Bourne's Swan Lake Tours US Through May 14th

Matthew Bourne's hit production of the classic ballet Swan Lake has launched on a US national tour.

The tour kicked off  at Tempe, Arizona's Gammage Auditorium, where it will play through February 4th.  The next stop is Minneapolis' State Theatre (February 8th through 12th); the last engagement will be Baltimore's Lyric Theatre (from May 12th through 14th).

The national tour marks the 10th anniversary of Swan Lake, Bourne's acclaimed, unconventional take on the ballet that casts men in female roles.  The show ran on Broadway from October 8th, 1998 through January 23rd, 1999 after a hit London run that began in 1995; Bourne picked up two Tony Awards for his direction and choreography.  The tour of Swan Lake, which features the music of Tchaikovsky, will feature original Broadway cast members Alan Vincent, Vicky Evans, Neil Penlington and Nina Goldman.

Will Aitchison, Ashley Bain, Rain De Rye Barrett, Emma Bown, Cody Choi, Saranne Curtin, Leigh Daniels, Laurianne Delteil, Ben Dixon, Pia Driver, Aaron Francis, Peter Furness, Glenn Graham, Stuary Goodwin, Rebecca Jackson, Hendrick January, Simon Karaiskos, Daisy-May Kemp, Helen Moore, Alan Mosley, Mbulelo Ndabeni, Dominic North, Oxana Panchenko, Gavin Persand, Sam Plant, Edwin Ray, Victoria Sahakian-Rogers, Paul Rooney, Paul Smethurst, Toby Smith, Damien Stirk, Irad Timberlake, Jose Tirado, Agnes Vandrepote, Simon Wakefield and Chloe Wilkinson comprise the ensemble.

The ballet will feature sets and costumes by Lez Brotherson and lighting by Rick Fisher; Back Row Productions and NETworks Presentations in association with New Adventures presents.  Tour dates (which are subject to change) follow:

Jan. 29th-Feb. 4th: Gammage Auditorium, Tempe, AZ
Feb. 8th-12th: State Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
Feb. 15th-19th: Buell Theatre, Denver, CO
Feb. 21st-26th: Palace Theatre, Chicago, IL
March 8th-19th: Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
March 21st-April 16th: Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco, CA
April 20th-23rd: Colonial Theatre, Boston, MA
April 25th-30th: Warner Theatre, Washington, DC
May 2nd-7th: Elgin Theatre, Toronto, ONT
May 9th-11th: Merriam Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
May 12th-14th: Lyric Theatre, Baltimore, MD

One of the most successful choreographers working today, Bourne takes his inspiration from films (The Car Man, based upon The Postman Always Rings Twice, Play Without Words, based on Joseph Losey's The Servant), as well as from classics (Nutcracker!, Highland Fling).  As for his musical theatre credits, Bourne choreographed Trevor Nunn's revivals of My Fair Lady and South Pacific, as well as co-directing Mary Poppins with Richard Eyre.  His most recent dance piece Edward Scissorhands (based on the hit Tim Burton film) is currently playing at London's Sadler Wells and will embark on a UK national tour on February 14th.

For more information, visit www.swanlaketour.com.