DOWNTOWN — Chicago-born actor Billy Zane, perhaps best known for his role as Cal in "Titanic," was cast as Captain von Trapp in the Lyric Opera of Chicago's "The Sound Of Music," the opera company announced Tuesday.
Zane will play the character, based on real-life Austrian Naval Captain Georg von Trapp, in the Lyric Opera's rendition of the musical from April 25-May 18.
Zane, who was born in Chicago and graduated from Lincoln Park's Francis W. Parker School, was catapulted to fame after playing "Titanic" baddie Caledon "Cal" Hockley in 1997. Before that, he played The Phantom in the 1996 film of the same name and John Justice Wheeler in "Twin Peaks."
He went on to have a cameo in the 2001 film "Zoolander" and has been in more than 100 other movies and TV shows.
Zane's also no stranger to Broadway musicals, having played lawyer Billy Flynn in "Chicago" in 2002.
The Lyric Opera's "Sound of Music," directed by Marc Bruni, will also star Jenn Gambatese as Maria, Edward Hibbert as Max Detweiler, Christine Brewer as Mother Abbess and Elizabeth Futral as Elsa Schraeder.
The cast will perform along with 37 members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra and a choral ensemble of 25 singers.
Tickets for the show, based on the stories of the musical von Trapp family during World War II, start at $29 and are for sale online or by calling 312-827-5600.
The show will open at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, on April 26. A preview performance will take place April 25.
