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MNM THEATRE COMPANY to present Two Iconic Musicals in 2019

11 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by in Clients, MNM Theatre Company

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MNM Theatre Company
Will Present Two Iconic Musicals in 2019

Man of La Mancha
and
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

March 8, 2019

WEST PALM BEACH, FL:  The award-winning MNM Theatre Company, under the direction of Executive Producer and Artistic Director Marcie Gorman, will mount two of Broadway’s most beloved and successful musicals in 2019.  Man of La Mancha will run from September 13th through September 29th, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum will run from November 22nd through December 8th.  Both shows will be performed in the Raymond F. Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse, and Forum will be a co-presentation with the Kravis Center.

Marcie Gorman

“We chose these two shows after much deliberation,” Gorman explains. “And it was a truly collaborative decision.  Our team sat down together right after Grease closed and looked at every aspect of our season.  We were thrilled with the audience response to our shows – two sell-outs in one season! (Grease and Avenue Q).  And since our patrons were so supportive, we decided to include them in the process – Grease audiences were surveyed as to what they would like to see for our next season.  Man of La Mancha was the top pick by far, with Forum coming in a strong second.  We’re thrilled, since these two shows are both Broadway classics, but totally different from one another.

“We pride ourselves on the fact that MNM uses local talent almost exclusively in our productions,” Gorman continues, “and these two shows will allow us to continue to showcase the incredible abilities of our own community.”

Dominick Ruggiero will direct the witty, irreverent, and deliberately and hilariously politically incorrect A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Bruce Linser will helm Man of La Mancha.

Bruce Linser & Paul Reekie

Linser is a 2018 Carbonell nominee for his recent direction of Palm Beach Dramaworks production of Woody Guthrie’s American Song: “Man of La Mancha has been on my bucket list for years,” Linser said recently.  “Set in a Seville prison during the Spanish Inquisition, the musical theatricalizes the adventures of epic literary character, Don Quixote, as performed through the eyes of his creator, author Miguel de Cervantes. It is one of the most beloved musicals of all time, and is a testament to the power of art, hope, and love to enrich and transform our lives.”

Paul Reekie, who has worked with MNM since their first production (A Chorus Line, 2014) will serve as the musical director for both Man of La Mancha and A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum: “While both shows are “period pieces” (in their own ways), the orchestration in Forum has a contemporary yet classical musical theatre sound, while La Mancha strives for an organic, natural tone (no piano!),” he says.  “Both shows were written within five years of each other, and both have a trumpet in them, but contrast a “musical theatre” trumpet sound from the modern age (Forum) with a renaissance trumpet sound (La Mancha), and there you will hear the vastly different effect one instrument can have on the mood of the show.”

Man of La Mancha will run from September 13 – September 29, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum will run from November 22 – December 8.  Both productions will take place in the Raymond Kravis Center for the Performing Arts’ Rinker Playhouse.   Ticket prices and details will be coming soon.

MNM Theatre Company attained not-for-profit 501(c)(3) status in 2018. They are an award- winning theatre company that performs at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in the Rinker Playhouse. Donations can be sent to MNM Theatre Company, 318 S. Lake Drive, Lantana, FL 33462.  For more information, please visit mnmtheatre.org.

For more information about MNM Theatre Company and/or Marcie Gorman, please visit mnmtheatre.org or contact Carol Kassie at Carol@CarolKassie.com / 561-445-9244.

Photo credit: Jacek Photo

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Man of La Mancha
September 13 – 29
Written by Dale Wasserman
Music by Mitch Leigh
Lyrics by Joe Darion
Performances:
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday at 7:30 pm
Saturday & Sunday at 1:30 pm
All performances at
The Rinker Playhouse at
The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
701 Okeechobee Blvd.
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
mnmtheatre.org
Like Us on Facebook!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
November 22 – December 8
Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Performances:
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, & Saturday at 7:30 pm (no Thanksgiving night performance)
Saturday & Sunday at 1:30 pm
All performances in
The Rinker Playhouse at
The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
701 Okeechobee Blvd.
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
mnmtheatre.org
Like Us on Facebook!

