PETER PAN: The Ultimate Family Experience Coming To Utica In Two Weeks!

Tony® Award nominee Cathy Rigby takes flight in an all-new production of PETER PAN! Discover the magic all over again with this two-time Emmy Award-winning and two-time Tony® Award-nominated production, which will be at the Stanley on November 15, 16, & 17.  Broadway Theatre League of Utica is presenting the show.

PETER PAN is a unique, family friendly attraction of spectacle and fantasy.  The thrill of flying, timeless magical moments and a captivating hook will mesmerize young and old alike.  The legend you thought you know, is now the adventure you never dreamed possible…Cathy Rigby is PETER PAN!

Broadway’s Tom Hewitt (The Rocky Horror Show, Dracula, Chicago) and Kim Crosby (Cinderella in the original Into the Woods) will play Mr. Darling/Captain Hook and Mrs. Darling, respectively, in the new national tour of the musical PETER PAN starring Cathy Rigby. The revival is expected to stop into a Madison Square Garden venue during the 2011 holiday season.

McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT (Tom McCoy & Cathy Rigby – Executive Producers) Tom McCoy and Cathy Rigby are beginning their 17th season as Executive Producers of the McCoy Rigby Entertainment Series at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.  Since the 1994/95 Season, McCoy Rigby has produced over 75 plays, musicals, concerts, dramas, and comedies. MRE has also produced several Broadway productions and National Tours including PETER PAN, Seussical the Musical both starring Cathy Rigby, Jesus Christ Superstar starring Carl Anderson, Camelot formerly starring Michael York and through 2008, starring Lou Diamond Phillips, and Happy Days, The Musical. 

Since 1990, PETER PAN starring Cathy Rigby has made 4 stops on Broadway, garnering four Tony® Nominations including Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical.  Other credits include the A&E Television Network Premiere of “PETER PAN,” which received 4 Emmy Award Nominations and one Emmy Award; “The Historic All Star Concert for Pope John Paul II” at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and the award-winning documentary on balancing wellness, titled “Faces of Recovery.”

“PETER PAN sparkles with fairy dust!  Rigby has mastered the boy who wouldn’t grow up.” – Washington Post.

For more information about PETER PAN or to purchase tickets, call (315) 724-7196 or visit www.BroadwayUtica.com. Tickets start at $36.50 and are half-price for students of all ages.

Performers from the hit musical In the Heights, a Broadway Theatre League presentation, visited the Stevens-Swan Humane Society of Utica today. (Insert Names) went to the Humane Society to spend time with the animals and call attention to the everyday needs of our local animal shelters. 

Performers on nationally touring shows, such as In The Heights, often miss their own animals while traveling.  Therefore, the visit not only provided a sense of comfort to the sheltered animals, but to the performers as well. 

In honor of their visit, the cast is asking community members and patrons of the upcoming performances to donate an item to the Stevens-Swan Humane Society.  Donations will be collected at both evening performances, and can also be dropped off at the Broadway Theatre League’s office, located at 258 Genesee Street in Utica.

“The Stevens-Swan Humane Society performs a critical role within our community, by sheltering, caring for, and finding homes for our beloved animals,” said John Fehlner, Executive Director of Broadway Theatre League of Utica.

“We are so grateful to the Broadway Theater League for thinking of our shelter’s animals.  We appreciate the opportunity to reach out to the Broadway Theatre League’s patrons and were happy to meet the cast members and take them on a tour of our shelter,” said Jerry Kraus, Public Relations/Marketing Director at The Stevens-Swan Humane Society.

For anyone interested in making a donation to the Stevens-Swan Humane Society, everyday needs of the shelter include:

• Canned dog food: Pedigree Choice Cuts in gravy
• Canned cat food: Friskies, 9-Lives, etc. (Paté or filet)
• Kitten milk
• Cat litter: Fresh Step, Tidy Cat, etc.
• Litter pan deodorizer
• Dog toys & treats: Rawhides, bones, chew toys, Kongs, or Nylabones
• Cat toys & treats: Fishing wands, balls with bells, or mice
• Cat & dog collars and leashes
• Cat & dog beds
• Small paper or Styrofoam bowls
• Paper towels
• Sheets, blankets, towels, washcloths, pillow cases: New or used
• Clorox bleach
• Laundry soap: High efficiency
• Dawn Dish Soap without Bleach
• Sponges: Yellow and blue with scrubbers on one side
• Trash bags: 13 and 30 gallon
• Febreeze or Lysol sprays
• Windex

In the Heights will be presented October 25 & 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Stanley.  For more information about In The Heights or to purchase tickets, call (315) 724-7196 or visit www.broadwayutica.com.

Performers from the hit musical In the Heights, a Broadway Theatre League presentation, will visit the Stevens-Swan Humane Society of Utica on Tuesday, October 25 at 11:15 a.m. The performers will be at the Humane Society to spend time with the animals and call attention to the everyday needs of local animal shelters.  In addition, the cast members are asking community members and patrons of the performance to bring an item to the show that will benefit the Humane Society.  In the Heights will be presented October 25 & 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Stanley. 

Everyday needs of the Stevens-Swan Humane Society, include:

• Canned dog food: Pedigree Choice Cuts in gravy
• Canned cat food: Friskies, 9-Lives, etc. (Paté or filet)
• Kitten milk
• Cat litter: Fresh Step, Tidy Cat, etc.
• Litter pan deodorizer
• Dog toys & treats: Rawhides, bones, chew toys, Kongs, or Nylabones
• Cat toys & treats: Fishing wands, balls with bells, or mice
• Cat & dog collars and leashes
• Cat & dog beds
• Small paper or Styrofoam bowls
• Paper towels
• Sheets, blankets, towels, washcloths, pillow cases: New or used
• Clorox bleach
• Laundry soap: High efficiency
• Dawn Dish Soap without Bleach
• Sponges: Yellow and blue with scrubbers on one side
• Trash bags: 13 and 30 gallon
• Febreeze or Lysol sprays
• Windex
   

The national tour of the explosive Broadway hit AMERICAN IDIOT, called “wonderfully raucous” and “emotionally charged” by The New York Times, will make its Utica premiere December 21 & 22 at the Stanley, presented by Broadway Theatre League of Utica.  In addition, Utica will serve as the tech city for AMERICAN IDIOT’S national tour.

AMERICAN IDIOT, a 2010 Tony Award®-nominated Best Musical and 2010 Grammy© Award winner for Best Musical Show Album, features the music of Green Day with the lyrics of its lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong. The book is by Armstrong and Michael Mayer and direction is by Tony Award®-winner Mayer (“Spring Awakening”).

The acclaimed creative team also includes choreography by Olivier Award-winner Steven Hoggett (“Black Watch”), and musical supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom Kitt (“Next to Normal”). The Tony Award®-winning scenic design by Christine Jones and the Tony Award®-winning lighting design by Kevin Adams will also be featured in the tour.

Nominated for three Tony Awards®, AMERICAN IDIOT is the story of three boyhood friends, each searching for meaning in a post- 9-11 world. Through incredible spectacle, thrilling performances, and with the hope embodied by a new generation, AMERICAN IDIOT has given Broadway audiences the time of their lives night after night since the musical began performances at the St. James Theatre in March 2010.

“Since its inception, audiences have been surprised by the emotional journey the show takes them on, told almost exclusively through Green Day’s songs, including many they are already familiar with and love,” said Tom Hulce, producer. “This is such a potent time for our country, and the search of our characters for what to believe in is gorgeously celebrated through Billie Joe and Green Day’s wonderfully lush score,” he added.

“We are pleased not only to present this exciting musical performance, but also to have the show in town for an extended period of time,”  said Broadway Theatre League’s Executive Director, John Fehlner. AMERICAN IDIOT is the second tech show that the Broadway Theatre League has brought to Utica this year.

With Utica as the tech city, patrons of the Broadway Theatre League will be among the first to see the national tour of AMERICAN IDIOT. The cast and crew will set up shop for a period of 10 days, which will be of great benefit and contribute a significant economic boost to the area.

The musical features the hits “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” “Holiday” and the blockbuster title track “American Idiot” from Green Day’s 2004 Grammy© Award-winning, multi-platinum album. Also included in the score are several songs from Green Day’s 2009 release “21st Century Breakdown,” and an unreleased love song, “When It’s Time.”

AMERICAN IDIOT premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in September 2009 and played through November of that year. In April 2010, the musical opened on Broadway where reviews were unanimously positive with Charles Isherwood of the New York Times calling the show “the most adventurous musical to brave Broadway in the past decade” and the Toronto Star naming it “the first great musical of the 21st century!”

