Menopause The Musical coming to The Majestic

Hot Flash!

The Off-Broadway Smash Hit

“Menopause The Musical®”

Comes to The Majestic Theatre in Dallas

June 3-6, 2010

May 2010 – It’s time to kick-up those high heels. The international hit show Menopause The Musical^® is returning to Dallas and will be presented as a subscribers’ special for Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica Bank, at The Majestic Theatre in Dallas June 3-6, 2010.

Set in a department store, where four women with seemingly nothing in common but a black lace bra, meet by chance at a lingerie sale. The cast laughs at their woeful hot flashes, forgetfulness, mood swings, wrinkles, night sweats and chocolate binges. A sisterhood is created between these diverse women as they realize that menopause is no longer The Silent Passage! It is a stage in every woman’s life that is perfectly normal!

Menopause The Musical^® is the work of writer and producer, Jeanie Linders. The laughter-filled 90-minute production includes parodies from the classics of the ‘60s and ‘70s and ‘80s. Disco hit “Stayin’ Alive” becomes “Stayin’ Awake,” Motown favorite “My Girl” is transformed into “My Thighs,” "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" switches to "In the Guest Room or on the Sofa, My Husband Sleeps at Night,” and “Puff The Magic Dragon” becomes the anthem to exercise, “Puff, My God I’m Draggin’”.

Thursday and Friday performances at 8:00 pm

Saturday performances at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm

Sunday performance at 2:00 pm

Single tickets, priced from $16-$50, are on sale now at The Box Office,

542 Preston Royal Shopping Center, and all Ticketmaster outlets including The Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm Street in Dallas. Tickets are also on sale by calling 214-631-ARTS (2787) or online at www.ticketmaster.com. For groups of 20 or more, please call 214-426-GROUP.

Menopause The Musical^® has launched a women’s movement that has superseded entertainment and become a must-see event. It is estimated that nearly 11 million women have attended a performance since the 2001 opening in Orlando, Florida. Inspired by a hot flash and a bottle of wine, writer and producer Jeanie Linders created the show as a celebration of women who are on the brink of, in the middle of, or have survived “The Change”. "Most women know intuitively that every other woman is experiencing hot flashes or night sweats,“ says Linders. "There is always a close friend or two who can sympathize or identify with her, but when they are sitting in a theatre with hundreds of other women, all laughing and shouting‚ 'That’s me! That’s me on stage!' they know what they are experiencing is normal. They aren’t alone…or crazy. It becomes a sisterhood."

Since its first performance, the show has evolved as a grassroots movement of women who deal with life after 40 and all the challenges that result from the mental, physical, and spiritual freedom of being a woman. “It may not be Shakespeare, but our focus is different. We want to bring women together and empower them. This is an event – a happening,” says Kathi Glist, one of the show’s producers. “It resonates with just about any woman over 40, but it is enjoyed by all. And the men laugh just as hard,” she adds.

Menopause The Musical^® has entertained audiences across the country in more than 250 cities and in a total of 14 countries. Internationally, the show has visited Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, United Kingdom, Singapore, South Africa, and South Korea. Each week women of all ages and stages find their spirits lifted by the show’s light-hearted look at menopause. No longer is it The Silent Passage! Visit www.MenopauseTheMusical.com or www.dallassummermusicals.org for more information.

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For media information or reviewers’ passes, or to schedule interviews, please contact Jo Ann Holt at 469-363-7371 or email joannholt@gmail.com.

Wicked Lottery - $25 Tickets

WICKED ANNOUNCES LOTTERY FOR $25 SEATS

* * *
PERFORMANCES BEGIN WEDNESDAY MAY 26
AT MUSIC HALL AT FAIR PARK


A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra seats will be held daily for WICKED, which will be performing from May 26 to June 27 at the Music Hall at Fair Park, presented by Dallas Summer Musicals. Each day, 2½ hours prior to show time, people who present themselves at the Music Hall box office will have their names placed in a lottery drum and then thirty minutes later, names will be drawn for a limited number of orchestra seats at $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available only in-person at the Music Hall box office, with a limit of two tickets per person.

