'BLONDE', 'POPPINS', 'HEIGHTS' and 'SHREK' Among Denver Center 2010 Season Offerings

Denver Center Attractions announces a "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" season of Broadway hits headed for Denver in 2010. With shows hot off the Great White Way, new takes on classic favorites, and fresh new musicals, the 2010 season is not to be missed.

Denver will go blonde when LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL plays The Buell Theatre February 2-14. When sorority star Elle Woods gets dumped for someone more "serious," she puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. In its first year on Broadway, LEGALLY BLONDE earned seven 2007 Tony® Award nominations, ten Drama Desk Award nominations and an Outer Critics Circle Award. As on Broadway, Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell is the director and choreographer, and the award-winning book of the musical was written by Colorado's own Heather Hach.

Beginning March 4, the world's most famous nanny will arrive at The Buell Theatre for a five week run. Combining the best of the original stories by P. L. Travers and the beloved Walt Disney film, the Tony Award-winning MARY POPPINS is everything you'd hope for in a Broadway musical-and more. Produced by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, the show includes classic songs "Chim Chim Cher-ee," "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Let's Go Fly a Kite" and of course, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

Subscribers will next see MAMA HATED DIESELS, a world premiere musical produced by Denver Center Theatre Company, in The Stage Theatre March 19-May 9. Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman, co-authors of the Denver Center hits Fire on the Mountain and It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues, create a rambunctious musical portrait of America's long-distance truckers. Drawn from interviews with the men and women who criss-cross the country in their 18-wheelers, the musical marries Myler's gift for real-life grit and high-rolling entertainment with Wheetman's ear for the midnight jukebox sounds of a truck stop café.

Next up, winner of four 2008 Tony Awards and the 2008 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album, IN THE HEIGHTS dances into The Buell April 28-May 9. IN THE HEIGHTS tells the universal story of a vibrant community in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood-a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It's a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures-where the biggest struggle can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind. The Washington Post said IN THE HEIGHTS is "pure Broadway...an evening of old-style, innocent pleasure," and Ben Brantley of The New York Times enthused, IN THE HEIGHTS is "an exuberant, animated shrine to the importance of family ties and being faithful to where you come from."

Mel Brooks is at it again, following up his smash hit The Producers with the stage adaptation of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, playing The Buell Theatre June 15-27. The classic movie is ALIVE in a spectacular new production, winner of the 2008 Outer Critics Circle Award and the Broadway.com Audience Award for Best Musical. A sensational cast delivers all the classic moments from the film, plus brand-new show-stopping numbers for the stage, including "Transylvania Mania," "He Vas My Boyfriend" and "Puttin' on the Ritz." This wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Frankenstein legend follows bright young Dr. Frankenstein (that's Fronkensteen) as he attempts to create a monster-but not without scary and hilarious complications. The brains behind the laughter is mad genius and three- time Tony-winner Mel Brooks himself-who wrote the music and lyrics and co-wrote the book-along with his record-breaking team from The Producers, five-time Tony-winning director and choreographer Susan Stroman and three-time Tony-winning writer Thomas Meehan.

Lincoln Center Theater's triumphant reinvigoration of Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC comes to The Buell Theatre stage July 20-August 1. SOUTH PACIFIC swept the 2008 Tony Awards, winning seven honors including Best Musical Revival and Best Director for Bartlett Sher. This breathtaking new production has created a sold-out sensation on Broadway, lauded by the critics as "Simply wonderful...Beguiling theatrical magic" (New York Post), "ravishing and overwhelming" (Variety) and "rapturous and revelatory" (The New York Times). Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples - US Navy nurse Nellie Forbush and French plantation owner Emile de Becque, and Navy Airman Joe Cable and young local native girl Liat - and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices. Considered by many the finest musical ever written, the score's songs include such classics as "Some Enchanted Evening," "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair," "Younger Than Springtime," "Bali Ha'i," "There is Nothin' Like A Dame," "This Nearly Was Mine" and "A Wonderful Guy."

THE 101 DALMATIANS MUSICAL hits The Buell August 31-September 12, when one of the world's most beloved stories comes to life on the national stage for the first time. Based on the book by Dodie Smith, THE 101 DALMATIANS MUSICAL is a one-of-a-kind adventure for the entire family, all about what it means to be a family, canine and courageous. The musical is led by an award-winning creative team including four-time Tony Award-winning director Jerry Zaks (A Bronx Tale, Smokey Joe's Café, Guys and Dolls), acclaimed bookwriter and co-lyricist BT McNicholl (Billy Elliot, Spamalot, The IT Girl), and Dennis DeYoung, founding member of the legendary rock band STYX, as composer and co-lyricist. In keeping with the spirit of the original story, THE 101 DALMATIANS MUSICAL promises a quirky, upside-down view of the world, where the audience sees life from a dog's point of view. In addition to the bevy of talented human actors, the musical will showcase fifteen talented Dalmatians, many of which were rescued from animal shelters across the country and given a new lease on life with this starring role.

Rounding out the season will be SHREK The Musical, coming to The Buell Theatre in November 2010. Based on the Oscar®-winning DreamWorks film that started it all, SHREK tells the story of a swamp-dwelling ogre who goes on a life-changing adventure to reclaim the deed to his land. Joined by a wise-cracking donkey, this unlikely hero fights a fearsome dragon, rescues a feisty princess and learns that real friendship and true love aren't only found in fairy tales. SHREK features a book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole), music by Olivier Award-winner Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie; Caroline, or Change) and is directed by Tony Award-nominee Jason Moore (Avenue Q). Full of big laughs, great dancing and breathtaking scenery, SHREK is part romance, part twisted fairy tale and all irreverent fun for everyone.

2010 season ticket packages start at just $219.25 for new subscribers. To purchase a subscription, please call Denver Center Ticket Services: 303.893.4100 or 800.641.1222, or visit the ticket office located in the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex at Speer & Arapahoe. Subscription packages can also be purchased online at www.denvercenter.org/bwaysubs. Single tickets are not available at this time.

DCA subscribers will also receive priority notice to added attractions in 2010 prior to the general public, titles of which will be announced at a later date. Additional subscriber benefits include preferred seating, free ticket exchanges and various special offers throughout the season. Subscribers will also receive a complimentary, one-year subscription to Denver Magazine with their 2010 season ticket package.

Media sponsorship for Denver Center Attractions is provided by The Denver Post, CBS4 and Denver Magazine. Denver Center Attractions is supported in part by the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District.

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts presents and produces live theatre with Broadway touring shows, cabaret productions and a professional theatre company. The DCPA is also the site of training schools for actors and unique rental facilities. Denver Center Attractions is a preferred stop on the Broadway touring circuit and has launched many national touring premieres. DCA also produces cabaret shows. The Tony Award-winning Denver Center Theatre Company is the largest professional theatre company between Chicago and the West Coast. It produces traditional and contemporary drama and world premieres. For more information, please visit www.denvercenter.org.

 

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