CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Drury Lane Theatre Announces Its Exciting 2012-13 Season
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Featuring HAIRSPRAY, THE 39 STEPS,
XANADU, SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN AND SUNSET BOULEVARD
Oak Brook, Ill.—Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, known for producing acclaimed, innovative and classic musicals and comedies, announces its 2012-2013 season featuring five glorious films brought to new life on stage. The Tony Award-winning phenomenon HAIRSPRAY previews April 12, opens April 19 and runs through June 17; the riveting thriller THE 39 STEPS previews July 5, opens July 12 and runs through August 26; the effervescent Broadway hit XANADU previews September 6, opens September 13 and runs through October 28; the beloved masterpiece SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN previews November 8, opens November 15 and runs through January 13; and SUNSET BOULEVARD, the triumphant Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, previews January 24, opens January 31 and runs through April 7.
Drury Lane Theatre’s 2012 season opens with the smash hit musical comedy HAIRSPRAY. Set in 1960s Baltimore, HAIRSPRAY is the exuberant story of pleasantly plump teen Tracy Turnblad, who does whatever it takes to fulfill her lifelong dream of appearing on the popular Corny Collins Show. Can this plus-size trendsetter vanquish the program’s reigning princess, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her fabulous ‘do? HAIRSPRAY won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, and inspired the 2007 blockbuster feature film. The New Yorker called HAIRSPRAY “Exhilaratingly funny!” and The New York Times raved that “If life were everything it should be, it would be more like HAIRSPRAY. It’s irresistible!” The upbeat score includes oldies-inspired songs “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” “Welcome to the 60’s,” and “Hairspray.” The production features music by five-time Oscar nominee Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman, and a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. HAIRSPRAY is directed and choreographed by Jeff Award winner Tammy Mader (Choreographer of Drury Lane Theatre’s Spamalot and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) and previews April 12, opens April 19 and runs through June 17, 2012.
A current hit on Broadway and the West End, the thrilling comedy THE 39 STEPS is adapted from the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film and the 1915 novel by John Buchan. The story centers on Englishman “Richard Hannay,” who inadvertently embarks on a chaotic adventure full of narrow escapes after trying to help a female spy. When he wakes up to find her dead in his apartment, he flees from the police and an espionage organization, desperately trying to find the truth. THE 39 STEPS features four actors bringing more than 150 characters to life throughout the play, making it a one-of-a-kind production that NBC called “Brilliant!,” the New York Post raved is “The most entertaining show on Broadway,” and the New York Daily News hailed as “Ingenious!” This fast-paced fun ride is a dizzy delight!” THE 39 STEPS was adapted for the stage by Patrick Barlow and is the winner of two 2008 Tony Awards, a 2008 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience, and the 2007 Olivier Award for Best Comedy. THE 39 STEPS is directed by multi-Jeff Award nominee David New (Drury Lane Theatre’s Broadway Bound, Sarah Siddons Award Winner and former Associate Artistic Director at Steppenwolf Theatre) and previews July 5, opens July 12 and runs through August 26, 2012.
XANADU, the smash hit musical that took Broadway by storm, is based on the Universal Pictures cult classic movie of the same title, which starred Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly. XANADU follows the journey of a magical and beautiful Greek muse, Kira, who descends from the heavens of Mt. Olympus to Venice Beach, California in 1980 on a quest to inspire a struggling artist, Sonny, to achieve the greatest artistic creation of all time: the first roller disco. When Kira falls into forbidden love with the mortal Sonny, her jealous sisters take advantage of the situation and chaos abounds. XANADU has been described as “Heaven on wheels” by The New York Times and The New Yorker raved that the production is “Ridiculously brilliant, lavish and sublime!” The production was nominated for four 2008 Tony Awards (including Best Musical) and won the 2008 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Musical. This hysterical musical adventure features an original hit score composed by pop-rock legends Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, and includes Magic, Party All Over the World, Suddenly, I’m Alive, Evil Woman, Xanadu, and many other chart-topping tunes. Lynne wrote and produced all the music of Electric Light Orchestra (E.L.O), who had 19 Top 20 hit singles in the U.S. between 1972 and 1986. Farrar was responsible for most of the hits that were performed by Olivia Newton-John in the 1970’s. Douglas Carter Beane, one of Broadway’s master storytellers, weaves a moving, electrifying tale of endless fun with an inspiring message to follow your dreams. His work earned him the 2008 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical. Rachel Rockwell (Drury Lane Theatre’s The Sound of Music, Sweeney Todd and Ragtime), named “Best Director” by Chicago Magazine, directs and choreographs XANADU, previewing September 6, opening September 13 and running through October 28, 2012.
