Angie Schworer, Sara Gettelfinger and Rick Pessagno Lead Reagle Music Theatre's CHICAGO, Now thru 6/23

A dazzling new production of the long-running Broadway revival CHICAGO directed and choreographed by Broadway veteran Gerry McIntyre opens Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston's 45th anniversary season tonight, June 13-23. Starring Broadway's Angie Schworer as Roxie Hart, Sara Gettelfinger as Velma Kelly, and Rick Pessagno as Billy Flynn, CHICAGO gets Reagle's spectacular summer season off to a bang with all-new staging and exciting choreography in the style of Bob Fosse.

"We couldn't be more excited about opening our 45th anniversary season with CHICAGO," says Robert Eagle, founder and producing artistic director of Reagle Music Theatre. "Our audiences have been clamoring for us to do this show for years, and we've finally been able to get the rights and assemble the team to make it a reality. Gerry McIntyre is a fabulous director and choreographer with a wonderful sense of style and fun. And Angie, Sara and Rick are going to sizzle together on stage. They are all tremendous triple threats."

CHICAGO, with a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, is the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. The winner of six Tony Awards including Best Revival, it is a smart, sassy, sharp-edge satire in which "merry murderesses" Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly vie for headlines and the services of the slickest defense attorney in Chicago, Billy Flynn, during the madcap Roaring Twenties. Knockout musical numbers include "All That Jazz," "Cell Block Tango," "When You're Good to Mama," "Razzle Dazzle," "Nowadays," and "Class." A blockbuster movie adaptation directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall won six Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Angie Schworer (Roxie Hart) recently performed in the world premiere of the new Andrew Lippa musical BIG FISH, directed by Tony Award winner Susan Stroman, at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago. She will reprise her role on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre this fall. A longtime Ulla in THE PRODUCERS on Broadway, Schworer has also appeared on Broadway in CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, SUNSET BOULEVARD, CRAZY FOR YOU, THE Will Rogers FOLLIES, and TENDERLOIN at City Center Encores! She also starred as Kitty and was the understudy for Roxie in the current revival of CHICAGO. Regionally, Schworer starred as Roxie in the critically acclaimed Ogunquit Playhouse production of CHICAGO directed and choreographed by Gerry McIntyre. That production won the BroadwayWorld.com Audience Choice Award for best choreography.

Sara Gettelfinger (Velma Kelly) most recently starred as Morticia Addams in the First National Tour of THE ADDAMS FAMILY: THE MUSICAL, which came through Boston last season. She also starred on Broadway in NINE as Carla opposite Antonio Banderas and created the role of the riotous Jolene Oakes in the Tony Award nominated musical DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. Gettelfinger stepped into the menacing stilts of Cruela de Vil on the national tour of THE 101 DALMATIANS MUSICAL and was a featured dancer on the national tour ofFOSSE. Off-Broadway she created the role of "Little" Edie Beale in GREY GARDENS, and regionally she has starred in PIPPIN, HALF A SIXPENCE, and A CHORUS LINE, among many others.

Rick Pessagno (Billy Flynn) has performed on Broadway in WHOOPEE, 42ND STREET (dance captain), and SOPHISTICATED LADIES and in the first national tours of CHICAGO, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, and, most recently, 9 TO 5. He has appeared in the Los Angeles company ofCATS and in the Las Vegas companies of MAMMA MIA! and CHICAGO. Pessagno has also directed and choreographed more than 35 musicals in Las Vegas.

Gerry McIntyre (director and choreographer) has won the Drama Logue and Robby Awards, and was nominated for an Ovation Award, for his direction and choreography of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND at LaMirada Theatre in California. He served as associate director and choreographer for the national tour of DREAMGIRLS, and he won a BroadwayWorld.com Audience Choice Award for Best Choreography for his production of CHICAGO at Maine's Ogunquit Playhouse. As a performer, McIntyre has starred "with everyone" in the Broadway revival of CHICAGO, including a stint as Billy Flynn on the national tour. His numerous other Broadway appearances and national tours include the original casts of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, ANYTHING GOES with Patti LuPone, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT (also the film with Donny Osmond), and ANNIE 2 at the Kennedy Center.

Additional featured cast members for CHICAGO are Maryann Zschau as Matron "Mama" Morton; Rick Sherburne as Amos Hart; and Peter Mill as Mary Sunshine. The ensemble includes Lizzie Porcari, Rachel Bertone, Maria LaRossa, Katie Clark, Linda Neel, Jaclyn Miller, Jamal Rashann Callender, Major Nesby, Joey Cullinane, and Alex Nordin. Music director is Dan Rodriguez. Additional cast and creative team members will be announced soon.

Also this summer Reagle Music Theatre presents traditional favorite FIDDLER ON THE ROOF July 11-21 and a revolutionary new staging of what many have called the most popular musical of all time, LES MISERABLES, August 8-18.

Single tickets to CHICAGO are $57 (premium), $49, $42 and $35 for adults. Seniors 60 or older receive $3 off adult prices. Tickets for youths 5-18 are $25, any section. Patrons may see all three shows for under $100 by purchasing a full-season subscription at 25 percent off. Packages start as low as $78.

Tickets are available by phone at 781-891-5600, in person at the Box Office during regular business hours, or online anytime at www.reaglemusictheatre.org. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more may be purchased by calling 781-894-2330 or 781-891-5600.

A new dynamic ticketing system is now available on the Reagle Music Theatre website. Patrons who purchase their tickets online may now choose their own seats using an interactive seating chart.

Reagle Music Theatre is located at 617 Lexington Street, Waltham, Mass. Box Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and performance days, 9 a.m. to curtain. For more information, visit Reagle Music Theatre on the web at www.reaglemusictheatre.org.

Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston is a unique award-winning professional regional theater company that features Broadway stars performing alongside local talent. Founded in 1969, Reagle Music Theatre is a non-profit arts organization based in Waltham, Mass.Operating year-round, Reagle produces major musicals each summer, spectacular seasonal revues, and celebrity concerts featuring legendary entertainers. The company also offers a variety of school-based educational programs and musical theater camps designed to give children in the West Suburban region the opportunity to expand their horizons through the performing arts. Stars who have appeared at Reagle include Brent Barrett, Patrick Cassidy, John Davidson, Mitzi Gaynor, Anita Gillette, Robert Goulet, Shirley Jones, Vicki Lawrence, Patti LuPone, Ann Margaret, Andrea McArdle, Lee Meriwether, The Mills Brothers, Sarah Pfisterer, Debbie Reynolds, Sally Struthers, Tommy Tune, Leslie Uggams, Joanne Worley, and Rachel York.

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