Jeremy Jordan, Bianca del Rio, Stephanie J. Block, and More Announced for Provincetown This Summer

For the eighth consecutive season since taking the helm as Producing Artistic Director at Provincetown's Art House, Mark Cortale has upped the ante - announcing his largest music and comedy lineup yet. At the top of the marquee once again will be his internationally acclaimed "Broadway @" series, which the dynamic duo of Cortale and his creative partner, Sirius XM radio star Seth Rudetsky, first launched in P-Town in 2011 and now makes its home in more than a dozen major venues worldwide. For Tickets and information, visit www.ptownarthouse.com or call 800-838-3006.

Kicking off the season on Memorial Day Weekend will be Grammy-winning platinum selling recording stars, Indigo Girls, for one show only at Provincetown Town Hall on Sunday, May 27 at 6:00 PM, with special guest opener and local favorite, Zoe Lewis. Meanwhile that weekend at flagship venue The Art House, Indie Rock star Melissa Ferrick returns for her eighth consecutive season opener on Saturday, May 26 at 7:00 PM followed by Emmy-winning comedian Judy Gold on May 26 at 9:00 PM.

Summer 2018's Town Hall series, produced by Cortale at the town's largest venue, will follow the Indigo Girls' May 27 season opener with the anticipated P-Town debut of a new show by Kathy Najimy called "Lift Up Your Skirt. Najimy, the star of "Hocus Pocus," the "Sister Act" films and voice of Peggy Hill on "King of the Hill," will perform on July 3 at 8:30 PM; Bianca Del Rio, RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6 winner, returns to the scene of last year's triumphant Town Hall debut on July 9 at 8:30pm; Jeremy Jordan, Tony Award nominee for "Newsies" on Broadway and star of The CW's "Supergirl" makes his Town Hall debut on August 13 at 8:30 PM, with Seth Rudetsky as pianist and host; and RuPaul's Drag Race season 8 winner Bob The Drag Queen returns by popular demand on September 2 at 8:00 PM. The Town Hall series will be raising funds this year for Sandy Hook Promise.

When Travel & Leisure magazine named Provincetown America's #1 Beach Town two summers ago, they singled out the destination's nightlife for featuring Broadway stars. What they didn't mention is that this feat - now a sought-after attraction in this Cape Cod location - began as an experiment by Cortale and Rudetsky in the summer of 2011. And indeed, this year's eighth annual "Broadway @ The Art House" series for P-Town features another meteor shower of Broadway and the NY Club scene's biggest stars, starting with Tori Scott, hailed as one of Time Out New York's Top 10 Cabaret Artists, returns with Jesse Kitchell at piano on July 1 at 9:00 PM and July 2 at 7:00 PM; Branden & James, the cello and vocal duo and 2013 finalists on "America's Got Talent" make their Art House debut on July 7 & 8 at 7:00 PM; Judy Kuhn, Tony-nominated star of "Fun Home" and Broadway's original "Les Miz" and the voice of Disney's "Pocahontas" returns to Ptown on July 15 & 16 at 7:00 PM, with Seth Rudetsky as pianist & host; Adam Pascal, star of the original Broadway cast of "Rent," as well as the film version lights up the Art House stage on July 17 at 7:00 PM, with Seth Rudetsky as pianist and host; Christine Ebersole, a two-time Tony Award winner for "Grey Gardens" and "42nd Street" and star of Oscar-winning films such as "Amadeus" and "Tootsie," appears on July 19 & 20 at 6:00 PM, with Seth Rudetsky as pianist & host; Will Swenson, Tony nominee for the revival of "Hair" and most recently a star of the hit musical comedy "Disaster!," performs on July 28 & 29 at 7:00 PM, with Seth Rudetsky as pianist & host; Sierra Boggess, Broadway's original Ariel in "The Little Mermaid" and a frequent Christine Daaé in "Phantom of the Opera" and its sequel "Love Never Dies," makes her series debut August 4 & 5 at 7:00 PM, with Seth Rudetsky as pianist & host; Liz Callaway, Tony nominee for "Baby" and also a star of "Cats" and "Miss Saigon" on Broadway as well as the singing voice in many of Disney's animated films including as Princess Jasmine in two of the "Aladdin" series of films, debuts in the series on August 12 at 7:00 PM, with Seth Rudetsky as pianist & host; Emily Skinner, Tony nominee for "Side Show" (with Alice Ripley) and star of Broadway's "Billy Elliot" and "The Full Monty", performs on August 19 at 7:00 PM, with Seth Rudetsky as pianist & host; Stephanie J. Block, recently announced to play the title role in the upcoming Broadway musical "The Cher Show" and two time Tony nominee for "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" and "Falsettos," on August 21 & 22 at 6:00 PM, with Seth Rudetsky as pianist & host; Marilyn Maye, living legend cabaret singer and perennial Art House favorite returns from August 24 - 27 Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday - Monday at 7:00 PM, with Billy Stritch at the piano; Alice Ripley, winner of the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for "Next to Normal," and Tony nominee for "Side Show" (with Emily Skinner) makes her Provincetown return on September 1 at 7:00 PM and September 2 at 6:30 PM; and the new musical "Midnight at the Neverget" a hit musical at the Provincetown Inn last summer making its Art House debut September 6 - 8 at 7:00 PM.

