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The Music Man – and Woman – Come to Hartford

By Jan Nargi
JMN Publications/Broadwayworld
April 19, 2008

Shirley Jones and Patrick Cassidy made theater history in 2004 when they co-starred as the temperamental Dorothy Brock and boisterous Julian Marsh in the hit Broadway revival of 42nd Street. They became the first mother-son duo ever to share a Broadway stage. The chemistry was so right and the experience so much fun that they're teaming up again, this time as the warm and wise Mrs. Paroo and the fast-talking Harold Hill in The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts' semi-staged concert production of The Music Man.

"My mother got me the job," Cassidy kids during a phone interview from his home in LA. "If she could become my agent, I'd probably be better off."

Jones, who made her Broadway debut as a replacement nurse in the original production of South Pacific and later co-starred with her then husband Jack Cassidy in the musical Maggie Flynn, confirms that she was the one who floated her son's name by the producers. "I had already been hired and they asked me for ideas about Harold Hill," she acknowledges during a late morning long-distance conversation. "I felt it would be a great role for Patrick, so I suggested him. They liked the idea, and here we are."

According to Cassidy, it's a role he has always wanted to play. Some might say he was born to do it. Not only did his mother play Marian (the librarian) in the beloved 1962 movie version opposite Robert Preston. Not only did Cassidy have the pleasure of performing with Preston in a benefit in Los Angeles years later. Not only did he grow up savoring every morsel of the cherished show by watching the film over and over again as a child. He was also somewhat of an uncredited member of the movie's cast. His mother was pregnant with him during its filming.

"I literally heard the show when I was in the womb," he says with obvious emotion. "I can't tell you how special this is for me. I feel spiritually connected to Robert Preston through this. And to be sharing it with my mother…I don't know how we're going to get through certain scenes without crying."

Both Cassidy and Jones confide that a few special touches have been added to the Bushnell production to augment her role and enhance the moments they share with each other on stage. Mrs. Paroo will now be in the entire "Shipoopi" dance number, plus she'll be singing a bit more than just the trio of "Piano Lesson" with Amaryllis and her daughter Marian.

"Patrick and I will be coming out for a little encore," Jones says with a wink in her voice. "I don't want to spoil the surprise for anyone, but following the curtain call, there's not likely to be a dry eye in the house."

With all the history and aura surrounding this Hartford production – which is serving as a 50th anniversary tribute to The Music Man's winning the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1958 – does the actress filling Marian Paroo's shoes feel at all intimidated? Not in the least. Overwhelmed, maybe, but not intimidated.

"I'm not really nervous," says Phantom of the Opera veteran Lisa Vroman. "I'm more excited and honored to be sharing the stage with one of my idols than intimidated by it. I hear she's just the nicest person, is a lot of fun, and loves to laugh. I have worked with Patrick before, so I'm really looking forward to it. But I hope I can get through this show without crying. I mean, oh my God, I'm going to be singing with Shirley Jones!"

Like Cassidy, Vroman has had The Music Man on her wish list for most of her life. She grew up "with every measure and every word" in her head but never had the opportunity to play Marian – till now. And even though this is a "concert" version, she and the rest of her cast mates will be performing the entire show. They will be off book and in costume, dancing full choreography and performing fully realized scenes, with less than one full week of rehearsal.

"It has really emerged into a full show," Jones says. "It's all Patrick's fault. He said that he just couldn't do it with a script in his hand. So Phil McKinley, the director, came out to LA for three days and worked on choreography with us. It's going to be a little tough for me, doing all that dancing, but it will be fun."

Cassidy readily accepts the blame for turning a manageable staged reading into a 900-pound gorilla. "Don't think I'm not choking on my words," he laughs. "We have one week to mount a full production. It normally takes a week just to learn 'Trouble!' But I felt there was no way I could play Harold Hill while holding a script. He's a fast-talking salesman who is always on the move. He's not a passive guy. He's got to swindle these people and then get out of town. I needed to be free to express that physically."

Fortunately, Jones, Cassidy and Vroman are very familiar with the material and are making the most of their time together. So is the fourth principal, Jason Graae, the gifted journeyman character actor who plays Harold Hill's former partner in crime, Marcellus Washburn. Graae, whom Vroman calls "the funniest man I know," played Washburn in a concert version of The Music Man at the Hollywood Bowl in 2002.

Graae is also happy to be working with all three of his co-stars again. Graae has performed in concert with Vroman, done a musical called "Duets" and a TV pilot presentation of a show called "He Said, He Said" with Cassidy, and last season played the peddler Ali Hakim to Jones' Aunt Eller in the Pittsburgh CLO's production of Oklahoma!

"I've had them all and loved them all," he exclaims. "From now on I will be doing all my shows with them."

Graae may be joking, but Jones and Cassidy will be teaming up again this year – in Colorado Springs in September to do a Rodgers and Hammerstein evening with Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, then in October to do Carousel in Massachusetts. Cassidy will play Billy Bigelow and his mother will play Cousin Nettie.

"I'll have done all three old lady roles in the shows that I did when I was young," observes Jones. "I'll have gone from Laurey to Aunt Eller in Oklahoma!, Marian to Mrs. Paroo in The Music Man, and Julie Jordan to Nettie Fowler in Carousel. What's fun is that now I've graduated into character parts. I did Hidden Places for Hallmark (in 2006) and earned an Emmy nomination (for playing old Aunt Batty), and I recently did six shows on Days of Our Lives in which I played a 90-year-old woman dying of cancer. It's the hardest work I've ever done because it's a new show every day."

While Jones is best known for her girl-next-door musical roles, she attributes her career longevity to the uncharacteristically dramatic featured part she played in the 1960 film Elmer Gantry. As the downtrodden but proud and principled prostitute Lulu Bains, Jones earned her only Oscar and established herself as a serious actress at a time when movie musicals were falling out of favor.

"That role was the best thing that ever happened to me," Jones states emphatically. "It gave me the career I have today. It kept me from falling into a category. Until then I was a singer, and they weren't making musical pictures anymore. I thought my career was over. But Burt Lancaster (who starred in and co-produced the film) saw me on a Playhouse 90 show and felt I could do the part. It was fabulous, and I'm eternally grateful to him for giving me the opportunity."

So what's next for the still-gorgeous and multi-talented 74-year-old who isn't looking to stop performing any time soon?

"I'd love to do even more work with Patrick, although Broadway would be pretty tough at this point," she admits. "To do 8 to 9 shows a week? Certainly not if I had to carry a show. But when I came back to Broadway for 42nd Street after being away for 38 years, it was a wonderful feeling. I'd forgotten how much I'd missed the camaraderie, the excitement backstage of working together. You don't get that in TV and film. You do your scenes in isolation. After experiencing that community again, I said, 'I want to do this some more!' "


This time around, it's 'Carousel' for TexArts

By Tommy O'Malley
Austin American-Statesman
June 21, 2007

Todd Dellinger and Robin Lewis founded TexArts Presents, an arm of the TexArts organization, with the goal of cultivating a local talent pool on which to float professional productions of classic musicals. Last year, they staged an opulent concert presentation of "The Music Man".

The musically minded twosome are back in action, mounting a concert of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel" at the Paramount Theatre. Their production will reflect revisions made for the 1994 revival of "Carousel" at Lincoln Center. TexArts has enlisted Patrick Cassidy to play the lead role of Billy Bigelow.

Cassidy's casting was originally marketed as a family affair: his mother, Oscar-winner Shirley Jones, who starred in the movie version of "Carousel," withdrew from the production in April because of a scheduling conflict. "My mother ironically got cast in 'Oklahoma' for the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera — another show she's very familiar with — to play Aunt Eller," Cassidy said. "And so she chose that."

After Jones' departure, Dellinger said that TexArts had "been fishing for another star, but they tend to want too much money." Cassidy, who is at least a decade older than his character, stayed on board. "It's a fantastic part," Cassidy said, "and I thought, you know, this is something I won't get to do too many times. Here's a chance for me to, on a big scale with a big orchestra, sing, in my opinion, Richard Rodgers' most beautiful score."

Unlike his brothers David and Shaun, who were teen idols in the 1970s, the Los Angeles-based Cassidy consciously avoided the pitfalls of publicist-driven fame. He has sustained a performing career for three decades. He originated a role in a Stephen Sondheim musical and spent last year headlining a national tour of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."

Joining Cassidy in "Carousel" will be a host of Austin performers, including students from the TexArts Academy summer program. Local diva Jill Blackwood will star as Billy Bigelow's love interest, Julie Jordan, the part Jones played on film. The role will allow Blackwood to explore her rarely used soprano and work with an actor she's known only through cast recordings. "Patrick Cassidy is on my 'Assassins' CD," she said. "I'm so excited, but I'm also a little bit nervous."

Rehearsals for "Carousel" began June 4, leaving only 21/2 weeks to drive the production home. Cassidy was budgeted to rehearse with the full company for less than half that time.


All in the Family


For Patrick Cassidy and his clan, acting is a shared activity.

By Paul Hodgins
The Orange County Register
July 9, 2006

Patrick Cassidy, the sexy, largely shirtless star of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," was deep into one of the musical's most important songs – the ultra-serious "Close Every Door" – when he was completely upstaged.

By a nose picker. Who also happens to be his youngest son.

"When we started the tour my youngest, Jack, had just turned 7," said Cassidy, 44, who will perform with his wife, Melissa Hurley, and his sons – Cole, 10, and Jack – when Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph" plays at the Orange County Performing Arts Center this week (the boys will appear only on opening night). "Jack is really tall for his age, but his focus and attention span aren't that great yet."

At first, Cassidy's boys were a little nervous about their first acting gig in "Joseph's" children's chorus.

"When we started they both looked like deer in the headlights out there," Cassidy recalled. "But they got used to it. Jack is starting to yawn on stage now."

After a recent performance, Cole revealed to his father that yawning wasn't his kid brother's most serious thespian infraction.

"He said, 'Dad, he was picking his nose during your big production number!' We both had a big laugh over that."

Such episodes are typical of the joys, tribulations, hazards and tedium of life on the road as a family. Over the past year, the four-member Cassidy clan has been traveling with "Joseph" as it traversed America, experiencing all four seasons in far-flung parts of the nation.

When Cassidy first suggested the plan to his wife, she wasn't exactly enthusiastic.

"I was like, 'Oh, no! Not again,' " Hurley said. "We had tried this before about six years ago; the kids traveled with us while we performed. I wasn't too thrilled by the prospect this time around. They were ensconced in school; they were happy."

The challenge was made more complicated because the Cassidys decided to sell their Los Angeles home before embarking on the tour. "Not only did I have to pack for a year, I had to pack up an entire house," Hurley said.

She instituted some strict rules, which paid off.

"We had one toy bag and one book bag. Actually, they really handled that well. They're old enough where the toys are Game Boys. And they really started to read a lot more."
'Educational sightseeing'

Though Cassidy and Hurley were concerned about pulling their boys out of school, private instruction on the road proved surprisingly beneficial for their education, the parents agreed. The family travels with a nanny who doubles as a tutor.

"It's really been great for my oldest," Cassidy said. "After his last year (in school) he needed some one-on-one to get his English and math in line. (The tutor) turned out to be a real blessing."

"We made educational sightseeing a goal in every city," Hurley said. "We would research each town with the tutor. That was our main goal. We've done 45 cities in a year, and we managed to integrate most of them into the teaching with day trips and field trips."

That's an admirable achievement, considering "Joseph's" brutal schedule. Though the boys appear in a maximum of half of the show's eight performances a week, there's little down time between cities. Monday is travel day, which means packing must take place with lightning speed on Sunday after the evening performance.

"The hardest part is travel day," Cassidy said. "We have 12 pieces of luggage and five people, including the nanny. To get on a bus, arrive at the airport, fly to the next town, unpack, shop and get some semblance of a life, all between Sunday night and Tuesday night, is tricky. Sometimes the travel days last 18 hours."

Cassidy comes from a famous showbiz family – his mother is Shirley Jones, he's the brother of Shaun Cassidy and half-brother of David Cassidy – and this isn't the first time he's appeared on stage with family members. He and his mother starred together in "42nd Street" on Broadway last year. But he has refrained from giving his sons any advice about the business. Cassidy's famous mom took a different tack, he recalled.

"When I was growing up, prior to my making the choice (to be an actor) my mother's advice was, 'Don't do it!' I think she did everything she could to talk us out of the business. She wanted us to understand the hardships: You can go years without a steady paycheck; there's no security in it, especially as you get older. But once we all decided to be actors, she was very supportive."

So far, Cassidy's sons haven't been bitten by the acting bug like he was. And the hard-working actor is just fine with that.

"I'm completely relieved, to tell you the truth. If they decide that's what they want to do, I'd give them anything to help. But I want to open their minds to other possibilities and vocations."

In the meantime, the Cassidys are enjoying the last of their road experience before they leave the tour and begin a new life in Las Vegas. Their travels had an unexpected benefit: lots of face time with relatives.

"It's a great way to see the whole extended family in a year," Hurley said.

"In each city somebody from my family or (Patrick's) would come and visit, whether it was an uncle or sibling or distant cousin. We saw more of our folks in a year than we ever would have if we'd stayed at home."


A family's dream cast

Star of touring musical never far from his wife and sons

By Michael Grossberg
The Columbus Dispatch
Saturday, April 29, 2006

The family musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is truly a family affair. Patrick Cassidy has the title role, and his wife and their two children also take part in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, opening Tuesday in the Palace Theatre.

"I get to do a musical that people of all ages seem to enjoy, and I get to be with my family," Cassidy said from a touring stop in Madison, Wis.

His wife, Melissa Hurley (a tango dancer in the film Rent), plays Mrs. Potiphar.

"Performing with Patrick is great because we're rarely together onstage and usually have to travel to see each other," she said.

Their sons Cole, 10; and Jack, 7 appear onstage three or four times a week, including the opening and closing night in each city, in the chorus.

Imaginating Dramatics Company of central Ohio will provide 19 children for the chorus during the Columbus shows.

"We're having fun doing the show, going to different places and learning new things," said Cole, whose family travels with a nanny-tutor.

"But I get tired a lot onstage. For sure I don't want to be an actor. It's really hard, and my dad told me not to."

When their father toured six years ago in Disney's Aida, the boys occasionally went with him.

"But they were babies then," Cassidy said, "and this is a chance to broaden their education."

With stops in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and other cities, he said, "We're teaching our children about the history of the country."

Joseph, a predecessor of Jesus Christ Superstar, ranks as the first Bible-inspired pop opera by Lloyd Webber with Tim Rice.

"Andrew writes songs that really go from the bottom to the top of the scale," Cassidy said, "so it requires a large vocal range."

Of the 13 numbers, he finds Close Every Door the most challenging.

"The rest of the show is so tongue-in-cheek and over-the-top, but this number is very serious and powerful," he said. "After Joseph's brothers sell him into slavery, he sings that the one thing they can't take away is his dignity.

"It's a spectacle, but, at its core, Joseph is about families, the reuniting of brothers and of a father and son, and a message of forgiveness."

Aging from 18 to 38, Cassidy dramatizes a passage from hardship and betrayal to prophecy and acceptance.

The actor stays shirtless through 70 percent of the show.

"You've got to stay in shape," he said, chuckling.

"The tone is fun and games, but you realize through Joseph's journey that he's been put through a lot of pain.

"You can dress it with many colors, but that's what makes it (Joseph) stand the test of time."

Among his many TV appearances, Cassidy appeared on the WB series Smallville for two seasons as Lana's biological father.

He enjoys bouncing between television and theater and among New York, Los Angeles and other cities.

"It's given me longevity. Television is very fickle and political. If you're not the flavor of the month, they don't want to see it. But people rediscover me."

During the past half-decade, Cassidy has demonstrated his versatility by playing characters spanning a variety of ages.

"People say I've got the energy of a 20-year-old," the 44-year-old said.

On the Broadway stage, he has starred opposite Cheryl Ladd as a mid-40s Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun, as a late-20s Radames in Aida and as a mid-50s Broadway producer in 42nd Street, choreographed by central Ohio native Randy Skinner.

"Patrick is a true leading man, which is not easy to find," Skinner said from New York. "He's a fine actor, the ultimate professional, and sings great."

Cassidy co-starred for five months in the tap-happy 42 nd Street with his mother, showbusiness veteran Shirley Jones (Carousel, Elmer Gantry).

"Of course, I'm his mother, but I think he's sensational," Jones, 72, said from Encino, Calif.

She has flown to Boston and two other cities on the Joseph schedule.

"He's singing better than he's ever sung, his acting is incredible, and he looks like an Adonis," she said.

What does she think about his performing on the road with his family?

"The touring is hard, but in many ways it makes them a lot closer," Jones said. "And the kids are the perfect age to go on the road.

"I tried very hard to not have my children go into show business," she added, "but sometimes, if you start pushing one way, they go exactly in the opposite direction, which is what they did."

"I learned from her," Cassidy said, "to dedicate yourself and work really hard."


Utah fave 'Joseph' back again

By Ellen Fagg
The Salt Lake Tribune
Sunday, March 19, 2006

Maybe Utah tourism officials could save a little time by handing out lyric sheets to the songs of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at all state borders.

Utahns can't seem to get enough of the witty, energetic family musical about a young Israelite dreamer whose jealous brothers sell him into slavery in Egypt.

But if you need a Technicolor refresher course, you're in luck. A national touring production of "Joseph" - starring Patrick Cassidy (who might have grown up with some brother issues of his own, thanks to older siblings and former teen heartthrobs David and Shaun) and former "American Idol" favorite Amy Adams stops at the Capitol Theatre for an eight-show run Tuesday through Sunday.

Of course, Cassidy's got a big coat to fill in Utah, thanks to memories of 1998's sold-out, three-month run of "Joseph" starring Utah's favorite singer son, Donny Osmond. Plus, there are memories of every community and school production - the show has played at an estimated 20,000 schools and local theaters around the world.

What Utahns should expect this time is a high-spectacle, nonstop riot, complete with spoofy details such as cell phones and talking snakes. "Think Egypt meets South Beach," is the description Cassidy offers in a phone interview.

The 44-year-old actor, son of actor Jack Cassidy and actor/singer Shirley Jones, sports a fake tan and dyes his naturally white hair dark to play Joseph, who ages from 19 to 30-something over the course of the story. "I had to drop a couple of pounds because I'm in a multicolored skirt all night," he said. "And it's a tenor part, and I'm in the upper register of my voice a lot, which is an adjustment, a muscle like anything else. I constantly have to think high, think young."

At the same time, Cassidy hopes to convey the character's maturity. That's the challenge he offered himself when he agreed to don the dreamcoat a second time, six years after he last toured in the role.

"Joseph can become very bland," Cassidy said. "He can become multicolor and fade into the scenery. I've tried to add more nuance to the character. I think audiences will see a man who grows over the course of the show, which I don't think is inherent in the text."

Traveling with their families, Adams and Cassidy underscore the all-ages appeal that is the show's biggest attraction for Utah audiences.

Cassidy is joined onstage every night by his wife, actor Melissa Hurley Cassidy, who plays temptress Mrs. Potiphar. The couple travel with their two sons, Cole and Jack, who join the children's choirs for several performances in each city.

"It's one of the few musicals I know where you can bring every member of the family," Cassidy said. "From a 3-year-old to a 93-year-old, everyone seems to get something out of it. That's a rarity."


Cassidy back in Utah - this time as Joseph

By Ivan M. Lincoln
Deseret Morning News
Friday March 17, 2006

Patrick Cassidy is back in Egypt and in Utah.

Cassidy was here in 2001 playing the heroic warrior Radames in the national touring production of "Disney's Aida" in the Capitol Theatre. Now he's starring in a new touring production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."

And he's bringing it right into the heart of Donny Osmond country. (You'll remember that Osmond played "Joseph" here a few years back.)

Cassidy said by phone from Grand Rapids, Iowa, that he's had several encounters with both the Osmonds and Utah culture. When "Aida" was here five years ago, Marie Osmond saw the show and Cassidy visited her family in Orem. He played "Joseph" in another tour a few years ago with several of the second generation of Osmonds as Joseph's brothers.

One aspect of this tour that has both the cast and audiences talking is that Potiphar's seductive wife in the show is being played by Cassidy's wife, Melissa Hurley Cassidy. "There is tremendous chemistry," he admitted, "and the most difficult thing is to fight her off and deny the seduction." (Their two young boys, Cole and Jack, are on tour with them and take part in the children's choir.)

For this tour, children's choral groups are recruited in every city along the route. Salt Lake City's acclaimed International Children's Choir will provide young singers during this stop. "It's a great opportunity for the kids," Cassidy said. "They get to sit onstage and do the choreography and sing the songs, and they always enjoy it.

"The greatest thing about this show is that it's one of the very few musicals that you can bring every single member of the family to it and they all enjoy it. It's not offensive. Being a father myself, it's fun to see a show like that."

Touring with his family has also been a great experience, Cassidy said. "We were in Philadelphia last week and visited the Franklin Museum and in Washington, D.C., we got a private tour of the White House."

Cassidy appeared on Broadway in 2004 as Julian Marsh in "42nd Street," along with his mother, Shirley Jones, who played the cantankerous stage diva. "It was the first time in the history of Broadway that a mother and son had starred together. It was quite a time. She is a true professional, mother and friend."

One thing he remembers about his last visit to Salt Lake City for the "Aida" engagement was how "the dryness really affected me. I got one of the worst vocal problems I've ever had. I have since learned and now I live with humidifiers everywhere, in my hotel room and dressing rooms."



Dreamcoat' singers, chorus perform at children's hospital

The Grand Rapids Press
Wed. March 9, 2006

Entertainers outnumbered patients Wednesday as about 15 cast members from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" visited DeVos Children's Hospital.

About a dozen children, many in wheelchairs and attached to portable IVs, gathered at the Renucci Hospitality House to hear stars Patrick Cassidy and Amy Adams sing an a cappela version of "Any Dream Will Do" backed up by a 24-member children's chorus from Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School in Grand Rapids.

"I wish we did visits like this more often," Cassidy said afterwards, as he and other cast members stayed to visit with patients who couldn't leave their rooms. "It's a privilege to be here. This is the reason I went into the business, to give back."


Patrick Cassidy Wins Best Actor Golden Icon Award for Joseph

March 3, 2006
Broadway World News Desk

by David Easton, Entertainment Reporter

Patrick Cassidy received top honors winning the Best Actor in a Touring Production for his title role performance in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Joseph) in the annual Golden Icon Awards announced Friday by Travolta Family Entertainment.

According to PatrickCassidy.net, the official web site of the actor, talks have taken place to potentially bring Joseph to Broadway in late 2006.

Cassidy, who continues in the current tour of Joseph opposite American Idol contestant Amy Adams in the role of the Narrator, is reported to be the likely choice to head the proposed Broadway revival, with Rikki Lee Travolta the likely choice to take over the tour.

