TONY AWARD-WINNING CURTAINS STAR DAVID HYDE PIERCE TO APPEAR ON ‘LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY’ ON MONDAY, MARCH 3

TONY AWARD-WINNING CURTAINS STAR
DAVID HYDE PIERCE
TO APPEAR ON ‘LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY’ ON MONDAY, MARCH 3


Tony Award winning CURTAINS star David Hyde Pierce will appear on “Live with Regis and Kelly” on Monday, March 3 at 9:00 AM. In the New York area, “Live with Regis & Kelly” airs on WABC-TV Channel 7. Check local listings. CURTAINS, the Musical Comedy Whodunit from the authors of Cabaret and Chicago, is now in its second year on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street).

CURTAINS unfolds backstage at Boston’s Colonial Theatre in 1959, where a new musical could be a Broadway smash, were it not for its talent-free leading lady. When the star dies on opening night, Lt. Frank Cioffi (David Hyde Pierce) arrives to conduct an investigation. But the lure of the theatre proves irresistible and after an unexpected romance blooms for the stage-struck detective, he finds himself just as drawn toward making the show a hit, as he is in solving the murder.

The production stars 2007 Tony Award winner and four-time Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce as Lt. Frank Cioffi and Tony and Emmy Award winner Debra Monk as producer Carmen Bernstein. CURTAINS also stars Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba as lyricist Georgia Hendricks, Jason Danieley as composer Aaron Fox, Erin Davie as ingénue Niki Harris and Edward Hibbert as director Christopher Belling, with John Bolton as theatre critic Daryl Grady, Michael X. Martin as stage manager Johnny Harmon, Michael McCormick as investor Oscar Shapiro, Noah Racey as choreographer Bobby Pepper, Megan Sikora as understudy Bambi Bernét and Gerry Vichi as producer Sidney Bernstein.

CURTAINS is an original musical comedy with a book by Rupert Holmes (multiple Tony Award-winner for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Say Goodnight Gracie), music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb (the Tony Award-winning songwriters of Cabaret, Chicago, New York New York), original book and concept by Tony Award-winner Peter Stone (1776, Titanic, The Will Rogers Follies), and additional lyrics by John Kander & Rupert Holmes. CURTAINS is directed by five-time Tony Award-nominee Scott Ellis (She Loves Me, 1776, 12 Angry Men, Steel Pier). Choreography is by Tony Award-winner Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie).

The 31-member cast also features Nili Bassman (Arlene Barucca), Bridget Berger (Roberta Wooster), Kevin Bernard (Roy Stetson/Detective O’Farrell), Ward Billeisen (Brick Hawvermale), Jennifer Dunne (Jan Setler), David Eggers (Swing), J. Austin Eyer (Swing), Jennifer Frankel (Marjorie Cook), Patty Goble (Jessica Cranshaw/Connie Subbotin), Lorin Lattaro (Swing), Shannon Lewis (Mona Page), David Loud (Sasha Iljinsky), Brittany Marcin (Peg Prentice), Jim Newman (Randy Dexter), Aaron Ramey (Harv Fremont), Joe Aaron Reid (Ronnie Driscoll), Christopher Spaulding (Russ Cochran), Jerome Vivona (Swing) and Stephanie Youell (Swing).

Producers are Roger Berlind, Roger Horchow, Daryl Roth, Jane Bergère, Ted Hartley and Center Theatre Group. CURTAINS had its world premiere on August 9, 2006 at Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

Performance schedule for CURTAINS is Tuesday at 7:00 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00 PM, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00 PM, and Sunday at 3:00 PM. Tickets are on sale at Telecharge at 212-239-6200, online at www.telecharge.com or in person at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre box office (302 West 45th Street).

* * *
www.CurtainsTheMusical.com

COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA’S S. EPATHA MERKERSON FEATURED IN THE NEWS

COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA’S
S. EPATHA MERKERSON
TO BE FEATURED ON “THE TAVIS SMILEY SHOW” AND NY1

“S. Epatha Merkerson is just about perfect, radiating genuine warmth and generosity.”
-- Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press

S. Epatha Merkerson, currently featured in Manhattan Theatre Club’s critically acclaimed hit production of William Inge’s COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA will be featured this week on “The Tavis Smiley Show,” and NY1’s “On Stage.”

NY1 “ON STAGE”
S. Epatha Merkerson will be a featured guest on this weekend’s episode of “On Stage.” Merkerson recently sat down with Donna Karger to speak about the thrill of returning to the New York stage and appearing in the hit production of the Inge classic. “On Stage” airs Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30AM – 10:00AM, and again from 7:30PM – 8:00PM. It also airs Mondays from 9:30PM – 10:00PM, and that same night from 12:30AM– 1:00AM.