And...as if that lineup weren't impressive enough... more music and comedy stars will fill The Art House's twin stages than ever before. The summer lineup will welcome Varla Jean Merman, the First Lady of Ptown, returning for her 20th Anniversary Season with her solo show "Under A Big Top" running June 22 through August 31, with Gerald Goode at piano; RuPaul's Drag Race Season Five winner Jinkx Monsoon returns to The Art House with new show "Beach City Bimbo" together with cohort Major Scales from June 22 through September 9; Emmy-winning comedian Judy Gold will return for a summer-long stand from June 28 - August 31; Miss Conception, the first ever drag contestant on TV's "Wipeout Canada" also featured on "Queer as Folk" and "Degrassi, The Next Generation," makes her Art House debut with "Forbidden Diznee" from June 30 - September 4; Well-Strung, the singing string quartet (which includes two recent contestants on TV's "The Amazing Race") who began their international career in P-Town, bring their new show to The Art House for a summer-long run July 1 - September 5; "Hocum Pokem" - a new comedy starring Jinkx Monsoon, Peaches Christ and Liza Lott - makes its Provincetown premiere from July 4 - September 7; Steve Grand, the singer who burst onto the scene with his video An All American Boy and his #3 Billboard Independent Album, returns to The Art House for an extended stay this summer from July 5 - September 7; "The Whining" a brand new raucous comedy by Varla Jean Merman and Peaches Christ makes its P-Town bow July 6 - September 8; Deven Green, the award-winning Canadian comedy chanteuse known for her video parody character "Mrs. Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian," makes her Art House debut July 23 - 27; internationally acclaimed opera star Marisol Montalvo brings her show "Mad Scene" back to Provincetown, with William Hobbs at the piano and directed by Jeffery Roberson, on July 30 & 31; Unitard, the comedy trio that Time Out NY called "incredibly vicious and relentlessly hilarious" returns to P-Town August 9 & 10 - starring Mike Albo, Nora Burns and David Ilku; and the Afterglow Festival - the live performance arts festival - takes up residence at The Art House from September 11 - 15.

The 2018 Art House and Town Hall season produced by Mark Cortale is sponsored by

Cape Air, Anchor Inn Beach House, Ptown Bikes and Provincetown Gym.

For fans that wish to see each of The Art House and Town Hall stars this summer, the venue provides the opportunity to reserve those seats with its 2018 All Show Season Pass. It guarantees Season Pass holders best seats available, 'front-of-the-line' access, and an overall savings of $500 off the price of VIP seating. More info can be found at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3387221.

Seth Rudetsky is the afternoon host on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio's "On Broadway" as well as the host of Seth Speaks on Sirius/XM Stars. As an author, he penned "My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan" and the sequel "The Rise And Fall Of A Theater Geek" (Random House) as well as three volumes of "Seth's Broadway Diary" featuring inside scoop and hilarious stories from all of the stars he's worked with. He co-wrote and co-starred in "Disaster!" (NY TIMES "critics pick") recently on Broadway. "Disaster!" also premiered to rave reviews in London's West End. In June 2016, he and his husband, James Wesley, co-produced a recording of "What The World Needs Now" with stars like Idina Menzel, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Carole King, Audra McDonald which went to number one on iTunes and raised $100,000 for the Orlando shooting victims (and is still raising money. Buy it!). On Inauguration Day 2017, he and James started "Concert For America", a monthly series around the country (including S.F.!) helping 5 non-profits being hurt by the current administration. Stars such as Kelli O'Hara, Barry Manilow, Stephanie Mills, Vanessa Williams, Andy Cohen and more have performed and you can watch the next one streamed live on ConcertsForAmerica.com. For more information visit www.sethrudetsky.com.

About Mark Cortale Productions:

Mark Cortale (Artist Manager & Producer) is the Producing Artistic Director at The Art House in Provincetown, Massachusetts. He produced Deconstructing Patti on Broadway this past September at the Nederlander Theatre with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS starring Patti LuPone and Seth Rudetsky which raised over $280,000 in one night. He also launched the Broadway @ concert series in 2011 at The Art House. The series, featuring creative partner Seth Rudetsky as music director and host, had its seventh season this past summer and guest artists included Sutton Foster, Jessie Mueller, Megan Hilty, Faith Prince, Beth Malone, Melissa Errico and Michael Cerveris. The Broadway @ series also premiered in 2013 in New Orleans, in Australia (Sydney & Melbourne) with Megan Mullally and in London's West End with Patti LuPone at the Leicester Square Theater. The series has since travelled to cities that include Chicago @ The Steppenwolf, Beverly Hills @ The Wallis, Fort Lauderdale @ The Parker Playhouse, San Francisco @ The Herbst Theatre and Scottsdale @ Scottsdale Center for the Arts. Other artists who have participated include Audra McDonald, Patti LuPone, Christine Ebersole, Chita Rivera, Kelli O'Hara, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Rosie O'Donnell, Vanessa Williams and Gavin Creel. Mark also produced the feature film "Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads" and the web television series "Seth's Reality". He manages the singing string quartet Well-Strung which he co-founded. Info at markcortalepresents.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

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