Occasional cast swapping of the two leading men could be enabled to continual revive ticket sales to extend the Broadway run. A similar tour-to-Broadway lead swap formula was utilized to great success in the 1990s with tour headliner Donny Osmond and Broadway headliner Michael Damian.

Neal Patrick Harris won the Golden Icon Award for Best Actor in a Non-Touring Stage Performance for his West End role in Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick…Boom.

Idina Menzel squeaked in under the wire of eligibility with a handful of performances in January 2005 to win the Golden Icon for Best Actress in a Non-Touring Stage Performance for her role as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked.

Haley Evetts won the Golden Icon for Best Actress in a Touring Production for her role as Sandy in Grease (U.K.).

The film adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s Rent won the award for Best Musical Feature Film. It featured many actors from the original Broadway cast including Taye Diggs, Jesse L. Martin, Menzel, Adam Pascal, and Anthony Rapp.

The Golden Icon Awards are presented by Travolta Family Entertainment LLC to acknowledge stand out achievements each year in entertainment, leisure, and fashion.


Cassidy brother stars in 'Joseph'

By Jerry Stein
Cincinnati Post
February 10, 2005

Patrick Cassidy thinks it doesn't hurt to have a few brothers of your own if you're going to play the title role in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," opening Tuesday at the Aronoff Center.

The Andrew Lloyd Webber (music)-Tim Rice (lyrics) 1968 musical, which began as a cantata, retells the biblical story of Joseph.

Joseph fell afoul of his 11 resentful brothers when his father, Jacob, gave him a handsome multi-colored coat.

"Anybody who has siblings understands sibling rivalry," said Cassidy, who has three brothers - half-brother David and full brothers Shaun and Ryan.

Joseph might be the poster boy for sibling rivalry, though. A little full of himself, Joseph's already declining popularity among his brethren took a nose dive when he also started bragging how great he was going to be. The brothers tore off his coat and were planning to toss him into a pit and leave him for dead.

But they cut a better deal with some traveling Ishmaelite traders. The Ishmaelites bought Joseph and took him to Egypt.

It was in Egypt that Joseph found success. He became a favorite of the pharaoh.

But any comparison of Cassidy's brothers to Joseph's jealous brothers stops long before the pit bit.

"No," Cassidy said with a laugh, "there's no fratricide committed by my brothers. But, yeah, there's the whole thing of competition, the whole thing of which son is the golden child.

"I guess there are elements of that in every family.

"But the interesting thing is my brothers and I are best friends."

Cassidy, 44, is the middle son of the late Broadway musical comedy star Jack Cassidy. His mother is Oscar winner and singer Shirley Jones.

Singer, actor and most recently a writer, Shaun is now 48. Ryan, an actor-set designer, is 39.

"I think there is a lot of truth in what order you are born in," Cassidy said. "I was a middle child. So, I tended to be the peacemaker in the family.

"They say that is inherent in being the middle child, and that was definitely true in my case. Remember, David is my half-brother, so he really didn't grow up in the same house.

"It was Shaun, being the oldest in the house I grew up in, myself and my younger brother, Ryan. Ryan, being the baby, I think got spoiled the most. But as you do get older, the roles change. It's based on your life experience and based on just what happens to you.

"So, I think you all start wearing a different sibling coat, so to speak. In some cases, I've been the leader. In some cases, I've been the baby. The youngest has been the rebel. There have been many things that each one of us has had to call upon in terms of being a child and a brother in what order. But, again, I think it's what makes a family."

While the musical contemporizes the biblical story with a lot of the old Lloyd Webber-Rice color, including a pharaoh that looks like Elvis and pop-rock-country sounds in the songs, Cassidy said the story remains the focus for him.

"The thing about 'Joseph,' which so relates to me, is it really is just about family," Cassidy said. "It's about forgiveness. It's about reuniting.

"It's the core of it that I think everybody responds to."

Beyond Cassidy's 11 actor-brothers in the company, he also has his wife, Melissa Hurley Cassidy, and his two sons, Cole, 10, and Jack, 7, on stage with him, too.

"She plays Mrs. Potiphar, the seductress. She gets to take her dance movements and seduce me every night," Cassidy said with a laugh.

"And my children are part of the non-professional kids' chorus that we pick up in every city.

"They do four of the eight shows every week."

Coming from a show business family, Cassidy said it just follows that he would be involved in the business, too. The Cassidys often perform together.

In 2004, Cassidy starred with his mother in "42nd Street" on Broadway.

"Definitely, the decision was left up to us individually," Cassidy said. "I think it was natural only in the sense that's what we were exposed to. It just seemed like, 'Oh! That's what everybody does.' In fact, it's not what everybody does. But in my case, it was.

"Just like you were the son of a bricklayer or a son of somebody who owned a clothing store, you'd probably know the garment business or you'd know how to build things. In my case, the family backdrop was show business. So, that's what we learned. That's what we were exposed to. All that said, you've got to have talent at the end of the day. And you've got to learn the craft. That's why I moved to New York when I was 18."

Cassidy said his mother, now 71, who had one of the most enchanting voices ever to grace the screen in such musicals as "Oklahoma!," "Carousel" and "The Music Man," continues to work, too.

"She does her concerts," Cassidy said. "She does movies. She actually has had a pretty interesting year. She did a feature film for Adam Sandler's company ('Nana's Boy,' complete with saucy dialogue, unusual for Jones). And she did a movie ("Hidden Places") for Hallmark (the cable channel) that was just on last week."

"She's amazing. Tireless. She just gets out there and continues."


Dream Job

Patrick Cassidy, part of the famous show-biz family, puts his priorities in order en route to production of 'Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat' at Kravis.

By Jan Sjostrom
Palm Beach Daily News
December 27, 2005

The title character in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and the actor who plays him have at least one thing in common. Brothers figured large in each of their lives.
Joseph's jealous brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, where he was rewarded with a powerful job for correctly interpreting the pharaoh's dreams and reconciled with his family. Patrick Cassidy's half-brother David and brother Shaun weren't so perfidious, but their teen-idol reputations have been a millstone around their younger brother's neck.
And they're not his only famous relatives. His father is the late singer-actor Jack Cassidy. His mother is Shirley Jones, known for her starring roles in movies such as The Music Man and Elmer Gantry and television's The Partridge Family, where she shared the limelight with David.
All of which doesn't fluster Cassidy, a stage and screen veteran who is performing in the production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical that opens Jan. 3 at the Kravis Center.
"It's me up on stage and in front of the camera, not my mother or my brothers," he said Friday from Fort Lauderdale, where David now lives. "It's me, whether they like me or not.
"They must like me because I've been making my living at this for 24 years."
Shaun, 47, is a writer and producer for television, whose projects include the ABC sci-fi mystery thriller Invasion. David, 55, still performs, Cassidy said.
Patrick Cassidy, who will turn 44 on Jan. 4, shunned the pop-singer shortcut to fame that ended in dead-ends for his brothers and pursued a less glamorous but more enduring career as an actor who sings. He's performed on Broadway, most recently as Julian Marsh in 42nd Street, in films such as Longtime Companion, where he played a gay soap-opera star, and on television, where he's been a regular on series such as Smallville.
This is the second time he's toured in Joseph. The camp musical, which was Rice and Lloyd Webber's first collaboration, features a kaleidoscope of musical styles and over-the-top elements such as an Elvis-impersonator pharaoh and a sphinx in sunglasses.
The new production, in which he stars opposite American Idol finalist Amy Adams, is bigger, has more special effects, better dancing and, he added, "the Joseph is in far better shape, even though I'm six years older."
The actor bet the producer that if he were given time to get in shape, not one critic would say he was too old to play the character, who ages from 20 to 40 and spends much of the show dressed only in a loincloth. None has, but, Cassidy noted wryly, "they all comment on my age, even though they say I have the energy of a 14-year-old." Cassidy worked out for five months with a personal trainer before the tour, and stays fit on the road with daily hour-and-a-half workouts.
As he did six years ago, he's touring with his wife, Melissa, who plays Mrs. Potiphar, and their sons, Cole, 10, and Jack, 7, who perform in the children's chorus with the Young Singers of the Palm Beaches.
His kids are seeing the country. But show business won't go to their heads if their father has anything to say about it.
"One thing my mother instilled in all of us is that show business is a job," he said. "It isn't real. It's a glamorized version of the world."
He's taken his cue from his mom in determining what's important in life.
"My wife is my first priority, my children are my second priority and my career is a distant third," he said.
The kids will return to school in September. But their dad may not be with them. A new cast album will be released during the run in West Palm Beach, and the producers are talking about taking the show to Broadway.



'Joseph' has a family groove

A pop music brood and a TV show contestant romp onstage at the Auditorium Theatre

By Stuart Low
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
December 11, 2005

Amy Adams and Patrick Cassidy arrived in biblical Egypt by different routes: American Idol and a legendary family of pop musicians.

Starting Tuesday, the two singers will star in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Auditorium Theatre.

Cassidy has felt at home with the trappings of celebrity since boyhood. His parents are musical theater stars Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy, and his brothers are erstwhile teen idols David and Shaun Cassidy.

He never seriously considered a career outside the theater. He has appeared on Broadway in 42nd Street and Disney's Aida, and starred in several television miniseries and movies. Now, his own family has followed him into the spotlights: His wife, Melissa, and sons Cole, 10, and Jack, 7, all perform in the national Joseph tour.

"My sons sing in the children's chorus," says Cassidy, a 43-year-old Los Angeles resident who plays the teenage Joseph. "Originally, I didn't want to take them out of school. But we're selling our house and we thought this would be a good chance for them to get a bird's-eye view of the country.

"We have a nanny/tutor who travels with us, which has worked out great. It's a wonderful opportunity for family bonding and for seeing every children's museum that comes our way."

(Yes, the Cassidys are planning to visit the Strong Museum — though they'll probably travel incognito.)

Adams and Cassidy agree on the show's basic character. They call it a musical Sunday school lesson turbocharged with athletic dancing, extravagant sets and performance styles ranging from Elvis to French cabaret.

"This show is old Egypt meets South Beach — very glitzy and gorgeous to look at," says Cassidy. "For the cast, this is a 90-minute aerobics class. In every single performance I have perspiration pouring from my glands."

Also onstage for most of the musical will be the 29-member Bel Canto Choir — a children's chorus from Merton Williams Middle School and Village Elementary School in Hilton. Together with the Cassidy youngsters, they'll sing and dance with the cast.

"They're thrilled to be taking part in this," says Hope Randolph, the choir director at Merton Williams. "We're sure a lot of families and classmates will be going to see them."

But the most conspicuous family fans will show up Tuesday night. Shirley Jones and her son Ryan plan to be in the audience to cheer on Cassidy.

"That should be nice," he says, as a chorus of beeps floods his cell phone. "Hold on — that's my mom calling now."



Family matters

Patrick Cassidy is joined onstage by his wife and kids as he headlines the tale of brotherly forgiveness in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'

Buffalo News
December 2, 2005

Imagine the scene around the Cassidy family supper table, circa 1970-something: pop prince David picking the bubble gum from his teeth; brother Shaun waiting for his break in "The Hardy Boys Mysteries"; father Jack reminiscing about his role as the voice of Bob Cratchit in "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol"; and mother Shirley Jones, at the head of the table, talking turkey over the success of "The Partridge Family" with youngest son Ryan.

As for Patrick Cassidy? Well, he's trying to save up enough cash for his first car, and instead of working the local soda shop, he's about to hit the road with his mother in "The Sound of Music."

