Virginia Cavaliere, Natalie Toro et al. Lead YELLOW BRICK ROAD for Theaterwork's Free Summer Theater; Chita Rivera To Chair

Theatreworks USA, the nation's leading not-for-profit professional theatre for family audiences, is announced that Tony Award winner Chita Rivera will serve as Honorary Chair of its 23rd Annual Free Summer Theatre Program. This summer's featured production is the world premiere of the new Latin-themed children's musical THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD.

THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD begins performances on Tuesday, July 19, 2010 at Off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher St.) and continues through Friday, August 19. Opening Night is set for Wednesday, July 27 at 6:30 p.m.

Click your heels together "tres veces" and take a magical journey with THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD, an all-new salsa and merengue-infused musical inspired by The Wizard of Oz.

In Chicago, the windy city, Dora Inez Garza is preparing for her fifteenth birthday celebration -- a traditional quinceanera. Her mother and uncles have worked so hard to make it an exciting fiesta for her, but Dora, feeling caught between the expectations of her heritage and her desire to be like any other contemporary American teenager, doesn't understand why the tradition is so important to her family.

With a little help from a mysterious woman and her enchanted gift, Dora is swept up into a gran tornado that drops her (and her little chiuahua, too) in a magical world where she must slip on the ruby zapatillas and take a journey of self-discovery, dancing down the yellow brick road.

She seeks the only person who can help her return to the world she knows -- the superstar with all the answers: the Wizard of Oz -- la Maravillosa Maga de Oz. Along the way she befriends a tongue-tied scarecrow, a heartless iron chef and a cowardly mountain lion, but a crazy, mean bruja intent on total world domination will stop at nothing to steal Dora's stylish, yet super powerful shoes.

Come along to the Emerald City with Dora and her friends as she discovers the power of embracing who you are, understanding where you come from and knowing "home" is always a heartbeat away. With all-new songs written in contemporary Latin musical styles, THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD promises to be a Ozzsome adventure!

Directed by Devanand Janki (Junie B. Jones) and choreographed by Janki and Robert Tatad (Junie B. Jones), THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD features a book by Mando Alvarado and Tommy Newman, and music and lyrics by Jaime Lozano and Newman.

THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD stars Virginia Cavaliere as Dora, Lexi Rhoades as Carnival Gloria / The Wizard, Natalie Toro as La Bruja, Ryan Duncan as Scarecrow, Frank Viveros as Tino and Cedric Leiba Jr. as Mountain Lion. Joshua Cruz and Desiree Rodriguez are the understudies.

The production features scenic design by Roger Hanna, costume design by Sydney Maresca, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, sound design by Carl Casella, puppet design by Lake Simons, orchestrations and arrangements by Salomon Lerner and Jaime Lozano, and music direction and additional arrangements by Zachary Dietz.

Launched in 1989, the mission of Theatreworks USA's Free Summer Theatre Program is to provide New York City youth with their own free theatre tradition that not only entertains, but also educates and fosters positive values and an appreciation for theatre. More than 15,000 FREE tickets will be distributed to THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD this summer.

TICKETING AND PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Tickets for THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD are FREE and available on a first-come, first-served basis in-person at the Lucille Lortel Theatre Box Office (121 Christopher St.) on the day of the performance. Tickets for each day's performances will be distributed beginning one hour prior to the first performance of the day. There is a limit of four (4) tickets per adult per day.

THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD is a 60-minute, one-act musical, recommended for children ages seven (7) and up. The performance schedule is as follows:

Monday through Friday - 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Sunday - 2 p.m.

SCHEDULE EXCEPTIONS: There are no 1 p.m. performances July 19-22, and no 10:30 a.m. performance on Monday, July 25. There are added 4:30 p.m. performances on Sunday, July 24 and Sunday, August 14, and added 6 p.m. performances on Thursday, August 4 and Thursday, August 18.

The Opening Night performance on Wednesday, July 27 will be attended by kids and families from R.Evolucíon Latina's annual "Dare 2 Go Beyond" Summer Camp. R.Evolucíon Latina is a collective of artists and activists committed to empowering and inspiring growth within the Latino Community through artistic collaborations, events and educational support programs.

Because of this partnership with R.Evolucíon Latina, free tickets to the Opening Night performance may be extremely limited. To check availability the day prior, please visit www.twusa.org.

Summer camps, youth programs and social service organizations can make reservations for groups of fifteen (15) or more by calling 212-627-7373.

Because Theatreworks USA accepts reservations from summer camps, public distribution tickets are extremely limited for the weekday daytime performances. Availability is usually better for evening and weekend performances. Once all tickets are distributed, any remaining patrons will be admitted at curtain time on a space-available basis.

Reservations cannot be made by the general public*. Theatreworks USA only accepts reservations from not-for-profit and educational organizations. Therefore, public distribution tickets are limited for the weekday morning/afternoon performances. Individual ticket availability is better for evening and weekend performances, which are entirely open to the public.

For more information, please visit www.twusa.org.

* DON'T WANT TO WAIT IN LINE, BUT STILL WANT TO SEE THE SHOW?

If you want great reserved seats in the orchestra then make a donation to Free Summer Theatre! All donations are 100% tax-deductible and will go directly to offset program costs.For every $50 you donate, you are entitled to one reserved VIP seat for the performance of your choice. Limit 10 tickets per donor. No exchanges or refunds. For more information, call 212-647-1100 ext. 126 or email development@twusa.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos