North Shore Music Theatre Presents 'Contact'

The hit of the 2000 Broadway season and winner of 4 Tony® Awards dances across the stage in North Shore Music Theatre's New England Regional Premiere of CONTACT.  A unique and powerful three-part dance play CONTACT runs June 10 – 29, 2008 and Press Night is scheduled for June 12 at 7:30pm.

"This season pays tribute to the legendary Tony® Award-winning Director and Choreographer Susan Stroman and we felt that Contact would be a great way to honor her and be an entertaining departure from the standard definition of a musical,"  said Barry Ivan, NSMT's new Artistic Director and Executive Producer. "The show is wonderfully unique in that it tells three separate stories of romance and escapism primarily through Stroman's clever and witty choreography.  This will be a rare treat for NSMT audiences."

CONTACT is a moving and often humorous dance play that tells three separate stories "Swing," "Did You Move?" and "Contact." Each is about different ways to pursue love. Featuring a book by John Weidmann & Susan Stroman, and with music and lyrics from various artists, CONTACT will sweep audiences off their feet. An eclectic array of songs provide the soundtrack for the mini-vignettes, including Robert Palmer's "Simply Irresistible," Dean Martin's "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You," Dion's "Runaround Sue," the Beach Boys' "Do You Want to Dance?" and "Sing Sing Sing" from Benny Goodman and his Orchestra.

CONTACT stars Tony® Award-Winner Jarrod Emick as Michael Willey, Naomi Hubert as A Girl in the Yellow Dress, Sally Mae Dunn as Wife, and Steve Luker as Husband. Emick is best known for his Tony Award-winning performance as Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, which also garnered him a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor and a Theatre World Award.  He has also starred in Broadway productions of TheRocky Horror Show, The Boy From Oz, and Ring of Fire.  Before she became a girl in the yellow dress, Hubert was an original cast member in Stroman's Broadway productions of The Producers and The Frogs.  She has also appeared in national tours of Spamalot, Doctor Dolittle and Annie Get Your Gun and played Cassandra in the IV National Tour of Cats.  Dunn has appeared on Broadway in Never Gonna Dance (u/s Mabel), Beauty and the Beast (Babette), The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, The Will Rogers Follies and in a national tour of Chicago (June).  Luker has appeared in over 80 professional shows including 42nd Street on Broadway, National and European tours of Footloose and 42nd Street, and at Radio City and was last seen at NSMT in Damn Yankees.

The cast of CONTACT also features Sean Ewing (Servant), Jake Pfarr (Aristocrat), Matt Rivera, Ariel Shepley (The Girl on the Swing), Monica Alicia Coates, Ivy Fox, Wilson Mendieta, Jeremy McQueen, Marcos Santana, Leeanna S. Smith, Mary Lynn Tiepp, Francis Toumbakaris and swings Wesley Edwards and Hallie Metcalf.

CONTACT will be directed and choreographed by Tomé Cousin. Cousin performed in and helped to develop the original production of CONTACT as part of the original Lincoln Center ensemble, both off-Broadway and on, from 1999-2002. He has been selected by Stroman to recreate the original show. Cousins other performance credits include Broadway productions of Dreamgirls, Belle Epoque Bingo Long, and Village Wooing. He has also traveled the country in National Tours of A Chorus Line, Dreamgirls, My One and Only and performed in many Regional Theatres.

In addition to directed and choreographed by Tomé Cousin, the creative team also includes Howard C. Jones (Scenic Designer), Andrew Ostrowski (Lighting Designer), John A. Stone (Sound Designer), Gerard Kelly (Wig & Hair Designer), Mungioli Theatricals/Arnold J. Mungioli, C.S.A. (Casting), Jason Quinn (Production Stage Manager), and Alicia Reese (Assistant Stage Manager), and Leeanna Smith (Assistant to Choreographer).

Tickets for CONTACT are priced from $77 to $40. Senior & Youth Discounts and Rush Tickets are Available. Also check out www.nsmt.org for special ticket packages including "Date Night" and "Girl's Night Out." Performances are June 10 - 29, Tue – Thurs at 7:30 pm, Fri & Sat at 8 pm, matinees Wed, Sat and Sun at 2 pm.  For tickets: www.nsmt.org, (978) 232-7200, or in person at 62 Dunham Rd. Beverly. CONTACT is recommended for theater goers 16 and over.

NSMT is offering two free pre-show swing dancing classes taught by a member of the CONTACT cast. Classes will take place June 19 from 5 - 6 p.m. and June 20 from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. in Studio One in the Theatre Arts and Education Building behind the theatre. This program is free of charge but advanced reservations are required. Email class reservation to pr@nsmt.org. Class size is limited to 20 participants.

Also during CONTACT, NSMT is offering a new Kids Club program for parents and kids.  With the purchase of an adult ticket to the June 22 production of CONTACT, parents are invited to enroll their children in a special free theater workshop on site at NSMT while they attend the show.  NSMT's teaching staff will lead classes in acting, dancing, and singing at the theater.  The Kids Club is open to children ages 4-11.  This program is free of charge but advanced reservations are required by the Friday before the Sunday show.  The Kids Club will have a designated date for each mainstage musical production in the 2008 season.

Additional Free Audience Enrichment events: Meet the Theatre:  post-show audience discussion with the artists on June 17 after the 7:30 pm performance June 28 after the 2 pm performance; Spotlight on History, a free pre-show discussion focusing on historical issues related to the performance on June 22; Out at the North Shore, an evening for the Gay and Lesbian Community with a post-show reception on June 26.

Operating since 1955, NSMT has evolved into the largest non-profit producing theater in New England, with approximately 300,000 patrons annually.  NSMT has gained a national and regional reputation for artistic achievement, specifically in the areas of developing new works and providing outstanding theater arts and education programs.  NSMT has received numerous industry awards including The Elliot Norton Award, The Rosetta Le Noire Award from Actors' Equity, and The Moss Hart Award.  NSMT annually produces a six musical subscription series and an acclaimed concert series. With its celebrated Theatre for Young Audiences program, a school touring program, and year-round classes for children, NSMT has become one of the region's leading providers of theater arts and education.

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