Such is life in a family of professional entertainers, and so it should come as no surprise that when "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" opens Tuesday in Shea's Performing Arts Center, Patrick Cassidy will have a supporting cast that includes his wife and two young sons.

In the production, Melissa Hurley Cassidy, a ballet- and jazz-trained dancer, plays vampy Mrs. Potiphar, a role that Joan Collins filled perfectly in the movie version of "Joseph," released in 1999. Ten-year-old Cole and 7-year-old Jack, meanwhile, sing in four shows - opening night, next Friday and two on Dec. 11 - with a children's choir from South Davis Elementary School in Orchard Park. (In addition to vocal talent, there was a height requirement for the child performers, who will be on stage for the entire show. They must be shorter than 5 feet 4 inches.)

"Growing up in the household I grew up in, I got to see the business all the time," Cassidy said during a phone interview from Chicago. "My mother would constantly take us on the set of "The Partridge Family' and on the road with her. For a long time, I wanted to be a criminal attorney, but the problem was when you see everybody in your family in the business and they're successful at it, it's not a good idea to try something else.

"You get to learn what not to do, and what to do," Cassidy added. "Both my brothers, I thought, were real teachers for me. If I went down the teen idol route, I might have a chance of making a lot of money for a couple of years, and then I might have a chance of not working and not being taken seriously as an actor."

By skipping the spandex, Cassidy learned to act, perfected his tenor and starred in numerous Broadway shows, including "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Aida." He got his first break just 18 months out of high school, when he was cast as Frederic in "The Pirates of Penzance." He recently played Julian in "42nd Street," sharing the stage with his mother, who filled the role of Dorothy Brock.

In "Joseph," Cassidy finds a family-driven story that includes reunion, forgiveness and a whole lot of silliness. It's not difficult, for example, to mistake this biblical Egyptian setting for a South Beach romp - complete with a table-dancing waitress.

When conceiving "Joseph," creators Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice concocted a 20-minute cantata for a British boys boarding school in 1968. It was gradually expanded to the present version - one that includes 21 numbers featuring calypso, pop, rock, reggae and country western music - in 1982, when it opened at Broadway's Royale Theatre.

Add some sweat-inducing dance numbers from choreographer Arlene Phillips, the comic genius of set designer James Fouchard and a funky warbler - not to mention "American Idol" finalist Amy Adams as narrator, and new-wave biblical becomes a genre.

Adams, 26, was one of 10 "Idol" finalists in the 2004 season won by Ruben Studdard. Since "Idol," she married former ultimate fighter Ross Varner and gave birth to their first child, Harrison, who with a nanny is on tour with Adams. The role of narrator requires Adams to provide vocals in 16 songs.

"A lot of people who use "Idol' to catapult their career, they don't have the opportunity I was given," Adams said. "I feel very lucky."

It doesn't take much to envision the touring version playing to a house full of adolescent boys. Suddenly, the Elvis impersonating pharaoh makes perfect sense. So, too, the day-glo-wig-wearing cheerleaders, line-dancing cowgirls, singing snake and the sphinx wearing cheap sunglasses. Rice, in fact, has said he deliberately wrote "Joseph's" lyrics to be outrageously funny.

The story capsule goes like this: Favorite son Joseph is given a multicolored coat, turning his brothers green with envy, so they sell him as a slave. After being seduced by his master's wife, Joseph lands in jail, where his talent for dream interpretation attracts Pharaoh's attention. He quickly becomes a Pharaoh favorite, predicts a famine and forgives his brothers.

"The show is ultimately about forgiveness," Adams said. "I mean, what is a bigger sin than being sold by your family into slavery? And then turning around and having the opportunity to judge them and the power to do what you want to them. That is the biggest message and one I appreciate on a nightly basis."

"Joseph's" appearance on the Shea's stage is a direct result of patron surveys. The Buffalo audience voted for "Joseph" when asked which musical they would most like to see, according to Shea's president Tony Conte.

There's no question that as Joseph, Cassidy is easy on the eyes. The former first-string high-school quarterback wears a loincloth for most of the play. Cassidy - who follows Donny Osmond, Jon Secada and brothers Shaun and David in playing Joseph - is a buff 43. He works out daily: every morning seven days a week, even on double-show days. His protein-based diet helps, as does a cardio program that he recently cut because he was losing too much weight. Descriptions of his six-pack abdomen repeatedly have made the reviews filed by critics across the country.

Cassidy's Joseph ages from 20 to 40. And while he's got the middle-aged version down, he researched the young Joseph by watching fellow cast members and finding the energy that defines youth.

"By the time he's second-in-command ruler of Egypt," Cassidy said, "he's actually a man. The trap with the part is thinking it can become very one-dimensional. The truth is, there's a lot of layers to dig through."



This `Joseph' has plenty of brothers

By Catey Sullivan
Chicago Tribune - November 25, 2005

Patrick Cassidy's on-stage brothers in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Auditorium Theatre dabble in such diverse endeavors as human trafficking with Ismaelites and herding sheep across Canaan.

The real-life siblings of the 43-year-old star of "Joseph" (the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical plays through Dec. 4) are equally diverse. Older brother Shaun Cassidy is the '70s pop singer and former star of "The Hardy Boys" TV series. Older half-brother David Cassidy was once and forever shall be Keith Partridge. On the Town caught up with Patrick Cassidy in Boston, where "Joseph" stopped earlier this month.

Q. You toured with "Joseph" in 1999, starring opposite 1980s pop tart Debbie Gibson. Now your co-star is Amy Adams from "American Idol." So, Gibson and Adams in a back-alley smackdown: who wins?

A. Amy. No question.

Q. What about you and Donny Osmond?

A. What about us?

Q. Back-alley smackdown, who wins? He was here for years as Joseph, you know.

A. Hmmm. That's tough. I have to think I'm a little more athletic than Donny. But as Michael Jackson would put it, I'm a lover not a fighter.

Q. Speaking of athletics, how much do you have to work out to feel good about the loincloth you wear during "Joseph's" prison scene?

A. It's not just the loincloth. I have to run around in a little multicolored skirt for the rest of the show. I work out seven days a week. One body part a day. All the reviews I've had so far have complimented me on my physique. Which is a really nice compliment. I'm 6'2". I weigh 176.

Q. You don't eat Little Debby snacks?

A. I eat a lot of egg whites and turkey burgers and beef. Also brown rice and yams.

Q. I want to talk about David. Were you jealous of him because he was on the cover of Tigerbeat in the 1970s and you weren't?

A. I was on those covers, too. But it wasn't something I aspired to. My brothers were such huge teen idols that they weren't given many opportunities to do anything else as they got older. David had an excellent acting career long before he was on "The Partridge Family," but people will always think of him as Keith Partridge. Once you make an impression that big, it's the impression that stays with people. Shaun has given up on the performing aspect of things because of that. He's producing and writing now.

Q. You want to record a hit like "I Think I Love You?" or "Echo Valley 26809"?

A. I got some very lucrative recording offers when I was very young, just because I was their brother. People didn't even know if I could sing. I purposely went for a stage career. My mother [Shirley Jones] told me if I wanted to be an actor to go to New York and learn, that the teen idol road was a very, very hard road.

Q. So at 19, you got a lead in "The Pirates of Penzance." Who has better costumes, "Joseph" or "Pirates"?

A. "Joseph."

Q. Why?

A. "Joseph" has a South Beach meets ancient Egypt thing going on that's really cool. Also, the first night of "Pirates," I split my pants, these tight little white sailor pants. All the way from the inseam up to my butt. It happened at a point where I couldn't leave the stage for 20 minutes. Plus, I had this big romantic love song I had to get through. By the time I got to it, the rip had gone from my dance belt all the way down to my ankle.
Part of the lyrics [to the love song] were something like, `No, no Mabel, a terrible disclosure has been made.' The audience wouldn't stop laughing.

Q. You also cut off your pinky finger during a performance of "42nd Street" last year.

A. It didn't come off. I slammed it in a door making my entrance. It hurt like heck, but I was like, oh well, the show must go on. Then I put my hand up to my face during the scene and realized I was bleeding.

Q. Did you spurt blood all over the stage?

A. The scene was set in a dressing room, so I grabbed this light blue silk robe that was hanging up and tried to hide it. It didn't work very well. The audience saw blood.

Q. Your mother was in that show. Was that weird?

A. No, not at all. We are very close. The one thing that was really striking was that I based my whole character [producer Julian Marsh] on my father [Jack Cassidy]. I beefed up for the part, got my hair grayed. When my mother first saw me as Julian, she gasped because I looked just like my father.

Q. Joseph's coat: Fashion `do' or fashion `don't?'

A. The thing that makes `Joseph' stand the test of time is the music. Not the fashion.

Q. What about the mullet? Do you get to have a mullet in the show like Donny?

A. Joseph's hair isn't as long in this production. He's a Joseph for today.


'Joseph' all about family for Cassidy

By Celia Wren
Richmond Times Dispatch - November 13, 2005

For stage and screen celebrity Patrick Cassidy, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" is a family affair -- in more than one sense.
To start with, he sees the theme of kinship as the heart of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's peppy musical, based on the biblical story of Jacob's sons.
Cassidy should know: He currently holds the title role in a flashy national tour of "Joseph," scheduled to drop anchor at Richmond's Landmark Theater from Tuesday through Nov. 20.
"Producers over the years have taken 'Joseph' and Vegas-styled it up," Cassidy said recently by phone from Kalamazoo, Mich., a stop on the tour. "Made it very broad -- lots of color and choreography and lights and costumes and everything -- made it a big, huge spectacle.
"But the truth is, at the core it's a story about reconciliation -- about a family that reconciles, a father and son that reconcile. Brothers that forgive each other. I really believe that's what people love about it so much."
A performer whose credits include the original staging of Stephen Sondheim's "Assassins," the Broadway and tour versions of Disney's "Aida," and assorted film and television works, Cassidy is no stranger to the nexus of family and showbiz.
He's the son of musical theater royalty: His mother, Shirley Jones, starred in the film versions of "Oklahoma!" and "Carousel" and was married to Tony-winning actor Jack Cassidy.
Patrick is also brother and stepbrother to entertainment icons: 1970s teen heartthrobs Shaun and David Cassidy. (As TV addicts know, David and Jones starred in "The Partridge Family.")
And with "Joseph," a new generation of Cassidys has gained currency on the cultural landscape.
In the production, Patrick's wife, Melissa Hurley Cassidy, takes the role of the seductress, Mrs. Potiphar. "My wife is a fantastic ballet-trained, jazz-trained dancer," Cassidy boasts. And the couple's sons, Jack, 7, and Cole, 10, who are traveling with the tour in the company of a tutor, join the children's chorus for four "Joseph" performances a week.
"They do opening nights, Friday nights and both on Sunday," Cassidy explains proudly. "But they only get to do it if everything is in order in terms of their studies. It's been great. It's a real surreal feeling, looking at both your sons in the face while they're singing to you on the stage."
Introducing his children to the panorama of America was "top on the list" of reasons for Cassidy's accepting the tour.
"I thought they could really benefit, and understand, and grasp so much of what the country has to show them," he says.
As the show hopscotches between cities, on average once a week, the children study the history of each region and visit local museums.
"They get to actually see and learn about our country, as opposed to reading about every state," Cassidy says.
That educational payoff compensates for the tour's physical and emotional toll, in his view. "Having to travel on Monday, having to pack and repack," he says, enumerating a few of the hassles, "I've become quite a strong luggage lifter."
But, then, hauling suitcases may help him stay in shape for "Joseph," a lively extravaganza in which he goes shirtless for, he estimates, 80 percent of his stage time.
Since the character of Joseph is substantially younger than Cassidy -- the actor is in his early 40s preparation for the part involved substantial physical toning, as well as psychological adjustment.
" 'Joseph' was about losing a lot of weight," he says, "getting in terrific shape, finding the youth in me again, watching how 25-year-olds behave, finding the naiveté again, the earnestness, the wide-eyedness of being young."
The role contrasts markedly with his last stage gig, back in 2004: portraying the cantankerous director Julian Marsh in the Broadway revival of "42nd Street," opposite his mother.
For that part, Cassidy had to act older than he was -- transform his walk, and even drop the register of his voice. (On the other hand, the job allowed him to yell at his mom onstage, which he found "very therapeutic.")
"The greatest credit that could be bestowed on me is that producers are casting me in both roles," he says. "There's nothing about Julian Marsh in '42nd Street' that is Joseph. They're really completely different people, and 99.9 percent of the time the actors that play one of those parts don't play the other." Listing both roles on his résumé, he says, makes him feel "very fortunate."
These days he also feels fortunate to be working with the catchy music in "Joseph," such as the ringing solo "Close Every Door" -- Joseph's response to his imprisonment in Egypt.
"Not only is it a great melody and a great ballad, but it has a fantastic meaning behind it," Cassidy stresses. He paraphrases the song's message: " 'You can kill me, you can beat me, you can take all my worldly goods, but you can't deprive me of my dignity and who I am.' That's a fantastic thing to sing about."
Still, his admiration for Lloyd Webber's tunes doesn't distract him from "Joseph's" theme.
"The songs -- you can't get them out of your head," he says firmly. "But at the core, it's really a wonderful story about family."



