Photo Coverage: THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Opening Night

Theatreworks USA, the not-for-profit professional theatre for family audiences, is right now featuring their summer production - the world premiere of the new Latin-themed children's musical THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD.

THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD began performances on Tuesday, July 19, 2010 at Off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher St.) and continues through Friday, August 19. The show's opening night was Wednesday, July 27 at 6:30 p.m.and BroadwayWorld.com was there!

Click your heels together "tres veces" and take a magical journey with THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD, an all-new salsa and merengue-infused musical inspired by The Wizard of Oz.

In Chicago, the windy city, Dora Inez Garza is preparing for her fifteenth birthday celebration -- a traditional quinceanera. Her mother and uncles have worked so hard to make it an exciting fiesta for her, but Dora, feeling caught between the expectations of her heritage and her desire to be like any other contemporary American teenager, doesn't understand why the tradition is so important to her family.

With a little help from a mysterious woman and her enchanted gift, Dora is swept up into a gran tornado that drops her (and her little chiuahua, too) in a magical world where she must slip on the ruby zapatillas and take a journey of self-discovery, dancing down the yellow brick road.

She seeks the only person who can help her return to the world she knows -- the superstar with all the answers: the Wizard of Oz -- la Maravillosa Maga de Oz. Along the way she befriends a tongue-tied scarecrow, a heartless iron chef and a cowardly mountain lion, but a crazy, mean bruja intent on total world domination will stop at nothing to steal Dora's stylish, yet super powerful shoes.

Come along to the Emerald City with Dora and her friends as she discovers the power of embracing who you are, understanding where you come from and knowing "home" is always a heartbeat away. With all-new songs written in contemporary Latin musical styles, THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD promises to be a Ozzsome adventure!

Directed by Devanand Janki (Junie B. Jones) and choreographed by Janki and Robert Tatad (Junie B. Jones), THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD features a book by Mando Alvarado and Tommy Newman, and music and lyrics by Jaime Lozano and Newman.

THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD stars Virginia Cavaliere as Dora, Lexi Rhoades as Carnival Gloria / The Wizard, Natalie Toro as La Bruja, Ryan Duncan as Scarecrow, Frank Viveros as Tino and Cedric Leiba Jr. as Mountain Lion. Joshua Cruz and Veronica Reyes are the understudies.

The production features scenic design by Roger Hanna, costume design by Sydney Maresca, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, sound design by Carl Casella, puppet design by Lake Simons, orchestrations and arrangements by Salomon Lerner and Jaime Lozano, and music direction and additional arrangements by Zachary Dietz.

Natalie Toro, Ryan Duncan, Virginia Cavaliere, Frank Viveros, Cedric Leiba, Jr., Lexi Rhoades

Ryan Duncan, Natalie Toro, Frank Viveros, Virginia Cavaliere, Cedric Leiba, Jr., and Lexi Rhoades

After party at Garage

Robert Tatad, Ken Arthur, and Devanand Janki

Cedric Leiba, Jr.

Virginia Cavaliere

Natalie Toro

Natalie Toro and Virginia Cavaliere

Natalie Toro, Ryan Duncan, and Virginia Cavaliere

Frank Viveros, Natalie Toro, Ryan Duncan, and Virginia Cavaliere

Ryan Duncan, Cedric Leiba, Jr., and Frank Viveros

Lexi Rhoades

As an Equity actor, Peter is photographing the industry from the inside out. He has performed in numerous shows regionally, sung a duet with Richard Chamberlain in the National Tour of "Scrooge," and starred in "The Zoo Project" which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. When not on stage, he can be found photographing headshots and live theatre in NYC, Chicago and LA. As an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop, he also acts as a retouching artist for photographers city-wide. For more information, please visit: http://www.pjzstudios.com

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