PRESS RELEASE
DATE: March 20, 2007
Media Contacts: Jacquelyn Rardin, Public Relations Manager
(425) 392-1942 x124
Frank Stilwagner, Director of Marketing
(425) 392-1942 x129
www.villagetheatre.org
VILLAGE THEATRE ANNOUNCES 2007-2008 MAINSTAGE SEASON
Lineup Includes Two New Musicals, a First for Village Theatre
Everett and Issaquah, WA—Village Theatre announces its 2007-2008 Mainstage Season, comprised of five shows full of dynamic drama and brilliant comedy, energetic and unforgettable entertainment, and most importantly, the professionalism and high-quality production values audiences have come to expect from Village Theatre.
Village Theatre’s 2007-2008 Mainstage Season is spiked with cultural explorations in the artistically lush productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I and Elton John and Tim Rice’s AIDA. Marriage is put to the test in Neil Simon’s delightful Barefoot in the Park, while cherished family relationships and a night that made rock and roll history are intimately revealed in the Mainstage debut of two new musicals developed through Village Theatre’s Village Originals program: Little Women and Million Dollar Quartet.
“This season marks a milestone for the theatre,” said Robb Hunt, executive producer for Village Theatre. “We are respected nationally for our dedication and contribution to the development of new works, and in recent seasons, we have cultivated an appreciative local audience asking us to produce more new musicals as a part of our Mainstage season. We are proud our new musicals have achieved such a positive reception and will, for the first time in Village Theatre’s history, premiere two new musicals that we believe deserve a place in the national musical theatre repertoire.”
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Page Two…Village Theatre Announces 2007-2008 Mainstage Season
Village Theatre’s complete 2007-2008 Season schedule includes the following:
Million Dollar Quartet
Book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux
Directed by Matt Walker
Music directed by Chuck Mead
Issaquah: September 19-October 28, 2007
Everett: November 2-18, 2007
Internationally known author, music historian, and Grammy Award-winning producer Colin Escott (The Complete Hank Williams) and Second City graduate and acclaimed film writer, director, and producer Floyd Mutrux (Scarecrow, winner of “Best Film” at Cannes, American Me, Mulholland Falls, among others), with musical direction by Chuck Mead of the multiple Grammy-nominated country band BR549, have joined together to tell the amazing true story of the Million Dollar Quartet. On December 4, 1956 at Sun Studios in Memphis, a twist of fate brought Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash together for one night of music that made history. These four legends-to-be and the “Father of Rock-n-Roll,” Sam Phillips, who discovered them all, united for an impromptu recording session that would be one for the ages. Originally presented in Village Theatre’s 2006 Festival of New Musicals, Million Dollar Quartet captures the spirit and music of that one fateful night, including chart-topping rock-n-roll and gospel classics of the ‘50s.
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s
The King and I
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
Based on Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon
Directed by Steve Tomkins
Issaquah: November 14, 2007-January 6, 2008
Everett: January 11-27, 2008
Set against the exotic backdrop of Thailand, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Tony Award-winning classic is a stunning tale of learning to love and learning to change. East and West collide when Anna, an English school teacher, is commissioned to govern the King of Siam’s many children. Clashing cultures eventually melt into enduring love as Anna and the King realize that people aren’t always who they seem. Directed by Village Theatre veteran and artistic director, Steve Tomkins and featuring remarkable musical numbers such as “Getting to Know You,” “Something Wonderful,” and “Shall We Dance?,” The King and I is one of the most exquisite stories ever told.
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Page Three…Village Theatre Announces 2007-2008 Mainstage Season
Barefoot in the Park
By Neil Simon
Directed by Jeff Steitzer
Issaquah: January 23-March 2, 2008
Everett: March 7-23, 2008
Touted as one of Neil Simon’s best comedies, this 1963 Tony-nominated play takes a lighthearted look at life, love, and surviving wedded bliss. Young Manhattan newlyweds Paul Bratter, a conservative up-and-coming lawyer, and Corrie, his vivacious free-spirited wife, realize that life after the honeymoon is no walk in the park—instead it’s made hilariously complicated by an eccentric landlord, a protective mother-in-law, and a tiny five-floor walkup, all creating the perfect concoction for matrimonial disharmony. Returning to Village Theatre to direct Barefoot in the Park is seasoned theatre, film, and television director and actor, Jeff Steitzer, who is currently understudying Tony Award-winning actor Brian Dennehy in Broadway’s Inherit the Wind.
