Tony Winner Levi Kreis Returns to Village Theatre in PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES Tonight

Village Theatre kicks off its 2016-2017 Season with Pump Boys and Dinettes, a light-hearted concert-style musical celebration of life's simple pleasures, set on Highway 57 in North Carolina.

In the first production helmed at Village Theatre by new Associate Artistic Director Brandon Ivie, the show features a talented ensemble cast that includes performer Levi Kreis playing L.M. Kreis was last seen rocking Village Theatre's stage as Jerry Lee Lewis in the new musical Million Dollar Quartet, a role that carried him to Broadway and won him a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

Other Pump Boys and Dinettes cast members are Joshua Carter as Jim, Sylvie Davidson as Prudie Cupp, Michael Feldman as Jackson, Olivia D. Hamilton as Eddie, Sara Porkalob as Rhetta Cupp, and James "Rif" Reif as Drummer.

Written by a performance group of the same name comprised of John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel, and Jim Wann, Pump Boys and Dinettes became a surprise hit on Broadway in 1982, with a fun-loving country and bluegrass-inspired score that mimicked the band's own performance set. The musical welcomes its audience into the everyday goings-on of a downhome group of friends - a couple of pump boys at a gas station and the waitresses who work at the diner across the pavement - as they sing about the simpler things: fishing, beer, good food, and the importance of taking life slow. In directing the musical, Ivie has taken the show's origins to heart, bringing the score to life one song at a time in rehearsals that more closely resemble band practice. Every performer is an accomplished musician in his or her own right, with two cast members stepping into the spotlight after performing as part of Village Theatre's orchestra last season. Together, the ensemble cast plays a vast variety of instruments, including guitar, piano, bass, cello, ukulele, and banjo.

Joining Brandon Ivie on the creative team are R.J. Tancioco as Music Director, Andrea Bryn Bush as Scenic Designer, Chelsea Cook as Costume Designer, Geoff Korf as Lighting Designer, and Brent Warwick as Sound Designer.

Pump Boys and Dinettes, sponsored by Redmond's Bar and Grill and SeattlePI.com, is on stage at Village Theatre's Francis J. Gaudette Theatre in Issaquah from tonight, September 15, to October 23, before moving to the Everett Performing Arts Center from October 28 to November 20. Tickets are on sale now in Issaquah and can be purchased online or through the Box Office at (425) 392-2202. Everett tickets go on sale September 14.

Based in Issaquah, WA, with operations in Everett, Village Theatre is a leading producer of musical theatre in the Pacific Northwest. Producing entertaining, quality productions for the entire family since 1979, Village Theatre has grown into one of the region's best-attended Equity theatres, with over 19,000 Subscribers, 200,000 projected total attendance each season, and an annual operating budget of over $12,000,000. Through its Village Originals program, Village Theatre is nationally recognized for its contribution to the development of new musicals, having launched over 150 new works to date. Village Theatre also takes pride in nurturing tomorrow's audiences through its youth education programs, Pied Piper and KIDSTAGE, serving over 55,000 young people, families, and schools annually.

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