DALLAS SUMMER MUSICALS PARTNERS WITH THE FAIRMONT DALLAS TO CREATE DSM BROADWAY SUITE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jo Ann Holt

469-363-7371

joannholt@gmail.com

DALLAS, TX…Dallas Summer Musicals has entered into a partnership with The Fairmont Dallas to create an exciting new DSM Broadway Suite.

Lavishly decorated with scenery, set pieces, photos, memorabilia and posters from Dallas Summer Musicals productions, the Broadway suite is available for booking by the public. Currently the Broadway Suite is celebrating the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, Flower Drum Song. Book your stay and be surrounded in the delight and wonder of San Francisco’s Chinatown, without ever leaving Dallas. The show theme will change seasonally as new shows open. Overnights in the Broadway Suite include two tickets to the current Dallas Summer Musicals production and a CD of the original cast recording. Guests may customize their package to include a pre-theatre supper in the elegant Pyramid Restaurant, transportation to and from the performance and a backstage tour of Fair Park Music Hall. A portion of all proceeds from the Broadway Suite will be donated to the Dallas Summer Musicals Academy of Performing Arts.

“Our mission,” says DSM President and Managing Director Michael Jenkins, “is recognizing the positive influence of the arts on the human experience. The DSM Academy of Performing Arts strives not only to increase appreciation of the performing arts, but to teach those arts professionally.”

The Academy, founded in 1999, helps to prepare the amateur and professional for involvement in the performing arts. It is comprised of 75% teens and 25% adults ranging in age from 7 to senior citizen and prides itself on a diverse, ethnic student population. The DSM Academy has granted over 250 need-based scholarships.

Evidence has shown that arts education has a powerful effect on student achievement and that students who participate in arts programs along with the core subjects of math, science, language, and social studies are three times more likely to be elected to class office; four times more likely to participate in math and science; three times more likely to win an award for school attendance; four times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem and four more times likely to be recognized for academic achievement.

“As part of our ongoing support of the arts,” said the hotel’s Director of Sales & Marketing Shannah Milstead, “The Fairmont Dallas is extremely pleased to announce that we will donate a portion of the proceeds from each reservation in the Broadway Suite to the Dallas Summer Musicals Academy of Performing Arts.”

To learn more about The Fairmont Dallas and the DSM Broadway Suite, visit www.fairmont.com/dallas. To enjoy both the wonders of this unique accommodation as well as a DSM production, call the Reservations Department at (214)720-5290.

Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. (DSM) is the largest producer of live theatrical entertainment in the Southwest, the second oldest summer theater organization in the United States, and the sixth largest non-profit theater company. DSM has been entertaining North Texas audiences with the finest in live, musical theater entertainment since 1941. In addition to presenting national Broadway tours, DSM also produces shows on Broadway, presents and tours local productions, and is involved in developing new works. For more information about Dallas Summer Musicals, please call 214-421-5678 or visit http://www.dallassummermusicals.org/.

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For media information about Dallas Summer Musicals, please contact Jo Ann Holt at 469-363-7371 or joannholt@gmail.com.

Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. • Music Hall at Fair Park • P.O. Box 710336 • Dallas, Texas 75371-0336
(214) 421-5678 • FAX (214) 426-2994
The Box Office • 542 Preston Royal Shopping Center • Dallas, Texas 75230 • (214) 691-7200 •
FAX (214) 691-8755 • www.dallassummermusicals.org

BLONDE Cast's Video Blog - DALLAS!!

The LEGALLY BLONDE cast weighs in on their North Texas run in
a recent YouTube release of their ongoing video blog series. Check it out and find out what Warner really things about Elle chasing him down at Harvard!!

The entire video series following this talented cast across the country, can be found at:

http://www.youtube.com/legallyblondeontour

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!!

Three DSM shows were invited to send performers to sing the National Anthem at a Texas Rangers home game this summer. When WIZARD OF OZ's Dorothy (Cassie Okenka) wasn’t able to arrive in time for the June 8th game, her understudy Lauryn Ciardullo donned the Dorothy wig, red shoes and pinafore costume and charmed the audience with her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

For CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, the four child performers (Aly Brier, Camille Mancuso, Jeremy Lipton and Zachary Carter Sayle) sang the National Anthem at the Monday night game June 30. Here is a video of their Texas Ranger performance:





For LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL, sports fan Becky Gulsvig (Elle Woods) was thrilled to sing the National Anthem as the Rangers trounced the Tigers at the ballpark Monday, July 27th and received a great response from fans. Quite a few people dropped by the suite to congratulate the star on her performance, with several saying it was “one of the top 10 anthem performances of all time.” They also thanked Becky (who’s originally from Minnesota) for bringing the unusually cool weather.