For more information on AMERICAN IDIOT, visit www.americanidiotthemusical.com or www.broadwayutica.com.
 

IN THE HEIGHTS, winner of four 2008 Tony Awards® and the 2008 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album, is being presented by the Broadway Theatre League of Utica at the Stanley Theatre on October 25 and 26. Tickets are currently on sale and are available by calling (315) 724-7196 or by visiting www.BroadwayUtica.com.

IN THE HEIGHTS tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music.  It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.

According to The Washington Post, IN THE HEIGHTS is “PURE BROADWAY. AN EVENING OF OLD-STYLE, INNOCENT PLEASURE,” and Ben Brantley of The New York Times enthused that IN THE HEIGHTS is “AN EXUBERANT, ANIMATED SHRINE TO THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY TIES AND BEING FAITHFUL TO WHERE YOU COME FROM.”

In addition to winning the 2008 Tony Award® for Best Musical, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show’s creator, won the Tony Award® for Best Music and Lyrics. Andy Blankenbuehler won for Best Choreography, and Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman won for Best Orchestrations.  The original cast recording won the 2008 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album. 

With a book by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Award nominee Quiara Alegría Hudes, and conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda, IN THE HEIGHTS is directed by Joseph A. Callaway Award-winner and Tony Award® nominee Thomas Kail.  The music arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman.  IN THE HEIGHTS also features Tony®- nominated scenic design (Anna Louizos), costumes (Paul Tazewell), lighting (Howell Binkley), and sound (Acme Sound Partners). 

IN THE HEIGHTS is produced by Work Light Productions. 

For more information about IN THE HEIGHTS, visit: www.InTheHeightsOnTour.com.
 

The Broadway Theatre League of Utica announced today that The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, which will be at the Stanley Theatre on September 27 and 28, will offer the media an opportunity to be a part of the wandelprobe for the show on Monday, September 26 at 4:00 p.m. at the Stanley Theatre.  A wandelprobe is a rehearsal where the actors, orchestra, and blocking all come together for the first time.

After the wandelprobe, the show’s executive producer, Kary Walker, and Broadway Theatre League’s executive director, John Fehlner, will be on hand to answer questions about the show and the tech process, which is new to the Utica area. A.J. Holmes (Dr. Frankenstein) and Rory Donovan (The Monster) will also be available for interviews following the wandelprobe.

Utica is Young Frankenstein’s first stop on its national tour. Patrons of the Broadway Theatre League’s presentation of Young Frankenstein, which is also known as a tech show, will be among the first to see the show with its new cast and crew working together for the first time. Utica’s being the first stop on such a tour is a great benefit, as the cast and crew need to stay locally for approximately 10 days.  The show’s total stay in Utica is expected to create a significant economic boost estimated at approximately $750,000 to $1 million, with cast and crew staying at our hotels, eating at our restaurants, and purchasing local products.

About Young Frankenstein:

Based on the Oscar-nominated smash hit 1974 film, Young Frankenstein is the wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Mary Shelley classic from the comic genius of Mel Brooks.  When Frederick Frankenstein, an esteemed New York brain surgeon and professor, inherits a castle and laboratory in Transylvania from his grandfather, deranged genius Victor Von Frankenstein, he faces a dilemma.  Does he continue to run from his family’s tortured past or does he stay in Transylvania to carry on his grandfather’s mad experiments reanimating the dead and, in the process, fall in love with his sexy lab assistant Inga?  Unfolding in the forbidding Castle Frankenstein and the foggy moors of Transylvania Heights, the show’s raucous score includes “The Transylvania Mania,” “He Vas My Boyfriend” and the unforgettable treatment of Irving Berlin’s “Puttin’ On the Ritz.”

The Cast:

A.J. Holmes (Frederick Frankenstein). Credits: University of Michigan, Ragtime (Tateh), See Rock City (Jess). Composer/Music Director/Pianist/Actor with Team StarKid (www.teamstarkid.com), A Very Potter Musical, Me And My Dick (Heart).

Rory Donovan (The Monster) is beyond thrilled to be making his national touring debut with such a fantastic production. Recent Credits: The Who’s Tommy (Minister Simpson) at the Berkshire Theatre festival. 2011 Graduate of University of the Arts (BFA Musical Theatre.) Thanks so much to Bob, Jeff, Tina and everyone at NETworks.