“THE TAVIS SMILEY SHOW”
Merkerson will be featured on this weekend’s edition of “The Tavis Smiley Show,” airing locally on WNYC AM 820 on Friday at 9:00PM, Saturday at 2:00PM and Sunday at 2:00PM.

INFORMATION ON COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA
S. Epatha Merkerson (“Law & Order, ”“Lackawanna Blues”) and Drama Desk Award winner and Tony nominee Kevin Anderson (Death of a Salesman, Orphans) head the cast of this new production which also includes Joseph Adams (“Dirty Sexy Money”), Chad Hoeppner (Butley), Daniel Damon Joyce (Broadway debut), Lyle Kanouse (Big River), Zoe Kazan (The Prime of Miss Jean Brody), Brian J. Smith (The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero), Keith Randolph Smith (Jitney), Brenda Wehle (Talking Heads) and Matthew J. Williamson (“Will & Grace”). The production is directed by two-time Emmy Awardâ winner Michael Pressman (“Law & Order,” To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday).

Lola (Merkerson) is a faded beauty queen trapped in a lonely marriage to Doc (Anderson), a recovering alcoholic on the brink of relapse. When a pretty young woman becomes a boarder in their cluttered Midwest home, their lives are unsettled as unspoken passions rise to the surface. As the emptiness of their marriage is laid bare, can they find their way back to each other or will they be undone? This new look at William Inge’s great American story is an absorbing tale of lost hopes and unfulfilled promise, told with unflinching honesty and heartbreaking power.

The creative team for the production includes: James Noone (scenic design), Jennifer von Mayrhauser (costume design), Jane Cox (lighting design), Obadiah Eaves (sound design), Peter Golub (original music), J. David Brimmer (fight director), and David Caparelliotis (casting).
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country’s most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. MTC productions have earned a total of 16 Tony Awards and five Pulitzer Prizes as well as numerous other awards. Renowned MTC productions include LoveMusik; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; Kimberly Akimbo; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Sylvia; Four Dogs and a Bone; Putting It Together; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain’t Misbehavin’.

In 2003, MTC reopened Broadway’s landmark, long-neglected Biltmore Theatre, following a two-year, $35 million capital campaign. In addition, to the Biltmore, MTC’s operates two theatres at New York City Center, its Off-Broadway home since 1984.

During Meadow’s sabbatical this season, Daniel Sullivan, a close associate of MTC and director of several Manhattan Theatre Club productions (Rabbit Hole, Brooklyn Boy, Sight Unseen, Proof, Psychopathia Sexualis), is serving as Acting Artistic Director. Sullivan will continue consulting with Meadow and MTC's artistic staff on the planning of the 2007-2008 season. Meadow will return to MTC for the 2008-2009 season and will consult on the planning of that season.

TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets to COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA are available by calling Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200, (800) 432-7250 outside the NY metro area, online at Telecharge.com, and at the Biltmore Theatre box office (261 West 47th Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue). For group ticket information, call (800) 432-7780. Tickets range in price from $46.50-96.50. Student rush tickets are available the day of the performance at the Biltmore Theatre box office for $26.50.

For information on how to subscribe please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Through March 16: Tuesday – Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.

# # # #
www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com

MARY POPPINS ON WABC-TV NEWS

BROADWAY’S CLASSIC MUSICAL

MARY POPPINS

FEATURED ON WABC-TV 5:30PM NEWS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27

WABC-TV News (Channel 7) will feature a behind-the-scenes look at a performance of Broadway’s classic musical MARY POPPINS that was signed and captioned for the deaf and hard-of-hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, February 27 on the 5:30pm news.

The signed and captioned performance was part of the Theatre Development Fund’s "Talking Hands" program, which bring hundreds of deaf and hard-of-hearing grade school kids from the tri-state area to see Broadway shows.

MARY POPPINS is the biggest hit to open during the 2006-2007 season and is a must-see musical for theatergoers of all ages. MARY POPPINS received seven 2007 Tony® Award nominations, including Best Musical. The musical also won two Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Gavin Lee) and Outstanding Set Design of a Musical (Bob Crowley), as well as a Theatre World Award (for Gavin Lee).

MARY POPPINS, a co-production by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 16, 2006, and quickly proved to be a hit with audience members and critics alike.

Based on P.L. Travers’s cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film, MARY POPPINS features the Academy Awardâ-winning music and lyrics of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The stage production has been created, in collaboration with Cameron Mackintosh, by Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who has written the book, and the Olivier Award-winning team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, who have composed new songs and additional music and lyrics.
Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre leads the award-winning creative team assembled for MARY POPPINS with co-direction and choreography by Tonyâ and Olivier Award winner Matthew Bourne. MARY POPPINS features set and costume design by Tony Awardâ winner Bob Crowley, co-choreography by Olivier Award winner Stephen Mear, lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Steve Canyon Kennedy, orchestrations by William David Brohn, music supervision by David Caddick, and music direction by Brad Haak.