Thanks to DSM marketing director Paulette Hopkins and Texas Rangers VP of marketing Andy Silverman, a number of company members were able to watch the game and Becky’s performance from one of the two suites made available for their use. A Fox Sports TV News reporter interviewed Becky Gulsvig in the Mickey Mantle suite at the top of the fourth inning, and Becky and other female cast members did an impromptu version of “Bend and Snap” for the sports network’s audiences. Becky's husband Tyler, who could be found selling Legally Blonde merchandise in the lobby for each performance, also enjoyed the game. Tyler, Becky and their Golden Retriever bring their own van on the national tour, driving from city to city so they can really enjoy the scenery.
Delorie and past DSM Chairman O. Paul Corley, Jr. (resplendent in pink from head to toe) with Guild President Michelle Lemay-Patten at the Legally Blonde party at Thompson-Knight’s offices.

'Legally Blonde' shimmys to the stage at Fair Park Music Hall

12:06 AM CDT on Wednesday, July 22, 2009
By LAWSON TAITTE / The Dallas Morning Newsltaitte@dallasnews.com

You may not come out of Legally Blonde humming the tunes, but this show will leave you as pumped as a two-hour cardiac workout.

The stage adaptation of the popular movie, a modest hit on Broadway, arrived at the Dallas Summer Musicals on Tuesday. It keeps up a breathless pace as heroine Elle Woods, the seemingly shallow blond bombshell who follows an ex-boyfriend to Harvard Law School, discovers a whole new perspective on life.

Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, who rewrote their Sarah, Plain and Tall for the Dallas Theater Center this spring, tell the story mostly in song. Their lyrics, as cute and clever as Elle herself, are worthy successors to those of their great Broadway predecessors. They give us good tunes, too, but the incessant melodic patterns seldom relax and luxuriate. They just keep percolating like a triple shot of espresso.

The real mover of this theatrical whirlwind, though, is director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell. Over the last decade, he has established himself as one of the American theater's great storytellers through movement. Like the score, the dancing seldom settles into a stand-alone number, at least before intermission. Throughout the musical someone onstage is stepping, shimmying or gyrating in ways that move the plot along. The second act finally gives us some release with production numbers based on exercise videos, sexy poses and, of all things, Irish step dancing.

As Elle, Becky Gulsvig looks a lot like the film's Reese Witherspoon. She sounds even more like Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth. (Those with strong negative reactions to squeaks and other high pitches may find themselves at risk.) Gregg Barnes' costumes expand the boundaries of pink, mauve, hot pink and not-quite-crimson. Gulsvig wears them smashingly.

For those who crave a bit of old-fashioned fun from their musical comedies, preferably with a smidgeon of uplift and optimism, with a bevy of shapely young bodies to boot, Legally Blonde is guilty as charged.

PLAN YOUR LIFE Through Aug. 2 at Fair Park Music Hall. Runs 160 mins. $15 to $85. Ticketmaster at 214-631-2787, http://www.ticketmaster.com/.

Trackback to original review post on dallasnews.com

Theater review: 'A Chorus Line' reclaims its energy at Fair Park Music Hall

11:55 PM CDT on Tuesday, July 7, 2009
By LAWSON TAITTE / The Dallas Morning Newsltaitte@dallasnews.com

A Chorus Line is a unique musical, a perfect musical. I'm not sure, in retrospect, it's one of the great musicals.
The tour based on the recent New York revival arrived at Fair Park Music Hall on Tuesday. It has restored the show's vivid energy and sharp characterizations, and it makes nearly as good a case for the piece as possible. To paraphrase one of Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban's songs, it scores dance 10, acting 10, singing maybe a six.

At one point the longest running show in Broadway history, A Chorus Line grew out of workshop-style discussions organized by director-choreographer Michael Bennett. He asked professional dancers, gypsies from Broadway chorus lines, to talk about their lives. Then he, with librettists James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, made a show out of their stories.

The musical, without an intermission, is built around a day of auditions. It also takes its shape from the process of putting together a big production number, from the first rudimentary steps to the high-strutting, show-stopping climax.

The personalities of the individual characters are indelible, but over the years productions have tended to blur or exaggerate them. Bob Avian and Baayork Lee, both part of the original process in 1974 and '75, have whipped things back into shape beautifully.

Emily Fletcher, for instance, nails Sheila's aggressive sensuality without making her too hard, and Bryan Knowlton, as Paul in the first week of the current run, keeps his dignity while making his sometimes shocking self-revelations.

I've never seen a completely satisfactory Cassie. Robyn Hurder at least dances the role better than most. Part of the problem is inherent: The starring role in this musical is that of a woman who keeps insisting she doesn't have star power or star pretensions.

Hamlisch's tunes retain their hummability, albeit in very '70s fashion. Kleban's lyrics tell the dancers' stories with considerable wit. Most of all, Bennett knew how to build a dance number.

Still, a nagging little voice keeps telling me that a really great musical should have characters who interact with each other and should be about something other than getting a job, even if the people do their jobs for love.

PLAN YOUR LIFE Through July 19 at Fair Park Music Hall. 130 mins. $15 to $85. Ticketmaster at 214-631-2787, http://www.ticketmaster.com/.

