Billy Crystal Brings His Tony Winning 700 SUNDAYS To Selected Cities This Fall

It was announced today that Billy Crystal will bring 700 SUNDAYS, his Tony Award-winning Broadway blockbuster, to six cities for limited engagements this fall, launching at Washington, D.C.'s National Theatre September 8 - 17. The tour will also play Philadelphia, Dallas, Palm Beach, Miami and Atlanta. 700 SUNDAYS, a play performed and written by Mr. Crystal with additional content by Alan Zweibel is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff.

700 SUNDAYS, an autobiographical journey, is an original two-act play in which Billy plays numerous characters that have influenced who he is today. It deals with his youth, growing up in the jazz world of Manhattan, his teenage years, and finally adulthood. It is about family and fate, loving and loss.

"I have thought about 700 SUNDAYS at least once a day since the last time I performed it in Australia two years ago. My love for these characters from the canvas of my life and the incredible connection that I feel with audiences while sharing this personal story have made this one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. I knew I wasn't done performing it and I knew I'd like to bring the show back when the time felt right. I'm so happy to be playing six great American cities this fall," said Mr. Crystal.

In its opening week on Broadway, 700 SUNDAYS broke the house record for highest weekly gross at the Broadhurst Theatre and then continued to top its own record every week. The week ending May 22, 2005, marked the highest grossing week, not only for the Broadhurst Theatre, but also for any non-musical production in Broadway history, taking in $1,061,688 at the box office.
The show won the 2005 Tony Award for Special Theatrical Experience and both the 2005 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance.

Following the Broadway production, Billy played sold out limited engagements of 700 SUNDAYS in Toronto, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Billy then took 700 SUNDAYS to Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, where both engagements sold out upon announcement and won the 2007 Helpmann Award for Best Special Event.

Produced by Janice Crystal, Larry Magid and Face Productions, 700 SUNDAYS has a scenic design by David F. Weiner, lighting design by David Lee Cuthbert, projection design by Michael Clark and sound design is by Steve Canyon Kennedy.

TOUR INFORMATION

CITY VENUE DATES
Washington D.C. National Theatre September 8 - September 17

Philadelphia, PA Merriam Theater September 30 - October 11

Dallas, TX Winspear Opera House November 17 - November 22

Palm Beach, FL Kravis Center December 3 - December 6

Miami, FL Arsht Opera House December 9 - December 13

Atlanta, GA Cobb Theater December 16 - December 20

Tickets for the Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia engagements of 700 SUNDAYS will go on-sale exclusively to American Express cardholders on Wednesday, June 24, and will go on-sale to the general public on Monday, July 13. The Washington, D.C and Philadelphia engagements will be sold on www.ticketmaster.com. On-sale information for all other cities will be announced shortly.

Billy Crystal (Playwright/Performer) has created one of the most versatile and prolific careers in the entertainment industry, finding success in front of the camera, as a performer in film and television, and behind the scenes as a writer, director and producer. After touring with such stars as Billy Joel, Barry Manilow, Neil Sedaka, and Sha Na Na, he became a regular on the popular series "Soap" playing the first openly gay character on a network television series. During the 1984-85 television seasons, Billy met with phenomenal national success on "Saturday Night Live." He created, wrote and produced the critically acclaimed HBO series "Sessions" and became the first comedian to perform in the then-Soviet Union with his special "Midnight Train to Moscow," one of four one-man specials he has done for HBO. He has hosted the Grammy Awards three times and, of course, the Oscars eight times. He starred in Running Scared, Throw Momma from the Train, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, Mr. Saturday Night, Forget Paris, Hamlet, Deconstructing Harry, Analyze This, Monster's Inc. and America's Sweethearts. Crystal's film 61* for HBO films showcased Billy as both director and executive producer. It garnered 12 Emmy nominations including nods for Best Director and Best Made for Television Movie and also earned him a prestigious Director's Guild nomination. Crystal made his Broadway debut with "700 Sundays," an autobiographical one-man play. It opened to stellar reviews, and broke box office records, becoming the highest grossing non-musical in the history of Broadway and garnered Crystal the Tony in 2006, Outer Critics Circle Award, and the prestigious Drama Desk Award. Crystal also took "700 Sundays" on tour to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, and Australia also breaking box office records there and earning him the Australian Tony Award. Crystal also adapted "700 Sundays" into a book which joined Billy's two children's books, I Already Know I Love You and Grandpas Little One on the New York Times Bestseller's List. A dedicated human rights advocate, he has co-hosted with Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg all eight "Comic Relief" telethons on HBO which have brought the plight of the nation's homeless to the public and raised over $40 million for housing and medical care for these needy people. Billy, Robin and Whoopi reunited in November 2005 for a special "Comic Relief," to aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Billy has won six Emmy Awards, six American Comedy Awards and seven Cable Ace Awards. Most recently, he was honored with the 2007 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington. He has been married for 39 years to Janice, with whom he has two daughters, Jennifer and Lindsay, and granddaughters Ella and Dylan.

Des McAnuff (Director) is a two-time Tony Award-winning director and Artistic Director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. His 2006 Broadway production of Jersey Boys earned four Tony awards including Best Musical, and now has seven companies across the world. He is Director Emeritus of La Jolla Playhouse, which he headed for much of the past 25 years. Broadway: Guys and Dolls (2009), Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention (2007); Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays (2004, Theatrical Event Tony); Dracula: The Musical (2004); How to Succeed... (1995); The Who's Tommy (director/co-author with Pete Townshend, 1993 Tony, Best Director of a Musical; 1997 London Olivier Best Director/Best Musical); A Walk in the Woods (1988); Big River (1985, seven Tonys including Best Director of a Musical, Best Musical). Stratford: Macbeth and Sondheim's ...Forum (2009); Romeo and Juliet and Caesar and Cleopatra starring Christopher Plummer (2008). Additional Playhouse productions: The Wiz (2006); Zhivago (2005); Palm Beach (2005); Private Fittings (2005); Tom Donaghy's Eden Lane (2003); Tartuffe (2002); Michael Ondaatje's The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (2001). Film: Cousin Bette and The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (director), Iron Giant (producer), Quills (executive producer). Upcoming: a commission with the Metropolitan Opera for a new piece with Michael Korie and Michael Torke; adapting Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots for stage with Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips and Aaron Sorkin.

 

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.