Kary M. Walker (Executive Producer) Mr. Walker was Executive Producer for Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre in Chicago for 2 decades. Marriott became a musical theatre under his leadership and developed the largest musical theatre subscription audience in the U.S. Mr. Walker is a founding board member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and former President of the League of Chicago Theatres. For NETworks he has served as Executive Producer for tours of Kiss Me, Kate; Seussical; Contact; Cabaret; Annie; Rent; Sweeney Todd; The Drowsy Chaperone; A Chorus Line and Spring Awakening.

For more information about Young Frankenstein, or to purchase tickets for the upcoming show, call (315) 724-7196 or visit www.BroadwayUtica.com or YoungFrankensteinTheMusical.com.
 

The Broadway Theatre League of Utica announced today that individual tickets are now on sale for The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, which will be at the Stanley Theatre on September 27 and 28. Not only is Utica the first stop on the national tour of the new musical comedy, but the show will also be made over in Utica, allowing patrons of the Broadway Theatre League’s presentation to be among the first to see the newly revamped performance.  While in Utica, Young Frankenstein’s set, costumes, and promotional materials for the national tour will all be updated and revitalized.

“We are ecstatic to be the first stop on the tour and pleased to be able to host the cast and crew in Utica for nearly two weeks,” said Broadway Theatre League’s Executive Director John Fehlner. “This is an exciting opportunity for area theater lovers. It is not often that we get to see a brand new performance right in our own backyard,” he added.

Based on the Oscar-nominated smash hit 1974 film, Young Frankenstein is the wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Mary Shelley classic from the comic genius of Mel Brooks.  When Frederick Frankenstein, an esteemed New York brain surgeon and professor, inherits a castle and laboratory in Transylvania from his grandfather, deranged genius Victor Von Frankenstein, he faces a dilemma.  Does he continue to run from his family’s tortured past or does he stay in Transylvania to carry on his grandfather’s mad experiments reanimating the dead and, in the process, fall in love with his sexy lab assistant Inga?  Unfolding in the forbidding Castle Frankenstein and the foggy moors of Transylvania Heights, the show’s raucous score includes “The Transylvania Mania,” “He Vas My Boyfriend” and the unforgettable treatment of Irving Berlin’s “Puttin’ On the Ritz.”

For more information about Young Frankenstein, or to purchase tickets for the upcoming show, call (315) 724-7196 or visit www.BroadwayUtica.com or YoungFrankensteinTheMusical.com
 

Broadway Theatre League’s Executive Director, John Fehlner, and President of the Board of Directors, Eileen Pronobis, announced today that Utica will not only be the first stop on the national tour of the tech show Young Frankenstein, but the show’s makeover will also create an economic boost to the region, estimated between $750,000 and $900,000.  While in Utica, the Young Frankenstein set, costumes, and promotional materials for the national tour will all be updated and revitalized.  Tour promoters will be hiring local stagehands and adding approximately 45-50 people to the crew.

“This means a significant economic boost for Utica and the surrounding region,” said John Fehlner, executive director of Broadway Theatre League. “The cast and crew will be staying at our hotels, eating in our restaurants, and using our local workforce.  The show will even be filming all of its B- roll here,” he added, referring the promotional materials used for the show’s television and radio commercials.

In addition to Young Frankenstein, which will be in Utica September 27 and 28, Fehlner and Pronobis also discussed the exciting new schedule set for the 2011-2012 Broadway Theatre League season, which includes:

• In the Heights, October 25 and 26
• Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby, November 15, 16, and 17 (Act II Show)
• Shrek The Musical, February 7, 8, and 9
• Mamma Mia!, January 17 and 18 (Act II Show)
• South Pacific, March 6 and 7
• Blue Man Group, May 25 and 26

“The lineup of shows in the upcoming season is a must-see,” declared Pronobis.  “It offers a great deal of variety, and is attractive to all age groups,” she added.

Subscriptions are currently on sale and begin at $136 per person for all five shows.  Included in the subscription are:

• Young Frankenstein
• In the Heights
• Shrek The Musical
• South Pacific
• Blue Man Group

Tickets for Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby and Mamma Mia! will be sold separately.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call (315) 724-7196 or visit www.broadwayutica.com.