Photo Flash: First Look at Alex Ross, Sarah Elizabeth Smith and More in the Regional Premiere of THE BOY FROM OZ at Uptown Players

Uptown Players closes its 2014 season with the Regional Premiere of the 2003 Tony Award winning musical, The Boy From Oz. This is the first regional theater production announced in the United States since the Broadway production and will run July 25 through August 10, 2014 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater. Check out a first look below!

The Boy from Oz was created to celebrate the life and work of the legendary Peter Allen. It is the dazzling, funny and touching story of the great Australian entertainer Peter Allen, from his humble beginnings in Australia to his meteoric rise to fame as an international star. Singing in country pubs from age 11, Peter Allen survived family tragedy to become a local TV star at age 16. Discovered by Judy Garland, he married her daughter Liza Minnelli and went on to become a beloved performer and an Oscar-winning songwriter. The Boy from Oz includes many of his best loved hits: Everything Old is New Again, I Honestly Love You, Don't Cry Out Loud and the show stopping I Go to Rio.

The Boy from Oz began previews on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre on 16 September 2003, opened on 16 October 2003 and closed on 12 September 2004, at the end of Hugh Jackman's contract. The musical played 32 previews and 365 performances. Directed by Philip William McKinley, with choreography by Joey McKneely, it starred Jackman as Peter Allen, Isabel Keating as Judy Garland, Stephanie J. Block as Liza Minnelli, Beth Fowleras Marion Woolnough, Jarrod Emick as Peter's AIDS-stricken lover Greg Connell, and John Hill as Mark Herron (Judy's husband). Jackman won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and Keating won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. The show also received nominations for four other Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

With a book by Martin Sherman and Nick Enright and Music and Lyrics by Peter Allen, the production is under the direction of Cheryl Denson, with choreography by Jeremy Dumont, and music direction by Scott A. Eckert. The cast features Alex Ross as Peter Allen, Janelle Lutz as Judy Garland, and Sarah Elizabeth Smith as Liza Minnelli, along with Alex Altshuler, Lamar Brown, Westin Brown, Sean Burroughs, Dennis Canright, Danielle Estes, Kyle Fleig, Emily Ford, Sonny Franks, Maranda Harrison, Whitney Hennen, Jessica Humphrey, Brett Warner Hurt, Kelly McCain, Kyle Montgomery, Thomas Renner, Rashaun Sibley, and Jodi Wright.

The show runs July 25 through August 10 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd @ Blackburn in Dallas, with performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $30-50 and can be purchased online at www.uptownplayers.org or by phone at (214) 219-2718.

Photo Credit: Mike Morgan