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TO LIFE: STORIES & MUSIC CELEBRATING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF JEWISH COMPOSERS TO THE GOLDEN AGE OF BROADWAY – Jan 18 – Feb at the Willow Theatre

27 Thursday Dec 2018

Posted by in Black Box Booking & Hy Juter, Clients

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Black Box Booking & Hy Juter
Present

To Life: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to The Golden Age of Broadway

January 18 – February 3, 2019

 “Musicals are plays, but the last collaborator is your audience, so you’ve got to wait ’til the last collaborator comes in before you can complete the collaboration.” 
~ Stephen Sondheim

“I think it is just as important to sing about beautiful mornings as it is to talk about slums. I just couldn’t write anything without hope in it.”
~ Oscar Hammerstein”

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

December 27, 2018
BOCA RATON, FL:  From Irving Berlin to Leonard Bernstein, and from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Stephen Sondheim, not to mention Fanny Brice, Zero Mostel, Jerry Orbach, and Barbra Streisand, Jewish composers and artists have contributed tremendously to Broadway.   Black Box Booking and Hy Juter will present To Life: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to The Golden Age of Broadway at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park from January 18th through February 3rd.

To Life: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to The Golden Age of Broadway is chock full of fascinating narrative and charming anecdotes about some of the greatest Broadway artists of the 20th and 21st century.  The production features five of South Florida’s top actor singers:  Jeffrey Bruce, Broadway’s Jodie Langel, two-time Carbonell Award-winner Wayne LeGette, Alix Paige, and Carbonell Award-winner Mark Sanders.

Producers Jerry Seltzer of Black Box Booking and Hy Juter have tapped Shari Upbin to direct the show, and Paul Reekie to handle To Life’s musical direction.

“Jewish contribution to the Broadway musical has been phenomenal,” Upbin says. “In fact, Jewish composers and lyricists created the Broadway musical. Children of immigrants, called outsiders – people who struggled for acceptance in mainstream society – created the greatest American shows in history. Show Boat, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy… and scores (pun intended!) more!

“Growing up in a household where my mother was a singer and my dad a writer for Jack Benny, I learned musical theatre songs early, and created dances for my parents to enjoy,” she continues. “I was encouraged by their enthusiasm for a good song, a good joke. Yes, my parents spoke Yiddish when they did not want me to understand what they were saying… but I always felt the warmth of the light in their eyes. I dedicate all the Jewish one-liners and the amazing songs heard in this show to my parents and grandparents. Immigrants who found their place in America urging me to continue their legacy. Tradition!”

To Life: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to The Golden Age of Broadway was created and written by Scott Siegel.  Siegel is a well-known pop culture critic who covers film, theatre, and cabaret with his wife, Barbara, writing “The Siegel Column” for TheatreMania.com, and “The Two of Clubs” column for Talkin’Broadway.com. He has created more than 300 major concerts that have been performed worldwide, he has written/produced/directed concerts for Michael Feinstein, and has created scores of nightclub acts that have played at major clubs around the globe. However, he is perhaps best known as the creator/writer/director/host of New York City’s Town Hall Theatre’s signature series, Broadway by the Year® and Broadway Unplugged.

Nicole Stav is the production’s Stage Manager, and Jason Pierre will serve as Assistant Stage Manager.  Technical crew includes Laura Fulton (Lighting) and Andrés Alessandro Beuses Casasanta (Sound).

To Life will run from January 18 through February 3 at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park.  Tickets are $35; group rates (6 or more tickets purchased in one transaction) are $30.  Tickets can be purchased on line at www.willowtheatre.org or by phone at 561-347-3948.  The Willow Theatre is located at 300 South Military Trail, in Boca Raton’s Sugar Sand Park (33486).

For more information about To Life: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to The Golden Age of Broadway please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.  To learn more about Black Box Booking please visit www.blackboxbooking.com, and for more information about Hy Juter please contact jupitertheater@yahoo.com.

To Life:  Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to The Golden Age of Broadway
January 18 – February 3, 2019
Created and Written by Scott Siegel
Directed by Shari Upbin
Tickets: $35 / $30 for groups of 6 or more
For tickets:  561-347-3948 or www.willowtheatre.org
Showtimes:
Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
Wednesday, Saturday, & Sunday at 2 pm
All performances take place at
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 South Military Trail,
Boca Raton, FL 33486
www.willowtheatre.org

About The Willow Theatre:
The Willow Theatre, opened in 1998, is a beautiful 155-seat proscenium theater, located inside Sugar Sand Park Community Center and allows for a unique experience for theatre patrons. Before or after a show, you may wander the nature trails, visit the Children’s Science Explorium, look at the art exhibit on display, or picnic at one of our pavilions.

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