Mummenschanz Returns to US with National Tour, January 2011

World-renowned Swiss performance troupe MUMMENSCHANZ announced today plans to return to the United States for a multi-city, national tour this fall and winter, from October 2010 through January 2011.  The three-month tour marks the celebrated troupe's return to North America for the first time since 2003, after a seven-year absence to tour other continents.  The spectacularly entertaining, family-friendly program will showcase some of Mummenschanz's most beloved, imaginative and humorous characters from over the years, in addition to some newer original material.
 
The American tour will also include a special three-week holiday engagement in New York City, from December 20, 2010- January 8, 2011, where Mummenschanz is presenting 22 performances at The Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, located in Greenwich Village.  The yuletide shows will include a Christmas Eve matinee at 2 pm, and two specially scheduled performances on New Year's Eve, held at 4 pm and 7 pm.
 
For nearly four decades, Mummenschanz has captivated audiences worldwide with its groundbreaking and transformative visual theater. The troupe creates a playful and uniquely memorable experience through an inventive use of forms, shadow and light, and inventive manipulation of sculptural, expressive masks.
 
In the surreal, comic, wordless universe of Mummenschanz, the ordinary becomes extraordinary when common materials and everyday objects--such as wires, tubes, boxes, and even toilet paper--all spring to life as fantastical characters. Abstract shapes and forms also interact in surprising ways to reveal some timeless truths about human connections and relationships. The result is a wonder-filled, visually stunning spectacle and family entertainment that sparks the imagination and transcends cultural barriers.

"Mummenschanz has always had a powerful connection with American audiences, which really respond to the visual humor, playfulness and imagination in our performances," said Bernie Schürch and Floriana Frassetto, two of the show's founding members and featured performers on the tour. "We had our first big breakthrough in the U.S., with a long-running Broadway show, so it will always have special meaning for us, and we're eager to return after such a long absence."
 
Both artists will participate in a series of lively and informative "Talk Back" events following select performances, giving audiences a chance to interact with the legendary performers and hear them verbalize firsthand the story of their non-verbal brand of theater. Mummenschanz will also hold special student performances and mask workshops in select areas to teach more about the techniques used to create the troupe's unique artistry.
 
For more information on Mummenschanz, visit the troupe's official website, available at http://www.Mummenschanz.com. To become a Facebook fan, join at http://facebook.com/mummenschanz. Click on http://youtube.com/mummenschanztour to watch video links to several live performance sequences. For personal information and tour updates, follow the troupe's featured artists on http://twitter.com/mummenschanzUS.
 
ABOUT MUMMENSCHANZ FOUNDATION:
Currently in its fourth decade of existence, Mummenschanz remains one of the most successful theater groups in the world. Formed in 1972 by Swiss artists Bernie Schürch and Andres Bossard with Swiss-American artist Floriana Frassetto, the pioneering performance troupe created a non-verbal theatrical language that transcended the traditional barriers of nationality and culture. The group had its breakthrough during an extended Broadway run at the Bijou Theatre in New York City from 1977-1980. Never before and or since has a show without words or music succeeded on Broadway for three consecutive years. Since then, the group has toured continuously around the globe, performing in renowned festivals and theaters worldwide. Following the death in 1992 of founding member Andres Bossard, original artists Floriana Frassetto and Bernie Schürch went on to establish the Mummenschanz Foundation in 1998 with the help of long-time friend and supporter Hans Jörg Tobler, a non-profit organization that aims to promote the art and expression of nonverbal theater. Since 2000, Mummenschanz has grown to a company of five, with original cast members Schürch and Frassetto now joined by featured performers Pietro Montandon and Raffaella Mattioli and technical director Jan Maria Lukas. For more information, visit www.Mummenschanz.com.