WICKED is a new musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, Disney’s Enchanted, Academy Award winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman (“My So Called Life,” “Once And Again” and “thirtysomething”) based on the 1995 best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire. The musical is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Vagina Monologues) and features musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento (Aida, The Who’s Tommy, How To Succeed…). WICKED, the untold story of the witches of Oz, is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One – born with emerald green skin – is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

WICKED begins performances Wednesday, May 26 at 8 p.m. and runs through Sunday, June 27. All performances will be at the Music Hall at Fair Park; for a complete schedule of performances, please visit www.dallassummermusicals.org. Single tickets for the return engagement, priced from $35-$145, are on sale now at The Box Office, 542 Preston Royal Shopping Center, and all area Ticketmaster locations. Best seats are available for week night performances, Sunday evening performances, and for the matinee at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 27. Tickets are also available by calling 214-631-ARTS (2787) or online at www.ticketmaster.com/wicked. Groups of 20 or more should call 214-426-GROUP (4767).
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Wicked Exhibit at The Shops at Willow Bend

CONTACT: Amy Medford

Marketing & Sponsorship Director

The Shops at Willow Bend

972-202-7115

amedford@taubman.com

THE SHOPS AT WILLOW BEND

PRESENTS A ‘THRILLIFYING’ LIVE PERFORMANCE BY WICKED CAST MEMBERS AND AUTOGRAPH SESSION ON SATURDAY, JUNE 5

PLANO, Texas, May 14, 2010 – On Saturday, June 5 at 11:00 a.m., two members from the cast of Wicked, Broadway’s biggest blockbuster, will present a free live performance at The Shops at Willow Bend. The performance will feature two songs and will be held in Grand Court near Neiman Marcus. It will be followed by an autograph session with the cast members.

The June 5 event is part of the partnership between The Shops at Willow Bend and Wicked which is now playing through Sunday, June 27^th at the Music Hall at Fair Park in Dallas.

In addition to the live performance, the spellbinding specials at The Shops at Willow Bend include:

• “The World of Wicked” display in the mall’s Grand Court now through June 13, where visitors can walk through Glinda the Good’s bubble, view the “Behind the Emerald Curtain” museum display and take a photo in Oz;

• Wicked shopping deals via the “Passport to Oz,” offering discounts and/or specials from more than 30 participating retailers at The Shops at Willow Bend (“Passports” available at the Wicked set in Grand Court or at Concierge Center).

• Weekly drawings for Wicked prizes; shoppers simply drop their “Passport to

The Shops at Willow Bend Wicked Performance/2

Oz” into the Wicked Witch cauldron for a chance to win dozens of weekly prizes. Drawings take place Sundays, May 23 and 30, June 6 and 13;

• Giveaways courtesy of the Wicked Street Team, who will visit The Shops at Willow Bend every Friday morning and afternoon, and all day Saturday and

Sunday [through Sunday, June 13], to hand out free Wicked-themed products such as lip balm, picture frames, music downloads and more;

• Wicked merchandise (T-shirts, hats, accessories, etc.) will be available for purchase at The Concierge Center.

Winner of 35 major awards, including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards, Wicked is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. Wicked tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, and how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

WICKED is now playing through Sunday, June 27 at the Music Hall in Dallas; for a complete schedule of performances, please visit www.dallassummermusicals.org. Great seats are still available. Tickets can be purchased at the Ticketmaster retail outlet in the Concierge Center, located on the lower level near Macy’s. For more information, please call 972-202-7110 or visit dallassummermusicals.org.

The Shops at Willow Bend is one of several Taubman-owned malls around the country to feature the Wicked production and related promotional offerings over the next year and a half. Taubman’s portfolio of regional and super-regional shopping centers is recognized as the finest and most productive collection of upscale shopping centers in the United States.

The Shops at Willow Bend is located at the northwest corner of the Dallas North Tollway and West Park Boulevard and features more than 150 stores, restaurants and services plus four anchors: Neiman Marcus, Macy’s, Dillard’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. For more information about stores, restaurants or events at The Shops at Willow Bend, call 972-202-4900 or visit www.shopwillowbend.com.

