Remainder of Swan Lake's North American Tour is Cancelled

The tour of Matthew Bourne's critically acclaimed Swan Lake will not be coming to Washington, D.C, Toronto, Ontario, Philadelphia, or Baltimore after producers decided to schedule a hiatus for the production.

The 10th anniversary tour of Swan Lake, which is currently playing Boston's Colonial Theatre, will no longer play D.C.'s Warner Theatre from April 25th through 30th, Toronto, Ontario's Elgin Theatre from May 2nd through 7th, Philadelphia's Merriam Theatre from May 9th through 11th, or Baltimore's Lyric Theatre from May 12th through 14th.

Ticket holders in those cities may request a refund at point of purchase. The Swan Lake tour, which is produced by Back Row Productions and NETworks Presentations in association with New Adventures, is headed for a number of international stints in the future.

"Boldlly shattering the traditional concepts of swans in tutus, director/choreographer Bourne blends ballet, humor, spectacle and comedy to create a provactive, powerful and contemporary Swan Lake for our times," according to press notes.

Swan Lake is Bourne's acclaimed, unconventional take on the ballet, which casts men in female roles (although there are also women in the cast). 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, features original Broadway cast members Alan Vincent, Vicky Evans, Neil Penlington and Nina Goldman.

The ballet features sets and costumes by Lez Brotherson and lighting by Rick Fisher.

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.

Visit the official Matthew Bourne Swan Lake website at www.swanlaketour.com for more information.