Little Women
Book by Sean Hartley
Lyrics by Alison Hubbard
Music by Kim Oler
Directed by Daniella Topol
Issaquah: March 19-April 27, 2008
Everett: May 2-18, 2008
A Village Theatre 2006 Festival of New Musicals favorite and recipient of the Richard Rodgers Award for best score by Kim Older and Alison Hubbard, Little Women is an all new musical version of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel that brings the timeless tale of the March family to vivid life. In this faithful adaptation, Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth grow from girls into women, guided by their mother, Marmee, through romance and loss, illness and courtship, growing up, and letting go. Originally slated for Broadway, this version of Little Women was cut loose due to creative differences when the producers wanted to take the story in an entirely new direction, leading to a version which ran on Broadway in 2005. Returning to their BMI roots, Hubbard and Oler continued to work on Little Women and caught the attention of playwright, lyricist, and composer Sean Hartley, a BMI Workshop member known for his intimate musical Cupid & Psyche (World Premiere at Village Theatre and recipient of a 2003 Drama Desk Award nomination). Hartley wrote a new libretto for the show and reconceived it from the ground up, working from the novel and remaining uninfluenced by the recent Broadway version. Working through Village Theatre’s Village Originals program, Little Women has achieved Mainstage readiness for its debut next March.
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Page Four…Village Theatre Announces 2007-2008 Mainstage Season
Elton John and Tim Rice’s
AIDA
Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang
Directed by Steve Tomkins
Issaquah: May 14-July 6, 2008
Everett: July 11-27, 2008
Based on Giuseppe Verdi’s classic opera and fused with contemporary sounds borrowed from reggae, Motown, gospel and international beats of Africa, India and the Middle East, Elton John and Tim Rice’s Tony and Grammy Award-winning pop-rock powerhouse turns the legendary tale of AIDA into an exhilarating and rousing musical event. Bursting with energy and teeming with vibrant song and dance, AIDA is an epic tale of loyalty, betrayal, and forbidden love.
“Village Theatre is excited to collaborate with such outstanding writers and directors, and we look forward to a truly excellent season,” added Hunt.
“I’m thrilled about the direction of the new season and the artistic challenges it presents,” concluded Steve Tomkins, artistic director for Village Theatre. “The shows we have chosen will be exciting for us and for audiences of all ages.”
Village Theatre Mainstage Subscription packages are on sale now, ranging in price $80-$220 (Issaquah) and $60-$195 (Everett). Single tickets go on sale August 2007 (Issaquah), ranging $20-$55 and September 2007 (Everett), ranging $15-$49. Precise on-sale dates will be announced throughout the season. All tickets are available via the Village Theatre Box Office at (425) 392-2202 (Issaquah) and (425) 257-8600 (Everett), or online at www.villagetheatre.org. Performances take place at the Francis J. Gaudette Theatre in Issaquah located at 303 Front Street North and at the Everett Performing Arts Center located at 2710 Wetmore Avenue. For more information about the upcoming season, please contact Jacquelyn Rardin at (425) 392-1942 x124 or .
About Village Theatre
Based in Issaquah, WA, with operations in Everett, Village Theatre is a leading producer of musical theatre in the Pacific Northwest. Producing entertaining quality productions for the entire family since 1979, Village Theatre has grown into one of the region's best-attended Equity theatres, with over 17,000 subscribers and 170,000 projected total attendance each season. Through its Village Originals program, Village Theatre is nationally recognized for its contribution to the development of new musicals, having launched over 60 new works to date. Village Theatre also takes pride in nurturing tomorrow’s audiences through its youth education programs, Pied Piper and KIDSTAGE, serving over 53,000 young people, families, and schools annually.
Village Theatre season sponsors are The Boeing Company, Continental Airlines, Lombardi’s and Microsoft.
Village Theatre is also funded in part by 4Culture/King County Lodging Tax Revenue, ArtsFund, ArtsUnited, Bellevue Arts Commission, City of Everett, City of Issaquah, Freixenet/Deakin Estates, Issaquah Arts Commission, The National Endowment for the Arts, Northwest Suites, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, PONCHO, The Shubert Foundation, Snohomish County Hotel/Motel Tax Fund, Standing Ovation, and Washington State Arts Commission.
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