Tickets for MARY POPPINS are available at www.DisneyOnBroadway.com, the New Amsterdam Theatre Box Office, and all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling Ticketmaster’s Disney on Broadway hotline at (212) 307-4747. Prices range from $25 - $120. For group sales and information please call (800) 439-9000.

www.DisneyOnBroadway.com

# # #

SIERRA BOGGESS AND TITUSS BURGESS OF DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAIDDISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID ON WABC “EYEWITNESS NEWS THIS MORNING”

SIERRA BOGGESS AND TITUSS BURGESS OF
DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID
INTERVIEWED ON
WABC “EYEWITNESS NEWS THIS MORNING”

To watch the interview, click here:
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/media?id=5977951

Walt Disney Records released Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID original Broadway cast recording TODAY- February 26th. To celebrate the release, Sierra Boggess and Tituss Burgess will be performing ‘Part of Your World’ and ‘Under The Sea’ at World of Disney today at 6pm. Following the performance, attendees are invited to join Sierra, Tituss, Sherie Rene Scott and other members of the cast who will sign copies of the cast recording.

Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID is currently playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. The playing schedule for THE LITTLE MERMAID is as follows: Tuesday – Saturday evenings at 8pm, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2pm, and Sunday matinees at 3pm. Tickets for are $51.50 - $121.50 (includes a $1.50 facility fee), available through Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4747, online at www.DisneyOnBroadway.com, or in-person at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street).

For more information on Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID, visit www.DisneyOnBroadway.com.

# # #

www.DisneyOnBroadway.com

Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID featured on WABC’s “Eyewitness News This Morning” – February 24th

SIERRA BOGGESS AND TITUSS BURGESS FROM
DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID
INTERVIEWED LIVE ON
WABC’S “EYEWITNESS NEWS THIS MORNING”
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH at 9:45am


On Sunday, February 24th, WABC’s “Eyewitness News This Morning” will interview Sierra Boggess and Tituss Burgess, stars of Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID live in-studio at 9:45am. “Eyewitness News This Morning” airs locally on WABC (channel 7) from 9:00am – 10:00am.

Walt Disney Records will release THE LITTLE MERMAID original Broadway cast recording on Tuesday, February 26.

Disney Theatrical Productions (Thomas Schumacher, Producer) is proud to present the Broadway production of THE LITTLE MERMAID, based on the Disney film and the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. The company features Sierra Boggess as ‘Ariel,’ Sean Palmer as ‘Prince Eric,’ Norm Lewis as ‘King Triton,’ Tituss Burgess as ‘Sebastian,’ Eddie Korbich as ‘Scuttle,’ Jonathan Freeman as ‘Grimsby,’ Derrick Baskin as ‘Jetsam,’ Tyler Maynard as ‘Flotsam,’ John Treacy Egan as ‘Chef Louis,’ Trevor Braun and Brian D'Addario as ‘Flounder,’ and Sherie Rene Scott as ‘Ursula.’

THE LITTLE MERMAID takes place in a magical kingdom beneath the sea, where a beautiful young mermaid named Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. But first, she’ll have to defy her father, the king of the sea, escape the clutches of an evil sea witch and convince a prince that she’s the girl with the perfect voice.

Led by the award-winning director, Francesca Zambello, some of the theatre’s most innovative artists have collaborated to create THE LITTLE MERMAID. The score features the classic songs: “Part of Your World,” “Kiss the Girl” and the Academy Award®-winning Best Original Song, “Under the Sea,” composed by eight-time Academy Award® winner Alan Menken and his longtime collaborator, the late Howard Ashman, as well as 10 new songs by Mr. Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater. The book for the new musical is by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning playwright Doug Wright.

Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID is currently playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. The playing schedule for THE LITTLE MERMAID is as follows: Tuesday – Saturday evenings at 8pm, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2pm, and Sunday matinees at 3pm. Tickets for are $51.50 - $121.50 (includes a $1.50 facility fee), available through Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4747, online at www.DisneyOnBroadway.com, or in-person at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street).

# # #

www.DisneyOnBroadway.com

The 39 Steps' Edwards and Ferrin on NY1 "On Stage"

ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY

THE 39 STEPS
stars
Charles Edwards and Jennifer Ferrin
will be featured on
NY1’s “On Stage” this weekend, beginning Saturday, February 23rd
on Channel 1

“Absurdly enjoyable! This gleefully theatrical riff on Hitchcock’s film is fast and frothy. A perfect soufflé!”
- Ben Brantley, New York Times

"Comedy of the highest order! With a stiff upper lip and tongue firmly in cheek, Charles Edwards is superb. Jennifer Ferrin expertly conjures the look and sound of the 1930's femme fatales."
- Roma Torre, NY1

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Charles Edwards and Jennifer Ferrin, stars of Roundabout Theatre Company’s The 39 Steps, will be featured on NY1’s “On Stage” this weekend beginning Saturday, February 23rd on channel 1 and repeated six times throughout the weekend. Charles and Jennifer sit down with NY1’s Patrick Pacheco to discuss their critically acclaimed and popular Broadway play The 39 Steps.

