THE FIRST WIVES CLUB Extends at the Old Globe Thru 8/30

The First Wives Club - A New Musical will extend its run by an additional week due to popular demand. The Broadway-bound musical features a book by Tony Award winner Rupert Holmes and a score by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland. Directed by Francesca Zambello with choreography by Lisa Stevens and music direction by Ron Melrose, The First Wives Club will now run through Aug. 30.

The First Wives Club, originally set to end its run on Aug. 23, must close on Aug. 30 to accommodate the much-anticipated world premiere of Sammy, a new musical based on the life of Sammy Davis, Jr. with book, music and lyrics by two-time Oscar and Grammy winner Leslie Bricusse. Sammy will run in the Old Globe Theatre Sept. 19 - Nov. 8.

The First Wives Club is a funny, moving and empowering new musical based on the smash-hit movie comedy and Olivia Goldsmith's bestselling novel. Former college friends reunite at middle-age and soon discover they share the same unhappy story - their ungrateful husbands careened into midlife by dumping them for younger women. Inspired by their renewed friendship, the three women band together and take back their lives in style.

The cast features Broadway veterans Sheryl Lee Ralph (Dreamgirls, Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Elyse, Barbara Walsh (Company, Hairspray) as Brenda, Karen Ziemba (Contact, Curtains) as Annie, John Dossett (Gypsy) as Aaron, Kevyn Morrow (Dreamgirls) as Bill, Brad Oscar (The Producers) as Morty, Sara Chase as Trophy Wife and Sam Harris (The Life) as Duane.

The creative team includes Peter J. Davison (scenic design), Paul Tazewell (costume design), Mark McCullough (lighting design), Jon Weston (sound design), Harold Wheeler (orchestrator) and John Gentry Tennyson (conductor).

TICKETS to The First Wives Club can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the box office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Performances began on July 17 and continue through Aug. 30. Ticket prices range from $66 to $92.

Performance times: Previews:  Wednesday, July 29 at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, July 30 at 8:00 p.m. Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m., and Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors and groups of 10 or more.

The Old Globe is located in San Diego's Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Valet parking is also available ($10). For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org.

CALENDAR: Shakespeare Festival: Twelfth Night, Cyrano de Bergerac and Coriolanus (in repertory thru 9/27), Summer Shakespeare Intensive: Pericles, The Prince of Tyre (8/17), Sammy (9/19-11/8), The Savannah Disputation (9/26-11/1), Whisper House (1/13-2/21).

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theaters and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for 74 years. Under the direction of Executive Producer Louis G. Spisto, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the 580-seat Old Globe Theatre, the 250-seat Arena Stage at the San Diego Museum of Art's James S. Copley Auditorium (an interim second stage during construction of the new 280-seat Conrad Prebys Theatre Center) and the 612-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theater's education programs and outreach services. Numerous Broadway-bound premieres and revivals, such as The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Catered Affair, and the annual holiday musical, Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas!, have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs in New York and at regional theaters across the country.

Photo by Craig Schwartz