Alliance Theatre to Premiere John Mellencamp & Stephen King's GHOST BROTHERS in 2012

The ALLIANCE THEATRE and Susan V. Booth, the Jennings Hertz Jr. Artistic Director today announced the final pieces of the theatre's 43rd season. Joining previously announced titles Into the Woods, Broke, Golda's Balcony, Sex and The Second City, A Christmas Carol, The Real Tweenagers of Atlanta and The Wizard of Oz, come four more productions, including the hotly anticipated world premiere of John Mellencamp and Stephen King's Ghost Brothers of Darkland County.

"I love everything about this season," said Booth. "The mixture of fairy tales and ghost stories gets at the most primitive and powerful roots of the theatre - and to offer Atlanta time with the minds and hearts of artists like John Mellencamp, Stephen King, Stephen Sondheim and Yasmina Reza -- as well as our own Janece Shaffer -- just lights us up at The Alliance. This is a wild ride of a season that no one should miss."

In keeping with the Alliance's tradition of producing new American musicals, the company will produce the world premiere of Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a chilling new musical with music and lyrics by John Mellencamp and book by Stephen King, as the closing show of the Alliance Stage Series set for spring, 2012.

One of the world's most popular authors and one of our most honored songwriters have created a riveting Southern gothic musical fraught with mystery, tragedy, and ghosts of the past, along with a roots and blues-tinged score that is sure to leave audiences asking for more. Stephen King's script brings the power of suspense and John Mellencamp brings his original songs and new music to the Alliance production which will be directed by Artistic Director Susan v. Booth with musical direction by legendary producer T Bone Burnett.

Season Tickets to the ALLIANCE THEATRE's 2011-12 Season are on sale now and may be purchased by calling 404.733.4600 (Mon. - Fri. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.). Single tickets go on sale in mid-July, 2011.

Visit www.alliancetheatre.org for more information and updates about the next season.

Atlanta's nationally acclaimed ALLIANCE THEATRE, recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award®, creates the powerful experience of shared theatre for diverse people of all ages. Under the leadership of Jennings Hertz, Jr. Artistic Director Susan V. Booth, the ALLIANCE THEATRE uses contemporary classics, field leading theatre artists and a commitment to premiere as the foundation for a national theatre with a local address. The theatre's two stages host 200,000 adult and youth patrons each season, and the Alliance engages and educates students and teachers of all ages through its extensive training programs and commitment to providing a community forum for connection and dialogue.

The Alliance leads the national regional theatre field in the creation of significant American musicals and plays. This includes over 70 premieres that have enjoyed future lives in theatres across the country as well as Tony Award®-winning moves to Broadway: Alice Walker's The Color Purple, Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida and Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo. Following their Atlanta premieres, the Alliance transferred Twyla Tharp's Come Fly Away to Broadway for a critically acclaimed Tony Award®-nominated run while Sister Act: the Musical will arrive on Broadway this season after its run on London's West End. The Alliance also originated the national tours of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk. The Alliance produced two original musicals in its 2010-11 season, Twist and Bring It On: The Musical.

The Alliance enjoys a national reputation for finding and developing Atlanta artists for the national stage, including New York Times bestseller Pearl Cleage whose The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years received its world premiere in the fall of 2010 at the Alliance. Further evidence of the Alliance's commitment to new work is its  nationally recognized National Graduate Playwriting Competition, a cutting-edge program introducing  student playwrights to professional networks across the country while producing the world premiere of the winning student's work here at the Alliance. Work by past Competition winners has gone on to be produced by theatres in New York, Chicago, London, San Francisco and beyond.

The Alliance continuously brings Atlanta the finest talent and finest art-proving once again that the Alliance is where great theatre lives. The ALLIANCE THEATRE is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which also houses the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art and Young Audiences.

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