brothers film Dangerous Beauty, starring Catherine McCormack.

Jenny Powers has performed in Stephen Sondheim's Bounce and A Little Night Music at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. Dangerous Beauty reunites her with Little Women sister Megan McGinnis ("Beth"), as Veronica's sexually naïve friend "Beatrice." McGinnis' Broadway credits also include, Beauty and the Beast, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Parade, and The Diary of Anne Frank.

Wayne Wilcox performed in A Man of No Importance at Lincoln Center and with the Philadelphia Theatre Company the premiere of The Last Five Years, playing the lead role of "Jamie' and receiving a 2003 Barrymore Award nomination. He's been seen as "Marty" in the WB Network tv series Gilmore Girls, and will play "Gordon" in the upcoming film adaptation of Rent.

Lyricist Amanda McBroom has been called "the greatest cabaret performer of her generation, an urban poet who writes like an angel and has a voice to match." McBroom gained international acclaim when her song "The Rose' was recorded by Bette Midler for the hit movie of the same name, earning McBroom a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and a Johnny Mercer Award for Songwriter of the Year. For the music to Dangerous Beauty, McBroom teamed up with longtime collaborator Michele Brourman, who earned the Johnny Mercer Award for Emerging American Songwriter.

Five performances of Dangerous Beauty will be presented from July 7-10, with shows each evening at 8:00 p.m., and a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Sunday, July 10. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased online at http://powerhouse.vassar.edu, by phone at (845) 437-5599 or (845) 437-7235, or by visiting the Powerhouse box office on Vassar's Poughkeepsie, New York campus.

Since 1985, Vassar and New York Stage and Film's Powerhouse Season has premiered numerous new works destined for on- and off-Broadway production, and made Poughkeepsie a theater destination for thousands of theatre lovers. Powerhouse has also trained an entire generation of young artists through its annual summer apprentice training program, which produces an outdoor repertory series on the Vassar campus. More than 200 professional playwrights, directors, actors, and designers, and more than 50 apprentices from high schools and colleges across the United States, live and work together each summer in a rich collaborative environment on the Vassar campus.

Further information on the Vassar and New York Stage and Film's Powerhouse Season can be found at http://powerhouse.vassar.edu.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

This article was posted on Thursday, June 23rd, 2005.