Theater review: 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' is a fun ride for the family at Fair Park Music Hall

12:36 AM CDT on Wednesday, June 24, 2009
By LAWSON TAITTE / The Dallas Morning News
mailto:Newsltaitte@dallasnews.com

Cute kids. A quartet of hilarious villains. A whole pack of trained dogs. A production number with a samba that sizzles. What more could a family musical possibly need?

How about a magical car that floats, flies and makes people ask it nicely if they want a ride?

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang chugged, sailed and soared into Fair Park Music Hall for the Dallas Summer Musicals on Tuesday. This road version more than lives up to the standard the Broadway version set in 2005. Largely overlooked in a bumper year for musicals, it struck me as the best Broadway family show since The Lion King. This tour, adapted and directed by Ray Roderick, sacrifices a bit of grandeur but gains in comic spontaneity.
Ian Fleming, an unlikely children's writer, shows his hand as the original storyteller in various ways: There are spies, though they're played for laughs. And recall that James Bond's cars always had tricks up their sleeves, just like the title vehicle here.

Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman's songs are almost as infectious as the ones they created for Mary Poppins. And, frankly, the plot in this show is more appealing. The father, hapless inventor Caractacus Potts (Steve Wilson), has boundless affection for his children (Jeremy Lipton and Camille Mancuso at Tuesday's performance). They all look after the grandfather (Dick Decareau), and the kids know before the dad does that there's chemistry brewing with a motorcycle-driving heiress (Kelly McCormick).

None of the performers are household names, but they're all solid pros and often more aptly cast than their Broadway counterparts. Dirk Lumbard is delightfully oily as the taller of the bumbling spies, and Scott Cote is his even dumber sidekick. As the evil baron and baroness, George Dvorsky and Elizabeth Ward Land are silly and sinister at the same time. Oliver Wadsworth may be entirely too sinister for younger children as the hideously creepy Childcatcher, although the happy ending defuses most of the terror.

You don't have to be a kid to have a truly scrumptious time at Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But feel free to bring a couple of tykes along if you think you'll feel conspicuous without them.

PLAN YOUR LIFE Through July 5 at Fair Park Music Hall. Runs 150 mins. $12 to $71. Ticketmaster at 214-631-2787, http://www.ticketmaster.com/.

Original Dallas Morning News Post

5th Anniversary STAGE RIGHT Press Conference

Dallas TX
11:15am Breaking News
Steven Hall, Webmaster, DSM

We just completed the press conference for the 5th Anniversary of our "Stage Right" youth outreach program. Mayor Leppert and Chief of Police Kunkle spoke along with co-founders of the program DSM President Michael Jenkins & Dallas Police Detective "Monty" Moncibais. Details on the "Stage Right" below. Also in attendance were many more VIPs such as City Manager Mary Suhm, Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Elba Garcia, KLUV's Jody Dean and CBS's Ginger Allen. Very cool that in their busy schedules everyone could come together for this outreach initiative!

ABOUT STAGE RIGHT
Stage Right Raises the Curtain for Education and Spotlights Appreciation of the Arts through Experience and Positive Quality Lifestyles.

Dallas Police Department Assistant Chief Ron Waldrop and Michael A. Jenkins, President and Managing Director of Dallas Summer Musicals (DSM), held a press conference on June 4, 2008 in the lobby of the Music Hall at Fair Park to discuss the objectives and success of the Stage Right program that introduces at-risk youth ages 12-15 to arts and culture events as well as introducing them to “Positive Action” self improvement and self esteeming building summer curriculum.

Both Mr. Jenkins, the grass-roots visionary who helped create the Stage Right initiative to reach out to at-risk students and DPD Narcotics Detective Monty Moncibais, who heads up the program for DPD, will speak. Stage Right Steering Committee members also attended included Chris Hawkins, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Victor Burke President, North Texas Crime Commission; Gail Gray, Phoenix House; Lori Sirmen, Dallas Summer Musicals; Carolyn Jordan, Boys and Girls Club; Herbert Moncibais, Hispanic Business Alliance; Gloria Moncibais, Hispanic Business Alliance; and Susan Moncibais, community activist.

Also present at the conference were Gary Hodges, DISD, Assistant Chief; Mike Hathcoat, Director, the Phoenix House; Anita N. Martinez, Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico Company; Charles English, Dallas Boys & Girls Club; Reginald Hurd, Dallas Parks and Recreation; Paul Monroe, the Dallas Mavericks; Steve Colmus, KIPP Truth Academy; Billy Walker, Coca Cola Bottling of North Texas; and Eddie Campbell and Ed Campbell, Campbell Concessions.

Stage Right’s mission statement is “Raising the curtain for education and spotlighting the appreciation of the arts through experience and positive quality lifestyles.”

The students are recommended by DISD teachers and counselors and other youth programs including Boys & Girls Clubs, Girls Inc., and Dallas Recreation Centers as part of their ongoing efforts to keep students from joining gangs or engaging in other activities that prevent their enjoying success in school. Stage Right seeks to raise awareness of the arts, increase appreciation for different lifestyles and also increase self esteem.
This year, over 800 students are participating in the program!

For more information about Stage Right, please contact DPD Detective Moncibais at 214-537-8954.