The 39 Steps, directed by Maria Aitken, is playing a limited engagement through March 29th, 2008 at the Laura Pels Theatre (111 West 46th St).

Mix an Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of vintage Monty Python and you have THE 39 STEPS, a hilarious whodunit, part espionage thriller and part slapstick comedy, adapted for the stage from the famous film and novel. Shots ring out across a crowded theatre and Richard Hannay is lured into a world of intrigue by a mysterious woman claiming to be a spy. When she winds up dead in his flat, he flees London with the police hot on his trail. A runaway hit in London and the winner of the 2007 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.

TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets are available by phone at (212) 719-1300, online at www.roundabouttheatre.org or at the American Airlines Theatre (227 West 42nd St). Ticket prices range from $51.25 - $96.25.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
THE 39 STEPS plays Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00PM with a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinee at 2:00PM.

www.roundabouttheatre.org
# # #

Come Back, Little Sheba featured on WNYC's "The Leonard Lopate Show"

COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA’S
S. EPATHA MERKERSON
TO BE FEATURED ON “THE LEONARD LOPATE SHOW”
TOMORROW, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22

“S. Epatha Merkerson is just about perfect, radiating genuine warmth and generosity.”
-- Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press

S. Epatha Merkerson, currently appearing in Manhattan Theatre Club’s critically acclaimed production of COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA, will be a guest on WNYC’s “The Leonard Lopate Show” tomorrow, Friday, February 22 (12:40 – 1:00 PM).

Merkerson will sit down with Lopate to discuss her lauded performance in COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA. “The Leonard Lopate Show” can be heard on 93.9 FM or 820 AM.

S. Epatha Merkerson (“Law & Order, ”“Lackawanna Blues”) and Drama Desk Award winner and Tony nominee Kevin Anderson (Death of a Salesman, Orphans) head the cast of this new production which also includes Joseph Adams (“Dirty Sexy Money”), Chad Hoeppner (Butley), Daniel Damon Joyce (Broadway debut), Lyle Kanouse (Big River), Zoe Kazan (The Prime of Miss Jean Brody), Brian J. Smith (The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero), Keith Randolph Smith (Jitney), Brenda Wehle (Talking Heads) and Matthew J. Williamson (“Will & Grace”). The production is directed by two-time Emmy Awardâ winner Michael Pressman (“Law & Order,” To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday).

Lola (Merkerson) is a faded beauty queen trapped in a lonely marriage to Doc (Anderson), a recovering alcoholic on the brink of relapse. When a pretty young woman becomes a boarder in their cluttered Midwest home, their lives are unsettled as unspoken passions rise to the surface. As the emptiness of their marriage is laid bare, can they find their way back to each other or will they be undone? This new look at William Inge’s great American story is an absorbing tale of lost hopes and unfulfilled promise, told with unflinching honesty and heartbreaking power.

The creative team for the production includes: James Noone (scenic design), Jennifer von Mayrhauser (costume design), Jane Cox (lighting design), Obadiah Eaves (sound design), Peter Golub (original music), J. David Brimmer (fight director), and David Caparelliotis (casting).
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country’s most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. MTC productions have earned a total of 16 Tony Awards and five Pulitzer Prizes as well as numerous other awards. Renowned MTC productions include LoveMusik; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; Kimberly Akimbo; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Sylvia; Four Dogs and a Bone; Putting It Together; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain’t Misbehavin’.

In 2003, MTC reopened Broadway’s landmark, long-neglected Biltmore Theatre, following a two-year, $35 million capital campaign. In addition, to the Biltmore, MTC’s operates two theatres at New York City Center, its Off-Broadway home since 1984.

During Meadow’s sabbatical this season, Daniel Sullivan, a close associate of MTC and director of several Manhattan Theatre Club productions (Rabbit Hole, Brooklyn Boy, Sight Unseen, Proof, Psychopathia Sexualis), is serving as Acting Artistic Director. Sullivan will continue consulting with Meadow and MTC's artistic staff on the planning of the 2007-2008 season. Meadow will return to MTC for the 2008-2009 season and will consult on the planning of that season.

TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets to COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA are available by calling Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200, (800) 432-7250 outside the NY metro area, online at Telecharge.com, and at the Biltmore Theatre box office (261 West 47th Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue). For group ticket information, call (800) 432-7780. Tickets range in price from $46.50-96.50. Student rush tickets are available the day of the performance at the Biltmore Theatre box office for $26.50.

For information on how to subscribe please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Through March 16: Tuesday – Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.

# # # #
www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com