Lyng, Myers, Etc. Take Part in Hats! Workshop in Aug.

Nora Mae Lyng, Pamela Myers, Cheryl Stern and more will take part in a number of workshops for the new musical Hats! The Red Hat Society Musical, which will receive its world premiere at the New Denver Civic Center in Colorado.

The musical will open on October 11th after beginning previews on October 7th.  The workshops will take place earlier on August 3rd at 4 PM and August 5th at noon and 3 PM at the Ripley Grier Studios in New York.  In addition to Lyng (Amour), Myers (Company), and Stern (The Women), the workshops will feature Teri Ralston (Company), Leslie Alexander (The Boy From Oz), Miche Braden, and Joy Franz (Into the Woods).

Hats! is written by husband-and-wife team Marcia Milgrom Dodge and Anthony Dodge, and boasts original music by several Tony Award nominated composers, including Susan Birkenhead (Jelly's Last Jam, Triumph Of Love), Gretchen Cryer (I'm Getting My Act Together And Taking It On The Road), Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls, Side Show), Melissa Manchester (I Sent a Letter to My Love), Pam Tillis, Kathie Lee Gifford (Under the Bridge) and Carol Hall (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas). Tony-nominee Lynne Taylor-Corbett (Swing!) is set to direct and choreograph.

The show concerns a "49.999 year old woman who reluctantly faces the inevitable big five-O birthday until she meets several remarkable Red Hat Society women who show her about fun and friendship after 50," according to press notes.

"The Red Hat Society officially formed in 1998 when Sue Ellen Cooper and a group of five friends, dressed in purple clothing and red hats met for afternoon tea. The word quickly spread, and over the past eight years, The Red Hat Society has become the fastest and largest growing women's movement in the United States...We believe silliness is the comedy relief of life and, since we are all in it together, we might as well join red-gloved hands and go for the gusto together. Underneath the frivolity, we share a bond of affection, forged by common life experiences and a genuine enthusiasm for wherever life takes us next."

The Denver Civic Center is located at 721 Sante Fe Drive. Tickets are $39.50; call (303) 309-3773 or visit www.ticketswest.com.