Tapping into dreams of younger self

At 43, Patrick Cassidy thinks young to play lead role in `Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'


By Kerry Clawson
Akron Beacon Journal - Oct. 23, 2005

Patrick Cassidy wouldn't be insulted if you called him a big kid: He works diligently to tap into his youthful side in the title role of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

The tour of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical comes to Akron's E.J. Thomas Hall Friday through Sunday. Cassidy last played Joseph on tour in 1999.

"The role is a little bit different this time because Joseph's younger than I am," the 43-year-old said.

"In terms of my acting ability, this time it's (necessary) to find the youth in me again."

Cassidy studies the 22-year-olds in the company, noting their boundless energy and assumptions of immortality. As an actor, he works to re-create that kind of innocence on stage, what he describes as "that wondrous, wide-eyed openness."

"They have a tremendous energy and a tremendous earnestness with everything they say and do," Cassidy said of the young cast members.

In the show, Joseph, a figure from the Old Testament, starts out as a teenager and grows and matures through numerous hardships to about age 40. The story is taken from the last 13 chapters of the book of Genesis, which tells of Joseph's rise to power in Egypt after being sold into slavery by his jealous brothers.

Though set in Egypt, this production of Joseph has a partylike, South Beach flair. Webber's wide mix of music includes a parody of French cabaret music, country-western, calypso, pop and '50s-style rock.

Cassidy keeps his job a family affair by traveling with his wife, Melissa Hurley, and children. Hurley reprises the role of the seductive Mrs. Potiphar, a part she played in the couple's last Joseph tour.

"She's the undoing of Joseph," Cassidy said. "If that isn't life imitating art..."

Their kids, 10-year-old Cole and 7-year-old Jack, perform four shows a week with a nonprofessional children's choir in each city. In Akron, 25 Miller South choir students will perform nearly all of the show's songs. They'll even take the spotlight at the beginning of the second act with the Entr'acte.

Cassidy said now's the perfect time for their children to see and learn about their country on tour. The family travels with a nanny/tutor.

Cassidy's career spans stage, film and TV. His Broadway credits include his most recent turn in 42nd Street, as well as Aida, Annie Get Your Gun, Leader of the Pack and The Pirates of Penzance.

In Joseph, a number of critics have remarked about Cassidy's well-cut physique in this show. One even said he's "built like a brick Bible."

Cassidy, who has been a runner his whole life, also works out 80 minutes a day doing weights and stomach exercises. Twice a week, he also does cardio work.

"I have to be shirtless for about 80 percent of the show, so that gives you a motivation for keeping in shape," he said.

The actor said he sees similarities between Joseph and the hero Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance. But Joseph is very different from Radames in Aida, a recent role in which Northeast Ohio audiences saw Cassidy exude plenty of raw sex appeal.

"He's not asexual but he's definitely not sexual," Cassidy said of Joseph. "There's not a lot of heat and there's no love interest for Joseph in the show."

The sweet 1970 musical has long been a family favorite.

"The story is ultimately about forgiveness and family reuniting. I think at the core, that's the attraction of Joseph," he said.

Cassidy said he's having a great time with co-star Amy Adams of American Idol, who plays the Narrator.

"Musical theater actresses have to wait a career to play this role because it's such a monstrous role, and she's doing it the first time out of the box," he said.

"You have to be very stripped down and accessible (to the audience) and she is."

Cassidy grew up in a show biz family. His late father, Jack, was a musical theater legend, as is his mother, Shirley Jones.

Jones and Patrick’s half brother, David, achieved TV fame in the 1970s with The Partridge Family. Brother Shaun was a pop music star as well as a co-star in The Hardy Boys Mysteries.

Last year, Patrick and Jones became the first mother-son duo in Broadway history to perform together in a musical in 42nd Street. He was Julian Marsh opposite her Dorothy Brock.

"She hadn't been on stage in about 38 years. It was a whole new forum for her, including getting used to new technology such as headsets."

Mother and son even lived in a brownstone together in New York during the 42nd Street run, he in the bottom unit and she in the top.

Here are Cassidy's family updates: Jones recently worked on a movie with Adam Sandler's company and continues to do concerts. Shaun is executive producer for the TV show Invasion, on which youngest brother Ryan works in set design. David is working on moving his show, The Rat Pack is Back, to a New York supper club, where he'll play Bobby Darin.

Patrick continues to develop his own theatrical autobiography cabaret show about growing up in the Cassidy family. The show, told through song and anecdotes, includes stories of sibling rivalry. It starts with Patrick hanging up a Sardi's framed caricature of his famous father, Jack.

Writing the piece, he says, "was so cathartic and therapeutic, it started rolling out of me."


Cassidy has 'Amazing' time on stage

By Jane Vranish
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Oct. 10, 2005

It's 7:20 a.m. in Chicago, and Patrick Cassidy is boarding "a fabulous white stretch limousine," facing a day of press interviews for his latest musical venture, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," set to hit the Heinz Hall stage tomorrow night as part of the PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series.
"Yes, I'm usually a tenor," he remarks with a smooth energy over his cell phone. "But right now in the morning, I'm definitely a bass."
Cassidy is a member of one of show business' top-tier musical families.
"You know," he begins. "When you grow up in a family where everyone is vocalizing constantly or singing around the piano, I guess you're exposed in more ways than one, even if you don't want to be [a singer]. In my case, I did. It was a natural chain of events."
Father Jack Cassidy (whom he most resembles) won a Tony for "She Loves Me" and had a long career on Broadway and in films and television. Mother Shirley Jones, a native of Smithton and a former Miss Pittsburgh in 1952, carved a movie career in A-list musicals such as "Oklahoma," "The Music Man" and "Carousel" and later capped her dramatic career with an Oscar in 1960 for best supporting actress in "Elmer Gantry." She had a much-publicized comeback on television in "The Partridge Family."
That show also starred her stepson, David Cassidy, who scored unparalleled teen idol success, "going through the whole mass hysteria thing" along the way. Patrick's brother Shaun followed suit as another teen heartthrob, writing songs for eight albums and now writing for television. The youngest, Ryan, literally went directly behind the scenes to make a career in scenic design.
Cassidy remembers it all, recalling that "from a child's perspective, it just seems that, 'Oh, this happens to everybody. Everybody gets on the stage and opens their mouth and a beautiful tone comes out.' Of course, when I made the decision to do it professionally, then I realized that, 'Oh, well, that's not true. This is really hard work.' "
Cassidy would get tangled in his parents' Broadway roots by accident. In high school he had his eyes set on football. "I was a senior quarterback with great statistics," he says. That notion took a dive when he landed "really hard" just two games into his senior year and broke his collar bone.
Left with a big hole in his schedule, Cassidy looked up the drama department, which was, coincidentally, performing "The Music Man." He calls it "the musical I was born on. It was something that was lined up in the stars." And no, he didn't get the leading part, "which was probably a good thing because it would have gone too much to my head." But he did land "a nice supporting role" and was hooked.
Like his brothers, Cassidy toyed with various rock bands and "didn't learn how to sing correctly" until the age of 25. He found that his voice had problems in switching registers. Doctors found nodules from "screaming all those years in football." Cassidy finally resorted to surgery seven years ago and had to relearn how to sing properly. Subsequently he found that he was a true tenor.
The past six years might have produced roles in the high vocal range, but they have taken him all over the map dramatically in a steady stream of Broadway hits. He started with "Joseph," followed by the part of Frank Butler opposite a much older Cheryl Ladd in "Annie Get Your Gun." He then moved over to "Aida," back in the juvenile vein, and then to "42nd Street's" Julian Marsh, "a guy in his mid-'50s."
"Now you tell me if it's the hair color," he quips. "I think so." Cassidy's hair, like his father, turned white early on, around the age of 22. "When I reached 40, my age actually caught up to my hair color."
Coming back to "Joseph" meant dieting, hitting the tanning salon and coloring his hair again. "But most importantly, as an actor, is to find the youth in yourself again," says Cassidy. "The key to youth is energy."
The "Joseph" tour has been a welcome return. Called "a rainbow ride through biblical Egypt," the show features the songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber ("Phantom of the Opera," "Cats," "Evita") and lyrics by Tim Rice ("The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast," "Jesus Christ Superstar").
"It's one of those shows, like the old time ones, when the audience hears a song, it stays with them," Cassidy says. "They go out singing, then buy the CD or get the DVD. It's that kind of show -- 90 minutes of pure-packed entertainment."
He also enjoys sharing the stage with "American Idol" alumna Amy Adams as the Narrator. "You know, she was thrown into a role that most musical theater actresses wait a lifetime to play because it's such a huge role. She handled it like a gem. I mean, she's got a set of pipes that you won't believe when you hear her. And she's got a real warmth and accessibility to the audience that allows the audience into the show. It's a very difficult thing to have. You either have that or you don't, and she's got it big-time."
So who's the best singer in the Cassidy family? For the first time, he waffles with his answer. He calls them all "very different." His mother is "trained," his two brothers "pop singers," and he's more "theatrical," something the others call "patterned after his father."
"I don't know," Cassidy muses. "You make the judgment when you hear me."



