TheatreZone To Present Florida Premiere Of TONYA & NANCY: THE ROCK OPERA

TheatreZone, a Naples-based professional equity theatre specializing in Broadway musicals and celebrating its 15th season, will present the Florida premiere of Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera February 6-16, 2020. Performances are scheduled for 7:30p.m. on Feb. 6-9 and 13-16; 2:00 p.m. matinee performances will be presented on Feb. 8-9 and 15-16.

Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera premiered in Portland, OR, produced by Triangle Productions, in 2008. It is dark comedy featuring music produced with a great deal of heart. This work of fiction, inspired by actual events, utilizes the 1994 Tonya Harding and NANCY KERRIGAN media scandal to explore America's obsession with celebrity scandals and its "go for the gold at all costs" attitude. With libretto and concept by Elizabeth Searle and music by Michael Teoli, audiences can expect hilarity, poignant moments, and a radical score, along with adult subject matter and mature language including admittedly frequent "f-bombs," and non-stop energy in this unique theatrical experience.

"'Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera' brings a different musical genre to the stage," said Mark Danni, TheatreZone Founding Artistic Director. "It is based on a story audiences know, but it will be presented in a format that may be new to them."

"This show has only been presented in Boston, New York and Chicago," said Danni. "The producer flew to Naples specifically to meet with us because he wanted to have the show staged in Florida and immediately thought of me and TheatreZone."

The professional cast includes Andrea McArdle in a tour de force dual role as the mother of both Harding and Kerrigan. McArdle is widely known for her performances in the title role of the 1977 mega-musical Annie, based on the popular Harold Gray comic strip "Little Orphan Annie." As "Annie," she became the youngest performer ever to be nominated for a Tony Award as Best Lead Actress in a Musical. She also received the Theater World and Outer Critics' Circle Awards for her performance and went on to star when the show was produced on London's West End. *Fun fact: Catherine Zeta-Jones played young orphan Mollie in this production.

"This is 'Annie' like you've never seen her before," said Danni. "Andrea has such versatility as an actress, and we all know how amazing her voice is for this show. I can't wait to see her portray the abrasive 'tell it like it is' Mrs. Harding and then turn around and portray the sweet but passive-aggressive Mrs. Kerrigan."

Rounding out the professional cast are Nikki Miller, Whitney Winfield, Matthew Ryan Sather, Adolpho Blaire, David Tanciar, Anthony Nuccio, Siena Worland, Cherry Hamlin, and Lynn Craig.

TheatreZone presents Broadway & Happy Hour February 13, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. Cast members from each of TheatreZone's Broadway shows will perform their favorite show tunes, sharing stories about the history of the music and their personal connections to the songs. The February cabaret will include the following members of Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera: Whitney Winfield, Nikki Miller, Anthony Nuccio, Adolpho Blaire, and Lynne Craig. Guests will enjoy wine, prosecco, beer and hors d'oeuvres at a pre-concert reception. Broadway & Happy Hour events are open to the public and held "outside the Zone" at the Moorings Park auditorium, 120 Mooring Park Drive. Subsequent cabaret events are scheduled for March 12 and April 23.

TheatreZone's concert series for February 2020 includes the return of the very popular MerseyBeatles, who have sold out shows the past two seasons at TheatreZone, as well as the Florida premiere of Judy & Liza at the Palladium.

The Mersey Beatles will perform on Feb. 18, 2020, at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The performance will start as the lads appear in the familiar suits of Beatlemania and grow older via several quick costume changes. They will perform an all-new "hits show," taking audiences on a trip featuring 30 of the greatest Beatles hits from all eras. Like the original Fab Four, The Mersey Beatles are a band from the great city of Liverpool. They are childhood friends who share a love of Beatles music. Since 1999, they have been recreating the sights and sound of the Beatles worldwide. Their ten-year residency at the world famous Cavern Club, where The Beatles started out, helped to home their skills and expanded their repertoire. Beautifully designed costumes and replica guitars, amps and drums help to create the look and sound of the Beatles. For an authentic sound, they use VOX and Ludwig gear whenever possible. The boys use replica Beatles guitars including Hofner, Rickenbacker and Gretsch.

Judy & Liza at the Palladium will be presented on Feb. 20, 2020, at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Celebrate the music that brought the audience to their feet in November of 1964 when Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli teamed up for an unforgettable concert at London's famed Palladium Theatre. Maestro Michael Berkowitz, who toured with Liza, will be conducting from the drums. Professional actresses Joan Ellison and Carolann Sanita, who played Judy and Liza, respectively, in The Boy From Oz at TheatreZone, will belt out the songs of those original dynamic divas, including "Once In A Lifetime," "Just In Time," "Gypsy In My Soul," "Cabaret," "New York, New York," and, of course, "Over The Rainbow."

Joan Ellison has been praised for her "vocal prowess...[and] organic grasp of the classic songs" by Michael Feinstein, who recently asked her to serve as Editor of the Judy Garland Carnegie Hall Concert Restoration Project for the Judy Garland Heirs Trust. Ellison made her Cleveland Pops debut in 2005 and has since sung more than 35 concerts with orchestras across the country, as well as playing classic leading-lady roles in regional theatre.

Carolann M. Sanita toured as Marian in the first national tour of The Music Man and internationally as Maria in the European and Asian tours of West Side Story. She was back-up to Linda Eder at the Palace Theatre on Broadway and has performed in numerous regional theatre productions.

Michael Berkowitz was the Music Director/Conductor/Drummer for Liza Minnelli, working with her on the Tony Award-winning, "Liza's At The Palace" on Broadway and in concerts around the world. He is now in his 15th year as the Principal Pops Conductor of the Santa Rosa Symphony in Santa Rosa, CA.

Tickets for each event are available at http://www.theatre.zone or by calling the box office, 888-966-3352 x1.

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