Ivoryton Playhouse Presents SOME ENCHANTED EVENING, Opens 4/14

Rodgers and Hammerstein first began their collaboration in 1943. The result, Oklahoma! marked a revolution in musical drama and American musical theatre never looked back. They completely re-worked the musical theatre genre. Before them, musicals were usually whimsical or farcical, and usually built around a star. Because of their inventive and groundbreaking work, more musicals contained thought-provoking plots, and every aspect of the play - dance, melody, and lyric was pivotal to the story.

While Rodgers and Hammerstein's work contains cheerful and oftentimes uplifting songs, they departed from the comic and sentimental tone of early 20th century musicals by seriously addressing issues such as racism and sexism in many of their works. For example, Carousel concerns domestic violence, while South Pacific addresses racism. Based on the true story of the von Trapp family, The Sound of Music explores the views of Austrians to the takeover of Austria by the Third Reich.

Opening on April 14th in Ivoryton, The Playhouse takes on a simple review of the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein and gives it a whole new look for the audience of 2010. Retaining all of the original songs and sensibilities of the piece, director/choreographer Leslie Unger and musical director John DiNicola have set production in an upscale gallery and peopled it with artists, clients and models. The result is a visually stunning collage of color and vibrancy which is the perfect foil for the music of two of America's best loved songwriters.

Some Enchanted Evening is a rich feast - graceful and frisky and filled with crowd pleasing numbers. The cast includes Allan Snyder*, Kyle Metzger*, Patryce Williams*, Jenna Sisson, and Jennifer Lauren Brown. The set design is by Dan Nischan, lighting design by Doug Harry and costumes by Pam Puente.

Some Enchanted Evening opens on April 14th and runs thru May 2nd for 3 weeks. Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm. Tickets are $38 for adults, $33 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling The Playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or by visiting our website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.) The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton.

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