The quintessential Broadway musical masterpiece SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN was hailed as “Blissful!” by the New York Times and “Pure joy…hugely engaging!” by The Telegraph. Featuring exhilarating, toe-tapping dance numbers and an effervescent love story, SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN is a timeless classic with a delightful score including “Good Morning,” “Make “em Laugh,” and “Singin’ in the Rain.” Set in glitzy, glamorous Hollywood in the 1920s, this lighthearted and funny tale centers on Don Lockwood, a film star who finds love while navigating the ever-changing world of showbiz. SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN is based on the 1954 film starring Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds, which the American Film Institute named the #1 Greatest Movie Musical of all time and The New York Times called “The happiest movie musical ever made.” The production has a book adapted by Betty Comden and Adolph Green with Music by Nacio Herb Brown and Lyrics by Arthur Freed. SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN is directed by Bill Jenkins (Chair of Ball State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance and Director of Drury Lane Theatre’s Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) and choreographed by Amber Mak and previews November 8, opens November 15 and runs through January 13, 2013.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s SUNSET BOULEVARD, based on Billy Wilder’s 1950 film with the same name, weaves a magnificent tale of faded glory and unfulfilled ambition. Silent movie star Norma Desmond longs for a return to the big screen, having been discarded by Tinseltown with the advent of “talkies.” Her glamour has faded in all but her mind. When Norma meets struggling Hollywood screen-writer Joe Gillis in dramatic circumstances, their subsequent passionate and volatile relationship leads to an unforeseen and tragic conclusion. The New York Times enthused that SUNSET BOULEVARD is “Scored with some of Lloyd Webber’s loveliest melodies and designed with an extravagance of mind.” SUNSET BOULEVARD was the winner of seven Tony Awards in 1995 and features a breathtaking score by the legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) and a book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. SUNSET BOULEVARD, directed by Drury Lane Theatre’s Artistic Director William Osetek (Drury Lane Theatre’s smash hit production of Spamalot and Jeff Award nominee for Best Director and Best Production for Thoroughly Modern Millie) and choreographed by Tammy Mader, previews January 24, opens January 31 and runs through April 7, 2013.
Become a Drury Lane Oakbrook subscriber for as low as $125 per person and guarantee seats for all five spectacular 2012 productions for the price of three. Subscribers receive discounts on dining, early notification and priority seating for added events and concerts, a flexible ticket exchange policy, discounts on banquet catering and discounts at The Hilton Suites and Hilton Garden Inn. For more information, call 630.530.0111.
The performance schedule is as follows: Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. ($35), Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. ($35) and 8 p.m. ($40), Fridays at 8:30 p.m. ($45), Saturdays at 5 p.m. ($45) and 8:30 p.m. ($46) and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. ($45) and 6 p.m. ($40). Lunch and dinner theater packages range from $49.75 to $68 depending on the day of the week. Student tickets start as low as $20 and Senior Citizen tickets start as low as $30 for matinees and $44.75 for a matinee luncheon package. For reservations, call the Drury Lane Theatre box office at 630.530.0111, call TicketMaster at 800.745.3000, or visit www.drurylaneoakbrook.com.