For more information on Wicked, visit www.wickedthemusical.com or www.dallassummermusicals.org.

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Shrek Cast Announced!

Ashford to Co-Direct SHREK Tour; Cast Announced

by BWW

Producers DreamWorks Theatricals and Neal Street Productions, Ltd. are thrilled to announce casting for SHREK THE MUSICAL. Native Chicagoan, Eric Petersen will lead the First National Tour cast as Shrek. The Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning SHREK THE MUSICAL will launch its national tour in Chicago beginning July 13 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph St.). Tickets are currently on sale.

In addition, Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune has revealed that PROMISES, PROMISES director/choreographer Rob Ashford will co-direct the production alongside Jason Moore, who helmed the Broadway installment.

The role of everyone's favorite swamp-dwelling ogre, Shrek will be played by Eric Petersen, who joins the tour from the Broadway production. He recently appeared as the socially challenged Barfee in the National tour of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Haven Burton, also from the Broadway Company will play the feisty Princess Fiona. Haven previously played Margo the Dog Whisperer on Broadway in Legally Blonde and understudied Elle Wood. Alan Mingo, Jr. is Shrek's lovably annoying best friend Donkey. He was an original company member of The Little Mermaid where he played the role of Sebastian, and prior to that played the role of Tom Collins in RENT on Broadway.

Rounding out the cast of misfit fairy tale characters, the peoples of Duloc and Far, Far Away are: Joe Abraham, Holly Ann Butler, Carrie Compere, Emily Cramer, Tyrone Davis, Jr., Sandra DeNise, Aymee Garcia, Brian Gonzales, Justin Greer, Lisa Ho, Benjamin Howes, Mara Newbery, Denny Paschall, Sarah Peak, Morgan Rose, Blakely Slaybaugh and David F.M. Vaughn.

"The touring cast is particularly strong, with several members joining from the Broadway Company. We are delighted that the title character Shrek will be played by Chicago native Eric Petersen, who expects audiences full of friends and family throughout the run," said Bill Damaschke, President of DreamWorks Theatricals.

An entirely new musical, SHREK THE MUSICAL is based on the story and characters from William Steig's book Shrek!, as well as the DreamWorks Animation film Shrek, the first chapter of the Shrek movie series.

SHREK THE MUSICAL tells the story of a swamp-dwelling ogre who goes on a life-changing adventure to reclaim the deed to his land. Joined by a wise-cracking donkey, this unlikely hero fights a fearsome dragon, rescues a feisty princess and learns that real friendship and true love aren't only found in fairy tales.

SHREK THE MUSICAL features a book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize® winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole), music by Olivier Award-winner Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Caroline, or Change), and is directed by Tony Award® nominee Jason Moore (Avenue Q) and Tony and Emmy Award-winner Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Promises Promises). SHREK THE MUSICAL has set and costume designs by Tony Award® winner Tim Hatley (Private Lives, Spamalot), lighting design by Olivier Award winner Hugh Vanstone (A Steady Rain), sound design by Peter Hylenski (Rock of Ages); choreography by Josh Prince, music supervision by Tim Weil, music direction by Andy Grobengieser, and orchestrations by Danny Troob & John Clancy.

SHREK THE MUSICAL was initiated when Sam Mendes, a big fan of the first Shrek film, suggested the idea of creating a musical to DreamWorks Animation's Jeffrey Katzenberg around the time the second film was in production. The musical is produced by DreamWorks Theatricals (Bill Damaschke, President of DreamWorks Theatricals and Co-President of Production for DreamWorks Animation) and Neal Street Productions, Ltd. (principals Sam Mendes and Caro Newling).

Individual tickets to SHREK THE MUSICAL are $25 - $90 and are on sale now. Tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St. and 18 W. Monroe St.); the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (800) 775-2000; all Ticketmaster retail locations (including Hot Tix and select Carson Pirie Scott, Coconuts and fye stores); and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com. Groups of 10 or more should call (312) 977-1710.