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Fanny Hill, with Anderson and Skinner, Opens Feb. 14

By: Feb. 14, 2006
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Fanny Hill, a new musical by Ed Dixon based on the raunchy 18th century novel by John Cleland, will open tonight at the York Theatre Company (619 Lexington Avenue at the corner of 54th Street) to run through March 26th, 2006. The show began previews on February 1st.

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Nancy Anderson (Wonderful Town, Kiss Me, Kate, A Class Act) takes on the title role in the musical, which also features Tony Award-nominee Emily Skinner (Side Show, The Full Monty); Patti Allison (Orpheus Descending, Angel); David Cromwell (Julius Caesar, The Scarlet Pimpernel); Michael J. Farina (In My Life, Seussical); Gina Ferrall (Big River, Jane Eyre); Adam Monley (Mamma Mia!); Christianne Tisdale (Triumph of Love, Beauty and the Beast) and Tony Yazbeck (Oklahoma!, Gypsy).

The musical "is the story of a beautiful young girl who travels to London to make her fortune and ends up making a great deal more. . . the army, the navy, and most of Parliament. Fanny becomes the foremost practitioner of the world's oldest profession, proves that crime really can pay, and gives new meaning to the expression, 'making it!'," according to press notes. Fanny Hill, which features book, music and lyrics by Dixon, is directed by James Brennan.

The show is a musical adaptation of Fanny Hill: Or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, a novel by John Cleland. Considered the first "erotic" novel, the witty tale was written in 1749 and has gone on to become a byword for the battle of censorship of erotica. Upon its publishing, the book was banned in England and Cleland was arrested. Nonetheless, copies of the book were sold underground and the book eventually made its way to the United States where, in 1821, it was banned for obscenity. In 1963, G. B. Putnam published the book, and it was once again banned for obscenity. The publisher challenged the ban in court, and in a landmark decision in 1966, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Memoirs v. Massachusetts that the banned novel did not meet the standard for obscenity.

Fanny Hill features scenic and costume design by Michael Bottari and Ronald Case, wig and hair design by Gerard Kelly, and lighting design by Phil Monat.

Tickets to Fanny Hill are $55. Tickets can be purchased at www.SmartTix.com or by calling (212) 868-4444. Student rush and senior rush tickets are also available.

For more information, visit www.fannyhillmusical.com or www.yorktheatre.org.


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