Amazing Stories

By Alice T. Carter
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Oct. 9, 2005

For Patrick Cassidy, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" is a family experience both onstage and off.
Cassidy, 43, plays the title character in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's pop-rock music spectacle, It's Cassidy's second national tour in the show, having previously played Joseph from June 1999 through February 2000. He also did a yearlong national tour with Disney's "Aida" that ended in March 2002.
"Touring has its good points," says Cassidy. "You get to traipse across the country while being well compensated."
He is enjoying it even more this time because he brought along his family.
His wife, dancer Melissa Hurley, appears in the show as Mrs. Potiphar, a role in which she attempts to seduce Joseph. "And I try to fend her off," Cassidy says.
On Tuesdays and Sundays, their real-life sons, Cole Patrick Cassidy, 10, and Jack Gordon Cassidy, 7, join the children's chorus for some onstage experience.
The Cassidys made a real commitment to touring as a family. Before leaving California they sold not only their home in Sherman Oaks but their car. "We had planned to sell the house anyway," Cassidy says. "We made a nice amount because we bought in the '90s."
The hope is that in the year they're on the road, home prices will drop and real estate will be cheaper when they go house-hunting next year.
The "Dreamcoat" tour began last month and will have gone to some 35 cities before concluding in July.
Meanwhile, the family is enjoying their hours offstage, seeing the nation as they travel.
"It's educational for the kids. They actually get to see everything," Cassidy says.
One of the places the family plans to visit is Smithton, Westmoreland County, where Cassidy's mother, actress Shirley Jones, grew up, and where Cassidy still has family.
"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" also is a family experience for audiences, he says.
"You can bring anyone from 3 to 90," Cassidy says. "It's nice to got to the theater, listen to great music and leave with a big smile on your face."
"The story is so clever, and you leave the theater singing the songs and wanting to buy the album," Cassidy says.
Cassidy says he's finding new things in his role now that he's revisiting it.
"At my age, the fun is in finding that 20-year-old inside me, that energy they have," he says. "Joseph ages, but finding that spark has been fun for me."
The role also increases his incentive to stick with his morning workout to maintain his physique.
"I get to tramp around in a skirt all night," Cassidy says, referring to the Egyptian garb that reveals his bare -- and reportedly well-sculpted -- torso for most of the evening. "Eighty percent of the evening, I'm wearing just a skirt and shoes. I get to go to the gym and the tanning salon, and they (the producers) have to pay for it."
Attention-getting though that may be, it's not what keeps audiences coming to a musical that's long been a staple of high schools and musical theater companies.
"There's a reason the show has sustained itself since (Webber and Rice first created it in) 1968, and that's not the glitz and the costumes," Cassidy says. "There's also something in the show that's at the core of all of us -- family."



Celebrity Spotlight

Patrick Cassidy reprises his role as 'Joseph' at The Marcus Center

By Kay Dahlke, Associate Editor
M Magazine - Milwaukee's Lifestyle Magazine
Sept. 2005 Issue

M: Let's take care of the obvious question right away; your brothers, David and Shaun, were tenn idols. Why didn't you follow in their footsteps?

PATRICK: They were thrust into the limelight when they were too young to know what was happening. Both of them had first singles that went right to number one. I believe they were the only brothers to do that in history. One-little girls grow up and stop buying their records. I know they both wanted to be actors, but they were steriotyped as teen idols. Having seen what happened to my brothers was eye opening. My choice was to go to New York theater to hone my craft. As a result, I put together what I consider a good resume. I'm on my seventh Broadway show.

M: What's your favorite to date?

PATRICK: They're all so different. It sounds corny but the role I'm playing at th time is the one. I'd have to say my last one, though, "42nd Street" is my most favorite. It was with my mother, Shirley Jones - her first time on stage in 38 years. It was tremendous and definitely significant to both of us.

M: Is it tough to follow Donny Osmond's portrayal of 'Joseph'?

PATRICK: Actually, I did the play five years ago, before he did. Each person comes to the role with his own ideas. I bring my own essence. As an actor I tend to look for humor, even in heavy dramatics. It allows me to laugh at myself and be comfortable with myself.

M: What part did you have in TV's 'According to Jim"?

PATRICK: I played Jim's sister-in-law's boss. I was a slick, not-nice guy. In the show I said something to the Dana character and Jim came to the office to defend her. He ends up telling me off, which costs Dana her job. It ws fun, kind of a reunion for Jim and me; we had done "Pirates of Penzance" together.




'Joseph' actors travel with their families

Cassidy traveling with wife, sons

By Renée Beasley Jones
Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, KY
Sept. 2, 2005

On hands and knees, women work on Joseph's famed coat of many colors in the lobby of the RiverPark Center. The wardrobe prop will be worn in today's production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," the most recent made-in-Owensboro touring musical.

Just a few feet away, Joseph -- Patrick Cassidy, in real life -- dines on Chinese take-out at a nearby table with his wife, Melissa Hurley Cassidy. She's a dancer and actress who plays Mrs. Potiphar in the musical.

Before long, sons Cole, 10, and Jack, 7, join the couple for their 90-minute supper break. The boys, who sing in the musical's chorus, were pulled from rehearsals.

"Joseph" marks the first time the Cassidy family has gone on the road together for a full year. When Patrick Cassidy performed in "Aida," he toured for a year --mostly alone.

During that time, the family traveled with him for three months when school was out. However, at one point, the boys went six weeks without seeing their dad.

"This is much better," Melissa Hurley Cassidy said of a year on the road as a family. "Otherwise, you start building separate lives."

The Cassidys, who have been married nearly 12 years, hired a full-time nanny for the "Joseph" tour. Jacqueline Barr, 28, of California was student teaching at the boys' school when Barr learned the Cassidys needed a nanny.

She has visited cities on both coasts. "But I haven't traveled like this before," Barr said.

The boys will start school -- on the road, of course -- Sept. 12, Barr said. They'll have three to four hours of class a day.

Besides, roaming the nation for a year will prove educational, Patrick Cassidy said. "That's an amazing experience for a child."

He's the son of actors Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones, perhaps best known for her role as the mother of a musical family in TV's "The Partridge Family." Patrick Cassidy remembers summers on the road with his parents, visiting states such as Ohio, Texas and Missouri. "It was like a big vacation," he said.

Patrick Cassidy asked his sons if they wanted to come on the tour. Cole indicated he wanted to do both -- stay home and go -- until his parents told him he would be part of the show. Both boys seemed eager to be on stage.

Besides singing in the children's choir, Jack's other favorite part of the adventure so far: "We sometimes go in limos."

Perhaps Melissa Hurley Cassidy's least favorite part of the tour was packing for a family of four for a year on the road. Each member of the cast was allowed two suitcases and two carry-on bags, for a total of 200 pounds of luggage per person.
She packed one summer and one winter bag for herself. Patrick Cassidy did the same, and the couple shared a shoe bag.
Then, mom packed one bag for each son.

The "Joseph" cast will perform eight shows a week once they leave Owensboro. The company's day off each week is spent traveling to the next city.


Fame and Fortune: Patrick Cassidy

'Bubble fear' and family ties put him on the road again


BY TAMAR ALEXIA FLEISHMAN - BANKRATE.COM
August 30, 2005

Patrick Cassidy is doing his part to uphold the family's show-business dynasty.

The son of Shirley Jones and the late Jack Cassidy, brother of Shaun and Ryan, and half-brother of David, Patrick has had some big shoes to fill. He made his Broadway debut in 1981, as the lead in "Pirates of Penzance." He's also done stints with mom, Shirley, in "The Sound of Music" and "42nd Street." Currently, Cassidy is reviving a role he first played in 1999 on Broadway, as the lead in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." The tour will begin Sept. 6, 2005, in Milwaukee, Wis. Cassidy is expanding the family dynasty, too; his wife Melissa Hurley-Cassidy, along with sons Jack and Cole, are all appearing in the touring production.

When he's not on live stage, fans have been able to see Patrick Cassidy on television in "Dress Gray," a TV movie for which he received an Emmy nomination, and on guest appearances on TV series such as "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Smallville, "Without A Trace," " Law & Order: SVU," "Crossing Jordan" and "According to Jim."

His film credentials include playing Howard, the gay actor, in "Longtime Companion," the first feature film that dealt with the AIDS epidemic and a neglectful husband in "Man of Her Dreams," with Lysette Anthony.

BANKRATE: You seem to like the gypsy life of touring with a show. You've even sold your home and cars to go on the road. Tell me about that.

PATRICK: I don't know if "like" is the right word. It was all kind of coincidental. I was planning to sell the house anyway, the children were getting larger, and we were thinking about school districts. Then, they offered me the tour. I said, "Absolutely not!" They came back with a different offer. They included my wife and children in the offer. I thought about the real-estate market in California -- I think the real-estate bubble there will burst. I took the money and invested it. I bought the house nine years ago, so I made a nice profit. The producers were very extravagant with me, they pay all my living expenses, hired my wife and children. I hired a nanny and tutor for them. They will perform from time to time; they're not professionals.

BANKRATE: Are you a stage dad?

PATRICK: The truth is, they're young boys. Neither has aspirations to be in the business; I hope and pray that they don't. I did prepare them before the show, I taught them the whole score. I'm no "Father Rose," though.

BANKRATE: You have made the decision with your wife not to allow work to separate your family again. How would that work out if you were asked to film on location and your kids were happy in school?

PATRICK: We've broken the mold this time. That's one of the biggest problems performers have. We've been married over 12 years. We have a two-week rule; two weeks before one of us hops on a plane. We've broken that rule only recently. It's been closer to three weeks. When the children are ensconced in school, it will be harder.

BANKRATE: You have an autobiographical one-man show in the works. Tell me about the process of getting that off the ground.

PATRICK: It's been a long time coming, growing up in a family where every single person is in show business. It's our family business, just like another family might own a shoe store or a drug store. We still have our squabbles, our pitfalls and heroic events. I do songs both my parents did. As for financing the show, I'm in the process of working it out. I got an offer. I did my first rendition, about 40 minutes, in Newport Beach at a ladies' luncheon. I also did it at the Manhattan Theater Club. I hired an agent.

BANKRATE: Tell me about the pros and cons of trying to carve out a career when you come from a famous family.

PATRICK: The pros: All these people are ahead of you. You have examples of what to do or not to do. But the higher you climb, the harder you fall. I made a conscious choice to study acting in New York. I worked with people like Treat Williams, Ellen Burstyn.

BANKRATE: You made the decision to go into acting, after seeing their examples, and not recording. Why?

PATRICK: I saw how short-lived it is, with the last name Cassidy. Sure, there were offers after I finished high school, "Dress him just right, give him a catchy tune to sing." I had that all accessible.

BANKRATE: Unlike filming a television show, for example, a Broadway show requires you to use your vocal chords almost every night. What precautions or expenses do you have in preserving your voice?

PATRICK: As many expenses as you can think of. Any musical person will tell you. Like, quiet, staying quiet. Humidifiers in my room and dressing room. All kinds of remedies. I had vocal chord surgery; my range was decreasing. As a young child, I did a lot of screaming. It's made me very conscious of how I use my voice.

BANKRATE: The income of an actor can go up and down. Do you have investments?

PATRICK: Yeah. For the first time since I was single, all the money I make goes for investments, for my wife and children. We were cash poor, and then the job came. I have very few bills: no mortgage, insurance payments, car payments. I just have cell phone and credit card bills. Now, the government might come calling to get me to pay up, now that I don't have all the write-offs!

BANKRATE: Do you manage your own money, or do you get help?

PATRICK: I've always had a business manager. Both my brothers and I didn't get a lot of money from my father's estate. I got $80,000 from an insurance policy. Then, my mother's business manager embezzled it. Now, with my manager, I was with him for 20 years, he's retiring. The new guy, he's almost like family. And, my cousin is a broker. I have a bookkeeper, too.

BANKRATE: You are active with AIDS causes. How did you select that charity?

PATRICK: Through being a member of the theater: It's been decimated by HIV and AIDS. I have seen some of the greatest artists taken away from this planet. It's my obligation to bring some awareness.




Patrick Cassidy Named Top Five Dreamcoat Star

BY BROADWAY WORLD NEWS DESK
April 12, 2005

Patrick Cassidy, recently tagged to star in a new Troika-produced U.S. tour of the family-friendly Broadway musical, has been named one of the World's Top Five ranked stars of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

As reported by gueststarcasting.com, Cassidy is second only to former teen idol Donny Osmond among the top ranked Joseph performers.

