PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: September 26, 2008
Media Contact: Michelle Sanders, Public Relations Manager
(425) 392-1942 x124
www.villagetheatre.org
Village THeatre’s Record breaking
million dollar quartet
OPENS AT GOODMAN THEATRE IN CHICAGO
Village Theatre CAST Members—Levi Kreis, lance Guest, rob lyons—move with the show
Issaquah, WA – Developed through Village Theatre’s Village Originals program, Million Dollar Quartet opens tonight at the Owen Theatre at Goodman Theatre in downtown Chicago and will run through October 26, 2008.
Million Dollar Quartet was originally part of Village Theatre’s 6th Annual Festival of New Musicals in 2006 and was received with such great applause, it swiftly became the 2007-2008 Mainstage season opener in September 2007. The production quickly became Village Theatre’s largest selling new musical bringing in over $1 million in overall ticket sales. With over 29,000 tickets sold, Million Dollar Quartet was one of Village Theatre’s most popular musicals in its history.
The Chicago production will feature several of Village Theatre’s Mainstage original cast members. The ever-popular Levi Kreis will reprise his role as Jerry Lee Lewis, Lance Guest as Johnny Cash, and Rob Lyons as Carl Perkins. Robb Hunt, executive producer for Village Theatre comments, “We are excited that Million Dollar Quartet is moving on to Chicago and that our wonderful cast is so well represented.”
Currently on the Village Theatre Mainstage is the 2008-2009 season opener and new musical work, Saint Heaven. Following a path similar to Million Dollar Quartet, Saint Heaven was presented in the 7th Annual Festival of New Musicals in 2007. Receiving great audience praise, the production was brought to the Mainstage for a full-production resulting in the West Coast Premiere of the show last week, September 17, 2008. Featuring an all-star cast including Broadway talent Kingsley Leggs (The Color Purple) and Seattle favorites Cynthia Jones (Regional: Menopause The Musical) and Tanesha Ross (Village Theatre: AIDA), the production will continue its run in Issaquah until October 26, 2008 and then move to Everett, running October 31-November 23, 2008.
For more information, please contact Michelle Sanders at (425) 392-1942 x124 or , or visit the website at: www.villagetheatre.org.
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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 18,000 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 80 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, Microsoft and Lombardi’s
Village Theatre is also funded in part by 4Culture, ABODA, ArtsFund, ArtsUnited, Cascade Bank, City of Everett, City of Issaquah /Issaquah Arts Commission, Encore Arts Program, Frontier Bank, Journal Newspapers, National Endowment for the Arts, Overlake Hospital and Medical Center, PONCHO, Port Blakely Communities/Issaquah Highlands, Standing Ovation, and Washington State Arts Commission. Village Theatre is a member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and Theatre Puget Sound.
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