Broadway Stage Manager to Host THE BOY FROM OZ Talk Back at TheatreZone

Do you enjoy theatre trivia and anecdotes? How about talking about a performance immediately following the show with other theatre enthusiasts? Would you like to hear the actors' motivation for their characters? Are you interested in hearing from guest speakers? If you answered yes to any one of these questions, then TheatreZone's TalkBack is a must for you.

"TalkBack is a post-show discussion with the cast where the audience may ask questions about the show or the artistic process and gain more of an insight into a play's ideas, themes, and performances," explains TheatreZone artistic director Mark Danni.

Today he announced TheatreZone is hosting TalkBack on Friday, February 12, 2016 at 9:30 pm, immediately following the evening performance of The Boy From Oz in the G&L Theatre, bringing together veteran stage manager Paul Phillips who will share behind-the-scene stories and personal anecdotes about Broadway's leading ladies, plus the cast and artistic team of The Boy From Oz.

Additional TalkBack sessions will be held Friday, January 15; Friday, March 11 and Friday, May 6.

"We've assembled a terrific group of theatre professionals who are connected with the musical's key characters," promises Danni, noting that actor Larry Alexander, who plays Peter Allen in the production, toured with Liza Minnelli (who was once married to Allen), and Joan Ellison, the award-winning vocalist who plays Judy Garland (Allen's mentor and former mother-in-law) and currently tours the country in a retro-radio style show Love >From Judy Garland, while Paul Philips was the stage manger for the Judy Garland's triumphant and legendary performances at The Palace.

Phillips' remarkable credits include the original Broadway productions of "Fiorello!," "Sweet Charity," "Mame," "Pippin," "Chicago," and "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." He spent his career protecting the integrity of some of the greatest ladies of the stage. In addition to managing Judy Garland's At Home at the Palace in 1967, he worked alongside Tallulah Bankhead, Angela Lansbury, Beatrice Lillie, Ann Miller, Chita Rivera and his dear friend, confidante and "soulmate" Gwen Verdon.

TalkBack is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available. Tickets are not needed to attend, but reservations are appreciated. Contact the TheatreZone Box Office at 888-966-3352.

About TheatreZone

Operating under the guidelines of the Actors' Equity Association and small professional theatres contract, TheatreZone is in residence and performs in the intimate 250-seat G&L Theatre housed on the magnificent campus of The Community School of Naples, one block north of Pine Ridge Road at 13275 Livingston Road.

TheatreZone's Season 11 opens in January 2016 with the musical film noir classic, the satirical Sweet Smell of Success, with music by composer Marvin Hamlisch. February brings The Boy From Oz (Oz is slang for Australia), the Tony-award winning musical based on the life of singer/songwriter Australian Peter Allen. In March, TheatreZone stages a production of Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods, the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical about wishes, chasing your dreams, and the importance of the stories we tell our children both magical and deeply touching.

TheatreZone's season 11 finale in May is Dames at Sea, a tap dancing musical parody of large, flashing 1930s Busby Berkeley-style movie musicals in which an understudy steps into a role on Broadway and becomes a star. It originally played Off-Off-Broadway, then played Off-Broadway and jump-started the career of a 17-year-old singer and dancer named Bernadette Peters.

Season 11 tickets are priced at $48 - $53 plus a $2 per ticket fee. Call TheatreZone at 1-888-ZONE-FLA, 1-888-966-3352 or purchase online at www.theatrezone-florida.com.

A bonus added to TheatreZone's upcoming season is the October 1 - 11, 2015 production of Xanadu, starring Tony-nominated actor Eddie Mekka (Carmine "the Big Ragoo" from Laverne & Shirley). The musical is the second pairing of professional actors (members of the Actors Equity Association) with FGCU's Bower School of Music and The Arts professors, and theatre/music students. Based on the infamous film, Xanadu was penned by playwright Douglas Carter Beane and uses songs from John Farrar and Jeff Lynne's (E.L.O. - Electric Light Orchestra) film soundtrack. Individual tickets to Xanadu (staged in the 90-seat Theatre Lab on the FGCU campus) cost $45 and $40 each and are not included in the series subscriptions.

TheatreZone is also teaming with Gulfshore Opera to present Brigadoon, the enchanting tale of two American tourists who stumble upon a little Scottish village that reawakens for one day every 100 years. Brigadoon will be staged Friday, November 20, 2015 at 8 pm in the Charlotte Performing Arts Center in Port Charlotte, FL and Saturday, November 21 at 8 pm in the First Christian Church in Ft. Myers, FL. A third location and date in Collier County will be announced shortly. Tickets to Brigadoon (ranging in price from $25 - $75) go on sale August 1, 2015 through www.gulfshoreopera.org.

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