TheatreworksUSA, the non-profit professional theatre led by Artistic Director Barbara Pasternack and Managing Director Ken Arthur, announced today that Tony and Emmy Award winner Cynthia Nixon ("Sex and the City") will serve as Honorary Chair for the 19th Annual Free Summer Theatre Program. This summer's featured production is a new version of the Broadway musical Seussical, written by Lynn Ahrens (lyrics and book) and Stephen Flaherty (music and book).
"For the past 19 years, TheatreworksUSA has made the experience of enjoying live theatre possible for hundreds of thousands of young people," states Nixon in the press release. "And it's because of the Free Summer Theatre Program that many of them are seeing live, professional theatre for the very first time. For a number of kids, this is something that they might never be able to experience otherwise. But thanks to the generosity of TheatreworksUSA and its sponsors, young people all over New York City will have the opportunity to enjoy top-notch stage productions, like
Seussical, for years to come. And as a parent, I think that's a pretty amazing thing."
Co-conceived by Ahrens, Flaherty and
Eric Idle, this production of
Seussical, created especially for young audiences, is based on various works by internationally adored children's author Theodore Geisel, best known as Dr. Seuss. Performances begin Monday, July 16, 2007 at Off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre, and continue through Friday, August 17. The Opening Night benefit performance is Thursday, July 19 at 6:30PM.
Directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge,
Seussical stars Ebony Marshall (Sour Kangaroo), Shorey Walker (The Cat in the Hat), Michael Wartella as (Jojo), Karen Weinberg (Gertrude McFuzz), and Leigh Ann Larkin (Mayzie La Bird).
Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Amelia Morgan-Rothschild and Ellen Zolezzi are the Bird Girls and Willie Lee-Williams, Ben Tostado and
Josh Walden are the Wickersham Brothers. Casting for Horton the Elephant will be announced soon.
Seussical also features scenic design by Narelle Sissons, costume design by Tracy Christensen, lighting design by Matthew Richards, sound design by Eric Shim and puppet design by Eric Wright.
Tickets for Seussical 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, one hour prior to curtain time. Individual reservations cannot be made in advance.
Summer camps, youth programs and social service organizations can make reservations for groups of ten or more by calling 212-627-7373.
Seussical is a 90-minue, one-act musical, recommended for children ages four and up. The performance schedule is as follows:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday - 10:30AM and 1PM.
Thursday - 1PM and 6:30PM.
Sunday - 1PM. and 4PM.
There is no 1PM. performance on Monday, July 16, and there are no free tickets available for the Opening Night benefit performance on Thursday, July 19.
Because TheatreworksUSA 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. Absolutely no babies in arms or children in strollers will be admitted.
Photo of Cynthia Nixon by Ben Strothmann