Cassidy edged out heartthrob Rikki Lee Travolta who flexes his muscles for the figurative bronze with a third place ranking. Brian Lane Green of Days of Our Lives fame and U.K. singer Darren Day make up the rest of the elite Top Five headliner list.

Cassidy, of the famous family of actors and singers, made his Broadway debut replacing Robbie Benson in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. He gained national attention starring as Johnny Castle in the television spin off of the film Dirty Dancing.

Cassidy most recently appeared on Broadway opposite his mother Shirley Jones of Partridge Family fame in 42nd Street. He previously played Joseph opposite pop singer turned actress Deborah Gibson as the pivotal narrator role. For the upcoming tour, American Idol contestant Amy Adams plays the narrator.

All of the Top Three ranked Joseph headliners - Osmond, Cassidy, and Travolta - hail from famous performing families but went on to achieve fame in their own right.

Statistically, of the Top Five, three are over 40 - Osmond, Green, and Cassidy. Day, at 36, is as famous for his co-star romances and fleeing from the altar, failed engagements as for his onstage performances. Travolta, at 29, has been nicknamed the Dreamboat in a Dreamcoatť by the media for his pristine features and chiseled physique.

Additional popular ranked Joseph guest stars include former Young and the Restless soap opera actor Michael Damian, Star Search winner Sam Harris, Cuban singer Jon Secada, original Broadway star Bill Hutton, former Australian soap opera actor Jason Donovan, and Irish pop star Stephen Gately.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, from creators Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, is one of the most popular theatrical musicals in rotation today. Official productions are currently running in London's West End and Africa, with additional companies touring the U.K., Mexico, and Italy. In 2000 a DVD was released of the musical with Osmond in the starring role.

Rankings are compiled based upon cumulative and recent box office receipts, overall marquee name power, critical review, and consumer demand.




Mom-Son History at '42nd St'

Shirley Jones and son Patrick Cassidy return to Broadway and make their mark


BY BLAKE GREEN
NEWSDAY STAFF WRITER

June 15, 2004

Shirley Jones and Patrick Cassidy are casting long shadows these days: In separate dance numbers, their magnified silhouettes loom against the back wall of the Ford Center stage, where they've recently joined the cast of "42nd Street." As far as anyone can say, they also appear to have made theatrical history as the first mother-son duo to star in a Broadway musical.

In the long-running revival of the 1980 backstage musical based on a 1933 movie, Jones plays Dorothy Brock, a slightly long- in-the-tooth diva of an actress starring in a show directed by the legendary, silver-haired Julian Marsh - Cassidy's role.

The silver hair is Cassidy's own. "I began turning gray in my 20s," said the tall, 43-year-old actor, who cuts a dashing figure in Marsh's three-piece suits.

Jones' and Cassidy's onstage relationship is a combative one - Marsh has eyes only for the ingenue - but "the chance to order her around" had its pleasantly perverse moments, Cassidy said kiddingly over lunch with his mother the other day.

The thrill was fleeting. Having both debuted on Broadway as teenagers, mother and son approached one another onstage strictly as characters. A few lines were inserted into the script to capitalize on the mother-son phenomenon, but "nobody laughs when I call him 'Sonny boy,'" said Jones.

The mother's return to Broadway

Returning to Broadway for the first time in more than 35 years, the 70-year-old Jones has found some changes in the business. Having "almost fainted" when asked to sign a three-page statement about the production's policy toward sexual harassment - as all cast members are requested to do - she recalled her first Broadway show, "South Pacific" in 1949. As Jones was about to troop out onstage in the chorus of nurses singing, "I'm in love, I'm in love ... ," an actor standing in the wings behind her "stuck his hand down the back of my bikini," she said. She pantomimed her startled-chorine reaction as well as the "whap" she gave him. "He didn't try that again. It was a different world."

Better known for movie musicals - "Oklahoma" (1955), "Carousel" (1956) and "The Music Man" (1962) - Jones won an Academy Award for a dramatic role in 1960's "Elmer Gantry." She reminds her son, "I was pregnant with you when I picked up the Oscar." Twenty- five years later, Patrick had a small role in "Fever Pitch," which, like "Gantry," was directed by Richard Brooks.

A family affair

In her last Broadway musical, 1968's "Maggie Flynn," Jones played opposite her husband Jack Cassidy (who died in 1976 in an apartment fire), the father of Patrick, as well as David, Shaun and Ryan Cassidy, who all have worked in show business. The actress is best known, however, as the matriarch of another family of performers, "The Partridge Family" in the '70s ABC sitcom. Its cast, including David Cassidy, her stepson, reunited briefly on NBC's "Today" show to reminisce and talk about a proposed reality show in which the old Partridge family would pick a new one.

Jones and son Patrick also have acted together before, in a touring production of "The Sound of Music" when he was 16.

The son's debut on Broadway

Shortly afterward, when a broken collarbone ended his dreams of playing football, Cassidy turned to acting and made his Broadway debut in 1981's "The Pirates of Penzance." Approached about following in the footsteps of his two older brothers as a pop-music teen idol, he instead chose a varied career, acting in film, television and theater. His musical credits include "Aida," "Annie Get Your Gun" and the role of Leon Czolgosz in the original 1991 Off-Broadway production of "Assassins."

"I have my priorities in the right place," he says, listing them as "my wife first, my children second and my career third." He has two sons, 8 and 5, with his wife, Melissa Hurley, a dancer.

Jones and Cassidy, who live near each other in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, are currently ensconced in neighboring midtown apartments as well as dressing rooms at the theater. "I let her have the star dressing room," says Cassidy; she also gets the final curtain call.

In recent years, Jones has settled into a career of concerts and speaking engagements, to which she'll return when her "42nd Street" contract is up. She also has noticed changes in the questions she gets in these public appearances: "When I started, I'd be asked where was I born [Smithton, Pa.], how did I get into show business [under contract to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein], was I married [twice, currently to former comedian Marty Ingels]. Now I'm asked if I've ever had a face-lift and if I'm going to retire." Her answer to both is no.


Shirley Jones and son embrace '42 Street' roles

On-the-job therapy


Photo: Associated Press/Jim Cooper




TIMES LEADER
By MARK KENNEDY
Associated Press Writer
May 21, 2004

NEW YORK - This summer, the frothy musical "42nd Street" has taken a decidedly Freudian turn.

Shirley Jones and her son, Patrick Cassidy, have joined the Broadway production, adding a pinch of psychodrama to the story of an aging, cantankerous stage diva who battles her younger tyrannical director.

Needless to say, both characters are at each other's throats for most of the night. "I called my therapist immediately and said, 'Listen, cancel all my sessions for the next four months. I can just get it out on stage,"' Cassidy says with a chuckle.

Jones nods grimly: "Patrick is getting even for all of his baby years."

All joking aside, the pair seem to have playfully embraced what show producers say is the first time in history that a mother and son are starring together in a Broadway musical.

"It's natural," mom says.

"It feels very, very easy," her son agrees.

Jones, 70, the former matriarch of TV's "The Partridge Family" and who won an Academy Award in 1960 for "Elmer Gantry," plays Dorothy Brock to Cassidy's Julian Marsh in the revival.

"The nice thing is that the roles are very suited for us as individuals," Cassidy says. "I mean, I could play this part without her being there, and she could play the part without me being there."

You might expect Jones, who has appeared in such classic musical films as "The Music Man," "Oklahoma!" and "Carousel," to be offering tips to her son. But it's Cassidy, 42, who has made his career on the stage.

While Jones was last on Broadway in 1968 in "Maggie Flynn" opposite her husband Jack Cassidy, their son has racked up Broadway credits in "Aida," "Annie Get Your Gun," "Pirates of Penzance" and "Leader of the Pack," as well as the original off-Broadway production of "Assassins."

That puts Cassidy in the driver's seat - for now.

"I feel it's a little role-reversal for me," he says. "I've done this for much of my career, and this is the first time for her in a long time. I feel very maternal, that sense of wanting to take care of her. It's a lot different than it was in 1968."

Jones credits her son with teaching her to conserve energy on stage and to manage new technologies, such as the show's wireless microphone that snakes through her costume and hides on her forehead.

"He has been a marvelous help," she says. "I'm not accustomed to taking orders from my son. But he'll say, 'Mother, you have to do it this way, or this is going to happen' - and he's right. He knows this better than I do."

The two have made a temporary home in a Manhattan brownstone - she in the top apartment and he in the bottom. They rehearse together, travel to the theater together and wander the city together.

"The whole experience of being in New York and on Broadway is really wonderful because I get to go through it with her," Cassidy says. "That, in itself, has been very unique and wonderful for a mother and a son."

So, absolutely no friction with living with mom?

"Talk to us in another month or two," Cassidy responds sarcastically. "I can promise you this: We're not the Waltons."

It's not really a stretch to say Cassidy was born into show business. Unlike his brothers Shaun and Ryan or half brother David, Patrick made his debut, quite literally, in utero.

Jones was heavily pregnant with Patrick throughout the filming of "The Music Man" opposite Robert Preston. During the stars' one and only screen kiss, Preston felt a kick from his co-star's stomach.

"What was that?" Jones recalled Preston asking. She explained.

Years later, Cassidy was doing a benefit in New York with Preston and was eager to meet his mom's old colleague. Cassidy hesitantly knocked on Preston's door and the older actor opened it.

"Oh, Mr. Preston, I'm so happy to meet you. My name is Patrick Cassidy," he said. Preston took three steps back, eyed his visitor, and replied: "I know. We've already met."

Jones and Cassidy have appeared together on stage only once before: In 1977, mom and her 15-year-old son hit the road to do a summer stock production of "The Sound of Music." Cassidy says he was just trying to earn enough cash to buy a car.

By high school, Cassidy had no intention of following a career in show biz. He was a stand-out quarterback until breaking his collarbone in the third game of his senior year. During his six weeks in rehab, he wandered over to the drama department.

They were doing, appropriately enough, a production of "The Music Man."

"I got hooked," he says.

"I wanted a doctor or a lawyer!" Jones wails in mock frustration.

Cassidy has worked hard in the interim making sure he didn't follow in his older sibling's more famous footsteps. Both Shaun ("The Hardy Boys") and David ("The Partridge Family") struggled after an early burst of fame. Ryan, the youngest son, is a set decorator.

"I somehow or other managed to steer clear of the whole teen-idol thing and try to get some legitimacy and therefore some longevity," Patrick says. "The teen-idol ride, while it's a great way to get a lot of money, it's really hard to sustain it for any more than three or four years."


Miracle on '42nd Street'

Liz Smith
New York Newsday
May 9, 2004

MOTHERS! What do they want? Well, there is one who didn't know that she wanted to co-star with her handsome son, until the day this mom, known to us as Shirley Jones, said to him, "They've asked me to play the diva, Dorothy Brock, in the wonderful production of "42nd Street" at the Ford Center on 42nd Street.

"That's funny, Mom," answered son Patrick, as in Cassidy, "because they asked me to play Julian Marsh, the tyrannical director, in the same production." "Well," smiled Shirley, "do you want to?" "I'll do it, if you do it," he flirted back. And so for the first time in nearly 40 years, Jones returns to her roots in the New York theater and, for the first time, a mother and a son star together on Broadway. And this weekend is when they open in this classic.

Over a chicken sandwich in Sardi's, before running off to rehearsals, Shirley recalled when we both knew her adorable agent, Gus Schirmer Jr. "He started everything for me," she remembered. "His tiny house in Watermill, where he barbecued endlessly, and nothing came out at the same time. He was special."

Jones made her Broadway debut in the original "South Pacific," and co-starred with her late husband, Jack Cassidy, in "Maggie Flynn." She went on to win an Oscar for the movie "Elmer Gantry" (playing

sensationally against type as a hooker) and made such memorable films as "Okla- homa!," "Carousel" and "The Music Man." Later, she became one of TV's quintessential moms as the matriarch of "The Partridge Family" and watched as her stepson, David Cassidy, became a huge teen idol. Her son Shaun also had his moment as a pop sensation.

"You know, almost my entire family hangs on the back wall in this restaurant," she said. We left our sandwiches and went to inspect all the Cassidys - Patrick, David, Shaun and their father, Jack. "I hope I get one of my own, so I can hang out with them at last," sighed Jones.

Shirley celebrated a big birthday in March and her husband, Marty Ingels, gave her a surprise party. (Shirley and Marty have had an enduring, if sometimes wacky, volatile marriage.) He shipped just about everyone she has ever known to California. "It was grand, but I missed Gus," she mused.

Welcome back to Broadway, Shirley. We've missed you.


Family fun on 42nd

By PATRICIA O'HAIRE
SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, May 7, 2004


Shirley Jones and son Patrick Cassidy will make Broadway history.

There's a new "Lullaby of Broadway" - and with it Shirley Jones and Patrick Cassidy are making musical-comedy history.
When they appear in "42nd Street" tonight, they'll become the first mother and son to star together in a Broadway musical.

"I must be crazy," says the one-time matriarch of TV's "Partridge Family," smiling and frowning at the same time.

"The last time I was onstage here was in 'Maggie Flynn' - with Patrick's father, Jack."

That was more than 35 years ago, in 1968. Eight years later, Jack Cassidy died in a fire. The next year, Jones married funnyman Marty Ingels, who's now her manager.

"I just celebrated my 70th birthday. I have three sons [Shaun, the former teen idol, and Ryan, a Hollywood set dresser, are the other two], a stepson [David, the teen idol who was her "Partridge Family" co-star] and six grandchildren. And I have this nice big house in California and a dog I miss terribly!"

Nevertheless, with Patrick's prodding, Jones finally agreed to play the aging diva Dorothy Brock in the long-running revival, opposite Cassidy's irascible Julian Marsh.

They'll be at the Ford Center through Aug. 1.

"I get to yell at her all night," says Cassidy with a laugh. "There's a certain therapeutic aspect to that!"

His mother lets that one slip by.

Besides "The Partridge Family," Jones is best known for her films "Carousel," "Oklahoma!" and "The Music Man" and her Academy Award-winning performance in 1960's "Elmer Gantry."

Patrick's Broadway credits include "Aida," "Annie Get Your Gun," "Leader of the Pack" and "The Pirates of Penzance."

"It's really great to see someone I'm very familiar with [onstage]," says Cassidy, the 42-year-old father of two boys. "I think some of the lines will register differently [with audiences] and I think we'll get extra laughs."

Why did it take Jones so long to say yes to Broadway again?

"The thought of doing eight shows a week, traveling to the theater and back every night - I didn't want to do it."

Then Ingels read the script and said, "You know who'd be perfect in this? Patrick!"

"There were a series of 'I'll-do-it-if-you'll-do-it' phone calls. Finally, I said, 'Okay, if you'll do it, I will, too.'

"And here we are."


'Aida' performer from famous family


By Stacy Wolford
Valley Independent
Friday, February 22, 2002

Patrick Cassidy is no stranger to the Mon Valley.

In fact, it was his great-grandfather, William B. Jones, who founded the Jones Brewery in Smithton in 1907.

And for those who haven't figured it out yet, he's the son of Smithton's most notable native, award-winning actress Shirley Jones.

While he only has a few distant relatives still living in Smithton, Cassidy says he enjoys visiting the area when he can.

And he'll get that chance while visiting Pittsburgh as he is currently starring in "Aida," Disney's Tony-award winning musical love story.

"Aida" will play through March 10 at the Pittsburgh Benedum Center. Based on an ancient legend, "Aida" is brought to life on the stage by composers Elton John and Tim Rice.

Paulette Ivory stars as "Aida" a Nubian princess who falls in love with her Egyptian captor, "Radames," portrayed by Cassidy.

Cassidy, born in Los Angeles, Calif. is the son of Jones and the late Jack Cassidy.

As the son of two well-known entertainers, Cassidy grew up in the circle of entertainment. Jones, who was crowned Miss Pittsburgh in 1952, is also well known for her role in the long-running classic television show "The Partridge Family."

Cassidy's half-brother, David Cassidy, also starred on the show. Jones and Jack Cassidy had two other sons, in addition to Patrick, Shaun Paul and Ryan John Cassidy.

Cassidy, who calls Los Angeles home, says he's enjoying his current role in "Aida." He is married to dancer Melissa Hurley Cassidy and they have two children, Cole Cassidy and Jack Cassidy.

"It's been a real challenge, especially when you're singing nine songs per show," said Cassidy during a telephone interview while in Cincinnati, Ohio.

If anyone's up to the challenge, it's Cassidy, who brings years of musical theatre and television experience to the "Aida" cast.

He's appeared in such Broadway shows as "Annie Get Your Gun," "Pirates of Penzance," "Leader of the Pack." Among his national musical theatre tours, he has performed in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," playing Joseph, and again in "Pirates of Penzance."

Cassidy also appeared in the films "Longtime Companion," "I'll Do Anything," "I Won't Dance," and "Burning Love."

He's also had parts on television shows as NBC's "Bay City Blues," CBS's "Dirty Dancing," and HBO's "Perversions of Science."

Cassidy's singing abilities are also showcased on such recordings as "Breakfast at Tiffany's," and "Sondheim, A Musical Tribute at Carnegie Hall."

Cassidy said audiences will love "Aida."

"The story is great from beginning to end," Cassidy said. And in true Disney fashion, its ending is a touching tearjerker, he added.


Disney's 'Aida' reimagines Verdi's classic opera

By Alice T. Carter
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
February 17, 2002

Photo: Joan Marcus

The "Aida" that sails into Pittsburgh Wednesday for a three-week stay bears as much resemblance to Giuseppe Verdi's 1871 classic opera as a DVD does to a pyramid full of hieroglyphics.

It's not Verdi's "Aida," or your grandmother's.
It's Disney's "Aida."

Since its beginning last March, Patrick Cassidy has headed the cast of 29 as Radames.

That's a long time to be on the road, says Cassidy, the son of actress Shirley Jones, a Smithton native, and the late actor Jack Cassidy. In the past, he's done national tours of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "The Pirates of Penzance," as well as regional and Broadway shows that kept him far from home, such as his 1998 appearance as Lancelot in the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera production of "Camelot."

But with marriage to dancer Melissa Hurley Cassidy and being the father of two small children, Cole and Young Jack Cassidy, life on the road is less attractive.

After a nine-week stint of "Aida" in Los Angeles allowed him to spend time at home, Cassidy was reluctant to return to the road for the remaining weeks of his contract. "I'm a hands-on dad," he says, "so the time away is horrendous."

But Cassidy's spirits picked up recently when Paulette Ivory joined the cast as Aida. Ivory, a British actress and singer who originated the role of Nala in the London production of "The Lion King, " took over the role three weeks ago.

"When Paulette came in, she became the creative juice," says Cassidy during the break between the matinee and evening performances during the show's stop in Cincinnati. "She helped me reinvest my directive as an actor to go back and look at the part with someone else and to bring a new dimension to the show."

Ivory, who was still catching her breath after joining "Aida" in Tulsa, Okla., had jumped at the chance to tour with the show. "There's not another role like it," she says. The producers and the director gave her a lot of latitude in making the part her own, she says. "There's a vulnerability about me that I bring to the character."

"And a British accent," teases Cassidy.

"We have different energies, so I can bring a lot to the role," Ivory says. "I get to play so many emotions. She's brave and witty and has a sense of humor I like to play around with. At the most extreme moment, she'll say something funny."

Plus, she adds, "I get to sing great songs with Patrick. He's an excellent actor, consistent and committed to everything he does. I feel very blessed to have Patrick as my Radames. He makes the job easy."

Cassidy says his character, Radames, is an idealist trapped in circumstances he doesn't understand. "He's somebody screaming to get out. (Aida) allows him to come forward with this feelings."

After Pittsburgh, Cassidy has one more city to go before his contract ends in Cleveland on March 24. But, unlike Radames, he's not screaming to get out.

"The reason I do theater," Cassidy says, "is to get artistic satisfaction."



Tour star Patrick Cassidy says 'Aida' sells itself

By Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
February 17, 2002


Patrick Cassidy calls "Aida" a word-of-mouth show, and he should know. He's been headlining the Disney musical eight times a week for a year.

"It's a show that audiences just go crazy for. It's the kind of show, right after the performance, after they've stood up and applauded overwhelmingly, they then go to buy tickets again for another performance or they tell their friends to buy tickets."

Uncharacteristicallylong engagements allow first-nighters or first-weekers to tell their pals, who still have plenty of time to secure seats. On Wednesday, "Aida" will open a three-week run at the Benedum Center.

The 40-year-old Cassidy, son of Shirley Jones and the late Jack Cassidy, started rehearsals for "Aida" in February 2001 and opened the tour a month later in Minneapolis. Pittsburgh falls toward the end of his commitment; he will leave after an engagement in Cleveland, although the tour will continue.

He thinks six months with a show may be ideal, but he signed a year's contract and has been doing eight shows a week ever since. "The touring aspect, although in many ways it makes it much harder because the traveling is very difficult on you -- physically, emotionally, vocally -- does allow it to be sort of new in each city."

Each city has an opening night, a new venue and a chance to make it fresh. Paulette Ivory recently stepped into the role of Aida, and that has helped Cassidy to rediscover his character.

This isn't the longest Cassidy has ever been with a show. A day after turning 20, he replaced Robby Benson in "The Pirates of Penzance" on Broadway. Described by the New York Daily News then as "tall and thin, with curly blond hair" and the prey of autograph hounds on 45th Street, he stayed with the production for a year and a half.

"I was totally green," he recalls. With each passing year, he feels more confident and comfortable on stage.

Talking by cell phone from Cincinnati, he adds, "Mike Nichols was quoted as saying for every true minute on the stage, it requires four hours of rehearsal, and I believe in that in terms of the craft." He learned along the way, but he also took classes and followed the family advice to be diligent.

His mother had been pregnant with Patrick during the filming of "The Music Man." (When co-star Robert Preston leaned over to kiss Jones, he was surprised to get a kick from her hidden but ballooning midsection.) Cassidy is brother of actor turned producer Shaun Cassidy, and half brother of former teen idol David Cassidy, and he is the stepson of Marty Ingels.

"I think the one thing they all conveyed to me is don't take for granted that you come from a show business family, because you ain't gonna survive on that. [The name] Cassidy is not going to get you that far. It's going to close as many doors as it opens, and it did."

So diligence became his watchword as he navigated Broadway, off-Broadway, national tours, other theatrical productions, films and TV.

A stint in Vegas with "EFX," a $45 million special-effects extravaganza, helped prepare him for the elaborate staging of "Aida," which creates a pyramid from laser lights, uses 112 yards of silk to mimic the Nile and allows performers to appear to be swimming in a palace spa -- courtesy of waist harnesses that pivot.

"I've worked with pyro and hydraulic dinosaurs that fight. I've seen some pretty wild things. It's all par for the course and, to be honest,